A PS3... the games you want are on the PS3 as well as the 360, the PS3 has free online, Blu-ray beats netflix for me, and Sony has their own movie service as well. The PS3 is the far more promising one as well... even though the 360 has more games ATM.

Don't forget that the 360 has RRoD, and a guy with no job wouldn't want that.

He already said he was looking at getting an Elite 360 or 40GB PS3. After the expected price drop, they will be the same price. Buy the one that has the most friends you want to play with online.

For 360:
1. Cheaper (Especially if you wait a month) EDIT!!! SEE BELOW!!!
2. More online dl options
3. More RPG's, if you're into that genre
4. More games overall
5. Can play online with your cousin

For PS3:
1. Better value. When you add Bluray player and that you don't have to pay for online or the possible need for a wifi connector, it becomes an overall better value.
2. Can play PS1/2 games IF you buy the current 80gb model for $500.
3. Proven to be a better quality machine.
4. Controller comes with Li-on batteries and charging solution. 360's is extra $$.
5. Better variety of exclusive games vs MS' shooter only essentially.

Well there you have it in a nutshell. If you decide on a 360, for the love of god, don't get impatient and wait until next month for the price cut.

EDIT: Define cheaper 360 based on probably price cut in September.

PS3 80gb NOW since you want to play PS1/2 games = $500.
360 Elite after price cut = $400 + play/charge kit $20 + Live $50 = $470. Then if you need the wifi adapter +$100 = $570.

Basically, to get a similarly optioned system, the 360 Elite costs more and does not have Bluray. However, the new 60gb premium would be $30 less with the wireless or $130 less if you can use the LAN.

 Most are broke and/or have ps2's. PS360 share too many titles. Others just want to play Halo and Gears. Plus, American devs are the ones pushing most big titles this gen and most favor the American console.

Jap devs used to give sony the edge back in the day but this gen, they haven't pushed that many titles and others have already been paid by M$.

On topic, simple research would yield great results. Asking for opinions on sites like this never really helps.

If you want my opinion, BC sold me (I have a 60gb PS3) and don't have the space for multiple consoles cluttering around my TV. I'm trying to get rid of as many wires as possible

Edit - I forgot to mention that the PS3 has far less hardware reliability issues than the 360, although the newer 360's are slightly more reliable than the old ones. This should be an important consideration for you.

Well it looks like the Arcade is not an option at all for you, so we will just leave that out.

To me, based off what you want, you have 2 main options, the 80 gig MGS4 bundle or the 360 Elite.

The $500 80 gig comes with a game, which is a plus, especially because it is arguably the best PS3 exclusive, but it doesn't have component or HDMI cables ($20 and less than $10 respectively). You also get a Blu-Ray player which retails for around $300 by itself. The PSN is free, which will save you a lot of money. XBLA has slightly more downloadable titles though. The gap is much smaller than it used to be, however. You will have full backwards compatibility with PS1 games and about 70% compatibility with PS2 games (most major 1st and 3rd party games included in that). The 40 gig (or new 80 gig) has no BC. You also have a built in wireless card, which is a BIG plus.

The $450 Elite has a slightly bigger HDD (unfortunately you can't store your video files from your PC on it though, which makes it MUCH less useful). You also save $50 to begin with, but you have to remember that you are probably going to need a Live subscription, which is $60 retail price. You will have to renew it every year too to play online. You also don't get any games with that. You do get an HDMI cable in the box though, but those only cost about $10. You do get a headset too. Plus you get to stream Netflix (can also be done on the PC). A wireless card will cost you around $85-100, so you better have an ethernet port near where you are going to hook it up or be ready to pay extra.

To me, the 80 GB MGS4 is a slightly better deal. You get a game, you don't have to pay an online subscription, and you get a Blu-Ray player, not to mention built-in wireless. You wont be able to stream Netflix though (selection is still pretty small in this point on streaming). At least you can always use the Netflix subscription without a 360, but you won't have a Blu-Ray player if you buy a 360.

I would say get the 360 since your cousin has one and its a good idea to get the console your friends will be playing too, however you shouldn't listen to anything anybody says on this website.

Unfortunately VG Charts is plagued by fanboys and your not going to get any good opinions. Just go onto google and do some research on both consoles and see which one you like more and has features that appeal to you.

PS3

If you want a Backwards Compatable PS3 you will have to get the 80gb MGS4 bundle.

If you really want the netflix then buy the 360.

If you are big on downloading games and movies you might want to buy the PS3 IMO because the PSN games overall tend to be better on the PS3 (But the 360 has a lot more XBL games). Both have downloadable movies now. But the HUGE difference IMO is that you can upgrade your hard drive in the PS3 up to 750gb but the most the 360 can have is 120gb.

It depends what's important to you.

For games, as much as it pains me to say it, the 360 is probably a better choice at this point. By the time the PS3 really has enough to offer over it (if it ever happens) the price will probably be low enough that it won't be the kind of decision you'll need to consider this carefully.

For movies, definitely the PS3. Netflix's selection of streaming HD content is pretty weak compared to what you can get on Blu-ray. (going through my queue) there are 41 Blu-ray movies, of which only 12 are online-playable, and they're only the older/independent releases - absolutely zero of them are recent popular movies. Considering this is pretty much everything I want to see at this point that I know of, I'd probably have watched every online-playable HD movie already within the space of a month, and be left with nothing else. Besides, it's not like there's some huge turn-around time with Netflix - I don't know how well HD streaming works but you may end up not getting the movie any faster if you have to download it ahead of time, and electricity ain't free either.

So, the 360 has a slight edge in games, and the PS3 has a much larger edge in movies.