Digital Foundry: Blacks Ops PS3 vs 360

In what is swiftly becoming an annual tradition, Activision's latest Call of Duty looks set to be the biggest launch of the year. Luckily for us, it's also a damn good shooter. What it lacks in innovation it makes up for with a highly polished campaign, the traditionally phenomenal multiplayer modes and a raft of cool bonus additions: split-screen, 3D, zombies, a full hidden game... It's all there. Once dismissed by hardcore players as the "other" COD studio, Treyarch is now a real force to be reckoned with in the FPS genre thanks to World at War and, particularly, Black Ops.

[Shanks]

"For Black Ops, there have been changes. To the PS3 version at least. The Xbox 360 version remains the same (our measurement comes in at 1040x608 with 2x MSAA) but it appears to be the case that the PS3 game has been reduced to 960x544, again with 2x MSAA."

"It's quite telling that the Xbox 360 game doesn't drop a single frame throughout these cinematics and yet the PS3 does regularly. At one point we see a gulf of 20FPS between the two consoles, which is probably the biggest we've seen in this game (and worryingly, in a fairly low-stress scene)."

It seems that the PS3 port was rushed with zero optimisation.
This is ridiculous, we all know the PS3 has more horsepower, why not take advantage of that?

Activision won't get my money that's for sure.

[Pennywise]

CoD is a rushed, yearly piece of trash game anyways.

GG to the cookie cutter gamers.

[ConanOBrien]

Xbox 360 : 1040x608 (no framedrops)
PS3 : 960x544 (regular framedrops)

Please click on Disagree button to activate damage control here ---------->

[Game-ur]

I think many of these comparisions are exaggerated, but here it's clearly better on the 360.

With hundreds of millions made from COD you would think they will build a game to acomidate PS3 hardware.

Fans should refuse being taken advantage of and skip this on the PS3.

And was their this big a difference in MW2?

Edit: ConanObrien are you baiting? Why did you change the last line?

[sack_boi]

Time is money why should the waste it on the PS3? The both had the same dev time, blame Sony for making their console this way not the devs.

[DasBunker]

anybody else sick of BO articles.. ugh i wanna see some real news

[darthv72]

lets dig up some old multiplatform titles like Mortal Kombat or Street fighter 2 from the Genesis/SNES era and run them through the digital foundry process. /s

Give it a rest already. If you have a 360 and like COD, chances are it isnt going to be the game changer to get the PS3 version.

Same goes for a ps3 owner. You think they will get a 360 over this game?

Those with both.......get both and see for yourself. This isnt the 90's anymore.

[Active Reload]

Grabs popcorn...*first comment, 4 hours ago*...grabs burned popcorn.

[ShinMaster]

You guys have fun with this one.

@darth72
I actually agree with you on this.

[poopface1]

comparing a multiplat that came out yesterday is too emotional for you.

single console owners should stay out of comparisons if you are going to cry about it.

I actually have a 360 and ps3 and was thinking about getting the ps3 version for free internet if my live runs out, not any more.

but please, continue to bitch and moan when this info is not meant for single console owners anyways.

[Persistantthug]

XBOX 360 version is the better console version to get...period.

That said, personally, I haven't bought one single Call Of Duty game this entire generation and I'm not likely to start here.

If PS3 owners would stop buying this rubbish sub HD crap every year, they would stop giving out inferior versions of this game and lead develop the game on the PS3 like most devs have learned to do.

But whatever....like I said, Peer to Peer COD isn't for me, and that's why I stick with BATTLEFIELD BAD COMPANY 2.

[HolyOrangeCows]

I haven't opened my copy yet. I'll return it tomorrow.

Back to COD4 and W@W.

[Perjoss]

I've not had a single problem playing it on my 360, I think it's my favorite cod so far, I think Treyarch has done a fantastic job, that's my honest opinion.

[AAACE5]

Technically, each CoD developer has about 2 years to make the game. They use the same engine, so all they have to do is tweak it. They had enough time to make the game!

This is just an example of them not taking the development of the Ps3 version seriously! I thought most developers were switching over to the Ps3 as the lead platform for multiplat games and porting them over to the 360?

IDK, maybe MS has some kind of inside deal going on with Activision...

[BakedGoods]

Lazy developers.

[edhe]

Yeah, split screening, zombie mode, 3d and a whole hidden game along with an overhauled mp and large sp campaign.

One console performs less and they're "lazy developers".

K. Sure.

[mrv321]

Split screen was in COD2
Zombie mode was in W@W
3D
Oerhauled? They changed the XP system into money...
LARGE?! PLAY A RPG.... if they aren't too complex

Call Of Duty is no longer a great FPS, it went downhill since 4.

If the PS3 can run Uncharted 2 I'm sure it could run Black Ops.

[Wakka_]

Wow! It has more content than Heavenly Sword, Uncharted 1, Ratchet & Clank and MGS4!

[Persistantthug]

Yeah...I call that not only Lazy...I call it inferior.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 certainly isn't lazy, sub HD, or inferior on one console.

@Below at edhe #1.3...
Why was Caslevania better on the PS3? Why was Final Fantasy 13 better on the PS3? Why did Darksiders look slightly better on the PS3? Naruto?
Because those games were led developed on the PS3, just as this Sub HD yearly rehash was led developed on the XBOX 360.

Please stop pretending like you don't know any better.

When the XBOX has games that are equivalent to the PS3's best games Uncharted 2, God Of War 3, and Killzone 2 and 3, the XBOX will have proven itself as powerful.

It's been 5 years though, so I'm leaning towards a "no go" on that.

[edhe]

No, what we know is that the consoles are both roughly equal with the 360 coming out tops in almost all comparisons because it was designed for gaming better at the architectural level.

[fuckoffodion]

edhe is always delusional.

[Anton Chigurh]

edhe is right.Even John Carmack said the same thing.

[raztad]

Mediocre multiplat ports dont confirm anything but the PS3 being harder to develop for.

BTW, here are some numbers:

DLAA implementation SW:TFU2.

PS3 takes 1.6ms (5 SPUS)
Xbox takes 2.2ms (using GPU)

40% difference approx. If that is what you call roughly, I might agree then.

[sofocado]

You just mention few games. You forgot to mention Ghost-busters was lead on the ps3 and look how that came out to be. The only advantage that the ps3 has is bluray, that is all, even John Carmack said that.

[Persistantthug]

equal or better....Dead Space 2 is going to be equal or better on the PS3. Why? Because it was led developed on the PS3....just like Dead Space 1....just like Dante's Inferno.

But tell me why XBOX 360 can't produce its own exclusives like PS3's Exclusives, Uncharted 2, God 3 and Killzone 2 and 3?

Why is Alan Wake Sub HD? Why is Halo Reach Sub HD?

Just keep it real...truth is truth....XBOX 360's hardware is NOT as powerful as the PS3 and is technically inferior...period.

2011 almost here, no excuses left....Truth is truth, and that's all there is to it.

[edhe]

DLAA is timing limited due to directx, not hardware.

Read your own source properly.

[Blaze929]

anyone try the 3D mode on the Xbox 360 yet? I'm curious to see how that works and how it's even possible for a system that supposedly could not do "real 3D"...

[Kroganwrex]

I have a seriously fucking good idea.

READ THE FUCKING ARTICLE.

Long story short, 360 beats ps3 at its own 3d game.

[Information Minister]

I seriously doubt Black Ops can be considered as an example of Sony's vision on stereoscopic 3D. GT5 and Killzone 3 are probably more representative of Sony's "own 3D game".

On topic: the Xbox 360 was clearly the lead platform for Black Ops, and it shows. Developers spent the most time with it, leaving the PS3 and PC versions as an afterthought. Shadow and texture streaming glitches? Wow, just wow! It simply feels like the PC/PS3 versions were released still in beta stage. Profit over quality, as expected from Activision.

[raztad]

LOL. What a mess. The PS3 version runs at 40fps and it is even closer to the SD territory than MW2.

I should have known Treyard has not the necessary know how to produce any kind of magic. 60fps 3D implementation as some previews early claimed? lol. Even more downgraded resolution + 50% of framerate reduction is all we got. Previews are worth shite.

@Blaze

It all comes down to HDMI 1.2 bandwith. Considering the resolutions we are talking about here (SD territory perhaps) it is likely HDMI 1.2 provides enough bandwith to send both images + sound.

EDIT: I was honestly thinking to get this game, and one of the reason was the "impressive" 3D. WTF. Not happy with the 2D version either (PS3), Treyard cant program for the PS3 to save their lives. Skipping this one.

[Ju]

Was on the fence. 960x544? Are they for real? Treyarch screwed up. How did they put 17GB on the disk and not fully utilize the PS3? They might have some great artists, but not the best engineers, it seems. No buy for me.

To many other games coming. Some even manage to get 1080 right.

[raztad]

I'm very surprised by this Face-off.

How Treyard managed to screw the PS3 version (and also PC it seems) up is beyond me. Was Word at War this bad?

960x544 = 522240 (Alan Wake resolution)

800x600=480000

LOL??

This is a game where you actually need to care MUCH more about gameplay than graphics.

[Tito08]

That's why I always liked old Infinity Ward!!!!!

[Inside_out]

WoW...biggest release of the year and another PS3 disaster. Don't cry Raz, it's the cell's fault.

You can cry when Rage releases in much the same way since they share the same engine. PS3 is only good for pre-rendered movies like Heavy rain, UC 2 and Infamous 2. Add this game to the list of 2010 disasters like RDR, Mafia 2, Enslaved...etc

Sad part is that this game as well as ALL multi-plats are being dumbed down because of the useless cell. Wait for KZ 3 to release. I can't wait to here the excuses then.

[duplissi]

are you serious cez? wow.

glad to see you only have one bubble because you spout a shitload of nonsense.

[Ju]

pre-rendered movies. You're such a mo..on, cez. UC2 and now KZ3 (and GoW3) all have the highest resolution on their textures of any game played on consoles so far. This is just streaming done right. No RAM limitation there. Infamous2 showed this awesomeness in an open world; which supposedly the PS3 can't handle. Again, streaming done right removes memory boundaries.

Treyarch just can't handle Infinity Wards technology. This is pretty obvious. They might have build on top of that, but what can you do if the biggest talent isn't available any more. Copy cat alone doesn't get you anywhere.

Somehow glad that ended that way. Credit to the ones who do the actual work. It ain't Treyarch, though, nor Activision.

[BubloZX]

looks like he's been sitting on 360's dick for too long.....

Glazed his shit like a krespy creme donut

[joydestroy]

iunno. i was pretty impressed when i popped this into my PS3 and went to town on some MP with it running off of my HDTV

[Domer25]

Well THAT is what matters; Enjoy the game.

[DelbertGrady]

This is more about MS giving more support to third party devs than Sony does.

[raztad]

Not true actually. Activision/MS have a very strong partnership going on. Considering the short development time, I wouldnt be surprised if Treyard just made sure game was running the best they could on xbox, and butchered the PS3 version so they could ship something on release date. People is gonna buy it anyway, so it doesnt matter.

To add support to my theory, it seems the PC version is absolutely crappy also. So, looks like MS were right when they said CoD xbox is the best sku.

[Scottyabanks]

You mean more money.

[iamgoatman]

960x544? Good lord!

It's 2010! How can they STILL be releasing games with a resolution only marginally higher than 800x600!? I can't even remember how long ago It was since I was using such a low res on my PC.

[HDgamer]

Lol, from my experience there is zero frame drops on the ps3. The sad thing is my friends who have the xbox 360 version are saying the game sucks for some reason. I think they've been smoking crack or something.

[vhero]

Graphics don't effect the gameplay however this 5.1LPCM,7.1LPCM for PS3 is a dealbreaker for enthusiasts. You can only get the complete experience on PS3 FACT. 360 gives you dolby digital only XD. I'll take my surround sound thankyou for a 10X better experience and you can take your slightly better graphics and framerate which doesn't change the gameplay whatsoever you can still play the whole game without any probs on either system just like every other multiplatform game. If your a movie buff you will know just how important decent sound is.

[ct03]

"I'll take my surround sound thankyou"

Dolby Digital is surround. Since you don't know this, do you even have a receiver that handles 7.1 LPCM?

[PhantomT1412]

many multiplat games have smaller rez on PS3 (Ghostbusters, GTA IV, RDR...etc). Even AC developed on PS3 I think, lacks the v-sync.

[N4PS3G]

All the previous COD games are Sub-HD and somehow they managed to make this one even More Sub-HD and dipping to 20FPS.

Amazing accomplishment Treyarch!

[vhero]

3D is a killer if in the hands of n00b devs. Also the fact they obviously put 360 as lead console this proves it.

"In theory, the PlayStation 3 commands the advantage here as there's literally double the resolution being transmitted from the HDMI port. In practice, though, it seems to be the case that, despite the HDMI 1.4 output format, the image is still being squeezed horizontally in much the same way as the Xbox 360's"

So obviously a 360 port..AKA lazy developing..

Also this

"On PlayStation 3 though, the second player is represented as a sub-player of the main PSN login, so you'd have "DigitalFoundryUK" and "DigitalFoundryUK(1)" ; as opposed to individual handles. There's nothing Treyarch can do here, as it's the way things are set up on the PS3"

Sony have clearly said it's possible on PS3 numerous times it's upto devs to do it not Sony as the PS3 is capable of logging several ID's in at once LBP is solid proof of this.

[edhe]

Sony touting 3d and yet it's the 360 that runs it better.
It was even the event code.

[vhero]

Go away! Shoo! God damn fanboy.. it's obvious 360 was lead platform by my earlier comment so the 3D was obviously badly ported too.

[xxxxxxxxxx1]

This game plays like shit on ps3! What is up with the shit frame rate on PS3. It's like a slide show!

[Shaman]

Why the disagrees?Did he say something wrong?

[cyborg6971]

Shaman your a 360 troll did I say something wrong get lost. Same to you below,lugia.

[360nPS3rTheSAME]

nothing like a slideshow

[lugia 4000]

Because PS3 users always make up an excuse when the 360 is better at something.

[xxxxxxxxxx1]

PS3 it does everything except what 360 can do!

[Wakka_]

PS3 it only does inferior multiplats.

[Beahmscream]

Not sure how you can disagree with that... It is true about 80% of 360 multiplats are in fact better.

EDIT: That is not the topic Shadow Master. No one said 360 had the better exclusives....

[muddygamesite]

Can the same statement be made for PS3 exclusives ? games that are still yet to be matched technically by any game on the XBOX 360 ? games that actually push the industry forward and are examplary in terms of what the present generation of consoles are capable of ? I think not . . .

The simple fact you cling onto the weak multiplatform argument is rather telling. It really does show how the XBOX360 isnt really doing anything new for the industry . . i mean if the XBOX 360 is what you make it out to be, then please name 6 games on the XBoX 360 that are actually " NEXT GEN " defining . . How is ALAN WAKE doing by the way ?

[The real killer]

Wrong,Multiplat developers always bumped down the PS3 versions to look the same or worse than the 360 counterpart.

Guys, don't worry, we have still our Sony's first developersw to mkake the PS3 shine and put the multiplat and the 360 exclusive in shame!!

[poopface1]

the fact that you have to go completely off topic and do damage controll in an article about a multiplatform game is pretty telling.

Fact is taht the ps3 exclusives will never have a 360 version to compare with, so thats why you go off topic and bring that up. Who knows, from what ive seen so far Id guess that a compressed and multi disc uncharted 2 might look or run better on 360.

honestly, the reason ps3 only owners downplay the visuals of multiplats is because the multiplats usualy look worse on ps3, so they dont know what the good version looks like.

[Killed4Less]

Or maybe Shadow, like the differences here are greatly exaggerated I think that same over exaggeration is applied to PS3 exclusives and the "miles ahead of anything" garbage.

After playing Vanquish I don't look at Killzone or even Gears the same anymore.

[Biggest]

You seriously think that a game like Uncharted 2 would look and play BETTER with tons of extra compression and multiple disks? Now I know why roll with the 360 crowd.

[raztad]

@poopface

It is actually easy to understand this EXCLUSIVES VS MULTIPLAT stuff

Let us check one of the best looking multiplat game on the xbox: Castlevania:LoS. Are you still with me? do you agree with C:LoS being one of the best looking (if not the best looking game on xbox so far)?

Well here you go:

C:LoS (Ps3) > C:LoS (xbox)

Both SKUS run at 26fps average, lacking AA.

Here is where GoW3 enters

GoW3 > C:LoS(PS3).

Looks better in term of everything, perhaps the best image quality in any console game, the best looking main character, hell Kratos muscles actually move, has much larger scale and runs at 40fps MIN, hitting 60fps quite frequently.

Hope you happy :)

[PELVIC THRUST ACTION]

It only does MULTIPLATS. Who needs exclusives?

[Ju]

Well, it can do everything the 360 can - even the sh!tty stuff @ say 95% performance (360 "emulation" - that's what that is).

But not sure if that works other way round. Still waiting for KZ like eye opener on that platform. Would accept 95% there, too.

[MGRogue2017]

I'm sure that the devs at Treyarch have tried their very best to get the PS3 version running on par with Xbox 360..

Maybe they'll release a patch to improve performance a bit more for PS3? I doubt it though.

[MGRogue2017]

Why the disagrees?

If Treyarch has released the PS3 version like it is.. Then that's the best they can do for it.

I love my PS3 but.. It's Sony's fault that they made the PS3 so damn hard to develop for.. Treyarch have to bend over backwards just to get the game running on the PS3.

Whereas on the 360, They can pretty much go all hardcore 'cause they are accustomed to that type of system & can concentrate more on gameplay features rather than making new tech & figuring out how to get the game running on said system.

[Eu]

After nearly 5 year of developing for the system, a game that is pretty much equal on both platforms (W@W) and some people still uses the "PS3 is too damn hard to develop for" BS....

Now, Activion doing a shody port to the ALWAYS SURE cash in that is CoD on the platform that it will sell less (not conting PC here...oh yes..it will be on Wii too...so well...whatever...)....thats quite understandable.

By now its not the PS3 thats hard to develop for, its the developers interest (or not) to at least push it to the same standarts on both platforms...but see last pragraphs last sentence to understand it better.

[RBLAZE1988]

They had better performance on cod waw on ps3. Both 360 and ps3 had the same resolution and almost the same framerate. Here it seems like the ps3 team needed to optimize better but weren't able to. This is BS I could tell from the first minute that this was lower res on ps3 than other games. Even mw2 a better looking game than Black ops ran better and had better resolution on ps3. This is a joke and I can see how the microsoft deal with activision will affect other multiplats. Best on 360 is what the commercials say. Well no shit when your best friend is microsoft it will be better...intentionally. Don't give me bs that i'm a conspiracy nut, there have been plenty of multiplatform games that had console parity and they looked better than black ops so treyarch has no excuse really.

[Biggest]

I disagree because you're wrong, enkeixpress. Treyarch already made a game for the PS3. Their former buddies at Infinity Ward made an even better game (and that bugcrap MW2) for the PS3. If you took a test on Tuesday and scored 80%, and took the same test on Friday and scored 70%. . . You just didn't try.

[maxcer]

@EU "Activion doing a shody port"

a port implies that the game was made after the original version. these games are made side by side, its just a fact that they need to put more time and money into the ps3 version to get it on par. so as a developer what do you do? release the game later and miss the launch date and possibly sales?

[Arnagrim]

So I can play the game at its best, on the platform shooters are meant to be played on.

[Newtype]

It doesn't use DX11.....or uses the capabilities of a high end GPU....catered towards 360. Which is pretty lame since COD was popular off of the PC.

Edit: "2.7M people disagree with you. Call of duty is best place on XBL and the entire world knows this."
You must be new to gaming, COD franchise was made and built from the PC.

@gamerdude123:
"PS3 features the best looking console games to date (Uncharted 2, Killzone 2) and it can't handle holding 60 frames per second?"
Majority of games don't do 60FPS....R&C and Wipeout HD are one of the only games that do 60FPS. R&C does 720p @ 60FPS and wipeout hd does 1080p @ 60FPS. most console games can't do it.

[sack_boi]

2.7M people disagree with you. Call of duty is best played on XBL and the entire world knows this.

[MegaMohsi]

ill take mods and dedicated servers over your 2.7 million idiots paying to play something that is free on 2 other platforms

[kaveti6616]

"on the platform shooters are meant to be played on."

No.

[MegaMohsi]

keyboard + mouse will own any controller any day of the week.

[Arnagrim]

I want to hear legitimate reasons as to WHY it's not best played on PC.

[MegaMohsi]

there is no reason, it is best played on PC if you have the rig to play it on. Most of the people here writing their BS dont have PC's or are 12 year old xbox live brats.

[darx]

Using a keyboard is lame

[MegaMohsi]

lame is not a real reason.

[poopface1]

but what does the PC version have to do with the ps3 version being far worse than the 360 version??? nothing.

clearly your off topic comment is trying to negate the fact tah ps3 version is by far the worst of the 3. thats what this is about. Ps3 version sucks, nice off topic spin.

Ohh, have fun playing splitscreen on your PC, ohh wait.

[darx]

Did you read the comment? I said a keyboard was the reason not lame.

[maxcer]

"Most of the people here writing their BS dont have PC's"

lol what about all those fanboys who said they would get ME2 and splintercell on their superior PC?

[ProjectVulcan]

''Most of the people here dont have PCs?'' Well what are most are using to access this site with then and type all these comments? Their phones? I doubt it.

I have a gaming PC, and not even a particularly expensive gaming PC. As long as you can run this 1280 x 1024 or 1440 x 900 then you still have more than TWICE the resolution the 360 version has. That sort of res is well within the abilities of a Radeon 5570. Thats like a $70/£55 card.

[Close_Second]

...compared to Halo Reach Black Ops looks average. Compared to Killzone 2 Black Ops looks average. I'm sick of multiplatform titles as they don't push either console.

I'm also sick of paying the same price as the 360 version of a multiplatform game. I mean, developer's keep telling us games are priced as they are to factor in piracy and yet games are not pirated on the PS3?!? Piracy is even more rampant on the PC and yet their games are prices the cheapest of the lot!

[kaveti6616]

I love Reach and I think Black Ops looks fantastic. It runs at double the framerate of Reach and I think it has better facial animation.

[hesido]

Yes, the facial animation is superb, as far as I've seen in videos. It could be the best facial expressions in a game I've seen so far.

[Dannehkins]

Meh, it's not great, but I am living with it quite comfortably. I am thoroughly enjoying the game on the PlayStation 3 despite the clear differences between the two versions.

Although, I am a bit dismayed. I found Modern Warfare 2 to be quite similar between the versions more so than these two versions.

It comes across as though Treyarch have had to rush the version to get it out on time and as a result, performance has suffered. Although, what is evidentially clear is that only a minority of PS3 owners will not stand for this and the rest will just deal with it like they always do. Activision know they will get away with it, because it sells on name alone.

Disappointing.

[Close_Second]

...multiplayer centric games unless they multiplayer lobby features the functionality I want. Sick of "quick start" being the only option.

[360nPS3rTheSAME]

stop bullshittin

[Close_Second]

I avoided MW2 and MoH for this reason. I was gifted MoH which is the only reason I played it.

Living in NZ a poor lobby = broken multiplayer.

[iHEARTboobs]

Would have been nice if they spent more time cleaning everything up but deadlines are a b1tch.

[Dannehkins]

Well said Close_Second!

Indeed deadlines are a pain HEART. I could imagine that they were torn between setting it back or releasing it on time and I suppose setting back a Call of Duty game would be unthinkable to most gamers.

I am hoping for an incoming patch to correct some of the issues though.

Although I will say this, PlayStation 3 has almost always been the underdog when it came to Call of Duty. It's hard not to ignore the love that Activision and it's developers show for the Xbox 360. No doubt this is because were the most money is, but I still think they are treating a large portion of their fanbase like crap.

[elmaton98]

so im still planning on buying this game for the ps3 though despite being the lowest rest of all three but to be honest im getting sick of these cod games

[Sweeper_]

Another crappy PS3 multiplat.It been so long i dont think well ever see equal versions on the PS3.Kinda sad seeing as we never stop hearing about how powerful it supposedly is

[Eu]

Because the power is there, but if the developer dont want to actually work for it, or is rushing the version that will problably sell less than the main console it will out for...why put the work in that? Unless you want to keep the fanboy googles up, thats quite reasonable. By now, after the games that did come out on PS3 and the ports that actually looks BETTER on PS3 than on X360, you point was killed long ago.

Now, for the conspiracy, just because we all love it:
It wouldnt be surprising if MS did pay Activision to actually launch this rushed port to try and phuk CoD on PS3...mind blowing I know!

But since PS3 players will be having the major PS3 launch this year in a few weeks....

[elmaton98]

yeah baby GT5 here i come

[gamerdude132]

Really? PS3 features the best looking console games to date (Uncharted 2, Killzone 2) and it can't handle holding 60 frames per second? If the 360 can, why the hell can't the PS3? Does everyone multi-platform game have to perform better on 360? Developers need to make them EQUAL.

[kaveti6616]

I agree, but at the end of the day, Sony is partly at fault. Sony deliberately designed the architecture that way, and they stated that they did so to make it harder to developers get its full power. If there's one thing that MS has done well for developers, it is making the 360 architecture very easy to develop for.

[Masterchef2007]

I agree with you both games should always be equal bubbles for you

[jetlian]

if those games had the same features you could say that but they don't. a lot more going on in cod than those games

[-MoOkS-]

360 has the more powerful graphics card. Simple as that.

[gamerdude132]

Yeah, let's compare, shall we?

Uncharted 2
http://upperfifth.co.uk/key...

Gears of War 2
http://favoniangamers.files...

Better graphics card my ass.

[Bounkass]

Those are made FOR PlayStation 3, not ported...

[-MoOkS-]

Gears of war 2
- http://images.gamersyde.com...
- http://xbox360media.ign.com...
- http://i42.tinypic.com/2925...
- http://i44.tinypic.com/2hcn...

Uncharted 2 - http://i293.photobucket.com...

MGS4 - http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3...
- http://image.com.com/gamesp...

You were saying? ps3 has horrible textures compared to 360. The 360 GPU is more advanced than the ps3's, i thought we all knew this? it's old information

[mynd]

gamerdude, those games use a lot of the SPU to do 2 things.
1/ Make the graphics chip work less

2/ Post process the image.

In raw grunt, polygon for polygon without SPU intervention, the PS3 has a weaker graphics chip.

Certian games can use the SPU's better than others, but only for certain effects.

[gamerdude132]

http://www.go386.com/cultur...

vs.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2hcn...

Look at the wall all over that Uncharted 2 pic. Now look at your pathetic floor on Gears 2. But I'm not done!

http://unrealitymag.com/wp-...

http://www.threespeech.com/...

http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3...

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k...

http://mimg.ugo.com/201006/...

http://ve3dmedia.ign.com/im...

http://ve3dmedia.ign.com/im...

http://playstationlifestyle...

http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3...

Yeah... 360 exclusives pale in comparison to PS3 and I don't even have a PS3. I have a 360.

[jetlian]

dude why most if not all your pics taken from cutscenes? =) I think we know why

[gigaware]

Also the GPU and memory architecture is better in the 360. If Microsoft had Sony's 1st and 2nd party developers I wonder what PS3 exclusives would look like on the 360.

[Bounkass]

Lol, there are no graphics cards in consoles... They have chips directly on the motherboard. Please, get to know your console before you reply...

Anyway, I must say, the XBox 360 version looks better. Although nothing major.

The thing is, most game are ported to the PlayStation 3. Why? Because the XBox 360 is easier to code. Thus cheaper to produce. It's as simple as that.

It has nothing to do with horsepower or anything like that.

[im-12-years-old]

and 360 also has a inferior processor

[Tito08]

Don't use the Unreal Engine as an example for the 360 power, that engine has good graphics, but the framing is terrible!!!! And there's no PS3 exclusive game that uses that engine and manages to look better than that!!!!

[HungPHATx]

Uncharted 2 , KZ2 & 2 , GOW3 says Hi !

[KratosGirI]

Can everyone stop PMSing?

We're talking about Call of Duty and Graphics here!

Just think for a second!

[GoldPS3]

Who cares. MS pays for they version to be better anyway. I'm glad Sony put they money into they exclusives and not throw money away at none exclusives like MS.

[KratosGirI]

By the way, you owe me $100 for that GT5 bet ;)

[gypsygib]

360 kicked ass.

I got on PS3 though and don't feel bad about it, as the game would cost me $120 plus tax on 360 - I'd have to renew my account.

[im-12-years-old]

Whoa everybody look at these wonderful textures the 360 has.

*end sarcasm*

[clrlite]

Here is Gran Turismo 5 running in 60 FPS at 1080p. The PS3 is obviously a BEAST. //(youtube cant do 1080 though)
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
\\So, they gimped black ops possibly intentionally to save money.(or, for other reasons.
// Here's a little Uncharted 2 (1 yr. older. Fast forward toward the end w/ train, etc.) http://www.youtube.com/watc...
// Here's a lil God Of War 3 http://www.youtube.com/watc...

//But truthfully, watching these videos on youtube doesn't do them justice. God Of War 3 always looked good. But, when I played it for the first time on my Samsung LED it was AMAZING.

[wicked]

But is gt5 out? So they could improve it, but did not want to delay it by a year.

[divideby0]

another developer just cant put out a technically great game on the PS3.... nothing new here....
I would buy it for the 360, but after MW2, COD is hands down the Madden of FPS...

[-MoOkS-]

All you people arguing about which graphics card is better are idiots. Its been a known fact since early 2007 that the 360 graphics processor is more powerful than the ps3s, and can output alot better looking textures

Uncharted 2 - http://i293.photobucket.com...

Some of the wosrt textures ive ever seen. Almost comparable to a ps1 game

Gears of War 2 - http://images.gamersyde.com...

I win

[digger18]

You win at what? Being a sad little troll

[digitalivan]

@MoOkS
Posting the same multiple times just shows what a troll fanboy you are.

There is nothing to argue about:
Exclusives--->PS3 (better graphics and gameplay)
Multiplatform--->Xbox360 (better graphics, same gameplay)

Since exclusives are the ones that push the graphics to the limits, then I must conclude that PS3 beats Xbox in terms of graphics but the Xbox is the easier one to develop for.

And btw, I played Uncharted 2 yesterday and it looks nothing like your not HD washed out picture.

[stonecold3]

but the 360 holds ps3 games back they make them look equal and ff13 was gimped so they had to make a version for the 360 no towns npc no shops were all removed from the game because 360 could not handle the game

[The Creep]

your an idiot

[Masterchef2007]

They could have done a better job on the PS3 version. I am sure if they took a little extra time they could have matched the 2 versions

[BrianC6234]

Let me know when COD matches Uncharted 2 graphics. Then I'll buy it again. We all know what the PS3 is capable of doing. Come on third party developers. Stop being lazy or cheap. Push the PS3 more. Stop trying so hard to make the games equal.

[wicked]

You can not play many games, if you only play games that match UC2.

[clrlite]

You are obviously picking the very worst Uncharted2 pictures you can find and the very best Gears of War pictures you can find. // Kinda sad really. Here's a video of Uncharted 2 gameplay. I'm not even going to post a Gears of War vid because this Uncharted 2 vid speaks for itself. Enjoy, winner! http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Masterchef2007]

Agreed Uncharted 2 looks better than Gears of War even with Epics Bullshots

[clrlite]

Sorry for the double post. Here's some Killzone 3 http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Uncharted 2 again http://www.youtube.com/watc...

So, the PS3 should be able to handle COD EASILY. kind of inexcusable really. I think i'll wait for something else.

[Holeran]

Does the xbox version also have 7.1 surround sound support?

[gypsygib]

nope or even 5.1 PCM which sounds a lot better than DD if you have a $1400 stereo system like me.

[BubloZX]

the ps3 slim is the only console with 7.1 surrond sound

[10thnightvolley]

This is funny... the old wounds of graphic argument re opens..lool

[xg-ei8ht]

We can all play that game.

Textures are ok in gears, bump mapping does the rest.

But that pic of UC2 has been changed.

It does not look like that.

[Bounkass]

Lol, why does everybody keep comparing exclusives? Those are made ESPECIALLY or EPECIALLY for their repective console/machine... NO WONDER it looks amazing... They are especially coded for that particular machine. Simple. You can't compare Uncharted with Gear of War... These are 2 TOATALLY different games...

It's no use saying this, it's like talking to a concrete wall... Everybody thinks their console/machine is better, in fact, it's not.. They all have their capabilities... Simple.

[gypsygib]

Why do 360 exclusives often look worse than multiplats.

In terms of Consoles IMO:

Alan Wake sub HD - graphics 7/10
Splinter Cell sub HD - graphics 7/10
Fable - won't even mention how 6.5/10 the graphics are

360 COD Black Ops graphics - 8.4/10
PS3 COD Black Ops graphics - 8/10
360 Red Dead - 9.3/10
PS3 Red Dead - 8.6/10

Gears 2 - 9/10
Uncharted 2 - 10/10
God Of War 3 - 10/10
Killzone 2 - 9.3/10

[gypsygib]

Why do 360 exclusives often look worse than multiplats.

In terms of Consoles IMO:

Alan Wake sub HD - graphics 7/10
Splinter Cell sub HD - graphics 7/10
Fable - won't even mention how 6.5/10 the graphics are

360 COD Black Ops graphics - 8.4/10
PS3 COD Black Ops graphics - 8/10
360 Red Dead - 9.3/10
PS3 Red Dead - 8.6/10

Gears 2 - 9/10
Uncharted 2 - 10/10
God Of War 3 - 10/10
Killzone 2 - 9.5/10 (on second thought)

[clrlite]

xg-ei8ht, you are absolutely right. You can look to the uncharted 2 videos i posted above for proof of that. I've seen that photo of uncharted before. That's like the default uncharted pic that fanboys use to try to make the game look bad. When in reality the game looks phenomenal (see above youtube vids)

[joeorc]

For those saying the xbox360 graphic's chip is more powerful than the PS3's in theory yes if you include only counting the GPU vs GPU by themselves.

and that is based on clean code..but here is a big problem..the PS3's Graphic render is not just based on it's GPU by itself, it's based on the CPUGPU hybrid that is the Cell working with in tandem with the RSX GPU.

The myth of the xbox360 being sofar easy to code for vs the PS3 is because the PS3 has more processor cores each with their own local store memory embedded inside the core SPE itself. Each SPE core..and it is a full programmable Processing Core has 256 KB of local store that's not Cache..that actual Ram.

it was made to offload graphic processing duties to the SPE's so the RSX GPU can do what it does best and that's draw.

but that all takes Time and Experience.

a large number of Developer's did not have the advantage to be able work on development of game's made for Multi-core design.

before this generation started, most games were built for single core designs There was a learning curve even on the xbox360 when it first came out. just like it was for the PS3

the Exclusives of the PS3 show just what Time , practice and experience with the Platform and construction of dedicated game engines can do.

Microsoft had a year's lead not just one getting their Hardware out but also getting actual development kit's out to their developer's not to mention the DEVELOPER'S API's were more mature on the Xbox360 IBM Power PC chip's vs the New Cell processor API's esp. when it comes to the API's for graphics render capability's for the Cell processor's SPE's being better supported. Took a while for Developer's to make their Engines.

example:

The short interview revealed once again Carmack's preference for the Xbox 360, but also a respect for the PS3's power.

"They are both powerful systems that are going to make excellent game platforms, but I have a bit of a preference for the 360’s symmetric CPU architecture and excellent development tools," he said. "The PS3 will have a bit more peak power, but it will be easier to exploit the available power on the 360. Our next major title is being focused towards simultaneous release on 360, PS3, and PC."

notice he said easier because the game engines were already built to handle the core CPU that was in the xbox360 , to get a engine to run on the cell and get results you have to redesign your game engine.

because the design was not the same.

[hoops]

One thing MS has over Sony and even Nintendo has been its developer tools. They are some of the best in the industry.
It's one of the major reasons it's easy to code for the Xbox.
Unless the software company is funded or owned by Sony, they will not take the time to polish a multi platform game.
It comes down to time and money.
I can tell you this. Next generation you can bet the farm Sony will develop more friendly software tools and an easier system for devs.

[joeorc]

well said Hoop's.

Now that the Hybrid CPU/GPU type of processor is the basic core design in most computing going forward, the Tool API chain's will be better across the board because many Chip maker's are making those Hybrid chip's and develop better OPEN GL Driver's and Software to make better 3D accelerated game's

an since the Cell ApI's are more robust now and more mature it will have a better development cycle in next generation of playstation Hardware.

[NYC_Gamer]

these multiplat engines were not built with the cell in mind

[xg-ei8ht]

I know m8, played through 1&2 quite a few times myself.(plat:)

Both Games looks amazing.

What i find funny though of cod black ops.

Most who have it i've spoken to, say the a.i is poor.

But COD games have always been that way, even cod1.(rtcw engine,q3)

Loads of guys running at you, or spawning from nowhere. But not skilled a.i.

Where as Killzone2 has the best a.i i've seen in a video game.

But the way black ops has been handled on PS3 is not really surprising considering the mess that it is on the PC.

Alot and i mean alot of people are complaining about it, PC's i might add that should destroy this game fps wise.

And that is the problem. If the PC version is not in tip-top condition, then i really can't see the PS3 version being that good tbh.

It is harder to code for and needs spu's for certain tasks(kinda the whole point of them being there)

And that is what i like about exclusives, not just the graphics, but the devs that are willing to show SPU usage graphs actually while the game is running. They know their code.

[hoops]

They concentrated on the Xbox version and pissed the PC and PS3 version.
For all that is unholy....

[SpinalRemains138]

HAHAHAHA

This place is always great for a laugh. I went from reading how the PS3 got a lame version of the game, to looking at people posting pics of UC2! lol

Jeez Louise guys........ can we please stop with the Uncharted. Yes it was a great game. Yes PS3 exclusives are the best console games. Yes it's common knowledge.

Just accept that PS3 gets bad multiplats 80 percent of the time. It isn't like Black Ops is unplayable or anything lol.

LOL @ the guys posting pics of Gears of War 2 at each other. (It was like 2 assholes fighting over who's girlfriend is hotter)

[Scottyabanks]

All I have to say is for all the 360 cock sucking MS fanboys is as follows...

You cannot blame Sony for an inferior port. You must charge the developers. COD is a third party title, and the reason this game is better built for the 360 is because on the PS3, it has to compete with a lot of AAA first party titles that the 360 does not have. Without this game, the 360 would be toast. And MS realizes this, and that's why I believe, as with most the COD titles that MS had something to do with the decision to make the 360 the lead console for black ops. Need more proof? Why do you think Medal of Honor was better on the PS3? Because the PS3 was the lead console, and it was the lead console for one reason, because Black ops is the lead console for 360, and if Medal of Honor were to compete directly with Black Ops as a lead title on the 360, Back ops would have blown it out of the water, and MOH would have lost money. So yes, this year MS got Black Ops, and the PS3 got Medal of Honor. Regardless, with all that money, Treyarch could have done more research on the PS3 hardware, to make it a fair experience. But as previously stated, I'm sure MS had something to do with it.

[Scottyabanks]

Edit to my comment above, the word "port" should be replaced with "version" because some people just happen to be a little too anal retentive when it comes to using the exact, proper words when describing something.

[clrlite]

I posted the uncharted2 vids so that people would not be misled by the bogus comparisons that were being posted. I don't usually do that. I would just rather people be able to see for themselves (with real video) how good it looks, rather then being misled. Glad you were entertained by the fanboy war though.

[blakstarz]

this is what happens when you use a machine with limited disk space capabilities and no hard drive built-in. If more devs start using the PS3 and the lead platform and trickle it down, you wouldn't have these problems, if you know the architecture on the PS3 is totally different than the 360, common sense would tell you to start with that machine first, get it right the first time and then port it down...power has nothing to do it, because both machines are beast in their own right.

[IHateYouFanboys]

i love reading these comments and seeing all the sony fanboys throw the word 'port' around.

Black Ops on the PS3 is not a Port. it was developed concurrently with the 360 version. for a game to be a port it has to be FINISHED on one console, then altered to work on another console. this means that unless a game comes out 6-12 months later MINIMUM on one console than the other, its not a port.

this generation there have actually been very few ports between the PS3 and 360. theyre all just concurrent development, made by different teams within the same development studio at the same time.

as for the comparison, its a no contest technically - 360 wins.

but thats not what you base your COD purchase on if youre a multi-console owner, is it? you base it on which console all your mates play online on. those of us who have more mates on Live just happen to get the best of both worlds with Black Ops - online play with our friends, and the clearly superior version of the game.

oh and it was also good fun seeing the usual Uncharted 2 bullshots get thrown around. last time i checked, Uncharted 2 didnt feature 16xMSAA or more, or render in >1080p natively lol. but keep telling yourselves thats 'in-game'. those of us who actually own the game know the truth.

[Scottyabanks]

Wait wait wait, let me edit the word "port" and put in the word "version" maybe now the comment will make more sense to you. Have a little common sense, dumbass. I'm no fan boy, I don't even play COD or MOH, I just happen to closely follow the game industry and all its happenings and inner workings. The PS3 version is obviously suffering from many developer overlooked glitches and engine issues. And as far as Uncharted 2, I really don't give a fuck what kind of anti aliasing bullshit it has, because regardless, it still looks better than any other MS exclusive garbage. So you go have fun concurrently playing with your Live buddies while sucking the MS cock. IHateYouFanboys? You're own damned name is a hypocrisy.

[blakstarz]

well if its not a port, then explain why it looks the way it does? And no...I'm far from a fanboy, I own all 3 consoles thank you very much.....its not like there where two independent developers that where working on it, the 360 was the lead platform, therefore, the PS3 got the translated version of the 360 technically "ported" down....its a port to a degree no matter how you slice it, otherwise if they where smart, they should of released the PS3 version at different date so that way...they wouldn't be catching hell for it looking obviously inferior. Other devs have done this is the past...releasing a PS3 version later (Alone in the Dark)...stop rushing sh!t out the gate just because you trying to reach a deadline....if it gonna take that extra month to make the PS3 better, then do it! Your fan base will love you for it, and you probably might get a bigger return in sales...makes sense doesn't it?

[Captain Tuttle]

It's 2007 all over again

[KaiokenKid]

Im playing it on PS3 now. After lowering my TVs brightness, game looks fine. FPS is fine and so is everuthing else. performance differences really are in the eye of the beholder.

[leonlion]

M$ paid treyarch to gimp ps3 version

[Simco876]

Call of Duty sells huge on the 360, so why cater to PS3 players?

I personally bought this game on my PS3, and have had no problems with the game. Frame rate be damned!

[darrensworld]

Since these COD games are annual, like madden or mlb, they should improve annually. There's no excuse for this bs.

[Damiann]

The 360 version may look a little darker/sharper, but the difference isn't really big, they first make it for the 360 and than port it to the PS3, they can't make a PS3 version first and than port it to the 360, because the 360 has it's limits. But Treyarch could have done better.

[duplissi]

wow. the 360 fanboys have come out from hiding for this article...

[MR LOOKINGBILL]

they have come out of there caves to defend there emperor the ps3.

[Trroy]

So... Treyarch chose to use GPU-based 2xMSAA on the PS3, rather than SPU-based MLAA, they chose to use stereoscopic GPU-based 3D, rather than the SPU-based technique, the shadows look like they, too, are being done on the GPU rather than the SPUs...

I think its obvious why the 360 version looks better -- Treyarch made it for the 360, and then did a quickie port to the PS3. You'd think that, for such a major release, some more effort would be put into actually utilizing the hardware, of what will probably be the 2nd highest selling SKU, a little better.

[BubloZX]

just played some UC2 and GOW3. I made a wise choice in buying the ps3

[MR LOOKINGBILL]

the 360 is the superior console....wow sub hd on pse that's is not suppose to happen. Sorry ps3 fanboys enjoy your inferior copy while the 380 version has the better console version.

[KaiokenKid]

lol, im playing it on PS3 right now and it looks great. Jokes on you brosef.