Provided with your reasons and to make this the most epic 400th post ever:

PS3.

It allows you to play "backups" from any region, it won't play multi region retail games and dvds so would still be locked to the region you buy it from unless you play "backups" which can be from anywhere, most backups are region free these days.

Ahhh, I see. I'll draw my own conclusion about what a "backup" is then. Can I assume "backups" is a possible contributor for why X360 consistently outsells PS3 in hardware in Others every week but has been consistently selling less software each week for some time now.

Seems to me that if 360 enthusiasts want to help avert the great console crash (other than Wii of course) they should take better care not to allow unscrupulous people to invade their HDDs and take those "backups" completely without their knowledge. I mean "backup" theft is not such a big deal when all the third party studios are making pots of cash, but if these studios are hitting the financial skids left and right, if the linked thread is to be believed, then "backup" theft seems to be rather more damaging and of greater threat to the industry overall in these tough times. Has anyone quantified the industry losses incurred through "backup" theft?

Same goes for other systems where people's "backups" can be easily inflitrated I guess.

I'm sure everyone on this site takes all the necessary precautions to keep the "backups" of the games they bought in stores secure, right? Yes, I thought so.

I personally think this is partly the reason the 360 is selling so well at the moment as they are so easy to flash to allow you to play pirated games/backups, if you notice in the past, all the consoles that could be chipped/play copied games have been successful, I think Microsoft knows this and is why they haven't completely stopped piracy on the 360 as they know it's selling consoles and still bringing them money in,

Same as the Nintendo DS and Wii, both can play copied games which is quickly becoming very popular, the PS3 is the only console which can't be chipped and is the console that is selling the least, coincidence?

The software side of things i'm not so sure, the 360 usually sells shed loads of software when major games are released, most people that pirate games wouldn't have went and bought the full price games they play anyway so don't think they have lost a sale in so many words, plus people that play copied games still normally pay for live, pay for game content, arcade games, movies, netflix etc so still make Microsoft a ton of money!

Netflix, yes, but he could always have another PC or Windows installed on his Mac.

Id say the only advantage really would be the controller on the PS3 for fighting games and built in wireless, but at the same time if he got the cheaper 360 he could grab wireless and an arcade fighting controller

No no no!!! I hate using wireless for gaming, even my PS3 uses an ethernet cable instead of wifi, much smoother and less hassle than using wifi,

Ethernet = less packet loss = less lag = better online gaming!

I see you probably haven't read the consoles are doomed thread? The thread is far more concerned about the viability of third party developers and the collapsing effect they would have on consoles as a knock on effect of most of them going out of business. So the theory would go that MS making money in the ways you describe has virtually no beneficial effect on third party developers so will not help their immediate survival.

I can believe that some companies would see a certain amount of piracy as good for business. That attitude has been around for centuries: the kings and queens of old relied on piracy at certain key points in history. Third party developers aren't too likely to see it that way right now. I guess if a company made a piracy resistant system it might get a reasonable level of thrid party support, even though it might be well behind in hardware numbers. hmmmm...

Oh well, nothing is priracy proof so eventually all systems will be cracked.

PS3! I know it costs more, but since you already have a PSP you will have a huge advantage!

If you have all your movies/tv shows/music on your PS3 you can use remote play to watch them on your PSP when you are on the go. All you need it a wi-fi signal.

Yup, agreed