[Off-topic] moogtheartist:
First off, yes... The PS3 has the better processor... I seen the specs... Kudos to Sony for making a better processor which has NO EFFECT on multiplayer experience... Yes it has all the bells and whistles with the 7 cores... but honestly... Unless you are either playing on 8 players split screen (which hasn't even been adapted on console gaming), or tweak the systems interface... it's not going to matter much... The GPU is almost equal between the two consoles... But honestly, I own a PS3, XBOX, Wii and PC for gaming... (PC is the ultimate choice in performance and graphics due to the obvious hardware modifications... but as far as online experience, you'll have to purchase a standalone program dedicated for VOIP)

Gamers today look for two main things...

#1. Online connectivity/Multiplayer experience

#2. Graphics

The PS3 does come with the Blu-ray feature... And Blu-ray game disks... Also most of the games aren't all in true-HD... The Blu-ray disk drive is an added bonus, but on the same note if I wanted to see HD movies I would rent them off the internet... My XBOX is a gaming console, not a DVD player... I do however use my PS3 as a media server which works quite well for streaming... But as far as gaming, the device in my opinion is not to my likeness as does the XBOX... And I never purchased the HD drive for the XBOX because I already knew about blu-ray before they released the HD drive... And I probably wouldn't have gotten it even if my knowledge of the Blu-ray anyways due to the fact that I have other means for watching movies...

As for the online experience (also noted previously as "better social experience WHILE GAMING"), this is where PS3 falls short... Like a longshot compared to XBOX... The PS3 might have their numbers growing, but it is in no way compared to XBOX... When you are in a multiplayer match, it is better to communicate with the other players while being engaged in the game... On PS3 there are hardly anyone with a microphone in game... I have played multiplayer on both consoles... XBOX has THOUSANDS more gamers, and the best part is that 80% of them COMMUNICATE DURING GAME!!! It took me literally 4-5 lobbies to switch from on PS3 until I found a room of gamers with mic's... And yes there are "children" on XBOX... Video games are aimed surprisingly to kids anyways, so yes... Unfortunately there is no adult console at the moment, but I am sure if there was... kids would trickle onto that as well... XBOX has a feature also called "Party Chat" where you can talk with your gaming buddies you befriended on the XBOX LIVE service during and prior to playing games... (for example, if your friends pops online and you want to talk with them as a group without being in game... you can do that on XBOX...)

The Kinect feature is awesome to say the least... I don't know what "somewhat functional" means??? But to answer to that in the best of my ability is that the Kinect is NEW technology... They are using this in hospitals, businesses, manufacturers, and naturally in the home setting...

It hasn't been incorporated with all the games on XBOX, but for the ones that it does... It's brilliant... The problem that you are having might be the fact that you haven't tuned your Kinect properly... This could potentially lead to adverse effects in motion capture... The Kinect is innovated in a way that no console gamer has ever had experienced... You can dictate searches with your voice, swipe hand gestures to change screens within the interface, calculate intricate body gestures and position in games for Kinect like "Dance Central" which helps people learn dance moves and keep active and fit, and also connect with family members and friends via video chat... PS3 has the EYE camera, and the Move... It's a camera with a controller shaped like a wand with a glowing ball at the end of it... Kinect is HANDSFREE and your whole body is the controller... I'm sorry, but that is just impressive...

And as previously reiterated since what I said before was in no relation to this point... Let's dive into what was thought originally as "Social Experience"

XBOX has a variety of "Apps"... (MSN, Paramount Movies, Facebook, Twitter, IGN, etc.) These do intern brighten the social media up a little bit more via XBOX LIVE... I love to wake up to the news on my XBOX before going to work... The top stories are right at my fingertips, and it's alot easier to watch on the XBOX versus my Nexus or PC while having my morning breakfast... I just pop on my Turtle Beach headset and listen to the top stories and video in surround sound... The video streams in HD, and is short and to the point... The XBOX also offers ZUNE marketplace... I can purchase music and videos right from my XBOX... And set up playlists as well... PS3 has... well... it can stream music and video from my PC... And LastFM... Only on XBOX... The XBOX also has a featured app call "Event Live Player" which the last time I used it, they did the whole briefing on the "Mission To Mars" from NASA... Live streaming!!! That was pretty cool... They will be doing the upcoming presidential election as well on that app, and I am sure many other exciting media coverage to come...

This all of course is my opinion, and I really am not trying to step on anyone's opinion about the consoles... The specs do initially hold up to the PS3 in hardware predominantly, but there are more features tailored for online gamers on the XBOX... Another point is the pricing... XBOX accessories are ultimately LOWER in cost than Sony... Unless you buy aftermarket accessories and which then it wouldn't be so expensive, but the quality would therefore be lacking... And backwards compatibility... Slim to none... XBOX holds the chips on that end... If you want that feature in PS3, you better find a first or second GEN console...

And lastly... The PS3 will be replaced probably here in the next year... Right there is another reason NOT to go get one at this time... PS4 is rumored (with alot more proof than rumor) to be released here possibly right after the next E3... The rumored "Durango" (XBOX 720) is supposedly not to be released for the next two years... The XBOX 360 console is 90% guaranteed to be holding up to it's promise of staying afloat until 2014...

I have been gaming since the beginning of consoles... I have had almost every console known to man... And all of the mainstream consoles to date... I played professionally in MLG (Major League Gaming) for a grand total of 4 years... And I assure you that my opinion is valid and with good reasoning... I am not saying that either of these two consoles are bad... I am stating simply that my preference is the XBOX 360...

So clearly with all this information... and once again... MY OPINION... hopefully you can decide on which console is right for you... :highfive: