Features
The classic feature the differentiated the PS3 was its Blu Ray optical drive, something the Xbox 360 failed to adopt for some time. Other main features include the PlayStation Move for peripheral controls, HDD sizes up to 500GB, USB 2.0 and support for a Linux operating system. The PlayStation 3 has also come in three varieties, Original (PHAT), PS3 slim and the PS3 Super Slim. Each variety offers different HDD sizes and console dimensions. The older version of the console was also backwards compatible to some extent however that was lost with later renditions of the console.
Exclusives
Currently the PS3 holds around 200 titles in its exclusivity including PSN and old ported games only available on it’s system. These include giants such as the Little Big Planet, God of War, Gran Turismo and Killzone franchises. Currently the PS3 is also expecting behemoth titles such as Naughty Dog’s ‘The Last of Us’, Quantic Dream’s ‘Beyond: Two Souls’ and Team Ico’s ‘The Last Guardian’.
YLOD
PSN
The PS3 possesses a free-to-play online service called the PlayStation Network (PSN for short). The PSN store offers movies to rent, game expansions, special themes for the dashboard, full AAA games and independent developer games such as Journey. Although Sony offers its online services for free many consumers argue that this has caused them to deliver a sub standard experience, something that was given validity during the PSN outage of 2011. The outage saw the PSN network suffer a serious external hack causing all 77 million registered accounts to be at risk of fraud. This stands as one of the largest breaches of data security in history. PSN also offers PS3 owners a service called PlayStation Plus where users pay a subscription fee and in return they receive monthly free games, cloud storage and PSN store discounts.
Commercial Success
In terms of a being successful from a financial perspective it’s quite fair to say that the PS3 fell flat on its face. An extortionately high price point at release ($599 for the 60GB model!) poor marketing and missing stock quotas (less than 60% of estimated consoles were available on launch day) all came together to tarnish the first few months of PS3 sales. Not to mention it was released nearly a whole year after the Xbox 360 which ultimately caused it to lose the commercial side of the battle.
Xbox 360
Featuring basic PC capabilities the Xbox 360’s earlier models even lacked wireless Internet connectivity and requires another purchase to access your Wi-Fi. The HDD is positioned atop the console and is easily removed, transported or upgraded, something Sony should think about mimicking. The Xbox 360 has the Kinect peripheral accessory that, unlike the PS3’s Move, makes the player the controller using intuitive motion capture. Obviously being made by Microsoft the Xbox 360 also has Microsoft Multimedia Center enabling seamless connectivity between the users PC and console allowing for the streaming of music, movies and other media files. Four versions of the console are available, Core, Premium, Elite and Slim.
Three Red Rings
The most common hardware fault of the Xbox 360 is the Three Red Rings of Death (TRROD). This would normally be a result of knocking the console or prolonged gameplay (overheating). Normally it’s local to the motherboard but the TRROD have also been linked to disk drive failures. In a similar nature to Sony, Microsoft will replace your faulty Xbox 360 if it’s demise occurs within its warranty period. The other main hardware issue that’s worth noting is many owners were experiencing ruined discs. This was where the optical drive would score a ring around the center of the disc rendering it un-readable by the system and sometimes occurred through even the slightest knock. All faults have been acknowledged by Microsoft and are claimed to be resolved in the current Xbox 360 Slim console.
Exclusives
The Xbox 360 is home to some incredible first person shooter franchises such as Gears of War and Halo but also houses the racing classic Forza Motorsport, RPG legend Fable and Valve’s classic zombie game Left 4 Dead. Upcoming titles that’ll be exclusive to the console are quite limited for 2013, especially as the release of Gears of War: Judgment is behind us. It would seem Microsoft is making the tactical decision of saving exclusives for the Xbox One launch instead.
Xbox Live
Commercial Success
It’s hard to contest the fact that the Xbox 360 has been anything but a commercial success. The console has literally dominated the sales charts, besting PS3 sales almost every month since it’s release. It also released at a dramatically lower price point than the PS3 starting at $399 for the standard model. Microsoft also signs multiple exclusivity deals for downloadable content (DLC) giving Xbox owners the DLC for 30 days before other systems are able to access it. Even with similar problems to the PS3 with launch stock quotas being missed the Xbox 360 still continues to sell tremendously well and has only just started to feel the heat from rapidly growing PS3 sales.
Conclusion
Whilst both consoles have their obvious pros and cons it’s hard to ignore the commercial success the Xbox 360 has so clearly had. That being said, the hardware issues of the Xbox certainly outweigh those of the PS3, I’ve personally had the TRROD 6 times whilst I’ve never had the YLOD. The exclusives of the PS3 are more general in terms of genre and the free online services is quite the cherry on top (especially if you joined post 2011 disaster). In short, the PS3 really should win this console battle…but it doesn’t. The Xbox 360 delivers a stable online gaming service, exclusives and DLC exclusivity windows, cheaper bundles and better PC connectivity. Commercially it has dominated, clearly for good reason.
Let us know what your favorite console out of the two is and why, actually, is the Wii your favorite of this generation? Let us know in the comment section below!