Update January 2009: I have just published our PS3 vs. XBOX 360 Two Years Later article. Once you are finished reading this, you should definitely move on to read that one!
It has been exactly 1 year to the day since we published our PS3 vs. XBOX 360 article, written for us by a friend of mine who is a lead programmer for a game company working on all three consoles (and PC).
His conclusion was a controversial one at the time. That the XBOX 360 pretty much owned in every category; price, performance, graphics, and game selection.
However, a lot can change in a year. Both consoles saw price drops, and firmware updates have the potential to improve both gaming and non-gaming features. Developers have had time to ‘learn’ the intricacies of the PS3, and several new exclusive titles have been released for both.
One year later, I am going to don my flamesuit, and take a look at each console. Let’s see if the PS3 has made strides! It’s certainly selling better lately.
Price
When our original article was published, it was just after the PS3 had launched. If you recall, they had two versions of the console at that time; a 20GB version for $499 and a 60GB for $599. To contrast, the XBOX 360 was available for $299 and $399 at the time.
However, things have changed since then, and both consoles received price drops. The XBOX 360 Premium received a simple $50 price drop, and is now $349.99. The Core version was replaced by the Arcade version, which is the same as before but includes a 256MB memory card, a wireless controller, and some XBLA games on a disc. That version is $279.99. Finally, there is the Elite Edition (or as we call it, the New Retard Edition) which is exactly like the Premium, but is black and has a 100GB more hard drive space for an extra $100. The Playstation 3’s price situation is a bit murkier, as models have been dropped, new ones introduced, prices were dropped to clear out old models, features were left out on some new models, and so on. We started with the 60GB and 20GB versions, and both of those have since been dropped completely. I won’t talk about all that has happened with the PS3’s SKU situation since then, as that would just confuse things. Instead, just consider that we now have a 40GB model for $399 and an 80 GB model for $499. Besides the hard drive size, the 40GB model lacks flash card readers, 2 USB ports, SACD playback, and Playstation 2 compatibility (the 80GB will play PS2 games, but its software emulation is not even close to 100%).
So now you can get a PS3’s ‘lower’ model for just $50 more than the XBOX 360’s ‘middle’ model. You can’t really look at it that way though, since what sets the Premium XBOX 360 apart from the Arcade is mainly the 20GB hard drive. And the ‘low end’ PS3 still doubles that (and aside from that, it is VERY easy to upgrade the hard drive on a PS3, but that’s best left for another day). Comparing the 80GB to the Elite, the PS3 is again $50 more, but this time the XBOX 360 has the bigger hard drive. I have always said that hard drive space on the XBOX 360 is pretty much irrelevant, but future firmware updates are changing that. With the ability to download XBOX 1 games, you are probably only going to be able to fit 2 or 3 of them on your Premium, depending on how many demos you have installed. Plus, if the rumors are true about the XBOX 360 also getting DivX playback, it is instantly going to turn into a great media player solution (it fails miserably as a ‘media extender’ right now), and thus will require a larger hard drive. Update: The rumors were true! The XBOX 360 now fully supports MPEG-4 Layer 2 video, which includes the DivX codec as well as XviD. However, it can only stream this type of video, from a network or external storage; as of this time there is no way to store these files on the 360 itself.
So after all that, who wins the price war? It’s still the XBOX 360, not just because the respective models are $50 cheaper, but all versions of the XBOX 360 come bundled with some games now. The Elite and Premium versions come with Marvel Ultimate Alliance (yawn), Hexic HD (meh), and Forza Motorsport 2 (yey!). While the 80GB PS3 comes with MotorStorm, the 40GB only includes a copy of Spiderman 3 The Movie on Blu-Ray.
It should be noted though, that the Playstation 3 should no longer be considered stupidly expensive.
Performance
Here’s a tough one. On paper, the Playstation 3’s Cell engine is more capable than XBOX 360’s triple-core Xenon CPU. However, as our developer alluded to last year, the XBOX 360 is much easier to develop for. In other words, a lot of the Cell’s power is going to waste. Although that is expected to change eventually, as always seems to happen with Sony’s consoles (compare early PS2 games to current games, and the same goes for PS1), one year later we’re still waiting for someone to fully exploit the system. Another indication that the PS3 is harder to develop for is the fact that almost all multiplatform games arrive weeks – if not months – after their 360 versions.
As we said last year, we fully expect the PS3 to win this category – eventually. To what extent, we’re not sure (very likely it’s only going to be the blockbuster first-party titles that take full advantage of Cell), and when this will occur, we’re not sure either. Obviously, one full year wasn’t enough.
Graphics
This is a sticky subject for a lot of fanboys. A very common argument in most flame wars is that the Playstation 3 simply “has better graphics”. I’m not sure where that argument came from; Sony obviously did a good job of marketing the system. However, the argument is entirely false. The Xenos GPU on the XBOX 360 is superior the RSX on the PS3. This is one thing that didn’t change in the past year.
Xenos simply has more power – higher fillrate, higher pixel processing power, higher vertex processing power, and better memory architecture. If you look at multiplatform games and contrast the graphics on the two consoles, XBOX 360 almost always leads. Whether they use a higher resolution or higher quality antialiasing, games often look better and/or play smoother on the 360. We looked at a handful of multiplatform games a while back, and this was always the case.
Again, we have to consider that Cell has the potential to help with graphics on the Playstation 3. As developers become more familiar with the platform, they are going to come up with new tricks to help games run smoother, and allow them to look better. However, one year after its introduction we aren’t seeing huge leaps (or even baby steps) towards this, except on a couple exclusive titles.
Game Selection
This category has two things to consider; exclusive titles for each console, and which console is better to play multiplatform games on. I think we covered the latter issue with the graphics category; given the choice between playing a multiplatform game on either console, the XBOX 360 is almost always better. At the very least, games will look the same on both consoles. At the worst, games on the PS3 will run at half the framerate of the 360, and at lower resolutions with less filtering and antialiasing. Also, multiplatform games are often delayed by weeks or even months on the PS3 (a testament to the difficulty of working with the system). Case in point, The Orange Box. The 2nd best selling XBOX 360 game after Halo 3 in October, and it is nowhere to be seen on the Playstation 3. And by early accounts, it is quite choppy on the Playstation 3.
So what about exclusive titles? After all, graphics and performance notwithstanding, this has to be the most important decision to make for most gamers choosing between the two consoles. It has been a full year, and.. well… things aren’t looking too good for the Playstation 3. As ScrewAttack noted in their Top 10 Exclusives for PS3, there aren’t even enough decent games to make a Top 10 list with!
Let’s take a quick look at the exclusive games that have come out for each system since we published our first article 1 year ago:
XBOX 360
| Title | Developer |
GameRankings Score |
| Ace Combat 6 | Namco | 82 |
| Beautiful Katamari | Namco | 74 |
| BioShock | Irrational Games | 95 |
| Blue Dragon | Mistwalker | 78 |
| Call of Juarez | TechLand | 72 |
| Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars | EA Los Angeles | 81 |
| Crackdown | Real Time Worlds | 83 |
| Dance Dance Revolution Universe | Konami | 75 |
| Earth Defense Force 2017 | Sandlot | 71 |
| Eternal Sonata | Tri-Crescendo | 80 |
| F.E.A.R. Files | Timegate Studios | 72 |
| Forza Motorsport 2 | Microsoft | 90 |
| Fuzion Frenzy 2 | Hudson Soft | 52 |
| Halo 3 | Bungie Studios | 93 |
| Kengo: Legend of the 9 | Genki | 46 |
| Mass Effect | BioWare | 93 |
| Naruto: Rise of a Ninja | Ubisoft | 80 |
| Overlord | Triumph Studios | 76 |
| Project Gotham Racing 4 | Bizarre Creations | 87 |
| Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action | Screenlife/WXP | 75 |
| Shadowrun | FASA Interactive | 69 |
| Tetris Evolution | Mass Media | 57 |
| Vampire Rain | Artoon | 40 |
| Viva Piñata: Party Animals | Krome Studios | 62 |
List of console titles exclusive to the XBOX 360 released since November 20, 2006. Score in green = at least 80% on GameRankings. Score in bold = at least 90% on GameRankings. Title in bold = Overall Game of the Year contender for 2007
Playstation 3
| Title | Developer |
GameRankings Score |
| Eye of Judgment | SCE Japan | 75 |
| Folklore | Game Republic | 76 |
| Formula One Championship Edition | SCE Liverpool | 77 |
| Heavenly Sword | Ninja Theory | 81 |
| Lair | Factor 5 | 56 |
| MLB 07: The Show | SCE San Diego | 78 |
| MotorStorm | Evolution Studios | 83 |
| NBA 08 | SCE San Diego | 66 |
| Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction | Insomniac Games | 89 |
| SingStar | SCE London | 83 |
| Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune | Naughty Dog | 88 |
| Warhawk | Incognito | 84 |
List of titles exclusive to the Playstation 3 released since November 20, 2006. Score in green = at least 80% on GameRankings. Score in bold = at least 90% on GameRankings. Title in bold = Overall Game of the Year contender for 2007
At the Playstation 3’s launch, the XBOX 360 had a 1 year head-start, and had such titles as Gears of War, PGR3, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, F.E.A.R., Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Dead Rising, Burnout Revenge, Fight Night 3, and Rainbow Six: Vegas, all of which which were either titles exclusive to the 360, or weren’t made available on the PS3 until some time in 2007.
Now we can look at nearly an entire year of exclusive releases for each console, and compare them on an even playing field. I took all the games that were released after November 20, 2006, and found their overall scores on GameRankings. Scores over 80% were highlighted in green, as ‘very good games’ (contrary to some, I think a score of 80% is pretty good). Also, contenders for Overall Game of the Year were highlighted as some of the BEST games for ANY console. In other words, people will want to buy the console just to play these games.
As you can see, there were a lot more GOOD games for the 360 in the past year. While the PS3 had some games that squeaked into the 80% bracket, and one or two really good games like Uncharted and Ratchet & Clank, overall it has been a mediocre year for Playstation 3. Many were looking forward to titles like Heavenly Sword and Lair to make a statement, but those games pretty much fell flat on their faces (especially Lair, a total failure).
XBOX 360 on the other hand saw some excellent titles, including some that may be considered among the best games for any console, such as Halo 3, BioShock, and Mass Effect (of course, we all know that none of these are likely going to topple Mario Galaxy for this award, but oh well).
So for game selection, XBOX 360 not only offers a better experience with multiplatform games, but their exclusive titles are more often better than those on PS3, and in some cases extremely good.
Online Support
Let’s face it, it’s going to be tough for anyone to beat XBOX Live. The interface is excellent, the interaction between players is superb, and extra features like achievements add the small touches that make playing games on the XBOX 360 just a little bit better for certain people.
Playstation Network has the sole advantage of being free for the most part (game makers are still allowed to charge for online play if they want, such as MMO games, etc). However, to play any game at all on XBOX Live, you must subscribe at $50 per year at its cheapest.
One drastic disadvantage of the Playstation 3 is the fact that you cannot send messages to your friend from within a game; in order to reach the XMB or ‘main menu’ of the PS3, you need to quit out of the game you are playing, and go to your friends list that way. There is nothing in the way of voice chat (with the exception of Warhawk), and no cross-game invite system. With XBOX Live, hit one button and you can reach your friends right away. Send them a voice message, or text message, or invite them to the server you’re playing on. You can even add your MSN/Live Messenger list to the 360, and talk to your non-gaming friends any time you want.
Profiles are also more robust on XBOX Live – each gamer has their own tag, their own custom avatar, a list of games they recently played, some achievements they have accomplished, and an overall score to give an idea of how experienced you are. All of this can be viewed in-game. Also, XBOX Live extends to XBOX.com, where you can view and edit profiles from your PC if you prefer.
On PSN, you get an icon, and a small about-me section. None of this can be viewed in-game, and there is no way to tell anything else about the gamer. PSN does not extend to an online version that can be viewed from the PC, either.
With PSN Home coming (the beta is rumored to be starting in December), this section may drastically change. Sony is banking on Home being a huge reason to play games on the Playstation 3 as opposed to the XBOX 360. Public details on Home have been sketchy at best though, so we shall see how things pan out.
XBOX Live Arcade vs. Playstation Store
Another thing to consider is buying games online. Both Sony and Microsoft offer various types of games to download online, and add several each week. Selections range from old-school games from previous systems to refreshed versions of classics, to brand new titles from small publishers and individual designers.
XBLA wins in pretty much every category though; many of PSN’s games are decent, but nearly exclusively from Sony themselves; it seems like it’s much easier for an indie publisher to get their game onto XBLA than PSN. XBLA offers a wide selection of retro arcade games, adding features like online play and leaderboards to many of them. Some of these games have become sleeper hits, like Pac-Man Championship Edition.
One area where the PSN excels (or at least has the ability to) is that Playstation 1 games can be ported directly to a PSP, along with game save files. Best of all, save files can go back and forth. If you are playing Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and want to take it on the road, simply connect your PSP, transfer the save file, and play it from there. Then when you come home, transfer the save file back to the PS3, and you are set. Unfortunately, there are very few Playstation 1 games available in the US.
Multimedia
Here’s one area that my friend didn’t really consider last year, as he is mostly concerned with making games for the systems, and not watching movies on them. I bought my XBOX 360 around the middle of 2006, and my PS3 at launch, so I am talking about my personal experience here.
For movies, the PS3 wins hands down. Not only does it have integrated Blu-Ray capability, it is a far superior movie player to begin with. We also must consider that the PS3 can be had for as little as $399, while an XBOX 360 with HD-DVD player will cost at least $530 (Arcade Edition notwithstanding, since nobody in their right mind is going to buy an XBOX 360 without a hard drive).
Regardless of comparing playback image quality, sound quality, and interface, there is one thing that gives the XBOX 360 an automatic “zero” in every category – it is excruciatingly LOUD. There is ONE thing that I HATE when I try to watch a movie, and that’s background noise. I alway go out of the way to make sure my living room is utterly quiet when I sit down to watch a movie, and the sickening screech of the 360’s DVD drive and fans makes this completely impossible.
PS3, on the other hand, is completely quiet during movie playback. Whether you are watching a Blu-Ray, DVD, or other video format, the PS3 isn’t going to make a peep.
I also much prefer the PS3’s interface to the bright, flashy, sluggish interface of the XBOX 360. Turning on the PS3 to watch a high-definition movie feels like a classy, almost ‘high end’ experience. In contrast, fire up the XBOX 360 and you are treated to a whining fan, screeching DVD drive, and bright flashy colours on your screen. The console itself looks more like a ‘toy’ and the external USB drive required for HD-DVD only extends the ‘low end’ feel.
Then you have the other media formats. XBOX 360 was only ever meant to be an ‘Multimedia Extender’. In other words, it was expected that by this time, most people would have a PC dedicated to hosting multimedia using either Windows Media Center or Vista Home. The 360 would pull the files off this dedicated media PC over the network. Therefore, the 360’s multimedia capabilities are actually quite poor. It supports MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and MPEG-4 AVC (h.264), but only in the WMV, MOV, and TS container formats. It supports DLNA, so is able to discover files on DLNA software like Windows Vista.
Playstation 3 was intended to be an all-in-one media center, and the design shows. At first, it did not support DLNA, but we broke the story when DLNA-supporting firmware was released, allowing multimedia to be streamed from Vista to the Playstation 3. All the major codecs are supported by Playstation 3; MPEG-1, MPEG-2, Motion JPEG (commonly found with digital cameras) through AVI, MOV, MP4, and TS container formats. It will even play AVCHD files directly (M2TS files – the same format Blu-Ray uses).
MP4 support is seen as the future of video, and the PS3 has very good support of this. It supports MPEG-4 AAC audio, MPEG-4 Simple Profile video, as well as Main and High profile (also known as h.264). In a big story last week, it was announced that the PS3 would soon be supporting the DivX codec, through the AVI file container. This will be the first time a non-modified console supports this highly popular format. Here’s hoping for MKV h.264 support! ;)
Audio playback is close, with the PS3 having the minor advantage of supporting SACD, although this is no longer supported with the 40GB version. It’s been sad to see Sony drop many of the advantages they held over the 360 in the past year. Playstation 3 will always be better as a standalone music player since it doesn’t sound like a jet engine, but the 360 has the great advantage of being able to access music from within any game.
I have viewed photos on both consoles, and find the PS3 to be a more pleasant experience. Again, the XMB is so much better than XBOX 360’s tabbed Dashboard, and it’s nice to view pictures without noisy fans blasting away in the background. The PS3 supports some printers directly, which may or may not be useful (I can’t imagine using it as a photo printer, but someone might. probably someone in Japan).
Other Considerations
There are some other subjective topics to discuss that don’ t necessarily fit into our other categories.
- Import Gaming – The PS3 excels in this, as all games are currently unlocked and can be played on systems from any region. This makes importing games from other countries a breeze. Furthermore, you are free to create PSN accounts for any country, allowing you to download demos from other regions. You won’t be able to make purchases without a credit card from those countries however.
XBOX 360 has many games that are exclusive to Japan and Europe, but with region encoding, they are only playable on consoles from their respective regions. Going the other way, many titles that get a worldwide release don’t have region encoding at all, so owning a 360 outside of the US isn’t so bad if you still want to play US games. Take it from me: import gaming goes both ways! - Piracy - A touchy subject, but one that must be considered. Although PS3 ISO’s are being released, I’m pretty sure that its game copy protection has yet to be cracked. XBOX 360 on the other hand, has a large scene going for it, and that has to be a consideration for many people deciding on which console to buy. Be warned though; Microsoft actively fights piracy, and has been known to ban consoles from connecting to XBOX Live if a mod is detected!
- Folding@Home – This may not be a big deal to you, but perhaps it should be mentioned. If you are interested in joining a worldwide supercomputer cluster capable of 700 teraflops, and want to help find the cure for diseases like cancer, the PS3 may be worthy of consideration. For most though, this function doesn’t make a difference at all.
- PSP Connectivity – With the 1.8 firmware release, the Playstation 3 received some excellent features, not the least of which is the ability to stream media to the PSP – anywhere in the world. Once two devices are partnered, you can turn on the PS3 from your PSP (as of firmware 2.0) and access all the files on it with the PSP – including HD video. This is where Microsoft got things wrong by trying to turn the 360 into a media extender. Sony decided to make the Playstation 3 a media hub, extending to portable devices like the PSP. A very wise decision, and the features get even better with time.
- Reliability - Here’s a huge one that must be considered – XBOX 360’s made prior to October 2007 are pretty much considered time bombs. It’s not a matter of whether your console will stop working, it’s a matter of when. The 360 has such a high failure rate that Microsoft spent over $1 billion to extend everyone’s warranty by 3 years. While having a long warranty is nice, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before the console dies, nobody wants to have a dead console in the first place. Newer units seem to be okay, so far (knock on wood).
- Backwards Compatibility – This was one of the major advantages of the Playstation 3 when it first launched last year. Since it had all the necessary hardware from the Playstation 2, it would be fully compatible with all PS2 games. Additionally, PS2 games would eventually be upsampled, improving their image quality for newer HD displays. PS2 owners could safely pass along their old console, knowing that their game library would still be accessible, and look better than ever. However, as Sony started revising hardware to cut costs, backwards compatibility suffered. First to go was the “Emotion Engine” CPU in the 80GB version. Some games were still supported through software emulation, since the “Graphics Synthesizer” GPU remained intact; reports show 80GB backwards compatibility to be around 50%. With the latest version of the PS3 (40 GB), the GPU was also removed, and as of now there is no way to emulate PS2 games on these systems. Although it’s probably not impossible to emulate the GPU with the PS3’s hardware, nothing has been announced and I wouldn’t get my hopes up of this ever happening.XBOX 360’s backwards compatibility is nothing to brag about either; consider it at about the level of the 80GB PS3. Many XBOX 1 games will work, but often have problems.
- Display Connectivity – The Playstation 3 wasn’t the only one to get some hardware revisions in the past year. One of the largest criticisms of the XBOX 360 was the fact that it had no digital video output. However, all consoles released after September 2007 (including the low-end Arcade version) include an HDMI 1.2 digital port. Only the Elite comes with a cable in-box.
- Open Source Operating Systems - Again, this may not be something that will sway your buying decision. While both consoles have some form of Linux support, only the Playstation 3 officially supports it out of the box. XBOX 360 has a project titled Free60 that requires you to hack your system and use vulnerable kernels. If your system has later firmware updates, it may be entirely impossible to do this. On the Playstation 3, you simply select an option in the console, and from there you can install one of several distributions that support it, including Yellow Dog (the distro officially supported by Sony), Ubuntu, Fedora Core 7, Gentoo, and Debian.
Conclusion
Recently I received an email from someone, asking if I still “stand by” our PS3 vs. XBOX 360 review. He asked if the PS3 became better in the past year.
I think after looking back a year, more than anything the statements we made were justified. The Playstation 3 didn’t get much better in a year, and in fact the hardware got worse with each revision. It started out with full PS2 backwards compatibility, and now it has none at all. It started out with SACD support, and now it doesn’t support it at all.
However, it also got better in many ways; more than anything, it’s an excellent multimedia hub. With multiple video format support (and DivX AVI support coming), and the ability to stream to the PSP, it’s clearly superior in that regard. Furthermore, it’s a better home video player, since it not only has a better interface for such things, but it doesn’t sound like a jet engine taking off.
But in the past year, we haven’t seen a single HUGE title drop for the PS3. The closest thing is a very good platformer/shooter with excellent graphics. Instead, exclusive games get delayed (MGS4), or end up failing miserably (Lair), or do not live up to expectations (Heavenly Sword).
Multiplatform games continued to be developed on the XBOX 360, then ported to the PS3. I’m sure that developers aim for simultaneous releases in most cases, but this rarely happens. When the PS3 versions of the games do come out, they often suffer from low framerates and poor image quality.
As of now, there is only one multiplatform game being developed on the PS3 later to be ported to 360, and that’s Haze. Update: Haze is now going to be PS3-exclusive. We’ll see how things go with that in a few weeks. I have heard that Unreal Tournament 3 is looking real good on PS3 too, although I’m sure that’s more of a case of Epic’s confidence that they can knock out an XBOX 360 version in a short period of time. The only major issue they are likely to come across is mod compatibility on the 360.
There will always be the speculation that the Playstation 3’s performance will increase; that it is only a matter of time. After all, we saw that happen with both the PS1 and PS2. Since Sony’s systems are powerful yet inherently difficult to work with, this always seems to happen. However, in the year since its release, the only titles to really WOW us graphics-wise are two Sony-published games, Heavenly Sword and Ratchet & Clank.
Sony has yet to catch up with XBOX 360 in terms of online features, although Home has interesting potential. We’ll have to wait and see if it is feasible as an online interface, or just a silly gimmick. This is one area where we should at least see the PS3 get some vast improvements in the years to come.
So do I stand by our statements we made last year? Absolutely. I’m happy that we were ‘proven right’ in the events of the past year. Do I think XBOX 360 is clearly the better console to buy? Not by a long shot. Each console has their own advantages and disadvantages. Read through this article, and you should be aware of most of them. From there, you can decide which one is right for you.
It does cost thousands. running a current game at 1024×768, is not fine. 1024×768 is like the bottom rung of the ladder.
If you want to stay current, and play games the way they are meant to be played, PC gaming is far far more expensive in time and money.
I just don’t see the PS3 or the Xbox for that matter lasting more than a few more years at the most before we start bitching.
I mean seriously, the PS3 has a 256mb video card… My laptop has as much.
I’ll agree PC’s have the smallest window of longevity, being I haven’t spent money on my rig in three years, I can say there are times it’s hard not running out to buy a new chip, or another stick of RAM.
Crysis at 1024×768 with all the bells and whistles is no bottom rung.
Half-Life 2 at 800×600 with the bells and whistles turned OFF, is bottom of the rung.
My system isn’t current, but the right pieces get the right upgrades a the right times.
Laptops with 256mb dedicated video cards are the more expensive lot. I’m going to guess you specifically looked for that laptop in order to do some heavy graphical work, be it video games or 3d.
Texture work wouldn’t need anything too extravagant, but the extra memory is always a great asset.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again… why can I buy a next gen console without a hard drive, but my cellphone includes one.
I believe that with Toshiba back full on, we’re going to see some incredible Cell innovation coming down the pipe.
Incidentally, while 360 HD-DVD drives have dropped in value (fifty bucks!?), Toshiba laptops that include an HD-DVD drive have not.
Y’know, I’m going to admit I’m actually upset HD-DVD didn’t win?
Fucked eh? Why is this? Because I firmly believe that BluRay is the perfect venue for game (which require more space, and work well with the PS3’s smaller but faster pipelines) but is a complete waste on the movie industry, especially given the features that HD-DVD had going for it.
Don’t get me wrong… Microsoft’s implementation of the HD-DVD drive was a complete waste and did nothing to help the industry survive.
If you could have played games through that drive…
Anyhow, back to you Tomm.
Well… As far as my job is concerned, yes I needed the video card.
But really I have it so I can play Medieval II and wings of victory when I have some spare time.
Dooley…
Your cellphone has a hard drive? It must fuckin’ burn when you put your ear up to it HAHAHHAAA… Does it have the motion sensor to park it when it moves?
You prolly meant memory card or whatever, I know. I just like making fun of you because you’re such an easy target.
Funny guy, it does have an obvious sensor, but you’re too far away.
It goes off everytime someone mentions the weather.
A further note: The Wii uses flash memory, same as my cellphone.
Meaning it’s built in, as opposed to a mem card. Which my PS3 supports every type of.
And your 360 does not.
Sorry… the 360’s an easy target. ;)
Wow, not even you guys signed the petiton……. anyways, as far as your guys’ argument goes, the 360 is an easy target. It has waaaaaay more faults, and does more bad than good. Personally I’d play the 360, but then there had to have been no such thing as the playstation (1), ergo, there would have never been an Xbox in the first place. Guess i wont be playing and/or buying a 360. Aww too bad, im losing out on…..wait……RROD’s……$50 online fees…….$200 worth of peripherals that shoulda been boxed with the console……being able to only connect with Xbox gear as opposed to anything blue-tooth………..Vampire Rain?!
Mutherfucker!
Guess I’m not missing a darned thing…….unless you count XBOX live farming. Wait, thats not a good thing…….
obviously the ps3 is a more superoior system. i have not heard anyone mention the sixaxis contoller which can do alot the the things the wii can do. The ps3 is practically a computer. you can hook up a keyboard,mouse and printer. Its internet browser is almost as good as internet explorer. Also the ps3 updates itself frequently so add ons are always coming onto games and the system itself.
So I keep reading and reading on how the 360 owners only arguement is, the 360 is more powerful and we have more exclusive titles.
It is not more powerful, it is the beneficiary of easier coding for game devlopers, something sony has fixed by releasing the mod tool kits (or whatver there called) to developers.
The 360 does have more titles, but not exclusive ones since dooley pretty much hit the nail on the head saying it is NOT a exclusive if it released on PC and 360.
PS3 arguements are, more bang for the buck, near future and beyond gaming going to surpass the 360 ten fold, and possible longevity of the system being unmeasurable.
Value is on the ps3 side, hell a blu-ray player built in, wireless internet built in, free online play (which is about to be upgraded), for 399.99 and 499.99 amazing. Blu-Ray games having far superior space for gaming then dvd, cell processors only starting to realize potential, and every damn piece of equipment that has a usb connector on it is compatible with my ps3, hell my 1.5 year old bluetooth headset i just recently recharged and works with it, my ps2 keyboard works, my extra mouse works, value people, you get it with ps3 all for 399.99 (if ur a ps2 owner you probaly have this stuff, or a pc owner), how much does the 360 for 349.99 with everything i just stated now cost?
DONT get me wrong the 360 is a solid machine, but it is meant only for gaming, adults like me who drop 400.00 for a gaming system have the mentality that it better do some other shit out of the box, which the ps3 does not the 360.
I really thought that the Playstation 3 had more power, better graphics and better developed games at the time. But it seems not to be the case. Although the playstation 3 do have the ability to run blueray disc´s.
So what.!!
The Xbox RULES!!!!
Fuck off SONY!!
http://us.i1.yimg.com/videogames.yahoo.com/feature/red-ring-of-failure/1192354
Just an interesting read on the situation.
Wow. Great review. Helped alot. Thanks muchly!
have any of you heard of the newer ps3 models, that are supposedly in the works? (160GB,and 120GB)
And by the way i think killzone 2 is going to be halo/GOW/ME for the ps3, it just gives me chills looking at it.
i cant wait
I have a 360
tbf im waiting for it to die
so i can blag a PS3 for my birthday of my parents :P
sonys consoles always look crap at the beginning, i mean i remember having my dreamcast (possibly the most underrated consoles ever) and looking at my sisters PS2 and thinking, wow thank god i’ve got this. only for 3 years later to be trying to steal the PS2 of her.
The PS3 will be better than the 360, its just a matter of when the developers get to grips with the PS3’s SPU thingys :)
“If somebody wants something similiar to a PC gaming experience… well, the PS3 suppors keyboard and mouse.”
Dooley you dense fuck. You think a keyboard and mouse make the PS3 ’similar’ to a PC? I can play PC games with a controller, does that make it similar to a 360 or a PS3? Fuck no. A console is an “alternative” to a PC. So compare your consoles to PCs all you want, but it’s just a waste of time because when sat side by side BOTH consoles are shit in comparison. Do you know what the PS3 is? A cheap piece of shit imitation. As far as I’m concerned, the only “consoles” on the market are the 360 and the Wii. The PS3 is one of those bullshit products that try to fit many things into one. Kind of like a Flashlight/radio that I had when I was five. It ended up in the trash because at the end of the day I had a better flashlight and a better radio laying around. The same thing can be applied to the PS3. You have all these cool little extras, however, when you think about it you probably have better products that do the same shit laying around(An actual B-Ray Player, a PC, George Foreman grill, A duster.) The PS3 isn’t a console, it’s a piece of shit all-in-one product you buy at the dollar store.
I hate to sit here and reign on anyones parade but once ps3 reaches its potential microsoft will have already came out with a new system
Y’know.. normally I’d just pass all over your ass with the limitless amount of factual information I’ve utilized in trouncing pathetic attempts like yours to demonstrate intelligence, but given you had to split a hair to open up your little can of whoopie, I think I’ll let you wither in your feces.
Frankly, asswads like you bore me with your cat calls of ‘ps3 this and 360 that’.
The fact is the PS3 takes more peripherals than a german whore and the 360 only takes 360 hardware that is typically overpriced and breaks down (example: One Microsoft Steering wheel).
Last I checked, everyone has a camera in their phone and as one other poster on this little tirade stated, when I drop this much coin, I expect my console to do more than play an endless library of crappy games and overheat.
Some of us may expect a ‘next generation’ console to do next generation things.
Like include the hard drive. Allow me to browse the internet (when I’m done playing all those amazing 360 exclusive titles like, Bioshock and Mass Effect. Or Gears of War).
Piss off you prat. Just because you can string syllables together doesn’t mean you have an arguement. Just means you have something to say, and nobody here, least of all me, is really impressed, because if you scroll up just a hair, you’ll find that someone else has already said what you said, and I’ve already told them how it is.
Get bent, I’m busy.
I’ve been away for a while but came up with an interesting concept and would like to know your take on it.
In terms of exclusives:
An xbox 360 is very much like a PC. Actually its the same company (Microsoft)- And before someone is quick to point out that Microsoft provides the software only on PC let me also point out that Microsoft doesn’t make the hardware on the 360. they provide the software on which it is based and run. So essentially PC and 360 have the same parent company.
Hence titles appearing on the 360 which also appear on the PC are in fact “exclusive”. Case in point if i have a PSP game (ie metal gear solid) which is also on the PS2 it is still an exclusive title as they both have the same parent company (Sony).
What you think Dooley?…
That’s a fair statement, given that Microsoft is trying to segregate their titles with the ‘Games for Windows’ tag.
It’s a tough argument that I don’t have enough time to climb over right now, but I would say I’m in partial agreement.
It’s not exclusive because it is a different machine, regardless of software developer, and it IS exclusive because it’s ‘categorized’ as ‘Microsofts Brand of Game’ (’Games for Windows’).
I mean, they created their own rating system… not that it means much to a guy like me, who is used to (and expects to find) minimum system requirements detailing precisley what is needed.
Not just, an experience index (fancy word for number out of five).
Anybody else?
Why do people keep bringing up topics on the PC?.
I don’t care about loner machines like PCs. I want a machine where my friends can come round and we all play games like pro. evo soccer together. You know HAVING A LAUGH with your mates is far more sociable and enjoyable than playing with imaginary friends from a far of continent! Yes online play is enjoyable but you have to play with people you can actually touch once in a while, surely!?!.
Oh yeah exclusive means exclusive i.e only available on ONE machine not two or three machines, whether or not they are a in a different genre, Wii and pc are still games machines you know.
Jam by your same logic the Metal Gear series and others the PS3 touts as exclusive would not be as they can also be found on the PSP or PS2.
*Personally i consider an exclusive to be that which is exclusive to the Brand (Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo).
Hence the Metal Gear series is Sony exclusive and Mario is Nintendo exclusive etc…Not “..only available on ONE machine..” as you stated.
The metal gear “series” is not exclusive but each individual game, if on a single machine, IS. simple really, you are just trying to complicate things, again!
You can consider an exclusive to be that which is exclusive to a brand all you want, but it wont change the ACTUAL meaning of exclusive in the games world. note the word GAMES not HARDWARE which is what the BRAND make.
By your defintion if rockstar make GTA for PS only and make Midnight run for all machines they cant claim GTA to be a PS exclusive because they make other games for other machines under the ROCKSTAR brand?!?
Stupid ideology I think.
Actually the question i raised was simple.
For example if MGS 2 was released on both the PS2 and the PSP would it still be an exclusive?
… I would say yes. You obviously would say no. I was just asking ppl for their opinion.
Yes it would because the psp is not in same category as ps2. It would be in the HANDHELD category along with the DS for eg.
The pc, xbox, wii and ps3 are in the same category when it comes to GAMES. Which is what we are talking about.
A sony TV and a Panasonic TV are in the same category however they are not in the same category as monitors, even they both (TV and monitor) perform similar tasks.
To put it simply,
If MGS 5 was released ONLY on PSP and 360, by your definition, it would NOT be exclusive because it is available on SONY and Microsoft.
However, it IS exclusive within each of the categories, HANDHELD and CONSOLE/PC.
Therefore it is an exclusive game.
Does that make sense?
Fair enough…just wanted everyones thoughts.
I guess my definition of exclusive is a bit more generalized than yours.
I think we’re splitting hairs here, folks.
Exclusivity is governed by both factors, really.
If MGS is on PS3 and PSP (unlikely, but for the sake of argument), then the game is still exclusive to Sony, but chances are they’ve made changes.
So on the one hand, yes it’s exclusive by definition, to Sony hardware.
However, it’s not exclusive to the PS3 alone… unless the game were changed to fit the format of the PSP.
Now I realize every game changes when they’re moved from system to system, and Fight Night 3 from PS2 to 360 is wildly different, but the gameplay is still largely the same. So it’s the same game is what I’m pointing out. This means that I can enjoy Fight Night 3 on the PS2, or the 360.
Hence, the game is not exclusive.
Gears of War is available on 360 and PC. It is not an exclusive title in developer, or otherwise because Microsoft has very little to do with the development of my PC. They didn’t prescribe parts, they didn’t develop my ram or hard drive, and even my peripherals are Logitech, not Microsoft. So to say that because I run Windows, Gears of War retains it’s exclusivity doesn’t make sense to me.
At this point, Crysis is exclusive to Windows platforms. It’s not even exclusive to a version of Windows, but displays the moniker, Games for Windows, which we all know is to mean Vista.
For the record: I’ve played this game under XP and Vista (Dx9 and 10) and have seen ZERO difference, graphically.
I say we’re splitting hairs because we’re trying to find the missing exclusivity.
Microsoft loses exclusivity with their games when they move to a new platform, and Windows is definetly a different platform from the 360 OS, given that many people with many hardware configurations are utilizing Windows.
Now you could argue that the 360 allows for different hardware configurations, but until you start replacing memory sticks and video cards, that arguement holds no water.
My last point (and my hair to split) herein is that a game developed for Windows can work on a variety of systems. An Apple computer with a Windows wrapper can run nearly any application, so suddenly all these ‘Windows Exclusive’ applications just lost their exlusivity.
Not in an official release sense, but regardless and independant of the developer, I can utilize my software on a system it wasn’t originally released for. Herego, it’s not exclusive to that computer. Furthermore, it’s not exclusive to any one combination of hardware. Not to mention a PC (as opposed to an Apple) doesn’t have a brand name to go with it. It will have SEVERAL brand names, all working in cohesion.
So to say any game on PC is exclusive to any hardware is really bollocks because anybody who meets the minimum requirements can play it on their computer.
As opposed to a console game proper, which can only work on that specific console.
So in short: A game is exclusive based on console relation. A game which is on PS2 and PS3 is not an exclusive PS3 title, it is an exclusive Playstation title. Chances are if a game comes out for PS3 and PS2, it’ll be on Wii and 360 as well, so this whole arguement is really difficult to address.
Jammmaster,
Have you ever gamed on a PC? You moron, you can play with your friends on PC…. you can usually play with more friends than on xbox live (which is totally worth it) or on PS3 online services.
Get your fact straight before you make stupid comments. In fact, I think its great that you love the PS3 or the 360… i dont really remember…
Either way, the 360 IS MORE BANG for the buck… SALE numbers proove that. Now I know you are most likely going to try to have soem whitty come back by rippnig apart something I said, and proove that it is a stupid or wrong statement… well dont waste your time. Go have your date with Mary Palm and her Five sisters… and let us know how it goes…
I am sorry,,, I see that you were refering to Split screen play (which you cannot do on a PC) ok …. there you are correct… but you can still play with your friends online… BF2 rocks 32 vs 32…. cant find a game that big on Xbox live or PS3
All hail Jammmasterrrrrrr…..
Dooley… stop trying to write a lot of CRAP to impress people… After I read your statements… I feel that much less intellegent… your like a guy who thinks he knows a lot about being a financial advisor just from reading one Wall Street Journal… save us all the reading and keep it short or dont write anything at all. Love, Everyone.
I write a lot of crap to impress UPON people.
Besides, I get it all out in one post.
As opposed to three.
More bang, eh? You like standing in warranty line ups for fun?
The PS3 has outsold that 360 for second month in a row and video game stores around here report they’ve got stock. This is, despite what was reported by Microsoft in regards to machine shortages.
Did you know: When you send your 360 off the Microsoft, your GamerTag goes with it.
If you’ve been busy buying online games and content, keep that in mind.
I felt bad for this fellow, but he got something from Bungie as an apology on Microsoft’s behalf:
http://www.qj.net/Sentimental-Xbox-360-ruined-after-being-sent-in-for-repairs/pg/49/aid/114890
That’s worse than losing a couple downloaded movies.
Why don’t you try writing a bit of crap to impress some facts UPON people. All these 360 fans ever do is STATE INFORMATION without CITATION. What are you the 360 Gestapo?
You have to criticise an informative and theoretical post (which was in response to an avid reader/poster) with a half baked analogy, plus you have to take two more posts to blither about how much your Rosey Palm loves your 360.
Stop trying to impress us.
ok, so laff man said something about bf2 and the 64 player online games, and i play LOTS of bf2. it’s my clans game, etc. but i thought i would also point out that resistance 2 (ps3 EXCLUSIVE!) will have sixty player battles 30 x 30! so minus four but still more than any xbox game by far! also resistance, eight player co op. whose else is excited!?!
God dam you LAFFMAN,
After reading your wrongful attack on me I was rubbing my hands with glee at the thought of my witty comeback. However, before I could, I read your grovelling apology, which has stolen all my thunder!, you b*st*rd!
This does prove that you dont read all of the statements made before attacking people, typical xbox junkie.
Going back to the exclusive debate, which dooley only managed to make even more complicated, You have to look at machines and their RIVALS.
i.e. PS3, 360 and PC are in same category
DS and PSP are in the same category
PS2 and xbox are in the same category
Games released for RIVAL machines are NOT exclusive, games released on ONE machine in ONE of the above categories ARE exclusive. Games releaased on ONE machine but in different categories ARE exclusive as no RIVAL machine has it.
IT IS SIMPLE!!!
There’s a war going on have you picked a side.
I am not a fan either PS3 or 360 but I have chosen a side. For those of you that are still confused. I will say you need to find out what you want the most.
If you are a hard core gamer and love online gaming I would say go for xbox 360.
If you love gaming and multimedia I would say go for PS3.
As for me I will go for the PS3 because I don’t see myself playing 24/7. I have a 500 Gig HDD and I intend to link it to my PS3 and watch some divx movies, then switch it to blue ray. If a friend brings me and DVD or HD well guess what PS3 can still be in the use.
With the PS3 around I can see my computer doing less work as it was doing before.
canadianpickle2
Im excited aswell, i’ll be waiting for Resistance 2 and much, much more good exclusive games that will come in the furture for the ps3!
I dont see a winner in this Battle. This wil go on and on and on. Why dont you idiots shut tha f#ck up and go play your console.
I dont have PS3 nor 360, im just gunna wait untill the next so called greates Condole is released. Then y’all can argue again.
if you wait another 2-3 years there will something better. Hologram-CD’s.
Now that’s what i call the future.
I dont see a winner in this Battle. This wil go on and on and on. Why dont you idiots shut tha f#ck up and go play your console.
I dont have PS3 nor 360, im just gunna wait untill the next so called greates Condole is released. Then y’all can argue again.
if you wait another 2-3 years there will something better. Hologram-CD’s.
Now that’s what i call the future.
i hope this is helpfull for those of you wanted to buy the 360. IF YOU MOVE THE 360 WHILE A GAME IS INSIDE IT WILL BRAKE AND MICROSOFT HAS NO ANSWERS AND THEY ARE DICKS ABOUT IT, ALSO I DIDNT EVEN MOVE MY 360 AND A GAME BROKE! THEY WONT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT ps3 games wont brake because you move the system or because you didnt do anything lol. i just sent my 360 to the shop.(u have to compliment xbox online though it is phenominal.)and i am pissed with them. as soon as i get it back im selling it and buying a ps3 could someone who has a ps3 help me decide what games to get and stuff and wether its acually wworth it my email is Djete02@comcast.net
Ok time to close up the comments for this post. I think anything resembling informative, thought-provoking posts will have been made by now. Anything else left is just useless trolling and fanboy spam.
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