Which console should I get?

[.Vindicated.Of.Sanity.]

So I'm really wanting to get a real console soon (I have a Wii, but for someone into FPS games there isn't really a lot to offer.) and I can't decide between PS3 and Xbox 360. My inclination is to go with PS3 because it's free to connect and that's really important to me on a student's budget who can't really justify paying for online access all the time (where I might only have time to play on one or two weekends a month. I'm not paying ten bucks a gaming session! D: ) But then again, the whole system is much more expensive brand-new (and very few people are selling newer ones in my area, versus tons and tons of xboxes being sold and offers to trade them for PS3's... kiiiind of indicative of the quality of the system, no? XD Maybe I'm just biased... already) and the games seem a little bit more expensive than Xbox games (though admittedly I'd be buying most of my games used/ from pawn shops).
Xboxes are much cheaper (they're on sale right now for like, $130 brand new? Ridiculous!) but there's the stupid thing of paying for Xbox live to play the games I bought with my hard-earned money on my Wifi connection that I pay for with my hard-earned money. It feels like a huge money grab. Fifty bucks a year is sort of expensive to someone who subsists on one or two thousand bucks from her summer job depending on how much work is to be had and must pay for all the other necessities.
And then there's concerns like the red ring issue, other stuff... if either of the systems bricked itself, I would not be able to replace it.
Maybe I just shouldn't bother. D:
Up until now I've been mostly a PC gamer, but my desktop is six years old with a graphics card that's too weak to handle a lot of newer games, and this laptop has a really terrible graphics card because it's a tablet PC for school.

Which system do you girls suggest?  

[ChibiLlama4]

It really depends on what kind of gamer you are.

If you prefer playing 1 player, PS3 is your best option.
If you prefer playing multi-player or online, XBOX is your best option.

I went with PS3 for Ratchet and Clank. You want to know something? TOTALLY WORTH IT.  

[Hilfin]

You seem to be really into online gaming so I suggest a PS3. I, personally, like the xbox 360 and games more but if you're looking for something that would be cheaper in the long run, I would go for the PS3.

My family is also on it's third xbox 360 because of the red ring issue but, to be fair, we have 14-16 year olds that play it most and that probably has a lot to do with it.

 

[flauterfli]

Xbox. ;o

I may be biased, but yeah.

It generally has better graphics all around (excluding Square Enix) and the connection is so, so much smoother.

But yeah, the Live bit can be price-y, and you have to pay up for some of the extras. (MS points)

Xbox (especially with Kinect) is more of a social console. PS3 has some multi-player (stuff intended for Xbox) but the majority is one-player roleplaying and RTS games.

Personally, as a soon-to-be-college student, I'd be bumming off guys more willing to fork over teh moola for a system. If I didn't already have my console, I wouldn't be buying one.
 

[Illegitimate Princess]

Xbox ftw. Graphics are nicer, gameplay is smoother, and you get what you pay for with the whole online experience. I have both and although I've been obsessing over DCU (Ps3 exclusive console wise), for exclusives you have to go with Xbox. You like FPS and would pass up on Halo? I think not.