Playstation 3 Vs Xbox 360: Analyzing the Two Best Gaming Consoles

There have been lots of confusions whether Sony playstation 3 is better than Microsoft Xbox 360 or the other way round. Both consoles boast good indy support with games like Braid on XBLA and PixelJunk games on PSN. Both are available with big titles like Street Fighter HD and Mega Man. So, what are the differences between the two consoles?

[SeanRL]

Who decided they were the best? I still have fun playing space invaders.
Edit: Watch me get a disagree from a random fanboy.

Fucking disagree fairies :D

[Count]

Watch this flame bait get approved.

[Red_Orange_Juice]

i see no poit for this article but whatever

[darkcharizard]

But this article is nothing but flamebait.

Mods do something about this!

[rroded]

anyways gotta go game on 2x xp on red dead n i hear the locals are gonna Warhawk this weekend. (chk n4g forums ta get in!)

[Tony-A]

I'm going to make an online petition, asking the government to pass a law that forbids "versus" articles, which include (but are not limited to) game version VS version, console VS console, genre VS genre and totally different game VS totally different game.

It's the internet equivalent of dog fighting (not the one with planes)!

Obviously I'm just kidding, but it would be funny if it ever passed.

[ThePlaystationFour]

This article is poorly written.

[Cenobia]

And old info. Linux isn't supported on the PS3 anymore, so I'm not sure why it's mentioned.

Copy paste job, perhaps?

He also fails doesn't mention the 80gb PS3 that emulated PS2 games, but that doesn't really matter I suppose.

[Information Minister]

Poorly written is an understatement. This is misinformed ignorant crap.

The author completely disregards the full PS1 backwards compatibility included in every PS3 system. Also he fails to mention that the Xbox 360 is only compatible with a limited selection of original Xbox games, that is no longer being updated and you still need a hard drive to play them.

[M4ndat0ry_1nstall]

Comparing CPUs, GPUs, Bandwidth etc.

It has been said countless times by developers, technicians and even the guy who helped build key components in both consoles - Both have their strengths and weakness, each system can do certain things better than the other, but are pretty evenly matched.

"At the end of the day, when you put them all together, depending on the software, I think they're pretty equal, even though they're completely different processing models."

http://www.gamasutra.com/vi...

The link is an interview with David Shippy - chief architect for both the CELL (PS3) and Xenon (360) CPUs - Interesting read btw.

[Peckham-Pouncer]

Then how come PS3 has better looking exclusives?

[Shoko]

It's true. People can say they're evenly matched all they want, but when you look at the facts, the PS3 is far more powerful. PS3 exclusives look better, have better effects running, there's Folding at Home, the Dark Hole research, and the fact that the military actually uses PS3's as super-computers and such. You would never find them doing that with a 360 =/. It's just true people.

[Zechs34]

Because Sony has some of the best, if not the best 1st party lineup and developers ever conceived. Maybe only second to Nintendo of old.

[jambabie69]

"evenly matched?
Then how come PS3 has better looking exclusives? "

like you said EXCLUSIVES. exclusives that cost sony a hell of a lot to develop with their teams. microsoft for one doesn't have many first party studios to "push" the 360, nor does it seem microsoft is really interested in funding a 3rd party dev to do it for them.

now to me the gears franchise is an exception, but it isn't "high budget" now is it?

killzone 2- 60 million dollars!
gran turismo 5- costs are still rising
uncharted 1- dunno how much that costed but it wasn't "cheap" that's one reason why uncharted 2 is nothing but a "suped up version" of uncharted 1.

i'm not flaming just answering your question. this is how i see why? you can look at this post as a negative towards microsoft, a positive for sony., or a positive for microsoft, and a negative for sony.

in my opinion it kinda sucks because with each console especially at release you get hyped up hearing that "x console is so powerful" well once it released and got a little age on it i wanna see it "pushed" or "maxed"

peace

[skrug]

and PS3 also helping with folding@home and the dark hole thing? Not to mention military and other science research.

[DaBadGuy]

...what dark hole thing? This is the first I'm hearing of this. I've been on vacation for the past 10 days and I think I've missed something.

[skrug]

black hole vibrations

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...

[cliffbo]

you know, i keep reading all the technical stuff and the 360 always comes out on top, then i pop in GOW3, Uncharted2 and KZ2 and i scratch my head. are 360 1st party devs really THAT bad?

bottom line is the PS3 is harder to develop for, has been out over a year less than 360 and is less powerful than the 360 and yet has the most remarkable games!!!

i know which console i think is most powerful

[Silver360]

Sony first party developers have been around for a long time. very talented. and most games for the 360 use unreal engine. Seriously MS just fell behind on showing off power of 360 with all that third party development crap. Small first party studios equal getting your butt handed to you on console specific games.

[demonddel]

@maybe to u and the 2.5 million ppl who played each of those games but 360 exclusive like halo3 and GOW series 5-10 millions are some really good games too and before you say something about halo3 dont forget it almost outsold all PS3 exclusives combine and still selling big today

[stephmhishot]

Sales aren't a sign of quality. Bud Light sells more than Sam Adams.

[ChozenWoan]

but which one would you rather be seen in? =P

[jarrod1981]

who cares. both systems have awesome looking games. so the ps3 apparently has 3 games that look better than anything on the 360 because all sony fanboys ever mention is gow3, uc2 and kz2 (why never any mention of mgs4, that as amazing). big deal, no one can tell me that the 360 doesnt have games that are are just as fun and enjoyable. and thats what its all about. and the 360 has some amazing looking exclusives. and i do own both systems.

[-Judge_Fudge]

FLAME ON!

[Unicron]

And ANOTHER versus topic. Sweet! I love these! They're so much better than news!

/s

[chrisgay]

The author had the choice to write some news, but decided to do this instead. And the worst bit is, it takes up 1 whole entry on the N4G homepage! Wait, it gets even worse, you're obligated to both read it and make a witty comment about how worthless it is.

[TheTeam06]

Am I the only one who considers the two of them to be brothers?

Of all the platforms out there, they are the most similar to each other. All these "PS3 VS 360" articles makes it seem like forced sibling rivalry. haha

[LordMarius]

lol, silly article
there is only one best gaming console
The PS3, the other one is a toy for the poor

[ukilnme]

It is idiots like you and those that agree with you that make ashamed to say I'm a PS3 owner and a gamer.

[TheTeam06]

If you're ashamed to be a PS3 owners because of some people you've never met making silly comments on a website barely anyone outside of the industry (or inside, for that matter) even knows about, you have to man up and take some pride in what you spent your money on.

It's like saying you're ashamed to be a straight man because we're the most likely to rape women.

People do stupid things. Be proud and tell people that you're not one of them.

[jambabie69]

hmmm that's funny both consoles been 299 for a year now.................i paid 399 for mine, guess i'm "the poor" or you could say "i'm smarter"- no way was i spending 600 dollars on a console, especially one with a launch like the ps3 had.

[wissam]

Ps3 is better to me. too each his own. but without ps3 exclusives this generation would have sucked HARD.

[Zechs34]

I agree about the exclusives for both parties actually since I have all consoles but out of curiosity, to the brave soul who disagreed with this guys smart OPINION, why didnt you bother to explain why

Figures :/

@ etownone

Thanks. I assume you mean Zechs right? And i was the agree on your comment cuz I too comment on opinions and turns out yours is a smart one.

[Immortal321]

and those poor guys on the other camp can't play them. It's funny though, they start making contradicting excuses like, "gameplay over praphics, and why would you single yourself on so on console."

look I only have a ps3, you can hate me or agree with me, and the only games I can't play but have no problems with are gears, halo, fable, mass effect, star craft2. if I miss any games, that's because I don't really take interest in those games.

[etownone]

I think the same ..... except that's how I feel about my 360.

Like you said, to each his own

Edit @ Zach. Happy now?
And for the record, I don't disagree with facts, just mostly opinions.

[TheLastGuardian]

Out of the 3 consoles in this generation I only have a ps3 and If I were to get a second console I'd get a wii before I'd get a 360.

[cliffbo]

for me it would be a 360 but there are too few games on that system to tempt me yet

[metsgaming]

me too id get a wii b4 360 because of mario

[theonlylolking]

When comparing power this is the order:

1.PC
2.PS3
3.360
4.wii

[Zechs34]

Yeah but everyone should already be familiar with this order. Only ignorant, one console owning defending fools can say otherwise. Isn't it easy to objectify or hate something with you do not understand or cant afford?

[etownone]

Your probably right about the order ....

BUT .... I have yet to see a PS3 game that has blown me away and can not be done on a 360. Especially with multi-plat games like RaGE, Dead Space 2, Ghost Recon, and Crysis 2 coming out next year that keep raising the bar.

There just isn't a clear winner this gen (graphics) compared to the last two gens:

Xbox > PS2
Nin64> PS1

But as far as popularity and sales ..... the underpowered Playstation consoles were King!

[big_silky]

I'm sure you'll be nailed by disagrees in a minute so let me just say I agree with you.

Are Ps3 exclusives visually amazing? Yes, I'm not blind. In terms of graphics they're among the best. But on the downside, the trade-off is the fact that they're shockingly linear. KZ,UC and GoW3 are very linear, shuffled down one corridor games. You really can't deny that.

For all the talk of blu-ray and whatnot, I'm really not seeing massive games that are packed to the brim with features. Where's a sandbox game with a world that makes Just Cause 2 look laughably small? Wheres an fps packed with countless features and open tactical battlefields?

The top tier Ps3 titles, like KZ,UC and GoW3 pump out great graphics that frankly do stomp on the 360 for the most part. But when it comes to content they're surprisingly lacking.

Damn, I just left myself open to both sets of fanboys.

[Biggest]

What multi-platform game has set whatever bar this guy is talking about? He isn't impressed by any of the PS3 exclusives, but is impressed by games that are no where near as impressive as their PC counterparts. You're loving your 360 too much.

[theonlylolking]

Rage looks like gears 3 in 60fps.

[WLPowell]

you know what else is shockingly linear? Halo 3, Alan Wake, Splinter Cell Conviction, Gears 1 and 2.

And you never played KZ2 if you say it was a corridor shooter.

But I guess Infamous, MAG, Warhawk, and Demon's Souls were pretty linear too. /s.

@etownone

You normally have to actually PLAY a PS3 game before you can make such statements, but you've somehow convinced yourself otherwise. so it's whatevs. You show me proof that graphics we've seen from UC1, UC2, GOW3, Heavy Rain, GT5, etc. are possible on the 360 and maybe you'll be able to retain more than 2 bubbs.

[CaptainPunch]

Console preferences don't matter to me, playing great games do. As long as you have fun playing the games, that's all that should matter in the end.

[SDF Repellent]

The psp is more powerful than ds

The x360 and gamecube are more powerful than ps2

The 3do is more powerful than snes

it is what game you want to play and your preference.

Look, super Mario galaxy 2 will likely win goty, and it is neither on ps3 nor x360.

the only vs articles that we should be talking about is capcom
vs________.

[OpenGL]

Who decided that the PS3 and 360 are the two best gaming consoles? Not the 73 million Wii owners I take it? Don't get me wrong, I actually prefer the PS3 and 360 to Wii, but to claim one is objectively better than the other is pretty silly.

Also, I like how they list "total system bandwidth" for the 360 as being 278.4GB/s thanks to the 10MB of eDRAM. It's only 256GB/s for that 10MB, not the 522MB total inside the 360. Why don't we list L1 and L2 cache bandwidth on the Cell? Or better yet, how about we list the combined bandwidth of a Core i7's L1, L2, and L3 cache together with 8GB of tri-channel DDR3, and a GTX 480's 1.5GB of DDR5? It'd be every bit as meaningless.

This whole article is very poorly written, as it appears to have been translated to English through babelfish or something.

[izuna]

I wrote a Fair Comparison before, but of course, no decision was made; it's about personal opinion when you think about it, each system has strengths the other doesn't, some are really obvious.

http://n4g.com/news/574913/...

[Morituri]

This is just what we needed...I have never, ever seen an article comparing the 360 to the ps3 before! It's about freakin time!/s

[Clarence]

Both consoles are good, but the PS3 is the one for me. The only games I like on my 360 is ME and Gears is pretty good.

[gamingisnotacrime]

If you have to pick one pick the one where your frinds are at. If friends is not an issue then go with the one that has the games YOU want.
Both are so great, you cant go wrong

[darkziosj]

xbox was more powerfull than ps2 and? POWER DOESNT MEAN ANYTHING

[WLPowell]

Cause sony had the better devs back then also.

[bustamove]

Flamebait.

[TheRealist2102]

Another stupid article.

[jambabie69]

you're right, sony doesn't fund their studios, they do not spend money on their exclusives to be developed. gran turismo 5 is released, and its dollar amount added up.

i mean gosh silly me! these studios aren't OWNED by sony, those first party devs to it for sony for charity!

[Ps3isSsTheBeStt]

Cant wait for next generation gaming. With maybe 2 GB of ram and cell 2.0

[xg-ei8ht]

big_silky

I wouldn't say UC2 was lacking. Awesome SP (best looking game on any console)best animations on any console.(seriously have you not played it) Very well made Mp with movie record feature,photo etc.

GOW3 is a singleplayer game and the series always has been that way.

Killzone2 excellent looking game with nice physics and nice maps, but yes some things were wrong with it.

But as time tells, things get better.

Halo has been going along time and has more features, as does COD games.

Not all games are about the same thing.

I love MP.

But i fking love a Good SP>

To each his own i guess.

[JKL6939]

my PS3 was my first choice for gaming, now it's just for movies---since they downgraded their resolution 720p for stupid 3D.....Sony and their stupid push for 3D. Since I have both consoles, I have recently purchased more games for the 360, since, not only that the 360 have better graphics, but they have a better visual player when I play my music, not to mention, Microsoft upgraded their consoles with a faster wireless access built in to them than the PS3's wireless b/g....which is really slow.

It's a clear choice----the 360 is made for hardcore gamers......

[wissam]

Nothing beats the earth view in ps3 music player.

[ChrisSmoove15]

PS3 is way better than the xbox 360

[writersblock]

Cut

Paste

Submit to N4G

[wiseguys313]

I recently signed up to be a member of n4g but all I see is parties whaling back n forth which one better boo-hoo.. When this generation started i was with Xbox and they had great everything.. When the ps3 dropped price I went with them until now.. When the halo xbox bundle release that will be my console of choice.. It's all about preference.. PS3 make some of the most amazing games that truly defines this generation.. You can do more with your hdd such as import music(mp3,wma,aac etc)and movies(avi,mp4,mov,divx,etc)wh ich more useful then xbox importing..

The reason why I'm switching is because of playstation plus (mainly) and other reasons.. I'm upset with sony that after all these years since ps3 launch of hearing their fans about what we wanted to see in the online "service" and overall ps3 experience in general they didn't listen as much as they should have Maybe they were to busy putting in updates for the blu ray and multimedia side instead of the gaming side the "true side" and it's "success factor" not movies and codecs and sh!t.. Playstation plus isn't an exlusive service it's more of a discount price shop for members (Sams Club or something)..

A lot of people ask whether its worth it? Simple answer..YES. Why? Well when you ask "worth it" I tend to think ppl are looking for a good bargain like I previously stated "Discount Price Shop For Members".. You will save more than the $50 you spend on it.. But who cares about discount prices I'm a GAMER how about raising the bar on my Gaming Experience with this new exclusive membership.. The difference between those with or without PS+ is little to none In my opinion.. Ps+ sells goods and products it not an online "service" it doesn't sell services.. The closes thing to a service is letting the player try a game for a hour..

Now, an example of an service is and SONY you can keep this.. Remember earlier in this comment I stated an advantage was that ps3 allows for music and videos in many formats to be stored on the hdd.. Well why not take advantage of that gift which xbox lacks.. PS+ users should be able to play a movie or video on their hdd and share it with maybe four friends, all watching together and maybe chatting at the same time sharing the experience.. Sharing experiences with friends online is key to this generation. PS3 makes some of the most technological blockbusters this generation has seen but if we can't share them experiences whats the point.. To be continued..

[wiseguys313]

Both systems have their strengths and weaknesses, it's up to the individual to choose what weaknesses they can live with. Which one is better is an opinion not fact and opinions can be argued til we're all dust.. EX: Scientology vs. God.. You have to take in account which games are fun to play (overall gameplay), the replay value (being able to play the game over n over once completed), and the online experience.. BTW Little Big Planet is probably the best PS3 title that captures all three imo Play Create Share..

Bottom Line, I look at gaming consoles in two forms which they evolved to become.. Gaming and Multimedia.. If your a person who only looks to game then the Xbox would be the choice.. If your more versatile and a movie guy/girl like myself and looking for the best bang for your buck(blu-ray, free online play, wifi) the PS3 is the one.. The Xbox is the better gaming console because it covers all three categories (fun games, most replay value, and online experience).. PS3 definitely has some great games, replay value is their for the most part but the online experience is still inferior even with PS+.. Why? Because PS+ doesn't change online experience it simply sells goods and products not services.

I'm a fan of PS3 PS2(hell yes)and PS1 but I'm also a fan of whats fun and gaming, PS3 fanboys can rant on about the cell processor blu-ray-storage capability etc.. Which on paper sounds great but bottom line is.. IS the game fun? Can I play it over and over? Can I share these memorable experiences with friends? Sony is a hardware company Microsoft is a software co. And you can tell with this generations gaming consoles. Off the bat, PS3 hardware is better everyone knows that but the Xbox has increase it's value with the slim being wifi, 250gb, and quieter. Xbox hardware is still inferior to PS3 but thats what I would expect, same for Xbox having the better software and online service.

Lastly, I personally think offline the ps3 would whip the Xbox a$$ but since we live in the world of "World Wide Web" the Xbox has the slightly upper hand.. SONY give your fans what they really want a Better Gaming Experience off/online not some Sams Club like discount on products..

[ufo8mycat]

Sorry but facts are facts. You cannot debate over a FACT

There are only 3 games on PS3 that look better then any 360 game
Uncharted 2, Killzone2 and GOW3. Soon to be 4, with GT5.

So thats only 4 games.

99% of multi platform games look much better on 360. Therefore more games look better on 360 then PS3.

FACT is out of the consoles.

360 is better for multi platform games
PS3 is better for Exclusives thats it. Theres more quality multi platform games, then there are PS3 exclusives

Those are the facts.

/end