Why Is Xbox Considered "Better" Than The PS3?

So today I was going to play Modern Warfare 2 with a friend and I kept getting the "Disk Read Error" which I'm kind of used to considering I bought my 360 in 2006,all I have to usually do is install the game and it works fine. Except this time it wouldn't even read the disk to install it. And to top it off it the disk won't run at all now. I'll probably go see if I can get my disk replaced at Best Buy and if not I'll just get a new one. 
 
But things like this have really started to bother me. I mean I'm not a fan boy or anything, but the 360 has really started to piss me off and I am truly starting to believe that my PS3 is a way more reliable console. I mean I heard a guy at EB say that he's on his 5th Xbox in 5 years, two of my friends have had theirs red ring, and mine has been crapping out for over a year now. I'm just wondering why people are still putting up with this? When did it become acceptable to buy a new console every year? 
 
I understand that the online is better on 360 , but that's about the only thing it has going for it. The PS3 online service is worse, but not so much that it detracts from games, plus it's free.  The exclusives are quite notable but there's only a handful per console and when faced with an exclusive title or a more reliable console, I'll go with the console.
 
So I guess all I'm trying to ask is why is there such an overwhelming love for the 360? It has had so many problems yet people still hail it as the "better" console, but why? Anybody?
 
EDIT: So in the end my whole disk breaking fiasco ended alright. The day after my game broke i went to Best Buy and told them it didn't work anymore. I handed them my receipt and they got me a new copy right there on the spot, they just had to open it in store. So thank you Best Buy for being awesome! Still it would have been much better if this just didn't happen in the first place.

The PS3 is certainly a more reliable console. I'm on my 3rd 360, and now when it's running, it gets really loud. Like, dude, it sounds like someone is mowing the lawn outside my window, it's that loud. So I think my 3rd one might be on it's last legs as well.
 
I think a lot of it has to do with the PS3 having such a rough start, but these days it's really pretty much on par with the 360, as far as I can tell. Both seem to have a good share of solid exclusives at this point, though most of the biggest games are multiplatform anyway. I've actually decided that I'll probably never get a PS3, but maybe by next year I'll change my mind. I wanted one, but eh, at this point, I feel like I already have too many games as it is and don't need to be adding a whole extra console's library. God of War 3 might change all this, though, but I wasn't too crazy about God of War 2, and haven't been impressed by what I've seen of God of War 3 yet.

Essentially there were more people playing the 360, as it was released considerably earlier. Another factor is that initially developers sort of did a double take when presented with the PS3's power, and did not develop for it, rather for the 360, and then ported games over. That's changing now, slowly, I bought my PS3 because it beats out the 360 in power and is likely to last longer, both physically and in competition with the next gen xbox.

Guessing here: People who consider the 360 the better console might be those who hold the features you mentioned - the online service and/or exclusives - in higher regard than you seem to. These people might also own more recently manufactured 360s, for which technical errors occur sparingly or not at all - or if they do have these issues, maybe they don't mind it for one reason or another. Or, just as likely, it's the only console they own.

People love to shit on the PS3. However this year I've hardly touched my 360 compared to the PS3, even going so far as to almost sell my 360. But you know Mass Effect 2 and shit. Also I'm lucky enough that my 360 never gave me any trouble so I'm thinking this one is a keeper.
 
Also I think it's an American thing, here in Europe I find few people who seriously think this.

The Xbox was the most powerful system last gen, but supposedly the most unpopular too; regardless, it's definitely not better than the PS3 (even though the PS3 is supposedly the most unpopular this current gen) unless you smoke a lot of crack first... who ever told you that must have been really high. 

Yah, what really sold me on the 360 was the better games line up (mainly Dead Rising, man killing zombies with random stuff is super fun!), but that was all the way back in 2006. Since then the PS3 has caught up considerably. And I still care about the exclusives (just beat Mass Effect, super excited for the sequel) it's just that it really bothers me that people people are okay with re-buying the same same broken technology, and also bothered by what Microsoft has done about these problems. I mean I know that they've been working on making the 360 more long lasting, but I still hear people complain about how their 360s keep dying.

The PS3 is hands down more reliable. That's the huge flaw of the 360. Other than that its amazing.

"Other than that its amazing. "

To many people, it's not.

" @Barrock said:

"Other than that its amazing. "

 So many people say that but I don't quite get it, what makes it THAT much better than the PS3? "

I have a 360 and no PS3 and only the JRPG has me keeping the 360.  It is a hunk of junk - unreliable and as noisy as hell,  It is just a Ford Pinto with a V8 engine.  Mine is under a year old and gets hardly any use, so I figure it will last quite a while.  When the PS3 gets its next price drop, I will get that and buy all the games for it, that are not exclusive (and not a shooting game) to the 360.

the reason is more people are playing the 360 as it came out way earlier on the ps3. that and its cheaper. When a casual gamer goes out to buy a console they arent going to buy the dearest console

Ugh, it's pathetic. I realize it doesn't have all those moving parts and all, but my SNES still works like it's fucking brand new.

I don't know, man. The 360 was released earlier and so more people have it and since more people have it more people want it. That's about the only reason I ever see anyone give for choosing a 360 over a PS3. "Well all my friends are on Xbox Live!" etc...  It's either that or "The 360 controller is better for shooters", and I happen to think mouse and keyboard is the only way to play a shooter. 
 
Personally, having no friends that were stupid enough to fall into Microsoft's trap, I wouldn't take a 360 if I was handed one for free. Everything I'd ever want to play on 360 is probably on PC and if it's not, I just don't care. Halo games? Meh. What else is on there? Fable 2? Whatever.  
The PS3 has loads of exclusives I'm interested in. Uncharted 1-2, Heavy Rain, God of War 3, inFAMOUS, Gran Turismo, Ratchet & Clank, The Last Guardian, LittleBigPlanet. Not to mention all the PSN stuff. And all in a sturdy, reliable machine with blueray.   

I guess a lot has to do with me having been a PC gamer since the mid 90's and played games online for almost as long and so it's not really that exciting to me anymore. I'm certainly not after any serious online gaming on a console. The 360 may offer the best online service of the consoles but the PC still shits over all of them. 

Outside of the US, it isnt.
 
But as people have already stated, its due to the ordinary start the console had, as opposed to the 360, which if anything, may have actually peaked already, within a couple of years of release. Maybe not, but that's how its seems to me. 
 
Man, I havent used my 360 in MONTHS!
 
anyway. this is a good question.

Yes the community might be bigger on the 360 but it doesn't make that big of a difference as far as online goes. I mean say 360 has 1 000 000 people playing a game online and PS3 has 300 000. Yes the PS3 has a much smaller player base but with 300 000 people its not going to be any more difficult to find people to play with or find an online games or stuff like that.  That's what I'm saying. But on the other hand with the 360 being cheaper and older a lot of my friends have that console and aren't thinking of buying a PS3 any time soon. So when I buy online games that's what pushes me in one direction or another. Also I'm in Canada and we don't get netflix, so I don't factor it in.

Most reasonable people don't really consider the 360 to be significantly better than the PS3; it's more a result of them starting with the 360 (was cheaper at the time, more friends on Live, etc.) and finding it hard to switch.

it's been said once, and I'll fucking repeat it. 
 
It's all comes down to what you want in a console. They're both not without disadvantages, it's what you want. 
 
Who the fucking shit cares?!

it's been said once, and I'll fucking repeat it. 
 
It's all comes down to what you want in a console. They're both not without disadvantages, it's what you want. 
 
Who the fucking shit cares?!

" it's been said once, and I'll fucking repeat it.   It's all comes down to what you want in a console. They're both not without disadvantages, it's what you want.   Who the fucking shit cares?! "

" it's been said once, and I'll fucking repeat it.   It's all comes down to what you want in a console. They're both not without disadvantages, it's what you want.   Who the fucking shit cares?! "

I wonder how many failed systems that customers re-bought are counted in the whole sum of consoles sold...

I own all three major systems (360, ps3, and PC) and I play on my PC the most. Now I have owned the 360 since I bought it with Gears of War back in the day, a PS3 since last Christmas, and I can say that if I can't play a game on the PC I will always choose the 360. Its been mentioned several times already but the 360 has a better online component, it has a vga cable (I don't have a hdtv, just a monitor capable of 1080p) and what matters most to me, a significantly better controller. My hands cramp up with the dual shock, I can't stand the layout of the sticks, the fact the sticks hurt my thumbs because of the convex shape, and that it is way to easy to hit the l3, and r3 buttons. Now don't see this as a ps3 bashing post, because I love my ps3 and the exclusives it brings, I just have a personal preference. As for 360's being unreliable, I don't doubt that for a second, but for me, mine hasn't broke yet. I don't receive scratched disks (never installed a game either), and it hasn't red ringed yet. Maybe it is because the PC is my primary system and I haven't used my 360 enough, and when I do its for an hour or two tops, but my experience has been flawless.
 
p.s. I can't stand Demon Souls

  @Uri555 said:

"... The PS3 online service is worse, but not so much that it detracts from games, plus it's free...
... Why is there such an overwhelming love for the 360? It has had so many problems yet people still hail it as the "better" console, but why? Anybody?"

"PSN is better because any first party game that wants dedicated servers, gets dedicated servers."

XBL allows you to easily form groups with friends, join in and out different games and easily chat with each other through the dashboard. 

The PSN has no such features, and I rarley meet people who even communicate online.  If you've used both, the difference is clearly visable, the 360 simply offers a much smoother and simpler experience.  Sony has definitely taken a lot of steps to improve the PSN, but it's mostly been just by copying what XBL does.. and that's come back to bite them now that we're at the point where they're no longer able to sustain their system without introducing a similar kind of monthly fee.
 
I wouldn't call XBL a "dictatorship" so much as I would a unified system for keeping everything simple and compatable.
Plus, there are several games that have been able to ignore these systems because they wouldn't have worked otherwise.  So it's hardly "Do it our way or don't do anything."

" @End_Boss: The most important part of multiplayer game and Sony has that down. I don't know how MS has pawned you into thinking server hosting is not able to "justify" a better online experience? "

I can see this thread degenerating into system wars quickly lol 
 
The two systems have their advantages over each other. I'm a little unsure why you would think that there is a general opinion that the 360 is the better console. It has a bigger user base and generally gets priority from some developers because of that user base. however most of the differences come down to taste.  

" @WinterSnowblind said:

" XBL allows you to easily form groups with friends, join in and out different games and easily chat with each other through the dashboard.  The PSN has no such features, and I rarley meet people who even communicate online.  If you've used both, the difference is clearly visable, the 360 simply offers a much smoother and simpler experience.  Sony has definitely taken a lot of steps to improve the PSN, but it's mostly been just by copying what XBL does.. and that's come back to bite them now that we're at the point where they're no longer able to sustain their system without introducing a similar kind of monthly fee.  I wouldn't call XBL a "dictatorship" so much as I would a unified system for keeping everything simple and compatable. Plus, there are several games that have been able to ignore these systems because they wouldn't have worked otherwise.  So it's hardly "Do it our way or don't do anything." "

@End_Boss said:

" @bitcloud said:

" @End_Boss: The most important part of multiplayer game and Sony has that down. I don't know how MS has pawned you into thinking server hosting is not able to "justify" a better online experience? "

Well, I suppose they "pawned" me into thinking that because regardless of whether or not its done via dedicated servers, online games (at least in my area) play smoother over XBOX Live, and frankly... That's all that matters. "

Sure there are parties and various features, but it differs from game to game. When it comes to something like Killzone 2 that is not matchmaking based, it comes to a more PC-esque style of multiplayer. Uncharted 2 where it's completely matchmaking based has parties that you can bring in and around the game. Resistance has both and a party system.   You're dreaming if you think Sony needs to charge a monthly fee for these features. If you can't tell the difference between a unified service and what XBL is then you've got some learning to do.  No large player games? No variety and improvement with bloated netcode? Sure, if that's your thing I guess XBL is better. Gears of War 2 rings a bell. "

" This thread will probably end up in a system wars kind of thing since there are people who don't like reality. Not much point posting anymore since people on the internet think their always right anyway. "

I love threads like this. In all honesty its peoples personal opinions that fuel threads like this.
The xbox isnt necessarily better then the PS3 to me I just prefer the controller and ease of use the xbox has to offer. I honestly couldnt ever consider the PS3 better, IMO, because of the controller preference.

I find it funny, even my friends who are purchasing PS3's and buying Uncharted 2 and telling me how awesome it is are still with the same "PS3 SUCKS LOL" attitude, but I know deep down they realize there just being retarded fanboys.

I just recently picked up a Slim, after my second 360 went the way of the Dodo.
 
I can honestly say that I've never been happier with my decision, the only game I am truly missing is Forza 3, and that mostly for the community. If Gran Turismo 5 were to have all that completely awesome paint/tuning digital marketplace stuff, I'd be in hog heaven.

" I find it funny, even my friends who are purchasing PS3's and buying Uncharted 2 and telling me how awesome it is are still with the same "PS3 SUCKS LOL" attitude, but I know deep down they realize there just being retarded fanboys. "

" I own all three major systems (360, ps3, and PC) and I play on my PC the most. Now I have owned the 360 since I bought it with Gears of War back in the day, a PS3 since last Christmas, and I can say that if I can't play a game on the PC I will always choose the 360. Its been mentioned several times already but the 360 has a better online component, it has a vga cable (I don't have a hdtv, just a monitor capable of 1080p) and what matters most to me, a significantly better controller. My hands cramp up with the dual shock, I can't stand the layout of the sticks, the fact the sticks hurt my thumbs because of the convex shape, and that it is way to easy to hit the l3, and r3 buttons. Now don't see this as a ps3 bashing post, because I love my ps3 and the exclusives it brings, I just have a personal preference. As for 360's being unreliable, I don't doubt that for a second, but for me, mine hasn't broke yet. I don't receive scratched disks (never installed a game either), and it hasn't red ringed yet. Maybe it is because the PC is my primary system and I haven't used my 360 enough, and when I do its for an hour or two tops, but my experience has been flawless.  p.s. I can't stand Demon Souls "

Two big reasons for me:
Better exclusives. Mass Effect, Gears, Halo, etc. (The PS3 do got some interesting exclusives but not enough to make me buy one)
Controller: The 360 controller fits perfectly in my hand and everything feels right (who actually use the d-pad?) while the PS3 controller is the same old stuff Sony has been using since the stone age. 

" @Bucketdeth said:

" I find it funny, even my friends who are purchasing PS3's and buying Uncharted 2 and telling me how awesome it is are still with the same "PS3 SUCKS LOL" attitude, but I know deep down they realize there just being retarded fanboys. "

They are telling you its awesome with an it sucks attitude?   Damn I wish I knew how to do that. "