[Zeke]

I have a PS3 and a Wii, so the choice is fairly simple for me: PS3 if I want to admire the graphics, Wii if it has better gameplay and extras. Sometimes both if they're cheap. (I like to replay games, and it's fun to try a different system at the same time.) I have no idea how I would choose between PS3 and XBox if I had both. For some time now, I've wished there were a site just for this -- WhichVersionShouldIBuy.com or something -- where the different versions of games would be compared and the differences explained. That information is generally out there, but not always easy to find.

Nowadays, even handhelds are worth comparing. GBA versions of console games were usually pared down to sidescrollers. (That didn't make them bad necessarily -- the GBA Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is great. Playable Farah!) But with the PSP and DS lines, they've been trying, with gradually increasing success, to just slap the whole game on a cart. I have Spider-Man: Edge of Time for 3DS; it's almost exactly the same experience as the console versions, just delivered differently. I intend to get it for PS3 eventually just to enjoy the hi-def, but playing as Spider-Man in 3D is well worth owning a second copy.