My personal choice of Wii60 or PSWii

[Gaffer]

Peeps know my feelings re: Sony Corp from reading my other threads.
Peeps also know that this doesn't reflect how I regard the PS3, which is a separate issue and something which I may eventually buy.

Talking to other people who actually own the console (a lot of them own all three) I thought I'd convey a few current ideas about it to try to redress the balance somewhat (long post coming up).

Oh, and as i have a Wii already, my only choice is between ps3/360.....so that's what i'm comparing. It's 360 vs PS3...

Internet gaming
So we have gamers with US imported machines telling me about their online system.
Plus points: they can play games with up to 40 people at a time with NO LAG and NO DROPOUTS. Let's think about that for a while. You're able to frag 40 people at a time. They're obviously playing with Americans, on US servers, and they say that there isn't as much as a single issue with the connection. Nice and fast and no framerate issues in the games (yes, a slightly separate issue, I know) at all.
This is currently far superior to what XBL can offer on it's own paid-for Gold service. The service is free on the PS3 .
Now, the only issue so far has been that initially, there were a few issues in the US with a period of no voice-comms (according to a New York Times report I read), but Sony quickly sorted this out.
According to the folks I've chatted to, the current voice-coms is fine.
The rest of the system? Well XBL has better extras such as leader board stats and the such, and the ability to see which of your friends is currently online and what they're playing....but this is something that could quickly and easily be incorporated into the Sony service. To be fair, we're talking about current abilities, so XBL wins on this "extras" point and MS could just as easily introduce 40-50 people online with newers servers and new games...maybe a "Platinum Service".
So overall, currently, the people who own both, like both at the mo', and they're very impressed with Sony's effort so far nonetheless.
I personally would take 40 people online over "extras like chatting to friends" any day, but that's just my preference. I also don't understand why i need to pay extra for online gaming when I already pay for my broadband. Maybe i'm just being tight, but others pointed out to me that they couldn't see why MS still charged for Gold in it's current state when when you can play against MORE people for free with PS3.
As mentioned playing against more people with no lag is more important for me than fancy leaderboards so...

0:1 to PS3 then...but quite close

Graphics
Let's face it, some graphics on the PS3 do not quite live up to what Sony promised. Look at Motorstorm and compare to what was promised at the previous trade shows....falls quite short. However, this is more a case of Sony lying (again and again) rather than inherent problems with the system. The graphical power of the PS3 is apparently harder to harness and as such, it will maybe take a long time to get it "up to scratch". HOWEVER, has anyone seen graphics of some of the games already/upcoming? They look ferkin' lovely. They genuinely are on a par with 360. People who own both could at best say that "well the 360 can match it". No mention of "the 360 is far better" or "pffftt, I prefer the graphics on my 360". Again, even people who own both systems concede that currently, the graphics are similar between both for the majority of games. Graphics wise, at the moment, they are generally about the same. Yes, yes, people mention GoW...genuinely the best graphics so far on any console, but if you don't have this game and want to look at how the consoles compare generally, most say there is little to choose between them (again, people who have both systems simply told me that GoW was a fantastic game in its own right, rather then "therefore 360 rulez innit").
This isn't bad for a "launch" console, but to be fair, PS3 should've been with us last year. Given that developers have had this time with the SDK's, it's no surprise that the graphics are v v good...and they can only get better.
I'd call it draw because, when looking at all the games we'll get here at launch and comparing them to current 360 titles (for myself, having seen games running on both, I'd say they were roughly comparable as well) they are about the same save for one game. I don't therefore think it's fair to award a clear victory to one or the other based on just 1 title in the vast catalogue.
A draw for me then.

1:2 with PS3 still in the lead, just

Games
The most important aspect of a console i'd say. GTA may be exclusive at the mo' but it will get to the others eventually. PES apparently will get to all three. However, there are problems showing with some PS3 efforts. F1 championship has got quite a few bad reviews as "just being a polished PS2 title, with the same poor AI only smartened up to look good in HD". This doesn't bode well :(. As we know from the PSP, Sony has a penchant for being lazy in this regard and shoving loads of PS2 ports down our throats rather than give us genuine "built for platform" games. Yes, there were original games for the PSP such as the excellent Loco Roco (I LOVED that game), but the poor ports far outweighed the genuine originals. I really hope PS3 doesn't follow this route with the same ol' same ol', on the PS3. I want new original games for PS3.
On the plus side, there are quite a few games exclusive to the PS3 that we won't see anywhere else.....the most important for me is WipeOut. There isn't even an equivalent on the 360 (and the Wii......as mentioned elsewhere, F-Zero is a different game). I loved this series so much on both PS2 and PSP (and PS1), that I really want a comparable game on all platforms.
Be that as it may, generally speaking, currently the library of titles on PS3 is still VERY POOR c.f. the 360, so it (combined with the "lazy ports syndrome" of Sony) has to be a massive victory for 360 on this point then.

2:2 360 drawing level

Hi def video
Right, a big issue with me. I D O N T CARE. hello? anyone listening? MS....Sony? are you listening? I DON"T F E R K I N WELL C A R E. I want a games console. Not an HD player. I'm quite happy with my DVD collection thank you very much. In this, only Nintendo has done the right thing imo. They've also done the right thing in NOT turning the Wii into a DVD player. I have a DVD player not 3cm away from my Wii. Why do i need it on the Wii?
So, The HD-DVD add on for the 360........tbh I couldn't give a sh** about it. I want to play games.
The Blu-Ray player inside the PS3........tbh I couldn't give a sh** about it. I want to play games.
At least MS has decided to give us a choice with the 360...if i don't want it yet, I won't buy it. Good on them, another win for xbox
At a later date, I may decide to buy into the high def video scene, but until I do, I'm simply not interested in it in my games console.

3:2 360 gaining a lead

Back compatabilty
Dear oh dear. Yet again, Sony waves it's "F**K Europe" flag. Apparently, they have removed the "emotion chip" from the console that allows you to play PS2 games. Before any of you say "who cares?" in that case should we say the same with "Virtual Console" or with "NGC support"? If you don't care about backward compatibility, why play older Nintendo titles? The answer is, it does matter. I want to have access to the back catalogue so that I can play the Silent Hill series again, just like I want access to the NGC back catalogue on the Wii and play Rogue squadron/leader again.
Sony say that emulation will now be software enabled, resulting in being able to play those games but "upsampling the resolution to HD format" (which can be done this way). However, the number of titles playable has been drastically slashed. Another minus point for PS3 hardware then.

4:2 360 with a clear lead now

Noise
May not be an issue for some, but i've heard a 360 and I cannot imagine trying to play a game with silent parts (such as silent hill or ico) whilst I have an emulation of "runway 1 - Gatwick" in the background.
The PS3 is as quiet as a Wii.

4:3 PS3 clawing it's way back

Controller
I like rumble. I think it's essential on things like driving sims, when you know if you're on the rumble strip, all the way to FPS's, where you know when you're low on health with that throbbing. Sony didn't include it because of a court case with Immersion. This is now resolved, so expect to see rumble included in later editions of the console.
I personally think they will arrive by autumn.
Until then, as the 360 has it already, it's another win for MS (as I said, I'm looking at the current state of affairs rather than promises)

5:3 360 just got a burst of speed

WiFi
Important for me as I don't want wires all over the place. I so glad the Wii has it built in. I'm happy the PS3 has it. I don't know why I have to pay £60 extra for it in the 360.

5:4 PS3 coming back at ya

(continued in next post....told you it was long )

[Gaffer]

(...cont)

Price
OK, I feel this is a split issue. It depends on what you want from the console.
If you want a high-def video player, then the PS3 ends up being very cheap for a blu-ray player. In fact, if you add HD-DVD onto the 360, the 360(premium) comes out as more expensive. However, I don't. I want a games machine. I don't particularly want Blu-ray at the mo'...or HD-DVD for that matter.
If I want a simple games console, with wi-fi for online gaming, a hard drive, only 1 controller for myself (I'll leave the Wii for multiplayer duties), and the ability to hook it up to my HD projector, this is how it breaks down:
PS3 + high def lead = £480
360prem + wifi adapter + XBL = £373
That's a massive saving. You can get XBL from fleabay cheaper than that so the 360 package is cheaper still. If i didn't want the hard drive (ie core not prem), it would be cheaper still.
So for what I need, 360 clearly wins again:

6:4 looks like tit for tat here

So if my choice is between going to the Wii60 camp or to the PSWii camp, it looks like that currently, and for my needs, the 360 is the better choice. This may well change come next Autumn, when I predict that rumble may well be included in the PS3 controllers as standard, and we'll have a clearer idea of whether HD-DVD or BLU-RAy is the video format to go for. So by then, simply equalising the point for the controller would make the score more even at 6:5. Until then, I'm not planning on buying either right this moment.....but if I did, it may well have been a 360.

I've tried to be frank in what I want in the console and therefore fair in how I've scored them. I hope it's been made clearer that BOTH systems have their plus and minus points. BOTH systems do what they do well enough for me. I sincerely hope that fanboys and bashers get a fair chance to try both rather than simply blindly follow either coorporation. Remember, neither Sony nor Microsoft gives a ****e about us individually....they'd both like to shove us up the jacksie if it meant profit for themselves......and please don't be under any illusions, but that goes for Nintendo too.
Rather than base my buying on "who i love the most....aaaaaaaah" I'd rather base it on being a gamer and what does what best for me and my needs.







You can wake up....i've finished now

[kungfumaster]

my reckoning has the 360 beat the ps3 by 10-1. i wouldn't buy that duffer if someone gave me 425 quid. from what i hear games publishers may be getting scarred off by the poor hardware sales and long production time anyway. my brother in laws 360 has broken down 3 times now but ms keep fixing it, only prob with 360.

[Craig]

After watching Watchdog recently I learned that 360's have a habit of breaking down at or around the time that the 12 month guarantee has expired...

[millski]

Great in-depth articel there Gaffer, nice work!

My own conclusion has been for some time now that because each console is so expensive, and neither has all the features I want, they can wait til next year's post-christmas price drops. If someone gave me the money I would go for a 360 though. Then I'd email MS repeatedly to drop the stupid internet charge (what exactly are you paying for? The priviledge of playing the game you already bought on the console you already bought over the high speed connection you already bought on the phone line you already bought? P*ss off...)

[stringent]

Nice article there mate. However, I would say you cannot directly compare a console that has been on the market for about a year, to a console that has just been released. If you want a fair comparison, look at the XBOX 360 at LAUNCH rather than now, what were its games like, how many did it have, how many issues did it have etc.

I know Sony has made lots of mistakes with its Euro PS3, but there is no reason that in a few months or so it can rectify them. Not saying it will, I'm saying it can redeem itself.

[Gaffer]

Thanx for the replies

Stringent: I based my views on the simple premise that if I wanted to go into a shop 2moro and buy one, how would they compare to eachother?
It's the current situation I'm looking at. Thinking about what was available last year isn't what I'm going to be concentrating on if and when I do decide to physically go and splash my cash.
As you say, any shortcomings can be rectified by either company to equalise them further (and I'm sure market forces will ensure that both companies will be forced, at some point, to improve their shortcomings to compete with the other).
I also want to add that, as mentioned, the PS3 should have been with us last year. I'm sure the devkits have therefore been available for a similar length of time for both consoles (which is why the PS3 graphics look so good at the mo).
So rather than being a "new console that's just arrived", I contend that it's more like a "1 year old console (similar to 360), that's arrived 1 year late". In which case, comparisons are a bit more valid imho...
...and I'm not "dissing" either console. I'm clearly trying to show that they both have their own positive and negative points .

This was simply meant to illustrate that looking at it purely from a consumer point of view (rather than a "scientific breakdown") what do I get for my money right now?
The answer is different for everyone, depending on what you want/need in your console.

I'm sure a parent, choosing between which one to buy for their kids, isn't thinking "Well what about last year?". I bet they are ALL unanimously thinking "If I got that one, what would I get for my money?...or If I got this one, what would I get for my money?"

The problem is that, no matter how i view it, it's always a close call. I'm hoping that by waiting till Autumn, the choice will be clearer (360 would be my choice today, but with rumble included ps3 may edge it, but hd-dvd may win so it may be 360, but blu-ray may win so it may be ps3 etc etc).
It's a difficult choice and i envy those who have all three

[Killarapp]

Intresting though ultimatly once you get a taste of XBL's community you won't care about 40 players. Huxley is an online FPS for 360 supporting 100 players+

Sony's Killzone 2 demo was actually done by Pixar (toy story)

Your forgetting other perks of the 360, achievements, private chat, xbox.com all that voice support and of course the fact it looks so sleek.

Only one major fault with the 360, the redicilous failure rate (im on my second and I know others on their 4th)

[stringent]

Gaffer74 OK, that's fair enough. Good points though.

[Lordi]

xbox 360 has better gfx than the PS3, this will probably change in the future though as developers understand the PS3 better and better.

Xbox 360 Versus PlayStation 3 Graphics Comparison - Features at GameSpot

I have to say I play on my mates xbox 360 a fair bit and at first was scpticle, but I have to say it did impress me and at the moment has better, gfx, lighting, games, price etc etc so compared to a PS3 its not a hard choice I would rather buy a xbox 360 today and a PS3 in a year or so when it finally gets some half decent games.

That being said the Wii is the biggest surprise in gaming in a long time, focusing on what gaming is all about, FUN FUN FUN what ever people chose for GFX they will all want a Wii for the fun factor, who cares about a cell processor when you can't have fun? Not me.

Also blu ray is pointless and just bumps up the price, wish Sony would think of gaming rather than trying to be a PC in a box, oh wait a PC comes in a box too!!!!