The Xbox 360 vs the PS3… seems like a simple question, right?
Well it isn’t.
Everyone has a different opinion on the matter, some say that the PS3 is the best while others favour the Xbox 360 because of its better online services.
These passionately held opinions seem to be based on anything from highly technical, spec-led, detailed investigations .. right through to raw gut feeling (usually from people who own the gaming system that they are supporting so vigorously)!
Well, after an enormous amount of research and searching, I believe I have found the answer.
Are you ready to know what it is? Do you really want to know the answer to the question ” The Xbox 360 vs the PS3″.
Well, here it is:
“It Depends On You”
Now you must be thinking, “Oh God! Not the same thing over and over again.”
But its true folks, different gaming styles, different games, different consoles.
But if you’re willing to stay here a little bit, continue reading below. I’ll give a detailed comparison of both the consoles and tell you why the above said sentence is really true.
(In this guide, a comparison will be done between the PS3 Super Slim and the Xbox 360 Slim.)
Design:
PS3 Super Slim:
In look, shape and design, the Super Slim PS3 resembles something between the PS3 Slim and the original Playstation 3 that was released way back in 2006. Still, the super slim PS3 is much smaller compared to its immediate predecessor, the PS3 Slim.
The Super Slim measures in at 11.4 inches wide by 2.36 inches tall by 9.05 inches deep. It’s 20 percent smaller and 25 percent lighter than its previous brother.
With the new super slim PS3, Sony has adopted a non-motorized sliding disc cover instead of a slot-loading disc tray. It’s completely analog, meaning you can open it manually by sliding the plastic cover right to left, or by hitting the eject button that rests on the front. This also means the cover must be manually closed. It feels really cheap. You don’t realize how convenient autoloading disc trays are until they’re gone. Whether it was to cut costs or save space, the move is ultimately a step back.
With the new super slim PS3, Sony has adopted a non-motorized sliding disc cover instead of a slot-loading disc tray. It feels really cheap and is is ultimately a step back the excellent design of the previous PS3s
Xbox 360:
Microsoft opted to use a glossy finish on the Xbox 360 Slim instead of the white matte finish found on the Xbox 360 Elite. The console measures in at 10.6 inches wide by 2.9 inches tall by 10.4 inches deep and weighs a bit over 6 pounds, making it noticeably smaller than its big brother.
The silver power circle on the Xbox console represents the number of controllers connected and will rotate depending on how the console is oriented (either horizontally or vertically). Most notably absent are the disc tray and power buttons from the previous consoles. Instead, both are now touch-sensitive; a small notch above the disc tray opens it, and the unit can be turned on simply by touching the circular silver power area. Also, a tone is played from inside the console whenever either of the two touch areas is engaged. It’s a really nice feature that feels way better than the Ps3.
Round Winner: The best design goes to the Xbox 360. The only fallback of the PS3 is design terms is its manual sliding disk cover. The touch buttons on the Xbox 360 also feels better but can be a problem to users like me who have small brothers or sisters that could close the system by mistakenly touching the power button.
Specs:
PS3 Super Slim:
Here are the specs for the PS3 Super Slim:
- Product code – CECH-4000series (Charcoal Black / Classic White)
- CPU – Cell Broadband Engine™
- GPU – RSX®
- Audio output – LPCM 7.1ch, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, AAC.
- Memory – 256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
- Storage size – CECH-4000A for Flash Memory 12GB, CECH-4000B for HDD 500GB*1
- Inputs/Outputs – 2 Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0)
- Networking – Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) × 1 IEEE 802.11 b/g
- Bluetooth® 2.0 (EDR)
- Controller – Wireless Controller（Bluetooth®）AV output
- Resolution – 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i (for PAL 576p, 576i)
- HDMI OUT connector
- AV MULTI OUT connector
- Digital out (optical) connector
- BD／DVD／CD – drive (read only), Maximum read rate, BD × 2 (BD-ROM), DVD × 8 (DVD-ROM), CD × 24 (CD-ROM)
- Power – AC 220 – 240, 50/60Hz*4, Power consumption Approx. 190W
- External dimensions – (excluding maximum projecting part), Approx. 290 × 60 × 230 mm (width × height × length)
- Mass – Approx. 2.1kg
- Included – PlayStation®3 system, Wireless Controller (DUALSHOCK®3), AC power cord, AV cable, and a USB cable
Xbox 360 Slim:
Here is the specs list for the Xbox 360 Slim:
| Width | 12.4 inches |
|---|---|
| Depth | 11.9 inches |
| Height | 7.4 inches |
| Weight | 10.4 pounds |
| Color | Black |
| Exterior surface | Matte |
| CPU brand | PowerPC |
|---|---|
| CPU model | Xenon |
| CPU speed | 3.2 GHz |
| CPU cores | 3 |
| GPU brand | ATI |
| GPU model | Xenos |
| RAM | 512 MB |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
|---|---|
| Wi-Fi support | 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b |
| IR | Yes |
| Supported resolutions | 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p |
|---|---|
| Audio / Video playback | DVD, CD |
| Supported video files | MPEG4, AVI, WMV, DivX, Xvid, MOV |
| Audio / Video output | Proprietary, HDMI, Digital optical |
|---|---|
| Physical controller port(s) | 4 |
| Controller connection | Wireless, Wired |
| Wireless connection type | Proprietary |
| USB | 5 |
| Ethernet | Yes |
| Internal storage | 320 Gb (Limited Editons), 250 GB, 4 GB |
|---|---|
| User upgradeable | Yes |
| External memory | Memory card, USB mass storage |
Online Services:
PS3/PlayStation Network:
Launching almost four years after Microsoft rolled out its Xbox Live service, the PlayStation Network has had a lot of ground to cover in order catch up to its main rival. Thanks to developers like Jenova Chen and Hello Games, who have openly praised Sony’s support for smaller studios, the company has earned the reputation of being asupporter to independent developers interested in riskier and more artistic projects. Sony’s lack of a maximum file size for DLGs helped bring some impressive titles to the platform in its infancy, and cemented the notion that developers face fewer restrictions on the PS3.
While the PSN library still might not be as robust as Xbox Live Arcade’s, there are plenty of innovative and entertaining titles worth playing. Another fact worth pointing out that PSN’s online gaming service is free, compared to the $60 per year fee that needs to be payed for Xbox Live.
(Related: List of commerce/entertainment features available on the PlayStation Network.)
A paid PlayStation network subscription named PlayStation Plus is also available on the PS3. The PlayStation Plus gives users many additional enhancements compared to the free version of PSN. These enhancements include the ability to have demos, game and system software updates download automatically to the PlayStation 3. Subscribers also get early or exclusive access to some betas, game demos, premium downloadable content and other PlayStation Store items as well as a free subscription to Qore. Users may choose to purchase either a one-year or a three-month subscription to PlayStation Plus.
Xbox 360/ Xbox Live:
There are two versions of Xbox Live for the Xbox 360. The Silver version is free and it allows you to access the Xbox Live Marketplace as well as communicate with your friends using voice chat. You cannot, however, play games online. With the Gold version of Xbox Live, you get all of the possible features and, most importantly, you can play games online.
Your achievements and statistics will be archived so you can check them whenever you want and you will also be able to use video chat and video messaging. All new Xbox 360 owners get a free month of Xbox Live’s Gold service and then after that the pricing will be similar to Xbox Live which is $59.99 per year.
You’ll need to pay $60 per year to play games online on your Xbox 360
(Related: List of full Xbox Live Features)
Round Winner: This round goes to the PS3/Playstation Network. If you want to play online but are not willing to pay $60 per year for it, you should consider buying the PS3.
Games
PS3 Super Slim:
The PS3 has a lot of exclusive games… 285 to be exact. Out of those 285 games, 75 games are available on discs while the rest 168 are available as PSN Exclusive downloads. There is a huge list of these games present on AVS Forums. Some on the most famous exclusive game series on the PS3 are God of War, Little Big Planet, KillZone, Uncharted etc.
God Of War, Killzone, Little Big Planet are just some of the famous and excellent PS3 exclusive games
PS3 games are available in the form of blu-ray discs. A typical new PS3 game costs around $60. There is a hack for the PS3 if you want to hack yours. Hacking your PS3 lets you install games on your console and play them directly off the hard drive. No disc needed. The only let down of this hack is that you can’t play online with it. Most people find $60 per game too expensive and they get their PS3 hacked. It’s up to you, really. Are you willing to give up the ability to play online in order to get cheap games… or can you afford $60 per game. Most people can, but can you?
Xbox 360:
This year the Xbox has a really few exclusive games coming out… and most of them are Xbox Arcade downloads that won’t really suit many hardcore games. Microsoft is really focusing on so few games this year, it seems like Microsoft is truly planning a Xbox 720 release to go alongside the PS4.
Xbox 360 Uses single and Dual layer DVDs A single layer DVD can hold 4.7 GB a Dual layer can hold roughly 8.5 GB ofdata. PS3 uses blu-ray disks witch can hold up to 25 GB on a single layer, although most PS3 games are far less than that. Famous Xbox 360 exclusive game series are really only Gears of War and Halo. There is no other famous exclusive game series available on the Xbox 360. A good point of the Xbox 360 is that it can be hacked to play pirated discs. Lahore’s Generations the Game Shop has a lot of information on these hacks namely Lt+ 3.0 and Jtag.
Over here in Pakistan, pirated games are available for less than $1. This is a solid reason why the Xbox 360 tends to get more sales in low-income countries such as Pakistan, India etc. You can also stealth patch your games to take them online. Stealth Patched (ABGX patched games) are available for around $3. A normal Xbox 360 game is also available for $60.
Round Winner: This choice is up to you really. Do you like God Of War, Killzone etc. or are you a fan of Gears of War and Halo? Which games do you want to play? Choose for yourself.
Motion Gaming
PS3 Super Slim/ PS Move:
Playstation introduced its motion gaming rendition namely the PS Move on 15th September 2010. The PS Move uses a controller for tracking players. For example, if you want to play a game of cricket on the Move, you need to have a in your hand at all times. This controller will act as your bat when you’re batting and it’ll act as your ball when your on the bowling side. The same goes if you want to play bowling. While playing with a controller doesn’t feel realistic, it increases accuracy tremendously.
Although the PS Move performs brilliantly in almost all situations, there is one problem with it: It fails to innovate and instead builds upon a previously existing technology. Despite possessing a wide variety of titles that are targeted towards the casual audience (‘Sports Champions’, ‘EyePet’, ‘Little Big Planet’, etc), most families will fail to see the appeal in the product due to the lack of innovation it provides; to them it is simply Wii 2.0. 4 PS Move controllers can be used at once 2 Move controller and 2 navigation controller. How much space will you need? Tough one. Sony recomended 2.5M, a recent MAG video says 3ft min. Theres no standard requirement but I’d say 1.5M will be enough for most games. Just make sure you’ve got room around in case you get a bit too involved in Sports Champions.
Xbox 360/Kinect:
The Xbox 360 makes use of the Kinect for its motion gaming. To play games of the Kinect, you need the Kinect only. No controllers. The Kinect tracks your legs and arms for playing various games. For e.g, in bowling you use your hand to roll the ball. Similarly, in soccer, you use your feet to score a goal. It’s really fun, and you’ll have immense fun with it. I know this as I play on my Kinect all the time, and I’ll tell you, kids love it. I also love having the experience of playing realistic games inside my living room.(although, you really should go out and play in the sun) It’s as Microsoft says : “YOU are the controller.”
With the Xbox 360 Kinect, YOU are the controller
When you, the controller, move your hand, your character will do the same – when you jump in the air, your character will reiterate your movements – and when you start dancing, your character will also strut the same moves. Despite its innovative features though, ‘Kinect’ has been criticized for having slight input delay (i.e. the user’s movements are not translated onto the screen instantaneously), however, Microsoft is more than likely to fix this issue in the near future through a free of cost firmware update. In addition, critics complain about the lack of hardcore titles available for ‘Kinect’, which ultimately makes it a device that true gamers will fail to enjoy for long.
Round Winner: This calls for a detailed comparison of the Move vs. Kinect. When all is said and done though, you must decide what sort of gamer you are. If you are an individual who enjoys hardcore action/shooter games, such as ‘Killzone’, ‘Resident Evil’, and ‘Socom’, then the ‘Move’ is probably your best bet. On the other hand, if you are looking for a device with which you could get the entire family involved or use during a party in your home, you simply cannot go wrong with ‘Kinect’. It offers tons of fun for the whole family and can even be used as a fitness tool. Regardless of which one you get though, one thing is certain: Both devices are extremely fun to use and can turn a boring day into an entertaining one. Regardless of whether or not you are a gamer, both the ‘Move’ and ‘Kinect’ will provide you with endless hours of fun!
Conclusion
Still wondering which console to buy? Here’s a thought. Why not just buy the most affordable system? You are going to get a lot of games to play on it. And if you don’t like your system, simply sell it, save a little money, and buy the other system. You really can’t go wrong with any of these consoles, no matter what. So go ahead. Think, decide and head out to buy YOUR console.
Why Didn’t You Include the Wii U?
Good question. I didn’t include the Wii U as it hasn’t really affected the gaming world yet. The two main consoles are currently the Xbox 360 and the PS3, and I don’t think that this is going to change. If I really think that the Wii U needs to be compared too, I’ll make a separate post for that. Meanwhile, if you have any more questions or queries, don’t hesitate to ask us in the comments below. I’ll be happy to answer any questions as I personally use both these consoles a lot and I have a lot of first-hand experience with them.
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Techno Inspiration 
Thanks shujaa …good one