Firstly, I'm a gamer and have both systems. This casual post is for those who are considing buying one or the other because you can't have both. I'll provide a brief overview of both and then make recommendations.
The PS3
The big differentiator with Sony's PS3 is that it has a built in Blu-Ray player. While this may not be the main reason you would buy one it has been a very nice feature we have used over and over again. When I bought the PS3 I already had a 360. I didn't plan to use the PS3 as an entertainment system. It was purchased to play games only. With Sony's slick interface and tight integration with other services they offer the PS3 became our main entertainment device. While both system's support NetFlix and HuluPlus one can use it for far more than playing games.
Something else I like about the PS3 is the home network integration. Out of the box the PS3 can connect to your PC and where you can stream music from along with view slide shows of pictures and videos. Aside from these features Sony has built in optical audio out and provides great audio connectivity to a surrond sound system or stereo.
Now for the games. Sony had a rough start with only a few must play games. That time has long past. Most AAA Title games are coming to the PS3 and are highly optimized to take advantage of Sony's multiple processors. Developers struggled with the platform in the early days but now things are looking good and in some cases games look better on the PS3.
Some other niceity's of the PS3 is the free access to the PSN network and the ability to copy and back up saved game data and move it to another PS3 via a flash or USB drive. The 360 doesn't povide that feature unless you copy your gamer profile with the save data. Microsoft makes it very painful to move data from one XBOX to another.
So what about who should buy what? I think for the casual gamer who's going to play "some" games the PS3 is the way to go. The game library is strong and the system has enough value added features to make the total package a nice addition to an entertainment center. Finally, The PS3's Industrial Design is a sexy box. It's nice to look at. The 360, not so much.
I forgot to mention that the PS3 is very quite both while watching movies and playing games. Not so on the 360. It's very loud and is very distracting. One can install games on the 360 to alieviate this problem but it's a hassle to do this with every game you play.
The XBOX 360
Microsoft has had a lead on Sony in terms of number of units in the market place for awhile. There are tons of games for the 360 and some, not all, look alot better on the 360. That's partially because the 360 does antialiasing better than the PS3. Additionally the 360 has a larger library of games and has, hands down, the best online network albeit for a price. XBOX Live is the Microsoft online community that allows players to engage in several multiplayer games along with chat and video chat. Sony offers the same features but the vast majority of online players are either playing on a PC or an XBOX 360.
Microsoft has invested heavily in bringin content to the 360 in an attempt to make it the number one living room appliance. One can use NetFlix, Hulu Plus, thier own Zune Theatre along with live streaming music. They also have excellent integration with FaceBook and Twitter. Sony has an anemic implimentation of FaceBook and offer no Twitter connectivity.
So who should buy a 360? I would suggest the best buyer is the enthusiast or hardcore gamer. This is simply because of the superior XBOX Live service. Additionally Microsoft has an edge on Exclusive titles available only for the 360. Sony offers exclusives too but in many cases the exclusives from Microsoft are better.
It shoudl be noted that the 360 doesn't have a Blu-Ray player and at times games come on multiple disks. The recently released LA Noire for example is 3 or 4 disks and on the PS3 one plays with only one BluRay disk.
There's alot more that can be said about each box. This is intended to be a casual comparison. Search the net for more detailed information.
Now the question you may ask is, "Since you have both the 360 and PS3 but could only have one or the other, what would you pick? My answer is the PS3. The most recent reason is the release of Portal 2. Sony and Valve software came to an agreement whereby gamers who purchase a copy of the PS3 version of Portal 2 get a free copy of the game to play on their PC or Macintosh. A deal like this will never come about with Microsoft. They have a closed system when it comes to content and are not flexible enough to offer the value of a deal like Valve's and Sony's.
The XBOX 360 is a closed system where Sony's is much more open and this again is why I prefer the PS3 to the 360.
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