Gamers: Recommend me a console!, I would like to try this "video game" thing Options

[CrazyFooIAintGet...]

I own zero current gen games consoles and am thinking of buying one. But I'm not really sure what I want.

• I'd like to maximise enjoyment per £ spent on console+games.
• Ideally I'd want to plug in a monitor (I don't own or want a TV). From what I can gather this is not easy with the Wii/ps3 but xbox360 accepts VGA?
• I'm not interested in social type games like wii sports and guitar hero that don't have a strong single player component. Not sure about multiplayer/xbox live type deals.
• I will give up quite quickly on anything with a steep difficulty curve

To give an idea of what kind of games I like: the following games have provided much awesomeness in the past -

PC:

• System Shock 2
• Portal 1 & 2
• Half life 1 & 2
• Beyond Good and Evil
• Braid (indie puzzle platformer)
• vvvvvv (indie platformer)
• The Neverhood (point and click adventure)
• The Longest Journey (adventure)
• Doom
• Lemmings
• Roller Coaster Tycoon
• Command and Conquer series

Wii:

• New Super Mario Bros

PS2:

• We heart Katamari
• Ico

PS1:

• Rayman
• Oddworld: Abes Oddyssey
• Crazy Taxi

Megadrive:

• Friggin Sonic the Hedgehog. All of them.
• Cool Spot (platformer)

N64:

• Zelda Ocarina of Time

Snes:

• Zelda Link to the Past

Please provide ingredients for achieving similar results with the new console.

Thank you for assistance!

[Mata]

It's got to be the PS3:

it's got 5 years of gaming behind it, so there's loads of cheap deals on great games.
I'm pretty sure with a bit of cleverness that VGA can work... Though I'm not sure. Google is your friend on this one... Sorry.
Social games haven't hit it very hard yet.
It's pretty mainstream, so the best games all have difficulty levels that can make life easy for you. I share your dislike of hitting your face against a difficulty wall and the PS3 has done me well so far.

There's also the point that the 360 is designed like it has recently been ejected from someone's body and isn't worth the circuit boards it's printed on... More seriously, there are loads of great download titles from PSN that the XBLA doesn't quite reach and that would cover your needs. Pixeljunk's games are a particular treat, but there are loads of others.

[CrazyFooIAintGet...]

Can you recommend some games? Is it worth getting the more expensive 320gb model? Surely 120gb is enough for anybody?

Looks like I'd need a new monitor as this one doesn't have hdmi or dvi. Blah.

[mooooooooooopo]

I'll second Mata's recommendation of the PS3. Unless you want any of the platform exclusive games the 360 doesn't have much going for it. I've not tried the new style one but the old style is incredibly noisy and unreliable compared to the PS3. A minor point but PS3 has much nicer gamepads and rechargeable out of the box with no nasty third party add ons. I've also always thought Sony hit the nail on the head with their gamepads ever since the PS1, though they backslid a bit with the PS3 triggers and you'll probably want the sticky add on bits to make them a nicer shape.

You can get adapters for VGA output from the PS3 if you need it, just make sure the monitor supports HD style screen resolutions (720p, 1080p etc) and refresh rates to guarantee that it'll work, some monitors are picky and they're a little off from the standard VGA resolutions. The adapters seem to clock in at £15-£20 depending on where you look. Here's one on Amazon (go through Mata's amazon link though of course) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wii-PS3-VGA-HDTV-Cable/dp/B0015MISAG though I didn't search very hard and there may be a better one.

Quick edit: You didn't mention it in your requirements but the PS3 is also awesome for media streaming and works with any DLNA media server, unlike the 360 where you have to stream from Windows Media player and go through some ghastly web based sign up process just to get the two to talk over your own LAN.

Only downside of the PS3: it hates developers and makes them cry.

[Mata]

Games...

God Of War III
God of War Collection
Braid
Wipeout
Pixeljunk Eden
Pixeljunk Shooter
Flower
GTAIV
Resistance: Fall of Man (the first one - I really enjoyed this, but it's not everyone's cup of tea)
Infamous 1 & 2 (a bit repetitive, but I found the gameplay satisfying enough that it didn't bother me)
Prince of Persia Trilogy HD
Killzone 2 & 3 are a decent blast too
.... Stuff and gubbins!

[CrazyFooIAintGet...]

Thanks guys!

[CrazyFooIAintGet...]

You can get adapters for VGA output from the PS3 if you need it, just make sure the monitor supports HD style screen resolutions (720p, 1080p etc) and refresh rates to guarantee that it'll work, some monitors are picky and they're a little off from the standard VGA resolutions. The adapters seem to clock in at £15-£20 depending on where you look. Here's one on Amazon (go through Mata's amazon link though of course) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wii-PS3-VGA-HDTV-Cable/dp/B0015MISAG though I didn't search very hard and there may be a better one.

Yeah, I don't think it will work. Can't get it to output 1280x720 at all (native resolution is 1280x1080). Which means I need to buy something new