I had the debate before i bought my console last year. XBOX or PS3. I ended up choosing an xbox due to me being able to download games and burn em to disc, download Hi-Def films and stick em on an 8gb USB stick and watch em, and the fact I could play all my old xbox games on it still. Went out and bought a 2nd hand unit with a flashed dvd drive. Cost me 100 with two controllers and a fair few (cough cough) games. Worked great for months and months of heavy usage. Then one day the colours started going funny on screen. Googled the problem and its heat that kills these things. They get hot and they fuk up. Mine died and wouldn't give off a picture. At all. I've had it in bits and fitted new heat sink screws & thermal grease, got a picture on screen but colours are still a bit fecked. I've found that if i press hard on the heatsink (when switched on) the colours go ok, so just got to find some fine adjustment of the screws to sort it.

PS3 - reliable, but as per most sony ideas - expensive.
XBOX - unreliable BUT! cheap fun & good to mod, have a bash at repairing lol. (kinda like a ford.. lol) - they are good when they work......

Have voted ' i have an xbox and its fecked...'