by Jon Bitna

Created on: April 28, 2010

Comparing the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 normally ends up with people storming away from their computer in a rage.  "Fanboys" will back their console to the death and unfortunately facts are often exaggerated to help either sides' cause.  However, when emotions are set aside, and everyone's ego settles down, here are the facts:

Exclusive Games:  This is what can make or break a system.  If it has awful games, it's probably going to have awful sales.  Let's take a quick look at some games that are only available on Xbox...

-Gears of War 1 and 2

-Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo ODST

-Mass Effect 1 and 2

-Fable 1 and 2

-Crackdown

-Left 4 Dead 1 and 2

That's a pretty impressive list, and there are still a ton that aren't listed.  They span several genres from First Person Shooters to Role Playing Games, and each game has been awarded great reviews from major publications and websites.  Now, onto Playstation 3 Exclusives...

-Metal Gear Solid 4

-Demon's Souls

-LittleBigPlanet

-Killzone 2

-Resistance 1 and 2

-MLB 10 The Show

Yet another great list, and still many that aren't listed. Spanning multiple genres, again, (Sports, Shooter, Role Playing), and also earning amazing reviews.  Actually comparing the quality of these games is a very difficult task, and saying which system has better exclusives is even harder.  However, the quality of all of these games is so high, neither console has a clear advantage.

On-line Play:  PS3 and Xbox 360 have very distinct ways of treating online play.  PS3 is free, and Xbox 360 is not.  Looking at that last sentence you might think PS3 has the edge. Well... not really.  In this case, you get what you pay for.  Xbox clearly has a superior on-line system, incorporating cross game chat with a party system, voice messaging, and an overall easier way to communicate.  PS3 doesn't have cross game voice chat or voice messaging.  It does, however, have a text messaging system, but that hardly compares.

Once in a game these differences disappear.  Regardless of what system you play on, the actual game will rarely be different on-line. Xbox does a better job letting you communicate with friends to jump in a game with them, but once there the PS3 is exactly the same. 

If you're willing to spend a few extra bucks for a few extra features, Xbox takes this round, otherwise it goes to the PS3.

Graphics:  Alright. Here's the deal.  Both systems have beautiful graphics and comparing them is like comparing van Gogh to Picasso.  Some games will look slightly better on one console over the other, and here is why:  When games are developed they pick a main console to develop on.  Whichever one is picked usually has slightly better graphics, just because they were created to run on that system.  The differences are hardly noticeable, and don't take away from game play in the slightest.  Comparing exclusives, however, PS3 comes out on top.  With the likes of Heavy Rain, Uncharted 2, and Killzone 2 bringing realism to the next level on Sony's system, Xbox falls behind.  That's not to say Xbox has bad graphics; it has amazing graphics, PS3 just slightly beats it out.

So, there are the facts.  Hopefully everyone was able to finish reading without dashing away from their computer in a fury, otherwise they will remain blind to the fact that both consoles are great, and both deliver an amazing experience.

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