A rational discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the ps3 and xbox 360

[LoompaOompa]

I was just over at gametrailers, checking out video of DMC4, and i noticed the forum discussion of the video had turned into a giant fanboy argument over which console was better. I decided that I needed to make a forum post about this, in order to convince myself that there are still sane, rational gamers in the world. And what better place to find them then on the escapist forums? This is how I see it, and I'd love to hear your thoughts, too.

Firs of all, I want to say that I finally got a PS3, after much deliberation about which one would be better for me. This is what I came up with:

Xbox 360 has a pretty unparalleled online experience. The playstation network is nice, and it's free, but the library of demos, classic games, and downloadable games, is much larger on xbox live. As far as multiplayer goes, though, both systems will get you there, and performance is about the same.

I favor the Playstation 3 in terms of exclusive titles, however. Initially they had almost nothing, save for Resistance, but now they have Uncharted, Ratchet and clank, Warhawk, and eventually, MGS4. Haze could go either way at this point, and while there is no doubt that Killzone will be gorgeous, It's gameplay could go either way.

I'm not ignoring the 360's strong exclusive library, with Halo 3, Bioshock as a console exclusive, and Mass Effect coming to mind, I'm just saying that my personal preference leads me to want Ratchet and Clank and Uncharted over Halo 3 and Mass Effect. It is a shame that I'm missing out on Bioshock, though, because my macbook definitely can't run it.

As far as actual hardware goes, Blu-ray is nice, though I don't see myself buying many movies for it, The fact that SIXAXIS controllers are rechargeable out of the box is a huge plus. Rumble is on its way, but I've been playing without it and I never really notice that it isn't there.

I think the PS3 OS is more elegant, but the Xbox360 OS is more functional.

The other main drawback of the ps3 is the constant delays, but hopefully developers are figuring how to code for the Cell, so it will be less frequent as time goes on.

What do you guys think about the current console war?

NOTE: I didn't include the Wii here because it is so different from the 360 and PS3. I think everyone should have one, because Nintendo makes the best video games, period. If you want to talk about that, then feel free.

 

[rawlight]

Uh oh. Here they come.

*hides under desk*

 

[eggdog14]

I have a strong feeling this thread will get locked in short order. Rationality is simply not possible in a discussion concerning the console wars.

 

[eggdog14]

I have a strong feeling this thread will get locked in short order. Rationality is simply not possible in a discussion concerning the console wars.

 

[TheHound]

In the hopes of keeping this rational, Id thought I'd give my thoughts.

Firstly: Why the hell does there have to be a console war? Both platforms are big enough to stand on their own, both have enough shared games and exclusives for them to do perfectly well, though I really hate exclusives, people should be able to go for the system they are most comfortable with, controll wise, not worry they wont get to see the end of a series of games they have been following.

Secondly: A lot of gamers are kids, its the case. Why must console developers then act like children and make boasts and slam each others system? As much as they were hyping their own systems they were bashing the others, one of the reasons this console war appears to be everywhere.

Thirdly: Will people please please stop talking about: A) the graphics when the games arent even released, so they could be made better, or much more likely cut back. B)(This ones far more annoying) The gameplay of games that havent come out yet. I actually got into an argument with someone telling me while Crysis's graphics maybe slightly better than Killzone 2's, Killzone would be much more fun to play. How the hell did he know? And why compare a game thats out to one that isnt on different platforms???

 

[eggdog14]

I would give my thoughts on the matter, but Gabe Newell said them for me:

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/10/valves-gabe-new.html

 

[LoompaOompa]

That's a good point about the 360 red ringing. I forgot to mention that.

 

[TheHound]

I never said I didnt understand why they did exclusives, I just said I hated them. And obviously there are out to make money because if they werent they wouldnt be making consoles at all. My point was why is this console war continuing on the net when all systems are doing perfectly fine for this stage in their console life spans.

 

[GloatingSwine]

I think the PS3 OS is more elegant, but the Xbox360 OS is more functional.

Not so sure about that. XMB is pretty appalling when it comes to dealing with long menus, like the Settings menu. (also, from a system standpoint, the Xbox 360's OS is far smaller, with a much lighter memory and CPU footprint)

 

[Swenglish]

You could compare this ongoing console war with the one before. You see, the 360 is like what the PS2 was back in 2000, a next-gen console released before every other next-gen console.

(Some of you will probably bring up the Dreamcast keeping in mind that it also was a white next-gen console with a circle-shaped logo released to early, but since we all know how that worked out compared to the 360, I found the PS2 a better comparison)

The 360 was released 2 yrs and ten months before the PS3, giving it a massive head-start in sales. The PS2 was released 2000, one year before the Xbox, and became the fastest selling game console, EVER.

So why am I comparing the 360 with the PS2? It is because both of them were the middle-weights in their periods of the console wars.(I'm making it sound like it is a real war, forgive me) The console war before this one, had the Xbox as the heavy-weight champion with the built in harddrive and massive proccesors, while the PS2 was the middle-weight. This time, the tables have turned and the PS3:

"a shiny cromed spiderman-typed faced thing the size of a small car loaded with the argueably the most powerful top of the range hardware" -Ben Croshaw

has becmoed the heavy-weight. However, if we learned something from the last console war, the middle-weight champion won in the end, making a profit in billions of dollars while the rest got not as much. Sure, the Xbox had Halo and Xbox Live, period, but I wonder how Nintendo survived with their purple Gaycube.

So my money is on the 360. Maybe not as powerful as the PS3, and not as child-friendly as the Wii, but has the best choice of games, compared to the other two, and a decent hardware.

 

[eggdog14]

Even if (emphasis on "if") the PS3, in years to come, manifests an acceptable game library, it won't matter. By that time, Xbox will have acquired the majority of the market (not counting the Wii in this equation, as Nintendo is cleaning up,) so whatever graphical masterpieces are available simply won't have the same demand.

That said, the PS3 is good at crunching numbers, and that's about it. It is NOT the visual powerhouse that computer illiterate suckers like to think it is. In my opinion, Sony should cut their losses and run, leasing their cell processors for research companies, who can actually use them: http://blogs.zdnet.com/storage/?p=220

 

[Kermi]

I prefer the 360 as a piece of equipment and as I've not had any of the hardware faults that apparently plague everyone else to the tune of a $1bn repair bill to Microsoft last financial year I can call it a reliable console. I like it's functionality, I like the marketplace, and I like the fact that Microsoft don't release new firmware for it every eight minutes. The exclusives on the 360 are more intereting to me at current, as the only exclusives that interest me on the PS3 at this time are the JRPGs, a phase I am outgrowing. I'd rather play Halo 3 and Mass Effect.
I am told I should want a PS3 for MGS4 and God of War 3, but as I've not played MGS1-3 or GOW 1 & 2, I can only make an odd frowny shape with my lips and shurg helplessly as my care factor sinks below zero.
It's a pity because two years ago I was stoked for the PS3. I thought it was the clear winner. Then I got a 360 and Sony bungled the PS3 launch - I became embittered, cynical about it all. I spend quite awhile making fun at Sony's expense.

However, I won't say the PS3 is a bad machine. After all, I fully intend to buy one when there are games on it that I like. I have a PSP and I've come to like the XMB interface as opposed to the 360's blades. The XMB is nicely uncluttered by comparison. There are games coming out in 2008 I am more interested in playing than the non-event that was this year, but given my already acknowledged lack of interest in many popular PS2 franchises it's hard to say if the PS3 will edge out the 360 this year, especially since I need to address the $700 AUD price point before I can even consider what titles I'm interested in. I just know that the 2007 lineup didn't do it for me.

And that's all there really is to it. As a machine, they're probably quite evenly matched. The 360 has the better lineup because it's been out longer and Xbox Live is the superior online service.
The fact is, Microsoft got into my wallet first and Sony is going to have to do something truly spectacular to shift them out of it. I don't have anything against Sony or PS3 owners, but I need a really good reason to buy an extra console when my current one meets al my needs. I was quite, quite bored of my PS2 before getting an XBox - but of course by that point I only had my Xbox for 2 years before upgrading to the 360 last year. I'd prefer not to be playing catch-up with the PS3 in terms of popular games, online community, etc., so I'm giving it until Christmas 2008 to sway me, or I probably just won't bother.

What would it take? Silent Hill 5 as PS3 exclusive. That would have me down to EB Games like a gunshot, only overtakien by my laserbeamesque fiancee.

Sorry if this post seemed rather rambly, I'm at work and suffered several interruptions.

 

[bad rider]

i think that to see the advantages of a console you should just look at sales i mean take the wii as an example

in any case err

ps3 disadvantage: if blu ray goes under so does it
xbox 360: bricks self like me after finding free fish in a bin

Btw kermi surely you should be working instead of posting on a forum

 

[Zombie Badger]

I myself have got a 360, and I would say that it is slightly better, if only because of the games. The PS3 has more processing power than the 360, albeit with a slightly weaker graphics card, and it does have a good library of games (Resistance, Ratchet and Clank and Warhawk spring to mind. The main disadvantage is the price. The 360's main advantages are the cheaper price and the games. BioShock, Mass Effect, CoD 4, Viva Pinata, Oblivion etc (I'm not going to mention Halo 3 as I don't think it is particularly good), and soon Fable 2, Fallout 3 and Borderlands, to name a few, definitely beat the PS3's lineup. Although, in the near future the PS3 will have MGS4 and FFXIII, although I've never particularly been interested in those series.

The main disadvantage of the 360 is the hardware problems, although my 360 hasn't failed so far. The motion-sensing in the SIXAXIS controller is really just a gimmick which very few games utilise well.

 

[Latrom.kombaT]

Let me start by stating that one of my ongoing pet peeves is people who do not even attempt to use correct grammar, spelling, or punctuation while on the internet in general. Just because you talk like that doesn't mean you necessarily need to type like that. I have a southern accent in real life, but the word "ya'll" will never appear in any of my typed dialog.

Now that that's out of the way, on to criticism.

I have a lingering distaste for the Playstation controllers. I am not saying that this, by itself, makes the console bad, but for that reason I have not bought a Playstation console and will not in the future. If I sit in temple-ramming frustration because I can't master the controller, there is no way I'm going to like the game, even if it is well done.

The reason I did buy an Xbox and later a 360 was that I liked the controller far better (after they came out with the ones that were not ridiculously massive), and yes, I'll say it, Halo is my favorite game for consoles. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with Halo 3, but I won't get into that on this thread.

In any case, this is a moot point because PC games are FAR better than any console game could ever hope to be.

And, as a side note, are they really making a Fable 2? That would be something to look forward to.

 

[shadow skill]

Meh niether of these consoles really have what we would consider a line-up as the past two years have been a mountain of crap save a few gems. Most of the really big games for the 360 were better off being played on the PC just because the controls were so pathetic or had bugs that just did not exist in the PC version. (Orange Box) The past two years would have been better spent building an entirely new computer rather than buying a 360 and (to a slightly lesser extent) a ps3. Xbox Live itself is just one big joke since the most important feature the online play is inherently broken since it uses a player connect mechanism that they expect you to pay for the privelage to use. I thought Halo 3 was pathetic considering that it was being marketed as the second coming, and by then I had already seen the beta which looked like Halo 1 to me (I haven't played Halo 2), it didn't help that I had access to the Call of Duty 4 beta which basically erased alo before it ever even came out.

Mass Effect while the story was good just plain fails as an rpg. The game actually made you not want to explore anything because the driving was so terrible. The party system was more or less useless because you could never take control of the other characters, and you could easily become a god if you used Liara and jst poured everything into her biotics. All of the weapons were the same and its almost inconsequential which ones you use. The whole Paragon Renegade thing actually went backwards from the KOTOR games in that it was not really possible to influence the behavior of your party members through your actions. I was struck by the total lack of response from anyone when I elected to shoot an old gang buddy in the face, or an Asari scientist on the second to last story planet.


As far as the PS3 goes the line up did pick up a bit towards the end of this year with Rachet and Clank Future (I haven't smiled so much while playing a game in a very long time.), Uncharted, Folklore (The game is rather odd, not for everyone.),Heavenly Sword (The facial capture in this game makes Mass Effect look old.) and Warhawk.

I will close by saying that the quality of the games available on the PS3 (Excluding the multiplatform games.) is much higher than that of the 360.

 

[Projekt Spartan]

Im definitely going to have side with the Xbox 360, if only because im a huge fan of the Halo games and am looking foreward to "toiling in the microsoft overmind's offworld mining complex".

 

[hypermonkey]

Well, I don't have any of the 'next-gen' consoles so im going to ramble on about them in general as well as the games mentioned instead, kind of like an outsider looking in on them.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 basically offer the same thing in a different box as far as im concerned - ie media hub/games console. So the whole thing about one being better than the other is all bull, as the only thing that really differentiates them is the brand and the price tag. There will be good exclusive games on both systems so they don't count.

As for Uncharted, I simply don't think the lean against wall and shoot over mechanic from Second Sight will match up to Jak 2 and it's GTA crossed with platformer style.

My thoughts on Ratchet and Clank are that it simply wont be as funny as number 3 (especially Quarks plan of attack), although at least Insomniac decided not to include a multiplayer in tools of destruction.

If im wrong about any of my presumptions then please tell me

Now as for Haze, well im something of a Free Radical fan so i generally look at all of their stuff through my extra strength rose tinted glasses. However you seem to be presuming that Haze is a playstation exclusive, which is wrong - Haze is a timed exclusive. Don't believe the lies of Gamespot and the like, all of which seem to be taken from some reworded Ubisoft documentation that i suspect has been put there to get the sony fanboys to hype the game.

Bioshock i have on PC and is a classic example of a developer over using new graphical technology, kind of like all the games that used way too much bloom when it first came about. This time however they decided to stick what i like to call 'shiny textures' on everything - including clothing, so everything looked like it was made out of metal.

I haven't played Halo 3, but if its anything like the first one the multiplayer will probably be quite good and the story mode will probably be best avoided. The lack of variety in the settings along with the reuse of large portions of the maps gave me the feeling i had spent 2 hours walking in one giant circle on the original.

I would give my thoughts on the matter, but Gabe Newell said them for me:

So you think the Xbox 360s architecture is crap as well, since it wasn't that long ago he was complaining about that too.

Nintendo makes the best video games, period.

LIES - they didn't make Goldeneye or Perfect Dark - that was the team from Rare that founded Free Radical