Best console for an older gamer?

I know these threads don't always go over well here, but I'm not sure where to ask, so let me explain my situation.

I'm 36 years old. I've had a 360 this entire gen. To be honest most of my friends outgrew games a long time ago and the people i associate with it's not a gamer thing. So live, all that stuff is not that big a deal to me. I do hop online and shoot some annoying people every once in aw hile and do enjoy it for that purpose and online play but it's not a social thing to me.

I do play games a good amount. I've been gaming since I was very young. I like the fact most demo's come out first on the xbox. I think I might get a bit impatient since I haven't really had to wait to try games as I know sometimes psn support is a little slow on the uptake so I might miss this. I also see Halo Reach, and Alan Wake coming out but I'm not that obsessive where if I miss a game I'm going to die or anything here... DLC/Achievements I Don't really care. I just play games for fun and achievements are meaningless to me.

I have a nice HD TV. The xbox is ok but the quality isn't always the best hardware wise. I do notice having to swap discs these days. Just bought ME2. I'm also noticing the upscaling on the 360 isn't that great and there are jaggies when playing in high def in a lot of games.

So that leads me to my situation. I just traded in a bunch of old games for the 360 and have a $150 gift card to gamestop. I trade in the console and the 2 games i have left ME2 and NBA 2k10 that should be enough to get a ps3 free of charge. I'd probably get heavy rain and mlb the show with it. Which would end up costing me about $120 for the games. I'm not the type of person who keeps everything and try to get things as inexpensively as I can here. Having two consoles is a bit much and I don't need two. So should I keep my 360 or get the PS3 considering what I've told you?

The thing is once i'm done with a game i'm pretty much done with it, so i usually just try to get what i can for it and put it towards something else. Like I'm trying to explain i've had the 360 for like 4 years here. So i've experienced it. I kind of wnat to try something new. I agree a nice pc rig is the way to go and i have a decent one. I'm awaiting starcraft 2, but pc gaming is suffering these days somewhat. Certain games are better on the console and easier to just pop in and play. I usually have my pc and one console for that purpose.

Sounds like you've already made up your mind and you're just having a bit of a struggle letting go of the 360 having 4 years of experience with it. It also sounds like you just want something new for the sake of having something new.

The PS3 will entertain you for a while as any new thing will. There are plenty of great games for it. That said, you'll eventually start to notice its flaws as well. Whether you stay with the 360 or go with the PS3 or even the PC, that's inevitable.

As someone that's around your age (actually a little older), I say stay with what you have. There's no guarantee that the PS3 will suddenly meet your needs. Newness can come from trying new games and game types. Maybe get a gamefly account so you don't have to worry about accumulating stacks of games or having to trade them in.

Maybe give online more of a chance. You can hook up with people with similar interests. Comb the unions here on Gamespot or groups on other sites. There are plenty with gamers that may have similar mindsets as you. Heck, send me a friend request if you want.

Good luck with whatever direction you want to go with your gaming.

to be honest i've played halo and left4dead recently and the 360 games keep letting me down. These games are very kiddy to me. I played Modern Warfare 2 for a short time and got really bored with it. Maybe it's just me but i don't get a whole lot of enjoyment out of these games. Shooters, Shooters and more shooters. I'm just not sure if the ps3 is going to be different. Heavy Rain looks interesting to me. Uncharted 2 somewhat although i'm not huge into platformers. MLB The show interests me. Demon's Souls looks pretty cool. I definately want to get Red Dead Redemption which is a multiplat. Alan Wake I want to get on the 360 and i finished me2 and enjoyed it, but is it really worth keeping a system for 1 game? That's pretty much where I'm at. That's kind of why I want to try something new. I just don't know if the ps3 is going to be any different.

On the 360 the best games i've played this gen and really enjoyed are

Oblivion

Mass Effect 1/2

GTAIV

Halo 3 was fun for a short time.....

That's a very short list..

lol. I do need to exercise more. I used to play basketball a ton but my legs can't take it anymore. I'm getting old man. Golf isn't my thing. I'm sorry. It's ok and i've done it several times but eh. Gardening good luck. I'm in downtown in a big city. My friends and I were playing ping pong a ton this summer, since basketball is out now. Does that count? As an older activity that is somewhat exercise? video games have always been a time killer for me.

since you dont care much about online gaming i think it comes down to the exclusives and you'll have to decide which systems exclusives appeal to you.

Go with the PS3, I'm guessing the selection of games on either console isn't that big of a deal for you, 99% of them are the same and they both have quality exclusives, the PS3 will be more reliable and I'll assume somebody of your age doesn't want the hassle of having to deal with red ringed 360s and to top it off you'll get a Blu Ray player which would go great with your HDTV.

ps3 has alot of mature themed games that you should have alot of fun with, like heavy rain. also MLB the show, is the best baseball game i ever played, very realistic and i also think its the highest rated baseball ame of this current generation. after playing mlb the show i cant ever go back to the 2k series