UPDATE 2011: Our latest article, written two years after the one below, can be found here: XBOX 360 vs Playstation 3 – After Four Years. Much has changed, so it is suggested that you check that one out instead! Or at the very least, read that version once you are finished with this one.
Wow. That’s the first thing that comes to mind when I look back to our PS3 vs. XBOX 360 articles (the original, written by a game developer friend of mine when the PS3 launched, and the first annual comparison article written by myself a year later). The feedback I’ve received for these articles has been tremendous, not just in amount but in quality as well. Most people agree that the articles are among the very few on the net that don’t take sides in the argument, and offer a fair comparison of both consoles. They somehow managed to make both groups of fanboys happy.
As always, I will remain completely impartial for this article as well. I am going to keep things as objective as possible, leaving most everything else up to you to decide. If you expect me to tell you which console is the right one for you to buy, or which one “has better graphics” think again. Only you can know that. My goal is to provide you with enough information that you should be able to know clearly which one is better for you. So if you haven’t read our prior articles, you might want to do so first.
Click below to read the entire 4200+ word article :)
Price
What a way to start things off! The prices of next-gen consoles have dropped dramatically since the PS3 was introduced. Last year, we were talking about $500 and $600 models of the PS3, and $280 and $350 versions of the XBOX 360. Console SKUs have changed a lot in the past year as well, especially in the case of the PS3. We have been tracking their changes here and here, so you should go there to see what the latest features are. This is especially important with regards to the PS3, where features seem to be dropped rather than added with every SKU change.
In terms of price, the PS3 can be had for $399 for the 80GB version, and $499 for the 160GB version. It makes almost no sense to pay the extra $100 for the larger hard drive, as the consoles are otherwise identical (except for the fact that the 160GB comes with Drake’s Fortune and Pain, which may or may not make up for the extra cost depending on the type of games you like to play). If you really need the space, a 320GB laptop drive is no more than $80 these days, and it’s very easy to install into the PS3.
As far as the XBOX 360 goes, Microsoft have aggressively dropped the price on their console to the point where the low-end version without a hard drive costs $50 less than a Wii. It even comes with a full game (Sega Superstars Tennis at this time – obviously intended to compete with potential Wii Sports buyers) as well as a collection of XBLA games on disc. If you want to spend no more than $200, and are choosing between a Wii and a 360, the answer is obvious: if you like playing video games, get a 360. If you want to have something sitting around that your friends and family will play once in a while after a few drinks, get a Wii.
The ‘regular’ versions of the XBOX 360 (with a hard drive) are $299 for a 60GB version, and $399 for a 120GB Elite. Both versions come bundled with the same two games at this time; Lego Indiana Jones, and Kung-Fu Panda. So again, there is really not much reason to spend the extra $100, unless you really need the extra hard drive space. Unlike the PS3, you will need to spend that extra cash if you want the space, because the 360’s drive format is proprietary. So if you can justify the need for 120GB, get the Elite. Just be mindful that you aren’t getting much else besides a black paint job and an HDMI cable.
So the main contenders are the Playstation 3 80GB for $399, and the XBOX 360 60GB for $299. For many people, this is all that matters, and they could just stop reading here. After all, XBOX 360 sold over twice as many units at the beginning of the 2008 xmas buying seas as the PS3 (836K vs. 378K – Source: NPD).
One major issues with the XBOX 360’s price is that it still does not have integrated Wi-Fi in the box (no, not even the so-called “Elite”). If you need to use Wi-Fi to connect to the internet rather than cables, you will be required to spend around $100 for a proprietary Wireless adapter. That is absolutely ridiculous for a simple USB adapter that normally costs $20 or so. Here’s a tip: online import stores generally sell them for less, since XBOX 360 accessories cost much less in Asia.
Performance
If you pay attention to actual game developers, and not the angry fanboys, you will learn that no, the Playstation 3 doesn’t have “more graphics power” than the 360. The fact is, XBOX 360’s Xenos GPU itself has far more computing power than the RSX GPU
that resides in the PS3. Does this mean the 360 has “better graphics”? I don’t know, that is a subjective matter, beyond the scope of this objective
comparison, and entirely up to you to decide. If you like what you see
on the PS3, then to you, it has “better graphics”. If you like what you see on
the 360, then there you go. That is all subjective, and not the goal of this
article. The CPU power is another story however; on paper the Cell has a lot more potential than the triple-core Xeon that resides in the 360. Last year, I wrote,
…I fully expect the PS3 to win this category – eventually. To what extent, I’m 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, I’m not sure either. Obviously, one full year wasn’t enough.
One year certainly wasn’t enough, but were two? That’s a subjective matter,
and up to you to decide. For my money, not many games look better than MGS4 on
PS3, and Killzone 2 is looking really good. However, “Blockbuster” exclusives will almost always look
really good, and comparing one to the other is pretty much pointless.
If Killzone 2 is any indication, it looks like PS3’s Cell architecture is finally beginning to flex its muscle. It is possible that the 360 has already met its full potential, and the PS3 is still getting there, at least for AAA exclusives
are concerned. That is purely conjecture though, and that’s not what this article is about.
XBOX 360 had a huge advantage in most third-party games in 2007. We wrote that first of all, games aren’t really “Full HD” at this point. Games run in much lower resolutions in order to keep the overall quality and effects high. Make no mistake; you need a PC to play games with high detail, full HD graphics; both consoles lag far behind a well equipped PC. But I digress; when it comes to third-party titles throughout its first year, PS3 games were often late and featured noticeably lower quality graphics when compared to the same games on 360. Is that the case now? Sort of, but it’s not nearly as bad. Let’s take a look at some familiar multi-platform games of 2008:
- Fallout 3 – looks essentially the same on both, but PS3 version lacks antialiasing. The PS3 version initially had bugs, but they have since been patched.
- Bioshock – Despite coming out a year later, the PS3 version of Bioshock was pretty much a mess at first. Some of the textures are noticeably lower, and the framerate stutters often. A patch improved things, but the framerate is still lower.
- Dead Space – The developers have been quoted that working with Sony is “challenging” so the old mantra of the Sony and Playstation being tough to work with hold true to this day. Thankfully, they were able to manage a good experience on both consoles, and both versions play about the same.
- Soul Calibur IV – The 360 version runs in a 960p frame buffer, but Namco-Bandai decided to downsample the 360’s resolution down to 720p to smooth the image rather that utilize AA. However, the difference is not significant, so both versions look pretty close to the same (the 360 does have some extra lighting effects). Since you can download both Darth Vader and Yoda on either version, even that has become a moot point.
- Devil May Cry 4 – Remember this one? It came out in 2008 as well. Unlike most games, this isn’t a port from one console to another. Rather, Capcom develops their games on a tri-platform engine (Framework MT), then compile them for PC, PS3, and XBOX 360. Antialiasing is present on the 360 version, since it is essentially ‘free’. To keep it running at 720p with a decent framerate on the PS3, Capcom utilized a pseudo-AA effect by shifting frames and creating a blur effect. It does smooth things out, but during fast moving scenes it tends to stand out.
In the end, I think we can say that multiplatform gaming is getting closer to parity, but it’s not quite there yet. The 360’s superior graphics power is especially applicable to multi-platform games
that do not get a lot of development time to make full use of Cell architecture,
and the XBOX 360’s GPU allows it to run at higher resolutions while eliminating jaggies with “Free” Antialiasing.
Furthermore, Playstation 3 titles tend to ship with bugs that get patched at a later time. This is nothing new to PC gamers of course, but definitely quite new to console gamers (and not exclusive to PS3 either – plenty of XBOX 360 games get patched as well).
You should also consider that many games require a mandatory installation on the Playstation 3, and in many cases load times are still about the same as a DVD would be. With the XBOX 360, you have the choice of installing a game to the hard drive, and when you do you will instantly notice faster load times and quieter operation. Comparing DMC4 load times
on an installed PS3 version to an installed XBOX 360 version is quite significant.
Game Selection
This was a touchy subject for many Sony fanboys who read last year’s article. They stated that it wasn’t “fair” to compare the game selection of the 360, which had an extra year’s worth of game releases. My answer to them is, it doesn’t matter which console came out first. These articles are about what is out there RIGHT NOW.
Last year, the overall quality of exclusive titles was clearly better on the 360. With games like Bioshock, Forza 2, Halo 3, and Mass Effect, the 360 had many “Editor’s Choice” worthy titles, as well as a few “Game of the Year” contenders for 2007. Meanwhile, Sony’s best exclusives were Ratchet & Clank, Heavenly Sword, and Uncharted. Good games to be sure, but not exactly the same caliber. So have things switched around in 2008? Let’s take a look:
| XBOX 360 Exclusives released in 2008 | |
| Title | GameRankings Score |
| Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts | 80 |
| Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath | 75 |
| Culdcept Saga | 77 |
| Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 | 72 |
| Dark Messiah Might and Magic: Elements | 53 |
| Fable II | 89 |
| Frontlines: Fuel of War | 77 |
| Gears of War 2 | 94 |
| Guilty Gear 2: Overture | 60 |
| Infinite Undiscovery | 68 |
| Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom | 56 |
| Left 4 Dead | 90 |
| Lips | 72 |
| Lost Odyssey | 79 |
| Namco Museum Virtual Arcade | 74 |
| Naruto: The Broken Bond | 81 |
| Ninja Gaiden II | 82 |
| Scene It? Box Office Smash | 76 |
| Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage | 60 |
| Supreme Commander | 59 |
| Tales of Vesperia | 83 |
| Too Human | 68 |
| Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise | 83 |
| Warhammer: Battle March | 57 |
| You’re in the Movies | 56 |
| Zoids Assault | 47 |
| Playstation 3 Exclusives released in 2008 | |
| Title | GameRankings Score |
| Buzz! Quiz TV | 82 |
| Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice | 80 |
| Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds | 81 |
| Gran Turismo 5 Prologue | 80 |
| Haze | 57 |
| LittleBigPlanet | 94 |
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | 92 |
| MLB 08: The Show | 86 |
| Monster Madness: Grave Danger | 55 |
| MotorStorm: Pacific Rift | 82 |
| Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm | 76 |
| NBA 09: The Inside | 64 |
| Resistance 2 | 88 |
| SingStar | 83 |
| SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation | 66 |
| Valkyria Chronicles | 87 |
This table includes games that are “console exclusive” but are also available on PC.
Green = over 80% score in GameRankings
Bold = Worthy of Game of the Year consideration (this is regardless of their GR scores)
These lists cover the entire calendar year of 2008. Keep in mind that the intention of displaying exclusives like this is not to determine which console “is better”. It is assumed that the multiplatform games are essentially equal on both, and there are plenty of really good multi-platform games. In fact, looking at these lists, only 3 to 5 exclusive games are really worthy of GOTY consideration.
What we can see by looking at these tables, is that the 360 certainly has a lot more shovelware (especially from Japan). Aside from the crap, both consoles offer about the same amount of “good” exclusive titles. And finally, it sort of shows the futility of aggregated scores; are SingStar and Buzz really “better” than Banjo-Kazooie and Disgaea 3?
Looking ahead into 2009, the future of exclusives on XBOX 360 seems somewhat questionable at this point. Little is known about many of the titles, and they have yet to have their desirability (or even 2009 release dates) confirmed. Some of the titles we’re looking forward to are Forza Motorsport 3, Halo 3: Recon, Star Ocean, and (maybe) Alan Wake. Mass Effect 2 is questionable at best. XBOX 360 is however getting some nice exclusive downloadable content, like GTA IV and Fallout 3 (hope you didn’t trade those in!). On the PS3 side, we have Heavy Rain, Infamous, God of War 3, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, and White Knight Chronicles to look forward to. Gran Turismo 5 may even make it by the end of the year, but probably only in Japan. Those are some pretty big sequels right there, but much of it is conjecture at this point, so we can’t comment on it too much. In November, we’ll look at how each console’s year went ;)
Online Support
Sony has come a long way in the year since we last did this comparison. Can you imagine playing a game, and not having access to your friends list? And whether you like it or not, a lot of people can’t live without achievements. Sony has added these features to their interface, while maintaining free online access. It’s not as good as it sounds however; chatting with friends is still clunky as hell, and it’s still difficult to invite them to games (there is still no auto invite function).
Some games have added better interfaces (Burnout Paradise comes to mind), but in the end, PS3’s online functionality is very poor in comparison to XBOX Live. I guess you can still say “You get what you pay for” in this case.
Another issue is the fact that there are fewer people buying Playstation 3 games. Not only is the console being outsold by quite a significant margin by the XBOX 360 (4.62 million compared to 2.56 million in 2008 alone, and 9.15 million compared to 3.25 million in the lifetime of the consoles), it also sells less games per console. That means that you will find many more online games of Call of Duty 4, for instance, on the XBOX 360. Also, even your multi-console friends will probably choose to play online games on the 360, because of everything I mentioned here.
New Interfaces
Both Sony and Microsoft launched their big interface upgrades right before the holiday buying season, and if there was one thing that set the consoles apart, these new features are it. On the Microsoft side, the entire console interface has been retooled. I mentioned in last year’s comparison article:
I 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 “New XBOX Interface” or NXE replaces the annoyingly low-framerate, bright flashy interface with a sleeker system that actually works somewhat similar to Playstation’s “Cross Media Bar” or XMB. It still isn’t as “classy” as the default PS3 option, but it is a HUGE improvement. And if you don’t want to play around on it, simply hit your “X” button on the controller to gain access to all the functionality in a compact window.
Since last year, PS3’s XMB has added theme functionality (both free and commercial themes are available on PSN). NXE also has themes, and it actually does a better job of separating the content you are browsing from the theme itself. Some XMB themes that have light backgrounds are impossible to use because of the white text.
That brings me to Playstation @Home. If you haven’t tried it by now, you’ve surely heard about this ambitious project. Meant to be a sort of “Second Life” for video games, the “beta” launch of @Home can be considered a complete flop by all gamers (Sony fanboy or not). If you know nothing of it, let me try to describe it for you.
Picture this scene: A stark looking “futuristic” city garden, populated by zombies that all have the same blank expressions on their faces, same clothes and same hairstyles. Wherever there is a female zombie, she will be surrounded by at least 5 male zombies, all of whom are showing off their best dance movies. Also, bubble machines are everywhere.
That’s @Home in a nutshell. I am not even going to bring up the absurdity that is asking people to pay to make their zombies look slightly different. I was in the @Home closed beta for a while, and I can admit that it is somewhat fun to win special clothing and furniture by playing games (the Namco prizes are especially cool). The problem is, there is absolutely nothing to do with this clothing and furniture once you’ve won it, except wearing the clothing and placing the furniture on floors.
Since @Home isn’t exactly an interface replacement, we can’t really compare it directly to NXE. Instead, we can simply consider it as being an ‘extra’ to the PS3 that pretty much nobody is using at this point. It may improve, but right now it should absolutely not be part of the reason you decide to buy a Playstation 3.
NXE on the other hand improves the XBOX 360’s interface to the point where it is at least as enjoyable to use as XMB. Personally, I
hated the original XBOX 360 interface, so this new one is a huge improvement. Also, being able to install games to the hard drive (completely optional) is a really nice feature. PS3 games often require installation to bring load times up to DVD speed (or slightly faster). With NXE, you are beating DVD’s already quick load times (and quieting down the ridiculously loud DVD drive).
Playstation Network Store vs. XBOX Live Arcade
The initial interface of Sony’s online store was, to say the least, crap. However they revised it last year, and it is now very easy to find games, demos, and other extra goodies. There are even ‘branded stores’ for companies like Capcom who offer many titles.
Big titles like Mega Man and Street Fighter HD are available on both programs, and usually run well on both consoles. Both consoles have good indy support as well, with all the PixelJunk games and such on PSN, and games like Braid on XBLA.
Microsoft tends to do a better job of adding retro games, while Sony only occasionally adds the odd PS1 title, and has a few arcade games available. This is one thing that drives retro fans like
myself crazy; with hundreds of great games that can easily be made available on PSN for little cost, it’s frustrating that there are so few.
As far as demos go, both PSN and XBLA have time fee-based demo exclusivity. For XBLA, it’s in the form of XBOX Live membership, where if you’re a paying member (which all online gamers are), you get early access to demos. For Playstation Network, you have to subscribe to their “video magazine” Qore to get monthly exclusive demos, the value of which is questionable.
Multimedia
When I last compared the two consoles, the PS3 had just received an update allowing it to play DivX files using the AVI container format (in other words, the most common format used by people who “share” movies and TV recordings). Shortly after that, XBOX 360 received similar features.
As it stands, basic multimedia functionality of the two consoles in terms of playback is pretty much the same. One major advantage of the PS3 is that not only can it stream media, but you can store media on it as well. The 360 was only ever intended to be a “Media Extender” so you can’t do things like save your AVI files on the hard drive.
There have been rumors for the past year that Microsoft would begin supporting Blu-Ray on the XBOX 360 following the demise of HD-DVD. Those rumors have been pretty much completely squashed, so that leaves PS3 as the only Blu-Ray playing video game console for quite a while. And as a Blu-Ray player, the PS3 is fantastic. It supports all the latest features, and has responsive controls and high video quality.
Netflix
Depending on your situation, this may be a HUGE deal for XBOX 360, something that you need to consider if you like to rent movies. With NXE, XBOX 360 added the ability to stream movies in near-DVD to 720p quality to users with XBOX Live Gold and Netflix Unlimited accounts. At a low monthly cost, users have access to over 100,000 titles, including movies and TV shows. Keep in mind however, that this feature is only available to US residents at this time.
With some effort, you can do the same with the PS3, but nothing beats turning the 360 into a media center that allows you to easily browse through thousands of movies and shows, and instantly start streaming them with decent quality. PS3’s Blu-Ray support is more geared for video enthusiasts, where Netflix streaming is more for the casual crowd. So it’s up to you to decide which is better for you.
Other Considerations
There are of course some other things that we need to consider when comparing the consoles that may not fit under certain categories. For some people, this is what will make or break their purchasing decision.
- RROD. The issue has seemingly been taken care of, as reports of recent XBOX 360 models have been few and far between. However, if you are using a launch unit, the longer you play it, the closer you are to disaster. I am knocking on wood at this point, but it just seems that having your XBOX 360 die on you is not a threat, but an inevitability.
- Import Gaming. I touched on this last year – the fact that the Playstation 3 is completely region free for PS3 titles makes it the easy choice for import gamers. If you are into playing the latest whacky titles from Japan, then the decision has been made for you pretty much. Furthermore, it’s very easy to create PSN accounts in other countries, allowing you to play demos intended for other regions. Without a credit card, you won’t be able to purchase PSN games, but this is still a nice feature to have.
- Piracy. The PS3 still has yet to be figured out by modders, so pirates are still left with one choice between the two. That said, Microsoft is constantly battling piracy, in the form of completely banning consoles that play online with pirated games. The Playstation 3 will almost inevitably be cracked, but when it happens and how easy it’s going to be are unknown at this point.
- Folding@Home. Again, not a big deal to most people, but folders who are on the fence about which console to buy will want to consider the PS3. Believe it or not, there are some pretty hardcore folders out there who care a lot about how many points they make.
- PSP Connectivity. This function was added just after I wrote my last article, and it’s only gotten better since then. The interoperability between the PS3 and PSP is nothing short of impressive. Browse the console from anywhere, stream music and video, play games. It’s really cool. Unfortunately, the PSP has become somewhat irrelevant in the last year, due to a lack of.. any games worth playing at all.
- Backwards Compatibility. If you are interested in playing your PS2 library on your shiny new PS3, forget it. Any system bought in a store today has absolutely no PS2 functionality whatsoever. Not even emulation. On top of that, PS2 emulation on the old 80GB version was extremely sketchy. If you really want a backwards compatible PS3, you need to buy a used 60GB or 20GB. In the meantime, Microsoft is expanding their backwards compatibility, and adding new Original XBOX games to their online library from time to time.
- Display Connectivity. When I wrote last year’s article, you had to buy an Elite XBOX 360 to get HDMI output. Since then, every single XBOX 360 has HDMI output (even the $200 Core System) so this is no longer an issue. What may be an issue is that you will need to use a custom cable if you want to use optical audio with HDMI video. This costs around $40.
- Open Source Operating Systems. Again, PS3 is the only console that officially allows you to install Linux on it. You can’t play PS3 games while in Linux, but you can switch back to the XMB easily. There is still a group that is working on a version of Linux that can be installed on XBOX 360.
Conclusion
So, which is better, XBOX 360 or PS3?
The answer is……. Neither! Look, each console has its “pros and cons”. If you primarily play online games, you will want to get an XBOX 360. If you have a nice HDTV and want to enjoy beautiful Blu-Ray movies, you will want to get a PS3. If you are an “achievement whore” you will want a 360. If you like to play import games, you will want a PS3. If you want to easily stream near-HD quality movies and TV shows, get a 360. It goes on and on. If you like Halo games, get a 360. If you are more of a Killzone kinda guy, get a PS3. If you want to spend less than $400, get a 360.
If you think the PS3 has “better graphics” get a PS3. If you think the XBOX 360
has “better graphics” then get an XBOX 360.
The fact is, the decisions that influence your purchasing decision are entirely up to you. What matters to you may not matter to the next person. But hopefully you have a clearer picture of “what matters” to you, and how the consoles compare after reading this article. If it’s exclusive titles, fine. Go with the console that has the games you like. If it’s “which multiplatform games play better on this console” the answer is… Well the 360 is a bit better, but the PS3 is improving in this regard (and buggy games do get patched).
I’ll finish off with some comments that are purely subjective. It is my personal opinion that it just ‘feels’ better to play games on the Playstation 3. After reading this entire article, the PS3 has some advantages and some disadvantages, but for some reason I just like playing games on it better. It’s quiet, I don’t have to worry about it Red Ringing on me, and I actually prefer the DualShock 3 controller (when the connection is not cutting out, which seems to happen with less frequency now that I think about it). I am more of an offline gamer when it comes to consoles, so the XBOX 360’s huge advantage of being the superior online gaming system doesn’t apply to me. I just want a console that will do what it’s supposed to do, and do so quietly. Other people will feel just the opposite, and that is perfectly fine. I have my reasons, and you have yours. And neither of those should affect one another. That’s the whole point of writing this article in the manner that I have.
Comments are welcome, keeping in mind that fanboy crap will not remotely be tolerated. If you have a comment to make, try to do so in a respectable manner.
Winner: Neither
I’m going to have to read that last part again. And again. And again!
Nice post. I just finished reading all 3 of your articles and they helped me a great deal in deciding which console to treat myself to. Thanks!
[...] 360 Vs Playstation 3 Playstation 3 vs XBOX 360 Two Years Later HCW Tech Blog More infos are available here: Playstation 3 vs XBOX 360 Two Years Later HCW Tech [...]
I was looking forward to a straight up “Winner” at the end of this, but your right. It truly is up to me to make this decision. Props on these 3 great articles, read all three word for word, re-reading certain things multiple times. Sadly, I’m still struggling to come to a conclusion on which console is right for me. Thanks a lot though! :D
Nice article, liked the first one the best though. It seems clear that both consoles now offer a viable option for gamers now. Personally I still prefer Xbox, basically just because I prefer the controller, exclusives and online. No HD tv after all.
Got a question:
Are PS3 exclusives worthy?
I’m looking forward to buy a PS3, with a 320 GB HDD, and I want to know if these titles are worth the buy (not all of them are exclusives, tough)
Fallout 3
GTA IV
Killzone 2
Resident Evil 5
Eternal Sonata
Valkyrie Chronicles
Rainbow six vegas 2 (for co-op play)
And I’m buying Dragon Age Origins for PC too
I can tell you without a doubt that Fallout 3 and GTA IV are exceptional games and both will offer many hours of great gameplay. Also Killzone 2 and Resident Evil 5 look amazing although they have yet to come out. If they come anywhere close to the hype they are receiving they will be among the top PS3 game for sure. Eternal Sonata and Valkyria Chronicles have received mixed reviews depending and a lot depends on whether the style of game is for you. I have played both and personally would not consider them great games. However that is just me and I know many people who rave about how amazing Valkyria Chronicles is. Having not played Rainbow 6 Vegas I can’t help you there. All these titles are defiantly worth a shot but I would put Fallout 3 and GTA IV at the top of my list if I was you.
I don’t understand it the best game the ps3 has is assasin creed.but know one talks about it.I’v played over 2,000 games on all platform,and that game has the best of everything.It puts GTA IV to shame.not saying it not good just better.how doesn’t like walking up on someone and sliting their throut in first person,let the blood fly!
Assassin’s Creed was one of the least fun games I have ever played. The game is damn beautiful, but the gameplay is incredibly repetitive. Personally, the game didn’t deserve most of the praise it received. The whole game was repeating the same thing over and over again. Yeah, slitting someone’s throat is fun… the first time. After about 100 times, not so much.
You’ll want to keep in mind that DLC expansions for both GTA IV and Fallout 3 are available only for Xbox 360 and PC.
All fallout 3 DLC will be available on the playstation 3 as well.
Not when that comment was posted. lol
Hell at least 360 users get that DLC first.
Honestly I see the GTAIV content going to PS3 eventually as well. It’d be stupid of Rockstar not to do that in terms of revenue generated. Unless of course MS start doing a little more money sharing.
GREAT work!
I’ll read it over and over again throughout the next month, when I’ll buy my first new VG since Super Nintendo! :)
Excellent article. Happy to hear some common sense for once..
Let me tell you that I had firt a Xbox360, with it I played Gears of War 1, but it failed for the “three red lights” problem. Then I decided to get a PS3. Now I’ve bought MGS4, LBP, GTAIV, and these are great games, so I’m glad I have my great and trustful PS3.
I just can’t be more exited for 2009, because this year Sony releases a very impressive catalog of exclusives.
Besides that, the only game I’d like to still be able to play is Gears of War2, but with the critics I’ve read that say it’s almost the same of the first one I think I haven’t lost as much as I thought.
Yeah, I’ve had 4 xbox 360s, 2 of the regular white ones and 2 elites, and every single one has failed on me. So, he should actually change it to siding with the PS3. I don’t even have one and I would rather have gotten one from the very beginning instead of having to deal with the nonsense of sending in my xbox and getting a new one every 6 months or so. I have never heard of a play station failing, so I’m assuming if you want reliability, get a PS3. If you want to deal with Microsoft’s not-so-great-with-english phone operators to send your big loud brick in, Xbox 360 is your best bet.
All Xbox exclusives come out on PC a year or two later. Not so with PS3 exclusives. This is often overlooked, but IMO the best reason to pick up a PS3 over 360.
I choose the XBOX 360, because:
Blu-ray. I don’t need it.
Cost is higher than XBOX 360.
Folding@Home. I do not need it (PC from $1500 more powerful than the PS3).
I think the XBOX 360 has better graphics.
PSP. I do not need to connect it.
Linux. I prefer to use the Linux on PC.
Exclusive GTA IV Episodes, Halo 3, Fable 2, GoW 2, etc.
JUST GREAT! Probs to you for this f$&!ing great article (and for the first & second one as well)
what i love especially in your articles is the fact, that you just list every aspect (pro & con) of the both console and the reader can pick “his” arguments. For example, im gonna pick the xbox 360 because i am a street fighter 2 oldskooler (mmmh….back in the days….1993 :-) ) with the problem to havent any competition among my friends (i won always every fighting game) – but with xbox live the japanese pro gamers will kick the shit out of me ;-)
and my personally con argument against the ps3 is the fact that i’ll NEVER EVER buy / borrow bluray-movies – its 2009 and i still had not any kind of standalone dvd-player and dont own a single DVD-movie. That said, with the ps3 i would have to pay extra cash for a bluray player (i really good one as far as i’ve heard and seen by myself) that wont ever come to use for me.
for everybody who still cant decide which one to pick: try to find THE k.o. argument against the ps3 or xbox360 and take the other one – its that simple :-)
chillcut
Netflix is only for North America, so I think you should not consider it as something global.
Us in other countries don’t have that feature =(
Other than that, I really liked your article =D
Netflix currently is only available in the U.S.
…and, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure the article did mention that Netflix was available to U.S. residents only.
Well done, excellent article!
One thing that makes the Xbox nice is the fact that you can purchase a VGA cable and experience HD on basically any PC monitor / LCD screen. You dont need to own a HD Plasma or LCD TV to enjoy HD gaming.
”All Xbox exclusives come out on PC a year or two later. Not so with PS3 exclusives. This is often overlooked, but IMO the best reason to pick up a PS3 over 360.”
Ofcourse, assuming everyone has a PC capable of playing all of those PC games which unfortunately alot of people cannot afford therefore it’d be cheaper/easier/better for such people to get an xbox360 and play such PC games there.
Also, i myself as someone who has a pc that could play those games, know that i won’t want to play most 360 games on pc when they’re released on pc, simply cause there will more than likely be something new out for pc and 360 by then that will be better.
Looking at buying a 360 at the moment.
Will let all know how it all goes down in the end.
Pretty gud article but u forget to mention that the ps3 is a complete media system that u can connect to ur computer and stream videos, music and graphics as well as move files. I did this today and it’s super easy.
i have always had all 3 consoles and i picked the ps3 to play the most i didnt understand y ppl hated it untill i read this great job.
lol ps3 for me it is awesome still i find playing online with ps3 had no problems wheneer i had mates come over with their ps3’s. Not to mention even though these are good istill love playing me oh sega saturn, super nintendo and pcs
Fantastic article!
I agree with the majority of the points & particularly the conclusion. personally I opted for the 360 when a UK supermarket had the 60gb pro for £139, so price was the biggest decider for me. I would say that neither of them are “futureproof” as Sony constantly like to brag, as their graphics chips and memory are already limiting them compared to a current midrange PC. I 2 years from now they will start to look rather archaic. So whatever console you go for, base it on what you can get out of it today not in a few years time.
I had all 3 consoles. XBOX 360, PS3 and Wii. Whilst the Wii was more fo the kids. I enjoyed both the XBOX 360 and PS3.
I was miffed that I had to buy an online adapter for the XBOX 360 (additional $99) and pay for XBOX Live Gold service and buy the play and charge adapters.
Then the inevitable happened, XBOX 360 RROD after 13months – having played GOW, Halo3, Bioshock, I had seen the best Microsoft had to offer. I got it replaced and sold it.
I have been continuing playing PS3 with COD4, MGS4, LBP, GT5P, R2, COD5, Drakes Fortune and am waiting for Killzone 2, Infamous and RE5.
So, In my opinion, your console should stand the test of time and users should not even think will the hardware fail.
PS3 wins for me.
Good article.
The thing you have to read on the comments though is why do some people always critise one console over another. Afraid? Scared that their purchase is a bad choice hence constant slagging of the other one. Usually if you’re happy with something you praise it’s pluses and don’t really care what the other console does. So check out all the sites and see who visits the other most and wonder why? Also go check out the 360/PS3/Wii forums and see who’s happiest just yapping about their favourite console. Then you decide.
I love your theory. It’s totally right on. That is why I’m always looking at these articles that compare the different consoles…. I’m afraid that I made the wrong choice. And your comment just made me figure that out. Why should I care? Why should anyone care? I like my PS3. I have fun with it. That is all that should matter. I’ve been in some heated chat room arguments about what system is better. Now I just feel stupid. I really think that these fanboys deep down inside are arguing for the same reason… they don’t want to be wrong. Thanks for the enlightenment!
I have always been a xbox fanboy ever since it came out. After getting the 360 I was very very very pleased…After 2 years i got the RROD and had to take it back into future shop but luckily with a extended warrranty got one back over the counter. Since then I have purchased a ps3…I am astonished, I play online campaign everything rent all the “big name” titles and play them. One thing I have realized is that with the ps3 if you use light highspeed internet which I happened to come by at one point it still works with virtually unoticable lag, However on the 360 with light highspeed internet it is almost impossible to play wirelessly. My ps3 onli pics up 60% signal due to how far I am from the access point and still offers an amazing gaming experience. Sony didn’t “cheap out” on the accesories on its console while xbox did due to the fact you have to buy a dvd player and a wireless adapter seperate which will cost over 200$ in all to get it equivalent to a simple ps3 console. The game selection is getting very competitive and it is starting to get closer and closer every year between the 2 consoles but yes 360 stil has the better games.TO conclude my reply i must say blu-ray on the ps3 with a bose surround sound system and a LG lcd tv IS AMAZING, I immediately got right into the movie and it was an awesome experience.
A good, and on the whole unbiased, article.
However I must disagree with a few points:
Performance – What you say is true, but it’s worth pointing out that the PS3 was never designed to compete on a GPU level, the concept of the PS3 was to share some of the graphics processing with the Cell (see the E3′05 Cell-only generated graphics demos). I personally don’t think you elaborate enough that Sony and MS took two very different approaches and as such seems a bit misleading. This is also the reason it’s taken so long for multiplatforms to reach parity as it’s easier to develop on the 360’s traditional, PC based, architecture.
Games Selection – as mentioned above the 360’s intrinsic relationship with “Games for Windows” means a 360 exclusive very often means a 360 and PC exclusive, whereas a PS3 exclusive normally means you need a PS3 to play it. This is a very important consideration for PC gamers. In general as you say, 2009 looks far more exciting for PS3 owners, and the development of console MMO’s will be an interesting one.
Online – I can’t speak for the US alone (which at the end of the day is to Microsoft what Japan is to Sony), but globally the sales difference of multiplatform games isn’t all that different and you must remember that if you want to play online on 360 you need a Gold subscription which substantially dents the 360’s online user base (it’s something like 60% of 360 owners online vs 80% of PS3 owners, I think?). One could go as far as to say more people may be playing on the PSN than Live outside the US. A nod to other regions would be nice here.
New Interface – hardly fair to compare NXE to Home (there’s no @ in it’s name last time I checked), NXE is a massive improvement on the hideous GUI of old, though a cynic could call it the love child of the Wii and PS3 interfaces. But there was nothing wrong with the PS3 XMB to start with and Home was never intended to replace your interface (nor was it ever meant to be a “Second Life” game).
To call Home a flop is a little harsh at this point, and by all accounts inaccurate. Home is an open beta and will take years to fully develop (it’s probably a concept that won’t be truly realised until the PS4). But to judge it on it’s Open BETA which has barely any of it’s features activated (game launching being the main gaming element) is a bit unfair. Also 3.4 Million registrations and around $1.5Million of micro-transactions in it’s first few weeks can hardly be called a flop – in fact Sony are probably delighted with those figures given what Home currently is. It’ll be interesting to see how it develops throughout 2009.
Multimedia/Netflix – again this is a US/Global thing, but since your article does not specify that it is only relevant to US residents I will mention it. Netflix is not available outside of US and in Europe Sony have launched a well-received “Freeview+” addon (Digital Terestrial TV PVR device). Again this could be a selling point for some, especially with the Digital Switchover just months away.
“you are an “achievement whore” you will want a 360.” – Not necessarily so anymore, Trophies make this point moot, and although subjective I find Trophies to be a better alternative thanks to the graded level of achievements, platinum game trophy, and from this year Home integration.
As you say though there is no winner, and it is way too early to call one (despite how much MS like to try). It will be 2011 before we will truly be able to crown a victor. Most of the arguments as you say are very subjective, especially when it comes to exclusive content each having their own highlights. It would be easy to spin this article in either direction and write equally compelling pro-360 or pro-PS3 articles.
Not to mention the way that the PS3 games are programmed is all vastly new to software builders. They are having to relearn a whole new and different code. The PS3 is the first of its kind it needs time you shall see that when programers figure this out the graphics the depth of game play will be taken to a whole new level.
Well…i m in a wierd situation. I own a ps3, but i m thinking should i but a 360???is it worth it??? your article helped me alot? but the reason i want to buy a 360 is so that i can but pirated games(or download them), as they are cheap. Half of my pocket money goes in buying a game of ps3 everymonth. so i just wanted to ask. is what i am doing rite???
I would’nt realy call it “Wrong” as such, its sort of bad as its kind of stealing, but if ur going to Mod ur Xbox a MUST is that u own 2 Xbox’s cus is u get caugh with a xbox thats moded they banned the xboxx’s IP address so u cnt use it for xbox live EVER again, that or u can get an Xbox from Japan as the ppl who check ur regions xbox’s for mods wont beable to understand its coding!
Hope i helped =)
nice article. learned some things about the 360. i love my PS3 as a media center .. storing pics and family vids over my home network. friends really like it when i use it as a high def “picture gallery” with music in the background. it plays almost every kinds vid i throw at it. ii is generally used in my house about 50% gaming and 50% as a media center. LOVE the ability to easily upgrade the drive.
but .. yeah .. good article. they are both very nice consoles. i, personally, have zero use for the Wii… just as a side note. it’s just not a robust console.
Great article, I agree that neither is a hands down winner. According to Nielsen PS2 was the most played console of 2008, and Wii though underpowered and lacking HD or many good games, outsold both (even with 360 at the same price). I have a PS3 and Netflix and am kind of jealous of the 360 support – it’s unlikely to come to PS3 since Netflix choose to implement using Microsoft technology (Silverlight). On the Multimedia front PS3 now supports Flash 9, improved fullscreen access now, so you can view content from hulu and other flash based websites.
Hmmm… not so sure about the “unbiased” claim. No mention of buying bateries for your wireless 360 controller or $50 for xbox live or the lack of wifi in the price section? For someone who wants to play games online without an ethernet cable in the living room, that’s $170 of “unbiased” (purely accidental I’m sure) ommissions.
Interesting that your criteria for bolding a high quality game appears to be 89; giving the 360 a 3 to 2 advantage. Not a nice round 90 (2 to 2 tie) or 85 (PS3 a 5 to 3 advantage). Not 88 (3 to 3 tie), but 89.
For the most part, nice article and mostly fair. I think if you were honest, you’d admit that you’re having a hard time hiding your true preference. Fine. Maybe just lighten up on all the unbiased talk.
@Kell:
About buying batteries, I never brought that up because it was never an issue for me. I have several high capacity AA batteries that I use for all my devices, including the 360 and Wii. About XBOX Live, I did mention that “you get what you pay for”. You do have a point about WiFi though. I will amend the article. There was no intention to purposefully ignore that point in order to make the XBOX 360 appear favorable. My intention with this article is to be completely unbiased, and if I missed some facts, it was because of my own errors, not a bias.
Regarding the “bold” games, those have nothing to do with the gamerankings scores, but rather my own research of the year-end GOTY awards given by various sites. I bolded games that were considered GOTY contenders, regardless of their scores. There was no intention to make it look like there were more GOTY contenders on the XBOX 360. It was just a fact that was discovered with my research. There was no bias there.
Again, I just want to make clear that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for me state my preference for one console over the other, or to show a bias towards one. If you just stop and think about it, what do I have to gain from favoring the XBOX 360? That they are my “team” and that I “won”? That is utterly pointless, and defeats my purpose for writing this article.
My whole reason for writing these articles is to stand out from biased crap you see in forums and such. That is the whole point for writing it. My articles stand out from the rest, and my site gets acknowledgement and traffic because of it.
Thanks again for bringing up your thoughts in a civilized manner, you wouldn’t believe the shit people have been writing (no really, you wouldn’t…)
And for the record, I do prefer to play on the PS3, for the exact reasons I mentioned. I have a launch 360, and mostly I am afraid of using it for fear of the seemingly inevitable RROD.
I really like this article series but I’m looking for some advice from others.
Gaming, I much prefer multiplayer on the net, so that would obviously point towards an X360.
However, I watch quite a lot of movies as well and want a Blu-Ray player, so that points towards a nice quiet non-red-lining PS3.
I am generally leaning towards Sony as I still have affection for my old PS1. However, I am concerned that the console is frustrating to play online on. I suppose my real queries are: how bad in your experience is the PS3 online gaming, particularly the ingame chatting with fellow gamers for the PS3, and is there a dearth of players for the bigger PS3 titles?.
Pass on your experiences please.
Thanks in advance.
the ps3 is still the best even for online. how wants to spend more money for something you already have.(paying for online service for 360)playstation it’s free!!plus how wants to chat went play a game. that drives me nuts.just play the game as its intened to be played.no cheating get a PS3!!
I’d go with the 360 pro and a dedicated Bluray player, like the sony bdp 350. That way you’ll be able to use a dedicated remote control & have HD audio bitstream output if you are looking to get a HD audio capable receiver in the future.The latest gen of 360s are no louder than the PS3 & just as reliable.
Now, that’s what Microsoft makes you believe every single time, and they always got you by the balls….
[...]If Killzone 2 is any indication, it looks like PS3’s Cell architecture is finally beginning to flex its muscle.[...]
Unbiased? Pfeh. I can tell you that you favor the PS3 from this line alone.
Killzone 2 is the best-looking game out there because it isn’t out there yet. Killzone 2 has been imaginary since it debuted in 2005. In 2005 it was a CGI mock-up that everyone believed. Even last year, the Killzone devs were still using graphical cheats (adjusting lighting in post-production) to make the game look better than it does (with no limit to the Sony fans scrambling to say “oh it looks even BETTER than the faked screens! really!”).
Even now, there’s massive evidence that Killzone still doesn’t look as good as everyone thinks. Too many of the screenshots released show a washed-out palette of gray that’s really underwhelming, but not to worry! The devs claim the game looks a lot better than this in action- it’s just those silly screenshots not doing it justice. And we’re working on the fourth year in a row of this crap.
You’ve bought into Sony’s completely lacking PR nonsense, and that’s why you own the console you do. 360’s games still look just as good as their PS3 counterparts, if not better, in virtually all cases. They have since launch, they do now, and they will continue to in the future.
And for God’s sake- FOLDING@HOME is a reason to own a console? Running Linux on a console is valuable to who? You’re obviously working very, very hard to make the PS3 come out ahead in this comparison. Please stop with the unbiased thing.
Oh my god dude… what’s with the angry tone? The author said it is all subjective. And it is. You have your opinion the other guy has his. How can you say that this article did not favor the Xbox? Not from opinion, but from the cold hard facts. (And I’m a PS3 guy!) Why are you so worked up about the use of the word “unbiased”? Read the article again. The author took the facts and put them out there for all to see. The whole point of the article was to allow the reader to make up there own mind, not lead them in any particular direction. The author has done a fantastic job doing this. You are the one biased, not the author!
The only true way to really know is to own both. I have owned the 360 since day one. And it has been great. Mind you it has RRoD on me twice. But its not as painful as people make it seem. You send it off and its back in a week. Not a big deal. Some gamers just hate to take a small break I guess. It has all been worth it to play the exclusives online like Gears, CoD and Halo.
I picked up the 80 gig MGS4 PS3 when it came out. And so far I have really only played a few great game like Drake’s and MGS4.I can’t wait to check KillZone2! But I have watched lots of great Blu-Ray movies. I would have to say that whats almost more impressive than Blu-Ray is how good the PS3 upconverts reg. DVD’s. They look AMAZING!! I really like the memory card slots in my PS3 it organizes pictures and videos so nicely very,very cool! As off today if your a gamer get the 360 if your a movie buff and a rec. gamer get the PS3. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!
Great analysis – for the 3rd time!
I got my PS3 on launch day and went from excited to fanboy to unsure. Reading all 3 articles I do get the sense that the XBOX does edge it when you look at things line by line, but like you, I just prefer the way the PS3 works.
Who knows what the future brings for these two consoles but this article should be posted across every gaming site as it is the most well-balanced, objective critique I’ve come across on the web. Well done matey, thanks & keep up the good work!!!
@Eugene
Depends on how you like to play online. Playing games online with PS3 works just fine if what you want to do is play the game and chat with a friend who is in the game.
Party invites, voice chat options are not as robust. On my PS3 I can’t invite a buddy who’s playing littlebigplanet into my unreal tournament deathmatch. Where on live, I can play Halo and actually talk to my friend who’s playing CoD. Doesn’t matter much to me but might to you.
personally eugene
I would go for ps3. I have not come across any of them breaking down compared to a xbox 360 i had 8 mates who had the rrop. I mean dont you just want to enjoy the game without fears of it screwing up. or your disks getting grinded from shitty disk drives
Not to mention online play on ps3 is good i mean when i play im surprised that its not laggy it works fine on standard broadband. plus there is heaps of good games to play like resistance, killzone and soon ff13.
really its your choice but i faver the ps3 because when u buy it everything is included and it has the lowest possible rate of breakdown
“On my PS3 I can’t invite a buddy who’s playing littlebigplanet into my unreal tournament deathmatch” As i have a 360 and a PS3, i would say if im playing LBP and then my mate invites me to another game, it would kind of piss me off, if your playing a game, you playing it for a reason, not to wait for someone to invite you to another game!
“Where on live, I can play Halo and actually talk to my friend who’s playing CoD”
This would annoy me as well. I hate people talking about shit all in-game. Quite annoying, and the fact that your trying to concerntrate on a game not what the other person is talking about.
“Looks like Killzone 2 is using cells arch ect”
That is biased in a sence, but i have to disagree there, in Reviews and comments from Dev’s they said that it was only using around 49-55% of the Cell and the RSX.
People say that the Xenos is more powerful, i would have to disagree strongly with that, Because of the Arch that the Cell and the RSX works with is quite amazing. The Cell has its good at Rendering the Triangles for the 3D images because of it’s speed. But it isn’t so good at rendering the Shaders. So the pipelines were set out different, the RSX tells the dimentions of the Triangles ect and the Cell dedicates 1-2 Synergistic Processing element to it and it computes them, then sends it down the pipeline to the RSX and then the RSX applies the shaders and textures, then sends it back to the cell for a bit more work and then it is sent back again to be put on the screen. When people say The Xenos is more powerful, it is true to a certain extent, because the Xenos can do triangle computing ect, and the RSX can’t, but they NAILED that problem with the Cell, making it faster doing it and, while the cell is processing the Triangles, the RSX is always appling Shaders, lights and textures. So they are always at work, if you have ever seen WARHAWK, and you have seen the Draw Distances, you would be know what i mean, it computes them At load. It CHEWS through it easily. If WarHawk was on the 360, it wouldn’t have such a draw distance constantly.
Thank you. If you disagree with me, email me
[email protected]
PSN: Whiteford88
(I don’t use 360 for online)
Eugine
I owned a 360, but now have a ps3. I haven’t noticed any difference at all as far as online play is concerned. Also, the ps3’s bluray drive is god quality, and from what I have read, the most supported bluray system.
I do have to say that I totally miss the amount of downloadable games for the xbox 360.
hope that helped
Good article. Congratulations.
I prefer the ps3 it has a great amount of games, free online, blu ray and much more its alot more than a gaming machine.
I own all systems so it is not being a ‘fanboy’ or any such thing.
To top all this 360 is more expensive if you add all the add ons, xbox live,wireless connector ect…
360 fanboys just get use to it ps3 will dominate 2009 and you have nothing to show for it.
Don’t even kidd yourself DLC “haha” really are you kidding me i would rather play new games than old ones with new maps.
Also blu ray does make a difference it takes up less discs and it does make things look better people are still getting use to it.
On top of that multiplatform games always pretty much look the same look at past gens they are identical who cares.
It’s the exclusives that people care about and they’re are alot more and alot more better ones on ps3.
I want you 360 fanboys to tell me 3 top frachises on your machine that don’t have halo and gears…… is your brain hurting lol jk
Further more playstation 3 has updates all the time that actually do something to improve the experiance.
That new xbox live experiance doesn’t count because it is a rip off of mii’s and cover flow from your ipod. Did it really add anything new other than netflix which is only in america???
The netflix isnt even as good as it is on your computer you can get more from there.
The funniest thing is you can’t get sony movies on there like dark knight or anything.
Then to top it all off the ps3 exclusives are starting and if they arnt already will be better looking, have better gameplay and there will be more only on ps3.
Further more PS3 wins it doesn’t have a terrible failure rate like the xbox i have already been through 2 xbox 360’s
Also why all the playstation 3 hate if it wasn’t for sony there would be no hardcore market and we would still be playing games like mario and sonic thinking they are hardcore. But no resistance, gears, metal gear, killzone,god of war ect.. games like that are hardcore.
360 is good and all but it is just a cheap pc for people that cannot afford one.
One more thing playstation and even nintendo keep there games exclusive to that platform they don’t ship it off to pc a few months later.
So get over buyers regret and go buy a ps3 and try it before judging it.
Speaking of fanboy… You are the type of biased Carl was talking about.
Correction: “Without Sony”;
We would all be playing the hardcore games on pc and the pc market would be huge! And the online experience would be better! and free in almost every case! and everyone would have good keyboard and mouse skills! and this would make people more productive with computers in their workplace! and the world would be a better place!
This comment was entirely written for fun. So don’t take it to seriously and look for problems with everything i say.
@ the first kyle
shut up please.
This was a great comparison. I like to see a story that doesn’t bash either system. Of course, I am a sony fanboy and belive the ps3 is far superior. There are actual exlusives(OMG!) scheduled for this year unlike the 360. I can also rely on my ps3 to last years after the next system (NO Red Rings of Death!). Lastly, nothing is better than watching my Blu-Ray movies (like The Dark Night) at night on my HDTV. But besides my opinion, this is a great article. It’s very informative and unbised. Great job Carl! :)
I just like my ps3 haha and nice article.
My xbox 360 just RROD’D on me yesterday. I have Gears 2, GTA IV, Halo 3, and a bunch of other great games. But i’ve already really gotten everything out of them i expected, which is a great thing. Now im the kind of person who really like’s playing online with friends and all that, and co-op campaign. I dont favor for either the 360 or the ps3, but i’ve been deciding if i should get a ps3 or not, and i was going to just get my xbox repaired and trade it into GS or something and save the rest for the ps3. i mean dont get me wrong, i love xbox, but got everything out of it i wanted. Do you guys thing it’s a good idea?
I actually love home way more than NXE. For me, NXE is kinda a rip-off of XMB (which, most Xbot/journalists hated before NXE came out), but w/e, it works well and all that. And NXE also ripped off Miis with a small scale Home style of networking (I think everyone knows what i’m talking about). Home is actually really awesome. I’ve made at least 10 friends on it whom I would’ve never talked to otherwise. Home isn’t a place full of zombies. Home is actually quite populated with a lot of people just chatting it up. It really is awesome. However, Home can be improved a lot like I’d love to see some more places and have a lot more events, then it’d be perfect.
great article i just found out about this site but i can already tell that some of my time is going to be spent here. dont judge me but i dont care that much about the details of all the tech (mostly because i dont get what they do or help) but from a 13 yr old stand point i have to go with the ps3. idk why but i just luv sony. i own every ps product .i dont own an xbox so maybe i dont have to much knowledge about its features but for what i do know about its gameplay graphics ps3 is slightly better.
Very nice read on all three counts. Personally I gave up fighting for the “better” system long ago so now I just buy them all.
As you say all have Pros and Cons. Also, I understand your reasons for not including the Wii as a direct “vs” on the PS3 or 360, but even a “hardcore” gamer like myself can see the Pros of the Wii as well.
360 Elite, 60GB PS3 and Wii owner.
@ Eugene
Sony online really isn’t as bad as people make out – it does it’s job and does it well IMO. It may not have a few extra bells and whistles that XBoxLIVE has with it’s “walled garden” approach, but if you play online games on PC you won’t be disappointed with the PS3 online experience.
The 360 version is a bit like having AOL and using AOL’s own internet software, vs the PS3 being like using another provider and Firefox/Outlook.
The AOL experience may seem more unified and you have shortlinks to websites and can seamlessly move from webpages to e-mail etc. But that doesn’t mean using Firefox and Outlook give you a worse experience – you just have to do things a longer way round and it’s not quite as integrated. But like the Firefox addons, the PS3 approach can allow you to have a more flexible experience.
You put in a game disc, you click online, you play that game online, end of story – no logging in, no separate accounts (the only exception being MGS4 for some strange reason). It’s all very simple. Sure you will have to send an instant message to a friend to tell them to join you, and that friend will then have to try and find you online, but that’s no different to PC online gaming. Most games with a strong online element design their own interface anyway, that often includes integration of your friends list. Whereas I assume XboxLIVE is the exact same interface in each game.
All the main things you would want to do online are in the PS3, and it will keep evolving and updating. The 360 version is more polished, but then you would expect that from a subscription service from the World’s largest software company…
Also it is still the best Blu-ray out for that price IMO. The upgradability is great and the Java-games and Online elements are substantially faster/smoother on the PS3 thanks to the Cell – some cheaper standalone players have to wait 5 minutes to even load the menu screens!
@ calderra
That was a bit of a fanboy outburst wasn’t it? I thought they weren’t allowed on these comments?
You clearly have either not read any of the critic previews, seen any of the IN-GAME footage, played the beta/demos, or you are just ignoring them all in your public display of Xbox fanboyism.
As much as you Xbots would like it to be imaginary, KillZone 2 is very real and is graphically stunning. If gameplay matches the graphics then it will be a surefire hit, and possibly already a GOTY contender.
Also I would say it has reached about 99% of the E3 ‘05 TARGET RENDER – target render meaning what they will think it will look like when it’s finished – and it does, so the use of it was perfectly justifiable!
It amazes me how some Xbots would miss out on a great game because it’s on PS3 because they would sooner pretend all PS3 games are rubbish and the 360 is brilliant – I bet you’re the type to go to Metacritic and score 360 games 10 and PS3 games 1 even if you have never played/seen them!
Also there has only been one level/area publicly shown of KZ2 so far, and it’s already been confirmed that other areas are less grey. I take it you hated Gears of War II for the same reason then? No? Thought not…
If anyone is buying into media/PR hype it’s you buying into Microsoft’s spin (apropriate they named it the 360 when you think about it!). Sony’s PR is frankly quite crap, look at how many Xbox ads you see compared to PS3 ads. I bet far more 360’s have been sold on the back of PR spin than PS3’s have…
IVE READ ALL 3 ARTICLES!Besides the rrod the 360 would be on top because true gamers wouldn’t mind paying for the extras.I recently played both and am thinking of buying either. I like the graphics and controls on the 360 it feels more comfortable for long term play. I own a PSP and it would be great to have a PS3. Its just too expensive for me.I will keep reading comparisons but Im leaning towards the 360. Great articles very informative it help me ALOT!
Nice update. Consider me a happy camper. I’m going to stick by my original point however. We all have a bias and it’s pretty tough to hide it. Try as I might, if you make me talk about shooters, I’ll inevitably give you the impression that Halo is my favorite.. because it is. I’ll also steer you towards a PS3, because I play mine twice as much as my 360. You’ve got a pretty good collection of facts here though.
Even though the 360’s relatively cheaper than the PS3, I find myself a bit afraid of buying this console because of this 3 Red Rings problem…
Any updates on that?
Once again man GREAT JOB! You touch on every issue that needs to be touched on. Personally I enjoy the 360 because I play online and there our more exclusives (as each of your articles has proven..good ones at that) I also own a PS3 and love LBP and MGS4 KZ2 also looks good…but I am crossing my fingers…remember HAZE? 10/10 5/5 GOTY Korn made a song for it!! ROAR OMG AMAZING!! comes out…gets a 4/10 etc..goes from 59.99 to 29.99 in like a month. Hoping the samething doesn’t happen. It seems that the #er 1 problem PS3 fans have with the XBOX 360 is RROD..I got it over a year ago…I went one week without my xbox and got a 1 month XBL card…+3 years warrenty that covers A LOT of stuff (aka 100 dollar warrent with something of Sony or atleast around that price)Its also funny that PS3 fans say they do it for the Blu ray and because their not gamers but than why would a week without your system bother you? OH NO RROD I cant play for 1 week..dun dun dun Microsoft=Sux? that does not make sense. To be honest I work at a video game store now Play N Trade was also a GameStop manager for a LONG time I have been around the block when it comes to seeing WHAT is brought in..and just because your 2-3 friends don’t have problems with their ps3 doesnt mean it is perfect I do see more xbox 360 repairs (I also do repairs and the RROD is a 25 min fix..MAX!) the PS3 does have faulty disc players we get about 1 ps3 in for fixing to like 4 xboxs so the ration is for every ps3 we get 4 xboxs which is not A HUGE GAP and I hate to bring this up but the ps3 blu ray player and A REAL blu ray player are 2 different things. There is a BIG difference…I have a 42 inch 1080p LCD LG and have a PS3 like i said..The picture is great but one of my friends who has the SAME tv (bought it the same day) has a xbox 360 and just bought a blu ray player..let me tell you…there is a difference..and before you bother me with DIFFERENT CABLES??? we both had HDMI cables…But regardless of all that I 100% agree that the xbox 360 is winning these past few years…and I will also agree that I foresee the ps3 doing amazing 2010+ but that is “coming soon” and this article is as of right now. The last few articles all have said the samething…So who knows xbox 1080 comes out or something KRAZY and who knows…of course a new xbox is on its way the xbox ulimate (I belive the graphics are the same but ADDs a lot of stuff to it kind of like going from arcade to elite). but my point is I have both…I enjoy both…both are good I have people in my store all the time saying I enjoy the ps3 controller better..what AM I going to say NO YOU DO NOT!! and slap them in the face…or a xbox fan say That there are no good games on the PS3! When there is…It comes down to what you enjoy does it matter if the 360 is winning? as long as you enjoy your system does it really matter? his conclusion sumed it up pretty good…Well keep up the good work and look forward to reading more replys from people!
Hey ComadrSheppard, any news on RROD-related problems on the XBox 360 Jasper SKUs yet? I’m still thinking if i’d buy a 360… :-<