Alright. I've had just about enough of the stupid console fanboy tirades that seem to make gaming headlines every day on gaming "news" sources like N4G.

Which is better: The Playstation 3 or the 360? This question is the current definition of the console war, and although fanboys (who have decided, seemingly, to let their friendships and enemies be drawn almost entirely from some perverse loyalty to a brand of corporate-driven electronic merchandise) have a seemingly infinite well of topics about which to argue on the internet (hardware, peripherals, XMB, the PS3's web browser, manufacturing costs... hell, I've even seen flaming arguments about which has better support for video codecs), these are all relatively minor battle-fields compared to the largest, and bloodiest, of confrontations. Despite all their fancy frills, these consoles are - after all - little more than machines upon which to play video games; the burning question, thus, becomes: which console has better excusives?

We've recently had two different responses, one pro-Sony and one pro-Microsoft, from a few gaming blogs whom shall not be named, though I hardly wish to unfairly single out these editorials; they are, after all, little more than the latest examples of a war being fought on message boards all across the internet.

Therefore, in a humble (though probably futile) effort to end these asinine arguments, I shall attempt the most unbiased and analytical examination of console exclusives heretofore accredited. Before webegin this process, we shall design as objective a system for quality measurement as possible. Given the limited resources of a simple internet blog, I have (regretably) only a single reliable source for an objective measurement of quality exclusives: metascores.

Q: So how are we going to do this?

A: Simple, really. In order to fairly "count" which system has more (and better) exclusives, we need some ground rules to determine which games are (and are not) eligible. The first rule is obvious, but may have some surprising ramifications: in order to count which system has more exclusives, we can count ONLY exclusive games. Multi-platform gems like Prince of Persia and Dead Space ultimately don't add anything to either side of the equation; only platform exclusives like Halo 3 or Killzone 2 help us infantile internet arguers decide which console is "better." The first rule, therefore, is that we are only counting exclusives. A consequence of note, however, is that we are counting only platform exclusives; however, the personal computer is still a gaming platform. Xbox 360 "exclusives" like Left 4 Dead and Mass Effect are not exclusives at all if they can be played on a PC, alright? So we're not counting those.

Secondly - and almost as importantly - we need to determine a cut-off line for quality. If we counted each and every "exclusive" game to a platform (e.g., if we included all the shovelware), then the Wii would undisputably be the greatest platform of this generation (although it has many more quality "hardcore" games than it gets credit for, but that's another editorial entirely!). I have decided only to count exclusives that score a 70 or higher on Metacritic. I certainly do not mean to imply that a game's worth is determined purely by it's meta-score, as (sadly) many game consumers... as well as publishers... seem to feel. I simply decided that, within the American school system, below a 70 would be a D. In other words, although I am sure there are many exclusives whose meta-score falls below 70 that some might find entertaining (Earth Defense Force for the Xbox 360 comes to mind), I have decided only to count what most would generally consider a "good" game, or perhaps a game that would make them wish they owned that particular console.

Thirdly, I am not counting remakes, re-issues, or re-releases of games which have been released on previous consoles. This was a personal choice, though I think it's a valid one; while Nina Gaiden Sigma is a fantastic game with great graphics, at the end of the day it is essentially the same game as Ninja Gaiden Black, which is available on the original Xbox. The same also goes for games like Portal: Still Alive (original also available on PC and PS3) and Rez HD (original available on PS2 and Saturn). Many of these remakes are great games in their own right, but I don't feel it is fair to count them as console "exclusives," especially when a lot of the games that would make the list are negligibly different from other versions of the game (games like Lumines and Puzzle Quest, with their hundreds of different versions and re-releases, come to mind). So, in summary, the rules are as follows:

1) Exclusives only! (1A: If it is also available on the PC, IT IS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE!)

2) Has to score 70+ on Metacritic.

3) No remakes or re-releases (Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Rez HD, etc.)

4) Xbox Live/PSN releases count.

Onto the meat and potatos... the lists! (NOTE: Games are listed in descendig order, with the games listed first scoring the highest metacritic scores.)

Xbox 360:

Halo 3, Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned*, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, Forza Motorsport 2, Fable 2, Project Gotham Racing 3, Project Gotham Racing 4, Dead or Alive 4, Dead Rising**, Bomberman Live, Viva Pinata, Crackdown, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, Castle Crashers, Lost Odyssey, Halo Wars, Tales of Vesperia, Uno, Rockstar's Table Tennis, Ninja Gaiden 2, Perfect Dark Zero, Ace Combat 6, Catan, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Naruto: Broken Bond, Kameo: Elements of Power, Marble Blast Ultra, Blue Dragon, R-Type Dimensions, Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, Outpost Kaloki X, Mutant Storm Extreme, Undertow, The Maw, Scene It? Box Office Smash, Culdcept Saga, Ridge Racer 6, Weapon of Choice, Galaga Legions, Scene It? Lights Camera Action, Omega 5, Lips, Chromehounds, The Outfit, Full Auto

*GTA IV: Lost and the Damned is technically an episodic expansion for GTA IV (hence the title), but it's content is such that it could easily be released as a retail title, so I decided to include it.

**Dead Rising technically is not a 360 exclusive; the Wii version, however, is on-rails like a light gun shooting game, so I have made a personal exception in this case and included it as an Xbox 360 exclusive... because the Wii version has cut so much content that it's sort of joke.

Notable exceptions: Gears of War (available on PC), Mass Effect (PC), Braid (PC), Left 4 Dead (PC), Portal: Still Alive (remake), Rez HD (remake), Doom 3D (remake), Every Extend Extra Extreme (remake), Infinite Undiscovery (score), Last Remnant (score... AND available on PC).

PS3:

LittleBigPlanet, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot, Killzone 2, Ratchet & Clank: Future Tools of Destruction, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Flower, Wipeout HD, Valkyria Chronicles, Resistance 2, Resistance: Fall of Man, MLB 08: The Show, Motorstorm, Warhawk, PixelJunk Monsters, Singstar, Gran Turismo HD Concept, Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds, Super Stardust HD, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, Cuboid, EchoChrome, Metal Gear Online*, Buzz! Quiz TV, PixelJunk Eden, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Heavenly Sword, Crash Commando, SIREN: Blood Curse, Disgaea 3, The Last Guy, Calling All Cars!, MLB 07: The Show, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, Singstar v. 2, Folklore, Eye of Judgment, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, Noby Noby Boy, Savage Moon, PAIN**, LocoRoco Cocoreccho!, Afrika, flOw, Piyotama, Elefunk

*Metal Gear Online was bundled with MGS4. However, it was also sold as a separate retail product at a later date, and since its release it has received several expansions (which cost money). I count it separately from Metal Gear Solid 4 because it was available as a stand-alone product, and because it is a game entirely different from MGS4 (as opposed to, say, Halo 3's multiplayer, which plays much the same as single-player). If this decision bothers your delicate sensibilities, simply subtract one from my total count of PS3 exclusives.

**PAIN had two separate 70+ metacritic listings (PAIN and PAIN: Amusement Park). PAIN: Amusement Park requires the original PAIN in order to work (i.e., it's an expansion), so I decided to lump them together as one listing, because no one would be playing PAIN: Amusement Park if they didn't already own PAIN.

The Final Verdict?!

XBOX 360 EXCLUSIVES: 46

PS3 EXCLUSIVES: 45

Commentary?

CONGRATULATIONS, XBOX 360 FANBOYS! You won the contest by one whole game! In other words, the only difference between your console and the Playstation 3 is LIPS, or Scene it? Box Office Smash! What a monumental victory for all those loyal Microsoft fans! Take a bow, boys and girls, you deserve it!

More realistically, the REAL conclusion you should be drawing from this analysis is that the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are neck and neck when it comes to quality exclusives. It's going to be a photo-finish, and we probably won't be able to tell who "won" until years from now. Even if we counted unreleased games it would be a tight contest: the 360's Alan Wake, more GTAIV and Fallout 3 episodes, Halo 3:OSTD, and Splinter Cell: Conviction versus Sony's Uncharted 2, God of War III, Gran Turismo 5, Infamous, MAG and Heavy Rain.

There are only a few minor caveats where I could see owning one platform over another. The most major is that if high definition means nothing to you (which you may feel very differently about a few years from now, by the way), then the 360 is available for much cheaper. Personally, even if you bought a 360, I would invest in the Elite model with HDMI output so you can eventually enjoy those games on your cheap LCD television. If you're a huge fanatic for racing games, the 360 is probably your console of choice: in addition to Burnout Paradise (both platforms), you have three exclusive franchises to enjoy: Forza Motorsport, Project Gotham Racing, and Ridge Racer. Sony's Gran Turismo is considered by many to be the king of racing games, but they take so long to develop their games that you can't really enjoy the yearly itinerations. Finally, if you live and breathe baseball, then the PS3 is your console of choice. Sony's MLB: The Show franchise has provided baseball fans with a fantastic baseball game that easily rivals E.A.'s yearly Madden and NHL games in terms of fun and quality.

Additionally, if you count the number of multi-platform releases available on both consoles, the amount of quality games available for both platforms is staggering. You could be playing these games for YEARS and still not be done. Sit back, calm down, and enjoy your platform of choice, and for the love of everything holy stop listening to those stupid internet people when they slam you for your console of choice. Just point to the list of exclusives and say "hey, stupid, I bought my console for THESE games!"