In a recent article by Forbes contributor Erik Kain, it’s pointed out that the Xbox 360 sold like hotcakes during Black Friday, beating the PlayStation 3 and Wii U, the latest console from Nintendo. The success of the 8-year-old console led Mr. Kain into concluding that you should buy an Xbox 360 over the PlayStation 3 this holiday season. While the facts he presents aren’t off, we’d like to humbly disagree and provide a rebuttal with 7 reasons why the PlayStation 3 is the perfect choice this Christmas and beyond. It’s also worth noting that, despite the PS3 having been out for only 7 years while continuing to cost more than the Xbox 360, in some time periods by more than $200, the PS3 has officially caught up with its rival system and achieved 70 million units sold world wide. This was reported a week before Sony announced PS3 Black Friday sales which tallied past the 525,000 sold mark.

After the jump, 7 reasons to buy a PlayStation 3 instead of a Xbox 360 this holiday season.

1. PS3 is more advanced than the 360

I don’t mean this in a Cell Processor vs. the Xenon processor of the 360. Instead, I mean this in regards to everyday technology. The truth is that the 360 experience is all over the place, with some units just finally shipping with a hard drive (standard on PS3) which is required for most games. Up until a few years ago, the Xbox 360 did not even ship with HDMI output (standard on PS3). Looking for wireless? Time to buy an additional $100 adapter (newer models now come with Wi-Fi), something that every PS3 has had (minus the launch 20GB model which was phased out quickly). Oh and those Xbox 360 hard drives? Yea, they cost an arm and a leg ($130 for 320GB drive) while you can upgrade your PS3 hard drive with any 2.5 Sata drive, up to 1TB or take your pick of an SSD drive. Lets not even talk about all the superior audio that the PS3 provides like 5.1 PCM, Dolby TrueHD, DTS 5.1, and DTSHD, none which are available on the 360. Home theater geeks, unite!

2. The Xbox 360 costs more than the PS3

While the base models differ in price, by the time you’ve built a real Xbox 360, especially in the past where the base 360 was stripped of features like a hard drive, Wi-Fi, HDMI out, you would have been better off just getting a PS3 which would have been the same price or cheaper. Of course, all the upgrades in the world won’t make up for the huge failure rate of the 360. Ask many Xbox owners and they’ll tell you that their on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th unit.

3. Blu-ray and 3D

Of course, even if the Xbox 360 comes to be the same price or below of the PS3, guess what you’re missing out on? A Blu-ray drive—and I bet you have yourself a nice 1080p television. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that every PS3 model comes with a Blu-ray player while the 360 only offers DVD playback. Microsoft did back the failed HD DVD format for a bit, though that required 360 owners to buy an additional external drive for $150. Now, they own a white paperweight. Besides being able to enjoy true 1080p movies, thanks to its Blu-ray drive, the PS3 also support 3D films and games which is becoming standard tech in many televisions, via downloadable titles or  3D Blu-ray. That’s something no 360 can do, thanks to Sony’s forward-looking architecture for the PS3.

4. Best exclusives, hands down

If you want exclusive games, there is only one place to go and that’s Sony’s machine. While the Xbox has Halo and Gears of War (which could come to the PS3, much like Mass Effect), the reality is that Sony’s first party studios are delivering the most innovative and cutting edge games of this generation. Not to brag as a fellow PS3 owner, but some gems include:

• Uncharted 1-3
• Gran Turismo 5
• Killzone 3
• LittleBigPlanet 1 & 2
• God of War 3
• God of War: Ascension (next year)
• Resistance 1-3
• Beyond Two Souls (next year)
• Heavy Rain
• MotorStorm
• inFamous 1 & 2
• Journey
• Twisted Metal
• The Last of Us (next year)
• Ratchet & Clank
• Warhawk

To be honest, I can’t remember the last 3rd party game I bought, simply because of all the great first party content on the PlayStation 3. And to say first party developers can push the PS3 further than the 360 in every shape or form would be a bit of an understatement. Have you seen God of War: Ascension, or Uncharted 3? Yeaa…

5. The PS3 is also the best game hub

In addition the host of exclusive games mentioned above, the PS3 also has access to the huge library of PSone games. You can either opt to place your original PlayStation disc in (all PS3 models are backwards compatible with PlayStation) or purchase the title from PSN. From there, the majority of those titles will play on the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita. Sony is also releasing many classic PS2 games for download on PSN. Of course, if you don’t have a up-to-date PC, the PS3 can also serve as the hub for your PSP and PS Vita by allowing you to download your games on its hard drive and transfer content back and forth between it and your portable.

6. PlayStation Network (PSN) is free

The fact that in order for you to access any form of online content on Xbox 360 is not only from the 90’s where your AOL membership was required to sign online, but it’s also just ludicrous. You want Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Instant Video? Sorry, sign up for Xbox Live and pay them. Want to pay for new DLC and downloadable games? Sorry, need a paid account. And those are just some core functionalities, let alone the ability to video chat, play online and access the store, which are all free on the PlayStation 3, PS Vita, and PSP.

As our reader @Jeremy_LaMont points, the PS3 also has a true Free to Play structure with titles like Home, DC: Universe Online, Free Realms, and the upcoming Dust 514.

7. PlayStation Plus

If you are the kind who’s into paying for services, then boy does Sony have a program for you. PlayStation Plus (PS +) is subscription model for the PS3 and PS Vita, costing $50 a year or $18 for every 3 months, which gives you access to a bevy of content. Besides exclusive demos, early beta entry, and trial offers which allow you to play up to an hour of many big titles before purchasing them, it gives you a TON of games to keep. Not a demo, but the full game. Over the past year that I’ve been a member, I’ve gotten the following full games for free (or paid, depending on how you look at it, but once you add up my $50 versus the number of games, I think you will agree that free is what it seems like):

• inFamous 2
• LittleBigPlanet 2
• Bioshock 2
• Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One
• Gravity Rush
• Uncharted: Golden Abyss
• Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition
• Bulletstorm
• Saints Row 2

Twitter:

Favorite responses when I mentioned I’d write this article include:

@Jeremy_LaMont: Jesus Christ, where to start.

@Dr_Johnston : Never have had to replace my PS3….

@theonlymarcos: Exclusives!

Discuss:

What’s your reason for choosing a PS3 over the 360 or vice versa?

Update:

Just a little note for our readers. I really appreciate everyones passion on this subject from both sides of the isle and your comments mean everything to me. I mean that in the most sincere way possible. SRN is a relatively small site so anytime we see you share our content and engage with us on subjects, it drives us further to deliver you the best we can. With that said, remember that this is just about owning a gaming machine that in a few years time, won’t matter to any of you as you will be on a PS4/Xbox 720/iPad Pro. Try to have some fun, engage your fellow commenters, but don’t take things personally and no need to burry the person above or under you. There are far more important things in life that are worth a heated debate than the gaming console of your choice. In the end, we’re all gamers so game on!