PS3 vs 360

[Raedon]

In the end everyone here will have both of them anyway.

It could take a while though. I didn't buy an Xbox until a friend sold me a modded one last year for $40. I've played emulators on it ... and ... .. .

Just kidding. :P I played Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes, Fable, KOTOR I and II as well as that beach bouncing booby game.

[BHvrd]

All I can say is that if you haven't played some of the PS3 exclusives like Uncharted 1/2, Motorstorm 1/2, Resistance, Ratchet and Clank 1/2, Heavenly Sword, Flower, inFamous, Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, etc., you haven't experienced "next gen" gaming.

PS3 has next gen gaming galore, the best set pieces and production values on the market. They put alot of money into their games and it shows. Better graphics is debatable, but Sony's production values are through the roof.

What is a "game" on another system is an "experience" on the PS3 and I firmly stand behind that quote.

[Mimi Nakamura]

All I can say is that if you haven't played some of the PS3 exclusives like Uncharted 1/2, Motorstorm 1/2, Resistance, Ratchet and Clank 1/2, Heavenly Sword, Flower, inFamous, Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, etc., you haven't experienced "next gen" gaming.

PS3 has next gen gaming galore, the best set pieces and production values on the market. They put alot of money into their games and it shows. Better graphics is debatable, but Sony's production values are through the roof.

What is a "game" on another system is an "experience" on the PS3 and I firmly stand behind that quote.

When you put it like that it makes me feel like I've definitely made the right choice!

You should get a job in PR!

I must admit, Motorstorm is great fun and looks really nice on my HD TV screen. I haven't played Unchartered 2 yet, I'm not sure if it's been released in Japan yet? I have seen trailers for the game and graphically it does look incredible. I think it's the first game I've seen where it's made me think "the 360 can't do this".

Leading on from that, is that the reason dual-platform games are made on the 360 first and then ported to the PS3? Is it because developers know that the PS3 can do anything the 360 can, but the 360 isn't capable of reaching the graphical heights of the 360? If that's the case, does it mean that the 360 is holding back the PS3?!? I know that from a financial standpoint, generally speaking, third-party developers cannot make games exclusive to one system given the incredibly high development costs, so is it a case of them developing for the 360 then porting the same game to the PS3 with little or no graphical enhancements? After seeing the Unchartered 2 trailers, it does make me wonder why no other games come close to looking as good as it does on the PS3.

[Bojay1997]

When you put it like that it makes me feel like I've definitely made the right choice!

You should get a job in PR!

I must admit, Motorstorm is great fun and looks really nice on my HD TV screen. I haven't played Unchartered 2 yet, I'm not sure if it's been released in Japan yet? I have seen trailers for the game and graphically it does look incredible. I think it's the first game I've seen where it's made me think "the 360 can't do this".

Leading on from that, is that the reason dual-platform games are made on the 360 first and then ported to the PS3? Is it because developers know that the PS3 can do anything the 360 can, but the 360 isn't capable of reaching the graphical heights of the 360? If that's the case, does it mean that the 360 is holding back the PS3?!? I know that from a financial standpoint, generally speaking, third-party developers cannot make games exclusive to one system given the incredibly high development costs, so is it a case of them developing for the 360 then porting the same game to the PS3 with little or no graphical enhancements? After seeing the Unchartered 2 trailers, it does make me wonder why no other games come close to looking as good as it does on the PS3.

Actually, many developers report that there are certain functions where the 360 is superior to the PS3 and start on the 360 simply because the development tools and architecture are easier to deal with. On the other hand, the PS3 has the advantage of BluRay which means less compression for cut scenes generally. I personally prefer the 360 version of most multi-platform games simply because up until very recently, the PS3 versions were far more prone to graphical glitches and frame rate/resolution problems. Recently, however, both versions have generally been identical. I also don't agree that 360 games don't have great set pieces or amazing graphics, there are incredible looking games on both consoles.

In the end, there is no right choice. Most of us are gamers and collectors and I find it hard to believe that anyone who subscribes to the philosophy of this site will end up not owning all three of the console platforms in this generation.

[Leo_A]

I imagine another major motivation behind the Xbox 360 being the lead development platform for many developers has to do with there being 8 million or so more Xbox 360's in consumer hands.

It's logical for it to be the focus when doing a multiplatform title, much like how most GameCube and Xbox releases this past generation were ports from the Playstation 2 platform and didn't take advantage of the more powerful GCN and Xbox.

[Raedon]

I imagine another major motivation behind the Xbox 360 being the lead development platform for many developers has to do with there being 8 million or so more Xbox 360's in consumer hands.

It's a PC with stronger copy protection. Developers can produce one game for two systems. I've noticed my PC games are dropping in quality. I'm guessing dudes are making the games for the 360 and not the other way around like they did for the Xbox.

[kupomogli]

I imagine another major motivation behind the Xbox 360 being the lead development platform for many developers has to do with there being 8 million or so more Xbox 360's in consumer hands.

The 360 was 8 million ahead just this year. Now it's only 5.7 million all territories combined. The PS3 reaching the same amount of sales as the 360 by next year isn't so much of a long shot after all.

Now in the US only is 8 million ahead with the 360, but games don't sell in US only do they. In both Europe and Japan the PS3 is ahead of the 360.

[Eternal Tune]

This was a post I made in a similar thread over at AtariAge a month ago outlining my opinions of both consoles. I don't see how anyone can go wrong with either system. If someone purchases one and ends up disappointed, I have my doubts the other will be any more to your enjoyment.

Which one is best for you depends on your personal taste

The Playstation 3 is by far the better built of the two (Although I'm unsure about the redesigned PS3). It's worth noting that recent 360's seem to be built better and are close to being the reliable machine we always wished it was.

The Xbox 360 has the better controller, although it's sadly flawed due to having a horrible d-pad.

The Playstation 3 has superior multimedia capabilities out of the box. It's an excellent upscaling DVD player, plays Blu-Rays, has a internet browser, and other good multimedia options for such things as video files and mp3's.

The Xbox 360 has a superior online network that offers good online play, quick downloads, and excellent features like it's video store that put the PS3's one to shame the last time I tried it (Doesn't appear to be accurare now, I've revisited the PSN video store in recent days and it's much improved and has a lot of content).

The PS3's online is free, and significant features seem to get added to it's firmware more often than the 360 gets anything. Microsoft seems to usually concentrate on refining what it already offers.

The integration of things like achievements, friend's list, etc., on the 360 is far better than the PS3.

The PS3 has excellent to decent PSOne backwards compatibility, depending on the title. Some models play PS2 games quite well, especially early releases that had full PS2 hardware compatibility. Few BC Xbox titles run close to flawless on the 360 from my experience.

Games tend to perform better on the 360, often being the lead development platform, while the PS3 port of a specific title sometimes runs much poorer than on the 360, despite having a hardware advantage. Seems like the gap is closing or closed though as the PS3 grows its userbase, forcing developers to pay more attention to their PS3 releases.

PS3 can take advantage of PC controllers in certain situations, such as USB flightsticks and throttles in at least 1 flight simulation and various Logitech and Fanatec wheel/pedal sets for racing sims. The 360 is limited to licensed 360 controllers, and the license isn't easy to get even if you're willing to pay.

The Xbox 360 is a year older than the PS3 and has a lot of nice bargain games from that era that are cheap to buy now, such as Call of Duty 2. That extra year on the market also means there's a larger variety of games available on the 360, though whatever advantage that provides is erased more every week as both platforms recieve most non 1st party releases these days.

The PS3's hardware is easily upgradeable with standard laptop harddrives. Expect to pay a very inflated premium to ever upgrade your 360 to a larger hard drive.

XBLA has a far more engaging selection of new titles than PSN does (Though there's still lots of nice PSN releases). However, the PSN's selection of older back catalog titles from the PSOne is getting better by the week while the Xbox Originals line is dead almost before it even started. Both seem comparable with current generation game downloads (An area I've ignored, I would rather buy a specific game on disc than pay the same amount to download it).

The Playstation 3 is region free, making it easy to purchase and play games from other regions. Through importing points cards from a region you wish to purchase content from, it's easy to even get DLC. The 360 is region locked making this impossible for the average consumer, although many titles that would typically of been a desired import in the past (Such as the Raiden Fighters compilation) have actually recieved North American releases, softening the blow a bit.

Netflix is something many 360 owners have enjoyed, but it will shortly be officially available on the PS3 as well. So they're comparable in that area (Has since happened, with a Netflix application running directly from the dashboard and tailored for the PS3 coming in the future to replace the current disc based application).

That's pretty much how I view both consoles. They both have certain advantages and disadvantages. Personally, I enjoy the gaming experience of the 360 more, while I love the multimedia capabilities of the PS3. The PS3 also provides for the occasional excellent PS3 exclusive (Even in the download arena, GTI Club+, SumoDigital's remake of a classic Konami arcade racer, is excellent and not available on XBLA for one example). Also, despite preferring to game on the 360, I love that the occasional PS3 title, like IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, allows me to use PC controllers to enjoy it unlike on the Xbox 360. Glad I have both, but strictly from a gaming perspective, the 360 has a definite edge as far as my taste go.

/me applauds

You sir make sense. I congratulate you on being awesome.

Both systems have their ups and downs, plus and minuses. 360 vs PS3? Can't we have the best of both worlds? I mean hey, at least you don't have to play the wii.

[Leo_A]

The 360 was 8 million ahead just this year. Now it's only 5.7 million all territories combined. The PS3 reaching the same amount of sales as the 360 by next year isn't so much of a long shot after all.

Now in the US only is 8 million ahead with the 360, but games don't sell in US only do they. In both Europe and Japan the PS3 is ahead of the 360.

Was only a rough estimate, I knew the PS3 had sold 27 million units as of the end of September and that the Xbox 360 was estimated at just shy of 36 million as of December.

But the point was that is has a significantly larger install base by several million units, which I imagine is why it often is the lead development platform for third party releases.

[SplashChick]

I play and enjoy all 3 systems, it just all comes down to what tastes you have.

[mnbren05]

Heres my take on the "battle":

Xbox 360: Love the games love the controller and I'm satisfied with my purchase. I also prefer the layout of the basic menu etc. My only gripe is the noise the console makes while operating. Plus the lack of built in wi-fi.

PS3: Love having a blu-ray player. The wi-fi built in is a big plus for me. Game selection is good with some good exclusives. My primary media device for DVD/Blu-ray. Nice and quiet which goes back to my pre. point.

Bottom Line:
Xbox 360 is my gaming console and the PS3 is my media console. I like both and they both have some faults and I accept that. I am satisfied with my purchases and until the two decide to procreate and poop out a PS-Box on my console stand I don't see any definitive reasons one is better than the other.

[CDiablo]

All I can say is that if you haven't played some of the PS3 exclusives like Uncharted 1/2, Motorstorm 1/2, Resistance, Ratchet and Clank 1/2, Heavenly Sword, Flower, inFamous, Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, etc., you haven't experienced "next gen" gaming.

PS3 has next gen gaming galore, the best set pieces and production values on the market. They put alot of money into their games and it shows. Better graphics is debatable, but Sony's production values are through the roof.

What is a "game" on another system is an "experience" on the PS3 and I firmly stand behind that quote.

Next Gen gaming blows. I've played all those and don't like any of them. They are a lot like last gen games with pretty graphics. Thankfully my PS3 plays the good PS2 games.

OT: If theres a few XBOX games you want buy the thing when you got the cash. Its not the "next gen" experience like the PS3 but it offers some good "current gen" gaming. If you want "next gen" gaming keep playing the PS3 or wait for the XBOX720. If you want to go 2 "gens" into the future you should wait on the PS4 cause Sony is always one "gen" ahead.

[Nature Boy]

I would never say one console is better than the other because that's where everything falls into fanboy drivel.

The 360 definitely had RROD issues, but the Jasper chipset (which has been out over a year), from what I've heard, has solved the issue (it uses far less AC power, so the board doesn't overheat, if I'm not mistaken).

If I were you I'd probably just buy the 360 and keep my PS3, because I plan on having them both at some point anyway. I'm actually in the opposite camp at this point, but I'll be eyeing a PS3 once the new Ico game comes out in 2010...

[SplashChick]

Next Gen gaming blows. I've played all those and don't like any of them. They are a lot like last gen games with pretty graphics. Thankfully my PS3 plays the good PS2 games.

OT: If theres a few XBOX games you want buy the thing when you got the cash. Its not the "next gen" experience like the PS3 but it offers some good "current gen" gaming. If you want "next gen" gaming keep playing the PS3 or wait for the XBOX720. If you want to go 2 "gens" into the future you should wait on the PS4 cause Sony is always one "gen" ahead.

I...don't think you really understand what it means by "gen".

[megasdkirby]

The 360 definitely had RROD issues, but the Jasper chipset (which has been out over a year), from what I've heard, has solved the issue (it uses far less AC power, so the board doesn't overheat, if I'm not mistaken).

I would not say "solved". Maybe "considerably reduced", but the issue is still present in it's original form, or the "E74" issue.

I'm hoping that the new revision, if any, uses a 45nm CPU and GPU. I'm not too sure, but Jaspers have 65nm for both? Or 45nm for one and 65nm for another?

Info would be great.

[Rickstilwell1]

I never could own just one system in a generation at any time. I HAD to have all of them to satisfy my needs.

Since I didn't start playing my own video games until 1993, I missed out on the 8-bit generations so I can't give a fair experience with them. I was just handed down what was considered the best to my uncle, and that was his NES. Looking back at this time period since I have most of them, I think I would have had fun no matter which of the 8-bit systems I was playing.

Now for 16-bit. I loved Sonic, but I loved Mario so having Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis was a must. They both had so many exclusives that you needed both to get a well rounded gaming experience.

The same thing continued on in the PS1 and Nintendo 64 era. I had to have all those cool PS1 exclusives and get into RPGs, but I couldn't abandon the fun multiplayer experience and favorite franchise continuations with the Nintendo 64.

Now that I own a Saturn and Neo Geo to go with both those generations I say I missed out on the fun that is the arcade experience.

Moving on the Dreamcast, GameCube, PS2 and Xbox all had unique titles as well. Plenty reason to get all of them and this was the first generation where I actually got all 4 systems that came out. I think this was one of the best generations of video games. The 3D was no longer blocky and there was a great variety of games. It's no wonder the PS2 lives on. In this generation there were many good reasons for buying each system.

Now we're in the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii generation and yeah even though each system has their own exclusives, the variety on each system is completely different. They are not as well rounded in their selection of games in my opinion. I think this is what makes the current gen seem like more of a battle than the last gen where everybody was like "OMG all the systems have good stuff!"

It seems like the 3 systems this generation all specialize in a particular genre.
Xbox 360 - shooter
PS3 - RPG
Wii - Platformers

yeah they all have these kinds of games, but arguably the best title for each of these systems is in the category I mentioned. It's kind of always been this way though.

[FxMercenary]

I know this has probably been done before, but now is the only time that the question has been relevant to me.

I own a PS3, but in previous "gaming generations" I chose the Sega Saturn and then the Sega Dreamcast. I feel like the PS3 wasn't the right choice for me, it seems like the 360 would've been the natural choice given my previous systems. The reasoning behind this is that there are a lot more shooters on the 360, and also Treasure are developing for the 360 too.

The PS3 is far more powerful than the 360 but from the games that have been released so far, we haven't seen much evidence of this! It's like the Dreamcast vs PS2 all over again! The reason I went for a PS3 was that I thought there would be far more exclusives for it (here in Japan anyway), but I really am beginning to wonder if I made the right choice. Of course, the blu-ray player is a huge plus for the PS3, but that was never the reason for buying one.

Did I make a mistake? Which one is the better system and why?

PS3 is cool, its got alot of free stuff, 360 is a nickel and dime scheme like the Wii, but with actual storage space to put all that stuff you spent your money on.

But in reality, I own all 3 systems. Why you ask? Because im not poor.

[gepeto]

I must say the ps3 had a great year. IMO Great game releases and the network seems much better and I have noticed on alot of the games the color depth is beautiful. The 360 is still the main system but the ps3 has made great strides.

[duffmanth]

Dude at this point I don't think it really matters what system you own between the 360 and PS3. They both have all of the big 3rd party games on them like GTAIV and Fallout 3 among many others. They both also have their huge exclusives. It just comes down to what you're looking to get out of a console. If you want Blu ray and like your Playstation only games like God of War and Gran Turismo, go with a PS3. If you like your shooters and online play, go with a 360.

Personally I went with a PS3 because I don't give a shit about online gaming and therefore don't wanna pay for it, I want my Sony exclusives like the games I mentioned before among others, I want a system that's reliable, and the Blu ray and builtin wifi are just bonuses. The 360 has some great games, just very little that I wanna play. Aside from Gears, Halo, and Forza, there's very little else the 360 offers that I wanna play. The 360 seems like a better choice when it comes to shooters and MMO's, while the PS3 has more to offer in the way of action/adventure and platformers. The best advice I can give is figure out what system has the games that satisfy your gaming tastes.

[The 1 2 P]

Did I make a mistake?

Yes you did.

Which one is the better system and why?

The Wii is. It's totally outselling the other two systems. And here's a scoop for you: the Wii is actually more powerful than both the 360 and PS3 combined.

I still don't understand how you did the research and determined that the 360 had the majority of gaming experiences you desired and yet you went and bought a PS3 instead. Thats like me going out to buy a nice inexpensive compact car that gets good gas mileage and coming back home with a Hummer.

I also did research for this gen and decided that the 360 was the system that had the most gaming experiences I desired. Because of this I went out and bought a 360 because that made perfect sense.