XBOX360 or Nintendo Wii

Sniipe

I didn't know which forum to post this under so I decided there would be more xbox360 heads out there.

AFAIK (which is nothing really), xbox360 is a meaner, better machine in terms of graphics and not even the PS3 will beat it graphics wise, but it will processor wise. But against the Wii its better in most ways?
The wii is supposedly more "fun" ? I'm a big PC gamer head and buying consoles is not something I do, but its a present for my 19yr old brother, who is a gamer head and loves his ps2.

I think the xbox is the way to go but I'm not sure, just need that shove of encouragement...

By the way where is the cheapest place one can buy the xbox360 in Ireland/Galway/net, preferably with all the stuff in it and gears of war game.

I'd appreciate ur advice,

Sniipe

hanton12

I have the 360 and think its great! Cant compare it to the wii however, but I think the gameplay on the 360 is excellent. Can get some really good games on arcade (Streetfighter for example) and the multiplayer games online are really cool.

Have a look at the xtravision Christmas deals thread for the cheapest option, can get it for €500 with 4 games.

Nalz

hanton12 wrote:

Have a look at the xtravision Christmas deals thread for the cheapest option, can get it for €500 with 4 games.

or smyths with 5 games and 2 controllers

Ri_Nollaig

well if you want it for christmas then the wii's stock-level will have probably already made your decision for you...

humanji

You may be better off asking your brother what he wants. The 360 has some great games, but imo the Wii is a more fun console. It's great if you have a few friends over and want to piddle about, where as the 360's multiplayer is mainly online (or on split screen, which is a pain to watch.)

There's also the fact that your brother may be a sony fanboy and will resent getting a 360!

koneko

Is asking him an option, or is this something you're planning as a total surprise?

MikeHoncho

humanji wrote:

You may be better off asking your brother what he wants. The 360 has some great games, but imo the Wii is a more fun console. It's great if you have a few friends over and want to piddle about, where as the 360's multiplayer is mainly online (or on split screen, which is a pain to watch.)

There's also the fact that your brother may be a sony fanboy and will resent getting a 360!

Em there will be split screen games on Wii too you know and there are multiplayer games on 360 that dont have split screen ( Fight Night, Table Tennis etc). It just depends on the type of game. I doubt the wii will have a racing sim that you can do as 2 player with no split screen. Although I would say that the wii has been very much built with a games party atmosphere in mind.

As for the original question it depends what you are looking for. I love my 360 but im going to pick up a wii too after xmas. I am very easily swayed by marketing:D Oh how I love being a consumer B***h!!!

r3nu4l

Have a look through his game collection, if there isn't a single 'family fun' type game there then X-box is the way to go.

The Wii really has the innovation factor at the moment but I know that Nintendo are very keen on the whole family-centric view so it might not be the best idea if he hates 'cutesy' games as that's all the wii is likely to see for a while.

As has been said already Wii is probably going to be too difficult to get a hold of anyway. Also, some gamers are very picky about their consoles so try to get someone to gague his response to each before committing...or just hold onto your receipt

quad_red

Ri_Nollaig wrote:

well if you want it for christmas then the wii's stock-level will have probably already made your decision for you...

What he said. Unless your second name is Houdini, you'll be playing a brand spanking new 360 on christmas day.

Which isn't a bad thing thing at all. I've played my 360 more than any other console I've had since my megadrive.

mcgarnicle

I have both and while the Wii is deffinately something different and a lot of fun if I could only have one it would have to be the 360. The Wii is a good system to compliment one of the other two but I don't think it would be enough on its own.

jesus_thats_gre

It boils down to games to be honest. I have a 360 and my house mate has the Wii.. I prefer the type of games that will come out on the 360 while no games on the Wii really appeal to be at all yet. I have no doubt that Zelda is an amazing game but it just isn't my kettle of fish. The only thing that remotely interests me at the moment is the Virtual Console.

Smellyirishman

I would go with the 360 for now, and I have both. First of all, you will struggle to find a Wii before xmas. Secondly, the Wii may struggle for games over the next few months and without a second console it may sit desolate for a while. Plus, if he wants, he would be better able to pick up a Wii for himself at a later date as it will be cheaper than a 360 (of course, this damages your wallet but...).

Out of interest, does he have a HDTV? If not, you might consider getting him a VGA cable so he gets the biggest benefit of the 360 (HD). Does he have Broadband available?

randomname

I have both the Wii and 360 both are different, even though i have both i prefer the 360 but maybe 6 months down the line when more games come out for the Wii it could be better but not at the moment imo.

I'd say 360 at the moment.

Julez

I'd say like someone mentioned, its best to look at his games and you'll see what he's like more, If he has the likes of GTA, Pro Evo, FIFA, and what not go for the 360, If he has final fantasy, God of War and thinks maybe go with the Wii.

jesus_thats_gre

God of War on the Wii?

Julez

I never said god of war would be on the Wii, but its a kind of action/adventure type game that you might see on a nintendo system...

mcgarnicle

Julez wrote:

I never said god of war would be on the Wii, but its a kind of action/adventure type game that you might see on a nintendo system...

No it isn't.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Smellyirishman wrote:

Out of interest, does he have a HDTV? If not, you might consider getting him a VGA cable so he gets the biggest benefit of the 360 (HD). Does he have Broadband available?

What what?

What exactly does this VGA cable do? Im playing my 360 on my regular non-HD TV. Not using one of these VGA cables, just thought you didnt need them

claiva

Is the VGA cable to connect a PC monitor to the 360 ?
Does this enhance the graphics and make it closer to High Def ?

I notice that some games on my non HD TV have blurry writing etc such as Tiger 07 and PES 6.

I've seen them on HDTVs and they look awesome, would this VGA cable be a cheap alternative to buying a HDTV ?

Julez

mcgarnicle wrote:

No it isn't.

I knew someone was gonna want to get into a debate about this... I just meant its not like a Sports sim or a need for speed type game.

Zombrex

claiva wrote:

Is the VGA cable to connect a PC monitor to the 360 ?

It is for connecting anything with a VGA In port to the 360. After all there is not much difference between an HD TV and a computer monitor.

Not all HDTVs come with VGA ports mind. VGA has been being phased out in the comptuer monitor market in favour of DVI as computer monitors moved to flat screen LCD monitors over the last 5 years (as TVs are doing now). The new HD TVs initally started using the DVI interface too, but the movie companies got worried and came up with HDMI which is basically DVI but with sound channels and encryption stuff so that you can't send a HDMI signal to a video recorder and copy that brand new HD-DVD movie.

Most new TVs come with either a DVI port or a HDMI port. DVI does not support encryption, but HDMI does. This is where the "HD Ready" logo comes from, HD Ready TVs have HDMI ports and support this encryption format (future proofing them, as eventually all HD broadcasts will probably be encrypted).

I'm surprised that Microsoft did not include HDMI support on the Xbox 360. VGA is ok, but it is old technology, and not many TVs come with it. On the other hand, it means you can plug in your Xbox to any computer monitor from the last 15 years.

claiva wrote:

Does this enhance the graphics and make it closer to High Def ?

VGA is still analog, unlike DVI or HDMI (which afaik the Xbox 360 does not yet support), but it should produce a cleaner picture than using component cables.

claiva wrote:

I notice that some games on my non HD TV have blurry writing etc such as Tiger 07 and PES 6.

If you don't have a HD TV then all this is rather irrelivent.

The best connection for Standard Def is component cables, but your TV has to support that (and few standard tvs do). Basically you need to find the best connection on your TV and then use that. In general (not always) it goes RF, SCART, Composite, SCART-SVideo, SVideo, Component.

claiva wrote:

I've seen them on HDTVs and they look awesome, would this VGA cable be a cheap alternative to buying a HDTV ?

VGA is for HDTV.

claiva

hi
thanks for that.
I'm just looking to get the best possible graphics with what i have at home.
I have a sony tv - 28" widescreen, about 5 years old. It doesn't have a vga port. I currently have the xbox connected to the side port on the telly - i think it's av3. Is this not the best way to do it ? What is a component cable ?

kippy

I've seen them on HDTVs and they look awesome, would this VGA cable be a cheap alternative to buying a HDTV ?

No

RE*AC*TOR

What the **** are you people talking about. The VGA cable will work perfectly with a PC monitor, and it will be high definition (as all PC monitors are).

If its a non-widescreen monitor, there may be issues with aspect ratios in certain games, but it will certainly produce a much better picture than your standard crt tv.

koneko

If you're not sure what inputs it has, take a look at the back and either take a pic of describe them. Otherwise put up the model and maybe we can check.

By side port I guess you mean red, white and yellow, right? That's composite (and mostly crap). You might not have any other options on an older TV though.

kippy

I've seen them on HDTVs and they look awesome, would this VGA cable be a cheap alternative to buying a HDTV ?

Unless you are using an LCD monitor for your PC buying a VGA cable is not going to be a cheap alternative to buying a HDTV - no matter how you look at it.
Kippy

RE*AC*TOR

kippy wrote:

Unless you are using an LCD monitor for your PC buying a VGA cable is not going to be a cheap alternative to buying a HDTV - no matter how you look at it.
Kippy

Why not? What's wrong with a CRT PC monitor?

Ciaran500

kippy wrote:

Unless you are using an LCD monitor for your PC buying a VGA cable is not going to be a cheap alternative to buying a HDTV - no matter how you look at it.
Kippy

All recent CRT PC monitors will support HD from the 360 with no problems.

claiva

hi
yes - i have it connected using the red/white and yellow cables into the side of the tv.
I have 2 other scart ports on the tv which i have my sky box and dvd player connected to.
Will moving the xbox cable to one of these scart ports improve the graphics ?

RE*AC*TOR

claiva wrote:

hi
yes - i have it connected using the red/white and yellow cables into the side of the tv.
I have 2 other scart ports on the tv which i have my sky box and dvd player connected to.
Will moving the xbox cable to one of these scart ports improve the graphics ?

If you buy the xbox RGB Scart cable the picture quality will be slighly improved over just using composite. But it will be nowhere near the difference you would get by using a VGA cable with your PC monitor (assuming you have a half decent pc monitor).

CiaranC

Kippy wrote:

Unless you are using an LCD monitor for your PC buying a VGA cable is not going to be a cheap alternative to buying a HDTV - no matter how you look at it.
Kippy

People have some crazy ideas about HDTV. Did people get sucked in by the marketing guff?

Using any modern PC monitor (LCD or CRT) with a VGA cable will do full "HD" resolutions. PCs and their monitors have been capable of these resolutions for over a decade.

kippy

People have some crazy ideas about HDTV. Did people get sucked in by the marketing guff?

Using any modern PC monitor (LCD or CRT) with a VGA cable will do full "HD" resolutions. PCs and their monitors have been capable of these resolutions for over a decade.

Fair enough.
BUT
The question was: Is getting a VGA cable cheap alternative to getting a HDTV?
The quick and correct answer is no, no matter how you look at it-especially in the posters case where he is clearly using a CRT Television set and not a PC monitor.

Whats the problem?

I too agree that the whole HDTV is a pile of marketing guff, but if you can afford to buy a 40' one specificilly for playing xbox 360 it will offer you a lot more than a 17 inch PC monitor or standard CRT TV.
You cant argue that buying a VGA cable for connection to a PC monitor is a cheap Alternative to a HDTV - because you are not getting the same end result. It is defo not a cheap alternative to a HDTV if you are trying to connect to a CRT TV.
So lets keep things real here.
The poster asked was it a cheap alternative-the answer is NO- Definetly not. Especially for his current set up.

Apologies for going off topic.

To the OP.
I only have the XBOX 360, connection to a 17inc PC monitor (LCD)
I have it a while now but didnt play it that much till GoW.
The console itself has a serious amount of features, particularily if you have broadband, A PC with Media connect or better still media center on it. For the extras, let alone the games, it is well worth the money.
That said, it does depend on the games your bro likes and your hands are probably tied by the lack of Wiis available at the moment anyway.



Kippy

RE*AC*TOR

clavia - please ignore everything kippy says.

CiaranC

kippy wrote:

The question was: Is getting a VGA cable cheap alternative to getting a HDTV?
The quick and correct answer is no, no matter how you look at it-especially in the posters case where he is clearly using a CRT Television set and not a PC monitor.

Huh? Im assuming the poster already has a PC monitor, as he is posting on an internet forum. Using it with a VGA cable is quite clearly a cheaper alternative to going out and buying a new display, no?

kippy

I have a sony tv - 28" widescreen, about 5 years old. It doesn't have a vga port.

Buying a VGA cable for use with this TV- will not suddenly turn his graphics on it into HD quality-nor will it work at all.

Many people here do not post from home and it is just as likely that clavia is posting from a work PC and does not have a PC at home.

Not everyone has their XBOX beside their PC and many people prefer having the XBOX in the living room (where the PC monitor may or may not be).
Based on all these facts and assumptions, NO a VGA cable is not a cheaper alternative to a HDTV

astrofool

Playing an xbox 360 on a 28" Widescreen SD TV is preferable to playing it on a 17" CRT monitor imo.

Also most people play consoles in the living room, where the TV is and the computer, generally, isn't.

The best bet is probably to get one of the advanced scart cables (I think this may come with the premium 360 anyway), and use it on the Sony TV via SCART.

Zombrex

claiva wrote:

hi
thanks for that.
I'm just looking to get the best possible graphics with what i have at home.
I have a sony tv - 28" widescreen, about 5 years old. It doesn't have a vga port. I currently have the xbox connected to the side port on the telly - i think it's av3. Is this not the best way to do it ? What is a component cable ?

Component inputs split the video signal into three indivdual components (hence the name).

This is the opposite of composite input (the bright yellow input), which composites the different bits of the video signal into one cable (hence the name)

If you have a component cable input (you probably don't) you will see 3 input (normally coloured red, green and blue) along side the two standard audio inputs (red and white). So 5 inputs beside each other.

If you have a composite input (you probably do) you will see a yellow input for video beside the standard two audio inputs (red and white).

A Super-Video connection can be used instead of the yellow video composite input, and will give better picture. It looks like a small round plug with 5 (I think its 5) little pins sticking out, kinda like the old connections for PC mice before USB took over (looks the same, but completely unrelated).

If you want to send on the make of your TV I'll try and look up online what you have

Zombrex

I think the problem is that it is rather confusing what claiva is asking.

To clear up a few points

1 - A standard definition TV will not have a VGA connection.

2 - Some high definition TVs do have VGA connections, but not all

3 - Nearly all PC monitors (CRT and LCD) have VGA connections or adaptors to take VGA

4 - All PC monitors made in the last 10 years will have high resolutions close to what HD TVs have, but most are not widescreen so the aspect ration will be a bit all over the place.

5 - You can play your Xbox 360 using the VGA connection on a PC monitor, but having never done it I don't know how the monitor handles the widescreen resolution. It might look stupid.

6 - For standard definition TVs the best connection is Component. S-Video or SCART RGB are good too. Then comes Composite.

As Kippy points out it is hard to compare playing your Xbox on a 28" widescreen tv in standard resolution, or playing it on a non-widescreen 17" PC monitor, since they will offer you vastly different experiences.

claiva

ok lads,
thanks for all that.
sorry to have hijacked this thread !!!

I think i'll look into getting the better cable for my tv.
I do have a 17 " flat panel screen on my pc at home (i'm in work at the mo), but it's in the kitchen and the xbox is in my living room, i don't really want to play games in the kitchen.
I also have an LG 15" LCD TV - would that give the same res as the pc screen ?
My 360 was the core version which i have added a hard drive to now so I guess it has the standard cable - yel,wht,red.
I've seen an RGB Scart cable in Virgin for 14.99 - would this improve my graphics ?
The telly does have one of those SVideo ports also.......

At least I've stirred up some lively debate !!!!!

Ciaran500

claiva wrote:

I've seen an RGB Scart cable in Virgin for 14.99 - would this improve my graphics ?

Yep.

RGB > S-Video > Composite

jesus_thats_gre

claiva wrote:

Is the VGA cable to connect a PC monitor to the 360 ?
Does this enhance the graphics and make it closer to High Def ?

I notice that some games on my non HD TV have blurry writing etc such as Tiger 07 and PES 6.

I've seen them on HDTVs and they look awesome, would this VGA cable be a cheap alternative to buying a HDTV ?

Hmmmm. High definition basically means a high resolution. The Xbox 360 runs in 720p. 720p runs at a resolution of 1280x720. Most computer monitors will be able to match this at a minimum. It will technically make it high def.

I use my 24inch Dell Widescreen monitor to play the 360 if the living room is not free for example.

brav

Yep the scart cable for the 360 does make the writing easier to read and is a little clearer than the Composite cable.

The scart cable does not come with any of the Xbox packages(core or premium).

Also A lot of computer monitors out there at the moment are not able to do full HD(1920x1080) but can do 1360x768 no problem

Smellyirishman

Apologies for the confusion my initial post caused. I was suggesting a VGA cable so he could connect the 360 to a PC monitor and get HD graphics because you lose out on a lot of quality running on a standard TV. You could even pick up a free CRT easily these days and that would be better than an SDTV if he had the space.

dave oc

Its the Advanced Scart lead you need to get rid of the blurry text on your tv.

http://www.play.com/Games/Xbox360/CART/3-/719755/-/Product.html?cur=258

I got it and comparing it to the standard cable there is noticable improvement.

I think I have a very similar 17" tv to the one you mention and the resolutions on it are not nearly as high as a pc monitior. If I were you I would stick with your 28" tv as the bigger screen will make a difference even though it is only sd.

I used the 360 for a year on an 28" sdtv with no porblems or concerns about a lack of hd. The graphics are still really good, the only problem is if you start playing in hd you wont want to go back;)

But get the cable linked above, I highly recommend it!!!!

brav

We are going a bit off topic here but I thought there was only one type of MS Scart cable availabe and that was the "Advanced" Scart cable. They would hardly release a scart cable that did not carry RGB as the xbox comes with the adapter for composit to scart.


Anyway, as it was said earlier, check the type of games he currently has, and if its first person shooters or grand theft autos then get the 360, but if its buzz light year and all those party games then the wii is probably your best bet.

CiaranC

Playing an xbox 360 on a 28" Widescreen SD TV is preferable to playing it on a 17" CRT monitor imo.

Ive played (single player-only admittedly) on a 32" SD and a 19" LCD Monitor and the monitor wins hands down for me every time.

dave oc

brav wrote:

We are going a bit off topic here but I thought there was only one type of MS Scart cable availabe and that was the "Advanced" Scart cable. They would hardly release a scart cable that did not carry RGB as the xbox comes with the adapter for composit to scart.QUOTE]

Yeah sorry was just highlighting that in most shops you go to buy it, its called an 'advanced scart', but yes there's only one.

claiva

hi
i have a sony KV 28LS35B.
It's not a hd tv.

So, presumably i can't use a component cable ??

But, I gather that i can get improved graphics with the advanced scart.
I think I'll go with that option.
Thanks !

Sniipe

kick ass thread lads loads of interesting stuff. I'm going to go for a xbox360 and an LCD 17" with the VGA cable, he has broadband as well, I don't think he will be dissapointed.
I don't think the wii packs the punch for either of us yet!

Thanks again.

koneko

They're both awesome, but I'd say the 360 might be more his thing then. It's got plenty of good games now aswell, and if he likes online play at all, then he'll love it. Can't go wrong with it, tbh.