vism.net

The Playstation 2 was a decent console. It was the first one from last generation that I got. It had an incomparable software library and although it didn’t have that much support, had expansion for a hard drive and Internet. Everyone expected the next Playstation to the next greatest thing, but to me the PS3 is a let down.

I was lucky enough to get a good deal on a Xbox 360 a few months ago and I’m loving it. The unified online network is the greatest thing to happen to gaming. Wireless controllers, being able to access friends list and music at any time, player feedback and achievement scores, and the Live Arcade being able to download old school games and new smaller games all made this console a terrific system. The Playstation 3 on the other hand has been rather lackluster. Sony decided to let each individual developer handle their online system, which may be bad. Developers may opt not to add online play because they don’t want to run their own servers, while little games like Burger King’s Pocketbike Racer ($4) offer full online play on the 360.

The Playstation 3 has a revolutionary new type of processor dubbed “Cell” which is one beefy processor with 7 additional processing cores. You’d think with 8 processors it could do a little multitasking. As of writing, with the PS3 you cannot access your friends list while in a game, which means you cannot invite a friend into your game unless they are already in that game or you quit out. When you are downloading something from their online store, such as a game demo, you cannot let it download in the background while you do other things, you are forced to stare at the loading bar. These are things that can obviously be fixed with firmware upgrades, but it should have been right the first time.

The 360 has developed the best controller in my opinion. It is very comfortable to hold and works well. The PS3 controller is the same design since it’s PS1 controller. It really needed a redesign, and people thought there was going to be from it’s concept design (boomerang), but it’s the same thing. Same design, just now it’s wireless and has tilt control. The Sony controller is starting to look like an enthusiast’s hack job of modifying the original controller with new features. It could have been more ergonomic. The analog stick and d-pad should have swapped positions as in the 360’s as the analog stick is used most now and should be closer to your hand grip. Speaking of the analog sticks, why they don’t have a concave groove in them to keep your thumb from slipping I’ll never know. Also the L2 and R2 triggers no longer press straight inward but rather tilt down and in like on a hinge. Of course, these don’t have a groove to keep your fingers from slipping off either. The new controller is called “Sixaxis” rather than “Dual Shock” because well, there is no more shock. They took the rumble feature out for the tilt control. Although the tilt control is nice, and may add new options in games, the rumble will be missed. It’s one of those things you don’t miss until it’s gone. You’ll start noticing how the rumble used to let you know when you were getting hit from behind or shot at, but now that alert is absent. I wouldn’t be surprised if they released a new controller or addon to put the rumble back in. There is a new center button reminiscent of the Xbox Guide button, which just seems like another thing tacked on to this mutilated controller. The controller really needed work, but it seems Sony thinks their controller has had the best design since the PS1 and didn’t need much rework. I disagree.

The graphics of the PS3 right now are not any better than the Xbox 360. In some cases sligthly better, and others slightly worse. It’s only launch titles that were probably rushed out, but it could also be that the hardware is so difficult to program for they couldn’t get the best out of it. It wouldn’t be fair to compare Gears of War, a game that’s had a lot of time in development and a year of console life ahead of it, to any PS3 game. But it’s hard to want a PS3 right now based on such comparisons.

One of the top reasons why the PS3 costs so much and had delays was because it includes the Blu-ray drive. Blu-ray movies sounded superior from the beginning. Full 1080p HD video and a ton more space available compared to HD-DVD. But looking at them side by side, there are no real differences. I have the $200 HD-DVD player addon for my Xbox 360 and it looks great. The advantage here would more likely be in the games. Xbox360 uses dual layer DVD, which equates to 7.8 gigabytes. A PS3 dual layer Blu-ray disc stores up to 50 gb. This gives the PS3 an advantage being able to put in more content. But in general, most games will never reach that limit. Last gen, the majority of games didn’t break the 3 gb mark, only a few were even dual layer. But we’re already starting to see 360 games breaking the disc limit and coming out with multiple discs (Blue Dragon has 3 DVDs). However, it will probably cost companies more to use a single Blu-ray rather than multiple DVDs.

Where Sony dominated last gen was in their software library. Even today, the PS2 aisle is bigger than a couple other consoles’ sections put together. The PS3 may reach the same status some day, but right now the Wii is a hot seller and the 360 is doing well. Sony is losing many exclusive titles lately because of the market penetration of other consoles. The popularity of the Xbox360 in the US and the cost and low install base of the PS3 so far has prompted companies to extend their former exclusives to the Xbox360. Such titles include Assassin’s Creed, Virtua Fighter 5, and speculation that Metal Gear Solid 4 may as well. If the PS3 continues to sell poorly, we may see the Sony software dominance start to dwindle. Add more Japanese support and it may be a good life for the Xbox 360.

For these reasons, I’m hoping for a Sony drop down in dominance. It will mean a more even playing field for the 3 gaming companies. But mainly, I don’t have the cash to support a 3rd console which happens to be the most expensive. I’m just glad I have other excuses for not getting it.