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To Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, that is the question…

I was recently bit by the console war bug. Not being a big console guy I currently own the original Nintendo (NES), then bought the Dreamcast right before it went extinct, and last I bought the Xbox (which had to be bought 50/50 with Sebaz for me to get it). I have always been a PC gamer. Nothing like a good game of multiplayer Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior, Quake, Quake 2, or Unreal (Yes, I know this was a while back) to solidify my judgment that the PC was the overall champ in gaming. But my days of actually playing a game on the PC are unfortunately passed. I’m excited about some new games like Crysis and Mass Effect and I might just decide to build myself a new computer to run them but that’s not for sure. For the most part, I enjoy developing websites and graphics on my old trusty 12″ PowerBook G4. So when going to a buddys house and playing his xbox 360 for some time now, I realize a console wouldn’t be a bad decision at this point in my life and I was actually excited about it.

Here’s the thing, thanks to Sebaz I am completely addicted to Fifa. Fifa ‘07 is the ONLY game I play on the Xbox whenever I get a chance. I love the game. Fifa ‘08 is going to be the reason I leave the Xbox behind and move to the 360 or PS3. Of course, I plan to get into some more games once I decide to get a system. It would be a shame to limit my gaming experience, wouldn’t it?

As you can imagine (and probably know), there are plenty of pro’s and con’s for each console. For the sake of this article the xbox 360 elite and the 60gb ps3 will be used. Lets go through the list:

Let me elaborate on each:

PRICE

I want to pay the LEAST I can but I want the product to be worth it and I want the system to last. PS3 has the best bang for the buck when it comes to the hardware. For $499 you get the gaming system, a blu-ray/dvd player, and built-in wifi. With the 360, you get the gaming system and a dvd player with options to add more. PS3 has the best value for me.

CPU’s

While I love to read about how powerful a processor is or how many triangles a GPU can output, I just don’t care. What matters is how efficiently a developer uses the hardware to make the most of it. So far the 360 has MUCH better support for its ease of development and PS3 developers seem the cringe at the idea of working on it. This will potentially yield a) more games for the 360, and b) about the same quality of product (if it’s a cross-platform game). So while the PS3 has 7 specialized CPU/GPU’s it’s a pain in the ass to develop for so the games will ultimately suffer from this. The solution is for Sony to create some sort of user-friendly extremely optimized compiler so developers can concentrate on the game rather optimizing for the platform. 360 wins for me so far.

HDD’s

The 360 initially looks like the better product by offering a 120GB HDD. But for me, PS3 is the winner because of the user upgradable HDD with virtually limitless potential storage. This is fine for me since I am a hands on guy.

BLU-RAY or HD-DVD

The 360 elite in my opinion needed to have the built-in hd-dvd to compete with Sony. Microsoft and Sony (and apple) seem to be competing for the media center market, so it would make no sense for me that the elite would not have the hd-dvd drive built-in. It’s basically killing two birds with one stone, this is a huge deal. PS3 wins for me with support for blu-ray.

WIFI

Almost everyone has wifi access in their homes at this point. Not having built-in with the Elite was just stupid. PS3 wins here for me.

ONLINE CAPABILITIES

The Xbox Live world seems to be rich with content and a constant stream of gamers ready to play. I have no experience with the PS3, but it seems to me like it is some sort of dark and gloomy place set in the 16th century where death lies around the next corner. Or it could be the best place on earth. I’ll judge this tonight and post the update since I will have my first hands on experience with the PS3. Seems like the 360 wins in this department though, especially since most friends are on the 360. FIFA multiplayer is something to drool over.

Update: I tried the online system on Friday July 27, 2007. It wasn’t great and from the brief time I used it, the 360 online capabilities are much more intuitive. Hopefully a firmware update will change this soon.

WARRANTY

The 360 is notorious for its 3-led red death ring. It seems like this experience will be imminent to nearly all 360 owners. Good news is that Microsoft finally caught on to this and is providing a 3-year extended warranty at no cost. The PS3 seems to have little to no problems and offers a 1 year warranty. I’d call this a draw.

GAME SUPPORT/CONTENT

Alas, what really matters in the end. No matter how many CPU’s or GPU’s or PPU’s or GB’s or whatever it may be, games and content is king. The 360 had an entire year head start on the PS3 and it shows. Aisles full of games available for the 360 at any electronic store and only a handful of games for the PS3. Even more games will be coming to both consoles, just about every new title will be available for each. Very few exclusives so far except the obvious halo and metal gear solid franchise and maybe a couple more. PS3 might benefit in the long run from better developer support with superior CPU’s, but for now the 360 wins this battle.

CONCLUSION

There is no conclusion. The battle is about equal, at least in my mind. At first I was inclined towards the 360, but now I’m kind of leaning towards the PS3 to be honest. FIFA ‘08 will be out for both systems in october, so I guess I’ll wait until then to see if there are any further improvements in the systems or price cuts that will make my decision crystal clear. I will post updates as they come in.

MORE ON THIS: I was emailed a link to the following website which has plenty of comments on and about this post, check it out. LINK: http://www.ps3forums.com/showthread.php?p=1750033.

Filed by tony at July 19th, 2007 under Games

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Did you know that Fifa 08 will run at 60fps on the 360 and only 30fps on the PS3?

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6175203.html?page=3

Comment by FYI — July 25, 2007 @ 1:16 pm

Thanks for the link. I didn’t see where the fps were mentioned but that’s a huge speed issue. Hopefully (if true) it gets addressed on the PS3 development team before launch. I just saw some MGS4 footage and it’s looking good. There’s still sometime to decide.

Comment by tony — July 25, 2007 @ 1:57 pm

That link wasn’t too good. I’m actually having trouble finding a link that talks about Fifa, but there was an announcement that sports games for 2k and EA were going to run at 60fps on the 360 and 30fps on the PS3, at least I thought. I did find a link that talks about American football, but doesn’t mention the other sports so I could be wrong. Check it out…

http://kotaku.com/gaming/football-games-on-ps3/half-the-men-they-used-to-be-274129.php

Honestly, both are really good systems. I have a 360 but want a PS3 also. Personally, I suggest getting a 360 now (forget about an Elite, a Pro is fine), especially since most of your friends are on LIVE on the 360. There may also be a price drop come August 8th for all 360 SKU’s. I know you don’t know me, but I can guarantee you MGS4 will come to the 360 but I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me. I wouldn’t believe me. You won’t see it announced until the late 07/early 08 because Sony has a contract with Konami and owns exclusivity, even on announcements, until that contract is up, but MS has already signed a contract with Konami about it.

But, the PS3 will be a great system, too. If you wait on the PS3 you’ll get it even cheaper ($400 within the next year), it will come with a rumbling sixaxis, it will have the games, and it will have updated firmware to allow XMB access in game.

Just my opinion, but you can’t go wrong either way. You’ll just get more enjoyment out of your 360 in the present than you will from a PS3. One day, though, the PS3 will be the leading SKU. It’ll just take 2-3 years. Good luck.

Comment by FYI — July 25, 2007 @ 2:18 pm

Not sure fifa will run at different FPS but the madden and nba games both run at 60fps on the 360, the other thing is you never came back to the online conclussion, tho’ I believe the PS3 onli ne service received an upgrade live is the online service setting the standard and as you seem to be an online gamer that should lend weight (then again with a pc background some fiddling to get games sorted isn’t really an issue).

Comment by Pete — July 25, 2007 @ 2:20 pm

@FYI - Thanks for the thorough reply. I followed your link and was amazed by this quote from VP of marketing sports at EA, “every company making a football game this year made a decision that the best experience for the Xbox 360 included 60fps whereas the best experience for the PS3 was 30fps.” What in the world is that supposed to mean? Sounds like a cheap excuse if you ask me. Hopefully that’s for the american football edition and NOT for the football/soccer games.

I’ve heard of the MGS4 rumor of a possible 360 port. I honestly hope this is the case, because I could hold off to the end of this year or the next. This is not a make or break deal for me. I just want the best bang for the buck and if the PS3 looks like the top SKU in the upcoming years, I might as well start early. I agree that there isn’t a “wrong” choice to go with since both systems are really great. But it seems to me that the PS3 was made to last for a very long time, and if I am correct, their goal was to have the PS3 last up to 10 years. So I’m still leaning heavily towards the PS3, I’m just hoping for the price cut or the 80gb version with the bundled game to come in at $400-499.

For now, while I wait on what happens, how about a Wii? lol ;-)

@Pete - Honestly, I never got the chance to play the PS3. I plan on going this friday (in two days) and try it out. But as soon as I do, rest assured I’ll post my experience with it. I’m going to my friends place tomorrow to test out xbox live again just so I can compare both online systems as evenly as possible while they’re still fresh in my mind.

I heard the same thing, the firmware should really revamp the multiplayer experience on the PS3. But this is all rumors for now. My true wish is for both the 360 and the PS3 (and even the PC) to be able to game against each other. No reason why this shouldn’t be the case. May not be easy, but it needs to happen. True interoperability.

Again, stay tuned for my experience with the online systems of both consoles. And thanks for the reply!

Comment by tony — July 25, 2007 @ 8:17 pm

A quick take on this dilemma. From what I gotten following the big sites (1up, gamespot, ign) coverage of this past E3, it seems that all of them put their money on Sony.

Sony showcased a ton of good games that will be coming this year, and next (damn u MGS 4). Microsoft meanwhile played it safe showing whats coming until Dec.

As the guys on the 1UP podcast said, XBOX360 would be choice for today’s faming, PS3 is a bit more future proof, even tho presently the library may be a bit lacking.

Also lets not forget the 3 rings of death on the 360…

Decisions, decisions..I would place my money on a PS3. Then again I am currently saving to buy a DS lite lol.

Comment by sebaz — July 25, 2007 @ 8:30 pm

Re Warranty.

Both the PS3 ans 360 have 1yr warranties.

The 360 warranty has been extended to 3yrs ONLY for red ring of death failures, due to the well publicised problems. Any other fault (like the common disc scratching, HDD failure or DVD drive failure) is NOT covered after a year.

Comment by Mak — July 26, 2007 @ 1:13 pm

I think you should look at the exclusives more closely. Sure PS3 has lost some (GTA IV being the main one), but it’s still coming to that platform. Look at the excluisives worth mentioning,

360: Halo3

PS3: Killzone2, Warhawk, MGS4, Little Big Planet, R&C:TOD, Uncharted Drakes Fortune, Heavenly Sword, Lair, Haze, Folklore, Gran Turismo 5

There is also a timed exclusivity on Unreal Tournement 2007 for PS3.

Comment by Warhawk — July 26, 2007 @ 1:20 pm

360 warranty is 1yr (like PS3), the 3yr extension is ONLY for red ring of death failures. dead drives, disc scratching, or any of the other problems that plague the platform are still only 1yr.

Comment by Mak — July 26, 2007 @ 1:23 pm

I think you should look at the exclusives more closely. Sure PS3 has lost some (GTA IV being the main one), but it’s still coming to that platform. Look at the excluisives worth mentioning,

360: Halo3

PS3: Killzone2, Warhawk, MGS4, Little Big Planet, R&C:TOD, Uncharted Drakes Fortune, Heavenly Sword, Lair, Haze, Folklore, Gran Turismo 5

There is also a timed exclusivity on Unreal Tournement 2007 for PS3.

Comment by Mak — July 26, 2007 @ 1:25 pm

The FIFA on PS3 article concerning 30FPS is nonsense, and should be the basis for a console decision. If it’s true (the developer has denied it), then it’s one single title.

Look at more games, when determining a consoles capability.

Comment by Steve — July 26, 2007 @ 1:29 pm

Re: PS3/Cell programming.

Sony released a new toolkit earlier this year, called “Edge”

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/07/sony-unveils-new-tools-to-live-on-the-edge/

Basically, it’s made off the back of Killzone 2. You onviously have seen what that can do.. Expect more games of this graphical calibre.

Also. Sony are working with Epic on optmising the Unreal engine for PS3, epect many games based on this engine this generation.

http://digg.com/playstation_3/Sony_sign_exclusive_deal_with_Epic_for_Unreal_Engine

Comment by David — July 26, 2007 @ 2:01 pm

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