For m 360 I was using XP Media Player version on my PC and found it to be a nightmare to use, I can't reall coent on using Vista or Windows 7 on it as I gave up on the media functionality of my 360 when my PS3 came along.

Streaming to the PS3 was much better and faster for me using Nero Home at first, which was a bit dodgy at first but one day just started working, then using PS3 Media Server which was even better and far outclassed streaming to the 360.

I find that watching certain files on the 360 aren't as good as the PS3, some files have like graphical glitches like vertical lines etc...

I also hate the 360 User Interface. I thought the blades were pretty cool and I couldn't wait for the NXE but when it arrived I was horrified, I found it much worse than the blades, it's just a vertical, cluttered, hard to navigate, rip off of the PS3 XMB.

But as I say, once you use a removable USB HDD, you'll never want to stream again.

I own all 3 of the current generation and I agree with most of what Mackins said above with 1 exception: I have never played on a console as much as I have on my 360 (mainly thanks to Gears of War 1 and 2 and Halo 3).

The Wii hasn't been on since Christmas, and before that the Xmas before probably!

The PS3, for me, doesnt cut it for my media. I find the network streaming more unstable than my xbox and it doesnt buffer anywhere near as well.

I do, however, love Singstar on the PS3 and its cost me a fortune in song downloads...

End of the day its personal preference and everyone is entitled to prefer whichever console they like.

Look at the price of the PS2, Dreamcast, Xbox and Xbox360 launch prices and you'll see what I mean.

None of them came with wireless, rechargable controllers with the exception of the 360, but even that required the Plug & Play Recharge kit at extra cost.

None of them came with HDMI as standard.

None of them had the latest in HD media ala Blu Ray.

None of them had a built in Wi-Fi adaptor.

I own all consoles and there's pros and cons to each.

It's a common misconception to think Xbox Live is better than the PSNetwork, it isn't.
A lot of PS3 games have lobbies so you can pick which room to join and makes it a lot easier to join large groups of friends and their friends in games.

Lag is present on both and it comes down to some people have good connections and some don't.

Also the PS3 has an extremely user friendly interface in the XMB, the NXE of the 360 is cluttered and hard to find what you want in comparison.

The PS3 HDD is also cheaply and easily upgraded, I upgraded mine to 320gb for £45 and took 5mins to change.
The 360 HDDs on the other hand are way over priced, you're looking at, at least £100-120 for a measly 120gb HDD.

Another big point is the noise, the 360 sounds like a helicopter and really gets annoying, whereas the PS3 is virtually silent.

One point that doesn't need reiterated is the build quality, yes I mean the dreaded Red Ring Of Death. I'm on my 5th 360 since launch, my PS3 has been faultless since it's launch and I play it by far the most.

You mentioned the PS3 doesn't have backwards compatibility, yes the new ones don't, but the original 60gb ones do and in all fairness, who really wants to play PS2 games in this day and age anyway?

The 360 does have some excellent exclusives though, such as Fable 2, Gears Of War2, Mass Effect and others.

I've never been as impressed with a console on launch as I was with my 360 though, I totally loved it, I was actually disappointed with the PS3 when it arrived, but it gradually got better and better 'til it surpassed my beloved 360 and reduced it to use on special occasions when a AAA exclusive is released.

The Wii on the other hand isn't for true gamers, they're basically rubbish.

Since launch day there's only been one game that in my opinion was great and that's Zelda Twilight Princess.

I've never ever owned a console that's spent so much time off.

The novelty soon wears off and the sub par graphics soon wear on you.

The Wii is a success through cost and marketing. I bet there's millions of them sitting there doing nothing and have been for months. Definately the worst console I've ever owned.

Ok for kids and drunken parties. Other than that, they're not worth buying.

Nice one Carl a very good read mate.

Think you should start reviewing console mods next, there is a fantastic new market in such devices and setups!

The online downloads are very cheap and has many of the older games for nearly pennies.

We no longer need to go to a pc to look at files and photos etc - just plug into the ps3 and watch on telly - great!

To be honest Carl, I don't think the PS3 is underperforming at all. There ARE a lot of great games out there and as a piece of hardware, the machine is quality, well it should be, it's made by SONY. It's media capabilities are extensive and there are some cracking exclusive titles for the machine ( shame about FFXIII though! )

Hats off to Microsoft for producing the 360 and the quality of it as a games machine cannot be disputed but sorry, It's just a bit too flimsy, too noisy and too unreliable for my liking and remember, you get what you pay for.

What bugs me about the XB360 (which is a perfectly capable machine in many respects) is, like it's predecessor, it is unsubtle and lacks polish. The XBox1 was a big ugly noisy PC-in-a-box which only became truly popular when people worked out you could pirate stuff for it really easily. The 360 is designed and styled better, but I was really shocked how flat and lifeless it felt when playing even headline games like Halo. Makes more noise than my vacuum cleaner, too!

I like the idea of the Wii, and I respect Nintendo for choosing to "not compete" (their words) with the big boys. Everyone laughed at them (deservedly when they changed the name from Revolution to Wii...), but looky see - who has the most popular machine, hm? Still, I don't own one because 95% of games for it are the ghastly cutesy Nintendo fayre. Make GTA, Splinter Cell, COD, etc with that cool controller and I might buy one!

And, my god, the console and TV set-up in that photo is awesome!!