Hi guys, I was going to buy a new console for my boyfriend as he likes gaming. Personally I fancy a PS3 as being a typical male i'm obsessed by cars and can't wait for GT5...but my boyfriend is more into RPG's....so what should I get that will satisfy us both?  

A PS3, because then you can ignore your wishes and just buy Uncharted 2 instead....

Anyway, it basically doesn't really matter. For cars you have
GT 5/Forza 3
and then the rest are multiplatform, such as SHiFT, DiRT 2 and GRiD {360 does have PGR 4, but that is rather old now}

For RPGs, it depends on if he is a big jRPG fan, as PS3 owners are missing out on LO, but exclusives are
White Knight Chronicles, Folklore and Valkarya Chronicles (I can't spell){and Versus to come} or Lost Odyssey, Mass Effect 1/2 and Fable II {I am obviously missing a few, but those are the ones that jump to mind)
The main multiplatform games are: Oblivion, Fallout 3, Final Fantasy XIII, Dragon Age Origins, Star Ocean the Last Hope, Eternal Sonata, Tales of Vesperia (has the PS3 version gone stateside yet?)

id say a PS3 because of its good looking line-up for RPG's and because the PS community is more into racers overall giving a larger community

A PS3. Nathan Drake and Solid Snake wear REAAAAAALLY tight outfits. Car games and RPG's are available for all consoles. Nathan Drake in his tight wet jeans?* You do the math.







*d21 loves the poon tang.

If it's only a console you're after, than look at the exclusive lineups. Personally here I'd have to go with Playstation 3, since there are more appealing games for me than on Xbox 360 and Wii. Few years back I'd have to point you to Xbox 360 for better RPG experience, but seeing as some of their titles are getting enhanced releases on the PS3, and with great exclusive titles such as Demon's Souls and White Knight Chronicles, it's on par now (maybe even slightly better). For racers, I sincerely believe Gran Turismo 5 will destroy all competetion and deliver the greatest racing experience of all times, so here you are settled :).

But also look for the expanded value, for me, PS3 is currently also dvd / blue ray / multimedia center. I believe that PS3 has the best value / price ratio of all the consoles.

which ones are backwards compatible though, that's quite important to us?

No BC on PS3, limited BC on 360, though I think there is a list somewhere

ps3

another concern is that we may end up with a red ring!! but I think that issue has been sorted on the 360, is that correct?

Yeah, 360 is pretty much fine with reliability now, and you have a 3 year guarantee. If anything you should be more worried about the E74 error, but I don't think that is too hard