Brightness (sometimes contrast) levels are so different between screenshots that they are clearly what jumps to the eye. Gamespot should work on that aspect. Apart from that, comparisons are somewhat irrelevant. CoD-MW2: sand looks better on Xbox. Trees look better on PS3 (or is it the contrast)? AC2: murkier on PS3. Or is it there a TV "smoothing" effect? RE5: I agree about better textures on Xbox, but there's a strange "halo" around Sheva on the first Xbox picture. I am a PS3 owner, but I would like to get a Xbox360. Maybe later...
Differences between both consoles are becoming so slight that it's a mere question of preference. Comparing games on 1080p tv sets could give different results, but a 720p match is fair enough. The "blurrier" look and diferent colour palletes could easily be dealt with by readjusting screen parameters (brightness, colour, sharpness). Obviously the default output parameters are different. There still are some games that stand out, like Vegas, no doubt about that. X360 wins clearly. On GTA IV, I actually prefer, without a doubt, the PS3 version. In the stills provided, notice the texture used on the car yellow car, richer on the PS3. It's clear for me that both systems can produce excellent and equivalent visuals... I don't think that's the issue anymore. What differentiates the offer is price, reliability, exclusive games, online functionalities and non-gaming applications (throw durability if you like... although no one knows how long will Microsoft support the X360).
Galaxy looks better, of course. Sunshine is 5 years old... hardware and software evolved a long way since then. But honestly, the question has to come: is this "next-gen"? I imagine Nintendo must have invested all its resources in Galaxy... and surely, it looks nice and should be a blast to play... But is this the best that they could do?! Imagine: how would this game look and play on the Gamecube? Similar? The same?! Pushing your imagination really, really hard: do you think the PS2 (yes, the PS2!!) could handle it?! Compare the graphics with Okami, for example... close? The Wii should have resources to do much better. Devellopers aren't pushing it at all!
Again, Gamespot? This WOULD be a good article, but once again something is missing... What about the Wii and Xbox360? What would make them worth buying? 'Cause I'm not thinking of buying them as well. Examples for the X360: - Improve Developer Support to Secure More Exclusives Besides Gears of War, what else is exclusive on X360? Viva Piñata? Ok, Bioshock will be arriving on the X360, but even this (apparently great) game won't be an exclusive: the PC is still a gaming platform... If you look at it (unbiased), right now there are 4 exclusive games that are really making a difference in the market: Gears of War, Motorstorm, Zelda and Final Fantasy XII. No winners here. - Standardize Online Features for Multiplayer Games Taking the examples given by Gamespot... Virtua Fighter 5 and Tekken 5 won't be online on the X360... Resistance and Motorsport, the only (important) exclusive games for the PS3 appear to have excellent online features, as does Gears of War and most of the X360 games. But the criticism (based on the examples) falls for the 2 consoles... no winner there. - Reconsider the Price In my opinion, if PS3 is expensive as hell... but so is the X360. If you look at it feature vs price, no winner emerges... FOR THE PRICE, I still don't see the X360 (as I don't see the PS3) having significant features to beat... the PS2. - Make Accomplishments Matter Again, copy-paste the criticism over PS3 to X360. - Start Releasing Good News Indeed, the PS3 should have more good news. Or maybe the good stuff should be news. Killzone finally appears and gets a footnote. MGS4 is all over the magazines and sites... except Gamespot. Warhawk (an exclusive) is looking great and appears to go for download. IGN has a great and expansive article... Gamespot? Zero. And again, the question... Where are the X360 good news? Price drop, anyone? More exclusive games? Compatibility issues - anyone knows how many Xbox games are running on the X360? Zuma interaction, is it planned? What about the rumors about the "Xbox360 v2 upgrade", with a better processor, more memory and bigger hard drive - is it fact or fiction? If fact, how will the current X360 owners be compensated? If fiction, where is Microsoft denial? Concluding: Look at the facts, look at the charts. What console is winning the war? The PS2. If I was Gamespot I would write an article called: "The tipping point: 10 things to Make a next-generation console worth buying". Thanks!
I wonder if this is what Gamespot wanted... nah, hope not. But look at some of the messages people are sending... "if PS3 has no PS2 emulation"... "cut out the BC for a price cut", "without BC"... Look at all this misinformation. Let's set the record straight again: European (more than that, I would bet that all new 2.0) PS3 will have PS2 emulation. It will be software emulation instead of hardware emulation (as in the CURRENT US and Japanese PS3). It won't be 100% compatible with all titles, but Sony is claiming that some 1.000 titles will run (I bet the list will be smaller and further firmware upgrades will increase the number). So, Sony just copied the MS and Wii strategy, using software emulation for some titles. Plus, this was no surprise: these news are more than 8 months old (Sony claimed that they would do this as soon as a stable software emulator was developed). Gamespot editors created further waves by worrying about backward compatibility for big titles as MGS, FF XII, Shadow of the Colossus. Surely guys, you have to be kidding. What do you expect? Finally, as I stated, software emulation is - if done properly, and no one knows the PS2 better than Sony, right? - better than hardware emulation, allowing the use of new capabilities over old titles. Frankly, whatever, I don't care. I'm not buying a PS3 or a X360 for the next months. I'll wait for the first rounds of the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray battle, wait 'till HD TVs are affordable and wait for the software catalog to grow bigger and better.
Thanks Gamewhat. The article you provided IS excellent and reveals that what is happening was planned by Sony a long time ago. Once again the link: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/711/711242p1.html Now... 1 - are there any doubts that the new PS3 version (without the Emotion Engine) will be placed everywhere?! Do you really think it will be an European exclusive?!? 2 - I actually agree with something stated in the IGN article: software emulation is way better than having the E-Engine, since it makes it possible to improve the game, using new Cell capabilities. Obviously, this is based on the assumption that the emulator IS good and that PS2 games run as they should 3 - I see nothing wrong with Gamespot editors stating their opinions, but it's getting clear that some of them (mind you, not all) are pretty biased anti-Sony. Or else, they are badly informed (the info in this 2006 IGN article, for example, can't be ignored!!). The same happened with the "graphics comparision" article some time ago. Besides comparing one game with the PS3 version with "shadows disabled" (gasp), a lot of those games were obvious ports from X360 to PS3. 4) And I won't even expand on the evaluation criteria used in Virtua Fighter 5. Mind you, I don't want the PS3 to win at all cost and I believe Sony is making a mess over some promises made before. But not on the BC issue. That is unfair, as the IGN 2006 article exposes. Plus, it's journalistically incorrect. I want unbiased and credible information. Gamespot, right now, isn't giving me that...
Sorry, but this is an unfair, biased article. Yes, these are opinions. But they are based on principles that are deeply incorrect. Let me explain my point of view. Oh, and you may or may not agree... no, really, you can! :) 1) I'm from Portugal. I'll get a PS3 when I can afford one, when it has some great games, when I have a TV good enough for it. When will this be... eh... 1, 2 years from now, I guess (that was the time that the X360 took to have 2 great games: Oblivion + Gears of War). Let's say 1 year (optimistic)! 2) Will I loose my temper and buy a Xbox360 meanwhile? I don't think so. I'm looking at Microsoft's machine with great curiosity and I am really pleased with it. But I do believe the PS3 is better. More expensive, yes. But the X360 isn't exactly cheap... and I also don't have a "good enough" TV for the 360. So, I guess I'll wait to be able to compare them "fairly". 3) Will I loose my temper and buy a Wii meanwhile? Could be. THAT is cheap. The Wii is a whole different ball game. But friends of mine have it and I really don't see it as a "core-gamer" machine. It's good for the weekend, for fun with friends. I'm still waiting for a killer-app for gamers with my profile. In the meantime, may it sell like chocolate cookies, 'cause it's a great console. 4) So, a year of suffering?!?! Nah, I still have Okami, FFXII and God of War 2 coming up. My PS2 is still strong. And I have some old Gamecube games to finish. And my old Xbox... errr... well, no. Done playing Halo and Halo2, can't see nothing else... 5) But what about a year from now? 5.1) Will I pay a higher price than an American or Japanese? Sure. I allways did. I also do if I buy a X360. Or a Wii. And in Euros. 5.2.) Do I care about backwards compatibility. Well, no. I have a PS2 (so do 120 Million other like me). And I know that good games will be 100% compatible (that's obvious, really) in PS3. I don't care... just as I didn't care about BC in the X360. 5.3.) But do I wan't a Blu-Ray? I do. Or an HD-DVD. 'Cause I'll have a HD TV. We all will want one. Oh, and both of them are backwards compatible. 6) Ok, so what about those "biased" claims? 6.1) Why are you bashing Sony for "limited" BC, when the other 2 Next-Gen consoles have just the same strategy? 'Cause they promised? Sure, that's a fact. Right so, Boooo Sony. But don't bash for anything else. 6.2) "the 360 has Gears, Oblivion, etc... while the PS3 has nothing good". The PS3 is out for 5 months. X360 is in its 15 month. What was there in X360 after 5 months? King-Kong, MoH, PDzero and a "5 years in the making" flop from Rare. Please wait 10 months, THEN make your call. Don't bash Sony and THEN say "well... but who knows what will happen in 10 months". Enough said. Am I a sony fanboy? Why, yes! I love games and sony gave me the PS2... PES, MGS, GTA, GT4, ICO, SotC, etc., etc.. And Microsoft? They gave me Halo. Not enough to be a fan, sorry... Oh, I'm also a Nintendo fanboy. And a Commodore fanboy. And a Spectrum fanboy.
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