I bought myself a shiny new HDTV this past summer as a graduation present to myself.

After I watched a movie on my standard DVD player on the new TV, I decided it was time I invested in a Blu-ray player. The Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD battle has long since ended, so there is little risk in investing in the Blu-ray format now.

After doing a little research, I found out the Playstation 3 is often rated as the best Blu-ray player on the market. For about $100 more than a standard Blu-ray player, the PS3 also features superior media play-back functions and, of course, the ability to play PS3 games.

After three months of ownership, PS3 won my affection. I spend just as much time, if not more time, watching videos on my PS3 as I do playing games. However, if I were to buy the console as just a Blu-ray player, or just as a videogame console, I would feel robbed.

A few weeks ago my roommate said he was looking to purchase a next-gen (well I guess it’s “current-gen” now) console, but wasn’t sure which to choose; PS3 or XBox 360. (I set up my Wii in the living room because the thing is just too much fun to keep to myself, so the Wii wasn’t on the table in this debate).

Though I’ve been deeply taken by my PS3, I asked my roommate a few questions before I gave him advice.

Question 1: Do you own a HDTV?

Question 2: Do you intend to purchase a HDTV any time soon?

He responded to both questions with a “no” and I advised him to buy XBox 360. The 360 does not contain a Blu-ray player and has a much lower price-point as a contrast. The 360 also has the superior game line-up and has more system exclusives. The PS3 has superior graphic capabilities, but in most cases, the difference is negligible and void on a SDTV.

Additionally, with the announcement that “Final Fantasy XIII” will be simultaneously released on the PS3 and 360 in America, the PS3 lost its most important exclusive game. Don’t get me wrong, “Metal Gear Solid 4” is fantastic, but it won’t move as many units as “Final Fantasy.”

So I’m left to look at my PS3 as a glorified Blu-ray player. Its primary purpose is to play Blu-ray movies and other video I compressed on to an external USB hard drive (if you want to use an external hard drive on the PS3 it must be formatted in FAT32). It was worth the investment, for me, but in the end it is just a Blu-ray player with some very fancy bells and whistles.