Consoleation Quickie: End Game?

Once again, I am seriously considering a decision as to whether I should part ways with my PlayStation 3 console.

Earlier in the year, I’d considered doing so in order to help make the purchase on an Xbox 360 more affordable… but my tax return was more than I expected and I’d decided that I wanted to keep the PS3 for music games, like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, since I’d spent so much money in DLC for those IPs. I’d also taken into consideration the fact that the PS3 is an excellent Blu-Ray player– so, even if I didn’t use the PS3 for games, it would be a great movie player.

Now that I’ve had time with my 360, however, the PS3 has seen little playing time. The 360′s Gamerscore/Achievement system extends to every game on the console, whereas the PS3′s Trophy system is a me-too addition and doesn’t come into play on many of the PS3′s games. There’s also a noticeable lack of required game installations on the 360, although some games do run better after being installed. The PS3 has an increasing amount of software that requires some installation to the hard drive, which also requires an extended wait time before being able to play a game for the first time and also eventually takes a toll on the free space on the hard drive… in fact, it tends to resemble the storage space situation on the Wii where you have to “clean your fridge” and determine what games you want to be playing.

Multiplatform game purchases now are automatic 360 purchases, despite my relative dislike of the 360 controller’s D-pad. I just recently picked up Street Fighter IV and Soul Calibur IV for the 360, so we’ll see how those games handle. All of these games add to Gamerscore and I have a larger pool of potential online opponents to play against, should I decide to do so. Games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3 have 360-exclusive DLC, which adds replayability and depth to these experiences… while the PS3 versions of these games don’t really offer any advantages.

I’m really down to PS3 exclusives now. So far, this has had no bearing on my PS3 time. I have MLB 09: The Show, but am more content playing MLB 2K7. Metal Gear Solid 4 is awaiting a possible replay, but it’s a shame that Konami isn’t entertaining a patch for Trophy support to give me some impetus. Uncharted 2 is on the horizon, but the addition of multiplayer and co-op has tempered my enthusiasm somewhat. inFamous isn’t really on my radar, nor is MAG.

There are more questions.

Do I want or need another console other than the 360? I don’t know. My free time is more limited during the warmer months, and I seem to be getting my fill of console gaming goodness from Microsoft’s box at the moment. In addition to the 360, I still have plenty of last-gen options with the PlayStation 2 and Xbox… should I decide to change things up. (I just recently picked up both Katamari games for the PS2.) The other end of this question would be that I might have a more difficult time getting back into writing should I drop down to one console. More sites seem to need PS3-based writers than 360 writers.

What about the money spent on PSN downloads? This question is still a big one. Like XBLA, I have over 50 PSN games that I’ve purchased since I bought the machine a little over a year ago. There is a notable expansion to PAIN– one of my self-admitted guilty pleasures– coming in couple of weeks. There have been recent expansions to Magic Ball and Mahjong Tales. Then there are the music downloads, which I would have to rebuy for the 360.

It’s a tough decision once again. I’m really torn this time.

I’ll be sure to let you know what happens.