It's been tight for me money wise the past couple of months but now things are working out and I can finally save up the money for a PS3 or 360 (which I was going to do before I got out for summer break but thats a long story)

Back then I was dead set on PS3, but I've been going back and forth ever since.

Money wise it's cheaper to get a 360 system at around 200 dollars for it and a 20GB hard drive. When the cheapest I could get a PS3 for would be around 250 to 300.  But I was thinking of how Xbox live will cost me money anyway so it would probably be cheaper to get PS3 in the end.

As far as games go 360 has more exclusive games I want but PS3 has MGS4 (Which I love the series so thats why it's such a big deal for me)

I like the idea of Blu-ray having more space to potentially making better games.  Most games are short cause of the size of the files to go on the disc itself, when DVD's can only hold a fraction of what a Blu-ray can and I'm thinking thats showing with how short games have been (honestly I've played a lot 360 games from start to finish in 6 hours) if devs end up putting the effort into the PS3 they could make longer games and they look better then 360 cause they could fit more into the disc.  (It's a gamble as devs may never put that much effort into it but it is a thought that runs through my head) But the counter to that is the PS3 has longer load times, downloading games onto the hard drive, and downloading means you could be limited on space =\

Then the issue of backwards compatability the PS3 I could get for 300 wouldn't have BC but if I could find the cheaper 250 one (thats a big IF) it would have BC, there are a lot of PS2 games I really wanted to finish up that I never got the chance to as my PS2 burned up with my house a couple years back, but if I go with 360 I could have BC reguardless and then play a lot of games that I had never had the chance to play.

So if I'm looking for something that will run me the least money in the long run and would be better as far as games go in the long run which one would you reccomend?

Buy a PS3.

Since money seems to be a real issue for you and it sounds like you're looking for a long term investment, I'd have to say PS3. A lot of the talking points are bordering on parody at this point ("futureproof", "10 year plan", "TEH CELL~") but there's no doubt in my mind that the PS3 has the greater potential.

MGS4, Bluray, Wifi, if I could only get one and I had your tastes, I would get the PS3... but you probably can't get one for $250. I wouldn't buy a used 360.

However you should really think about the next 2-3 years. If you're not going to buy a lot of bluray movies and don't care about Wifi, then get the 360.

If you're saving up, get both lol.

However, I'd go with the B/C PS3 mainly due too the fact that you already have a lot of PS2 games left over to finish.

As many have said before and will say again, go with the one that you like the more titles in.

Also, if you're into more than just a gaming console, take a look at which one best suits your home theater setup and media requirements.

best of with a ps3 you cant trust the 360, it can die at any second. happent to me 3 times!

@KZ2
I don't need any "buy a ____" comments I want something a little more informative.

@Badgenome
I do see it having the longer life span but I do worry about devs being lazy (as many have been this gen to be honest) so that potential may never be realized, it may go way of the gamecube, which was a great system and had many games I loved but honestly very few games to really show off what the system could do and they all came at the end of it's life IE RE4, which because of poor sales went to PS2 and I may get a PS3 and the same thing happens where 360 gets some of the exclusives I wanted but the 360 retains it's exclusives so I miss out on more games in the end.

I would also Say Ps3 Just because they some huge hits comin and blu- ray

i would say to get the ps3, everything you need is included and it has no hidden charges to gfet the full experiance unlike the 360, with all the other stuf you have to buy to get it up and running with all the stuff you want,

pluss if you have a ps3 you will not need to buy a blu ray player in the future because you will already have one. like many people have already said, most games are going to go multiplat.

Sony has many, many dev studios so you are not going to have to worry about not having a constant flow of exclusives whilst with the 360 that is an uncertainty. not saying the 360 dont get exclusives but Sony has more dev studios then Ninty and MS put together.

Long run? PS3? ...Starting to gel, here? Anyway, look at each system perspectively (games, features, etc). Which system has the better value, because it sounds like you're trying to make an investment. imo, the PS3 offers the most value of any system to date, and is only going to keep impoving. Plus, MGS4 is one hell of a game, if you're a fan. Go black, and don't turn back! :)