The XBOX controller has triggers on the back.
PlayStation fanboy: "That's stupid. It's a controller, not a gun!"
*PS3's L2 and R2 become pressure-sensitive triggers*
PlayStation fanboy: "COOL!"

The Wii has motion controllers.
PlayStation fanboy: "Wahahahaha. How stupid!"
*PlayStation move is released*
PlayStation fanboy: "This will revolutionize gaming FOREVER! FOREVER!"

Now let us break some things down about cost. The prices for a brand new XBOX or PS3 are close. The general thing I see in local stores (and the few online ones I just checked) is that Microsoft tries to price their system to match the PS3. Makes sense. They are the two most comparable systems out there. The Wii's cheaper in all regards, but it's an entirely different kind of console. I just saw a 320 gig PS3 for $400, and a 250 gig XBOX for the same price. The XBOX came with their Kinect thingy. The PS3 came with diddly. If you don't mind buying used, the XBOX costs a lot less than the PS3. XBOX requires membership fees. You can find a sale on the yearly Live membership on Amazon all the time. Silver accounts, which are free, don't allow you to play with your friends online, but you can still message them and voice chat with them, as well as buying things from the store. Being that the two systems are so similar, the PS3 tried to copy this with PlayStation plus. Early access to demos, discounts on games (which only pay for themselves if you end up spending a lot on downloadable games or game DLC), and exclusive access to certain betas. You need a gold Live account to play games with your XBOX friends online. You don't need to pay a fee to just play games with friends on the PS3. Here's where it gets trickier: that PlayStation Plus account gives you early access to certain things. The XBOX console gets many games and DLC packs before the PS3 does. The first Black Ops map pack came to the XBOX one month and two days before the PS3 (I just Googled it). The video game BioShock was released on XBOX then relased on the PS3 1 year and two months later. I'm not going to look up the dates for this, but when it came to Fallout 3, the game was released first on the PS3 and then the XBOX a couple months later. The funny thing was that they announced the DLC was going to be exclusive for the XBOX. They eventually got around to porting the DLC over to the PS3 as well, but it took them a while. You can argue how Microsoft lines their pockets with that XBOX Live fee, or you can say they use it to improve their services, but the fact is that you MUST pay to play the XBOX online, but the XBOX gets many things before the PS3--if the PS3 ever gets them at all. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has DLC on the XBOX that people on the PS3 cannot get. The version of Oblivion for the XBOX is also properly patched; one of the quests on the PS3 version can never be completed (vampire cure quest).

Moral of the story? No moral of the story. They're just stupid video game consoles. This is like arguing if the Super Nintendo is better than the Sega. That crap got old when I was in grade school, tyvm. No system is perfect. Got friends irl you'd like to play with online? Buy whatever they have. Don't have friends? Look at the list of exclusive games and buy the system that has more of what you want. All the systems seem the same to you, or you don't view purchasing a console as seriously as entering into a marriage contract? Buy whatever most people around you have--you'll understand how each others' systems work and you can trade games if you get bored with what you have. Alternatively, buy everything and laugh at everyone when any system's network is under repair.

The XBOX is ice cream, the PS3 is cake, and the Wii is brownies. You can have all of them, or if you don't want to overindulge, you can pick whatever you want.

To every fanboy of anything out there: Quit raging. It's not like you're defending your friggin' religion or some crap. The only people you're impressing are fellow fanboys. Spoiler alert: They already agree with you.

"Do you have a link that definitively proves that people are jumping ship en mass or are you so willing to believe the hype that websites publish to increases hits when things like this happen. I'd like to see actual numbers if you don't mind and a bona fida research study and not the opinion of some GameStop employee or blogger."

It's called Google, but here you go:

http://news.punchjump.com/blog/2011/05/13/ps3-owners-trade-in-hardware-for-xbox-360-amid-psn-outage/

I found that in literally five seconds. lol. Want another source? How about the people mentioned in this topic--that is to say I'm referring to everyone we've heard from friends who is selling their PS3. Another source? I check if the network is up once a day. I clicked on the PS3 internet browser and looked at articles about restoring service--this is a Sony website that you can ONLY comment on if you have a PSN account. There are a ton of comments from people with PSN accounts saying they are going to leave or saying things like this one guy who said something to the effect of, "The XBOX is sounding better and better..."

"Secondly, calling people names is the first sure sign that someones argument may have no merit."
Because I said there are fanboys on this website? No, I call somebody a fanboy (fangirl--sorry) when it's quite obvious that they think almight Allah crafted the PS3 and that any other console, and the attack on the PSN, were the work of Iblis. We wouldn't be having this conversation about toasters or microwaves (but mine's better, in both cases).

Back to the subject matter, your ad ignorantium statements don't make your arguement valid. Just because you don't know about it doesn't mean the information isn't out there. Everything I've said on this topic was retrieved from reliable sources. If you want to confirm anything at all that I've said, just Google it. The information's out there.

Quote from Travis-Travis on May 14, 2011, 21:25
"Let's keep the personal attacks to a minimum, thanks."

Does it count as a personal attack if I'm laughing at a group (all fanboys)? I'm not gonna stop that, because it's funny, and maybe I'll help somebody to review the way they view the "console wars."

__
Yes laughing at arguments like this is potentially a lot of fun. It certainly helps pass the time and many of us have plenty of extra time at the moment. I personally love forums and the interaction that goes on in them.

Sadly not everyone is willing to discuss things in a reasonable and rational way and certainly the console wars have been energized with this event in a major way.

Hopefully we'll all be back online soon and be able to enjoy the things we were so taking for granted not all that long ago. One can only hope after PSN comes back up that it will stay back up given it certainly appears sadly that those who did this have the will and determination to try it again.

Sadly Sony will not be the only target of people like this as we move forward. It appears that this is going to become a lot more common than many of us would like. Lots of people including the fans are paying a fairly big price at the moment for a group of selfish individuals who think they can do whatever they please.

To respond to the OP. I like to think of this event as a thinning of the heard. Those that remain will be the ones who are truly dedicated to PSN, Home, and the PlayStation experience.