Xbox 360 vs. PS3

Felon · Jan 9, 2012

As an owner of both consoles (and that damn Wii), I'd say both consoles are good.

The PS3 has the advantage of having many exclusive titles (Uncharted, Infamous, Killzone, Resistance, Twisted Metal, Little Big Planet), built-in wfii, subscription-free Playstation Network membership, and let's not forget that it plays bluerays.

The big advantage of the Xbox is that the Xbox Live network is much faster and more reliable than the PSN (worth paying for, IMO). I used to say that the UI was light-years ahead, but the recent revision is a mess. I now have to dig into it to get to Netflix, which is what a lot of folks have come to use their Xbox for even more than they do for gaming.

Which do I play more? The Xbox. It's what my friends have, and that's that.

Felon · Jan 10, 2012

Agamon said:
Sony stated that one of the big selling points of the PS3 was that it would have a 10-year lifespan. Over and over again. That's what makes this announcement surprising.

What's surprsing is expecting the selling points from seven years ago to guide business practices today. Life is unpredictable, and requires flexibility. The past is for learning lessons going forward, not tying your hands.

THE PS4 COMETH: A ONE-ACT PLAY

CEO: "OK, gentleman, we have every indicator that the time has come to start work on a new console. We can't wind up at the back of the pack like last time. I'm opening the floor to comments."

Junior Executive: "Oh, excuse me, sir. I'm afraid I have some devastating news. It appears that back in 2005, we said that we'd have a 10-year cycle. Over and over again. To deviate from that now, seven years later, would make it look we're being inconsistent, indecisive, chaotic. People will be shocked. Surprised, even. We must hold off for a few more years, even if that means bankruptcy."

CEO: "Well, that was our plan at the time. Seven years is a long time, and we can't predict the future. Sometimes plans must change. That is not being inconsistent, indecisive, or chaotic. That is just being realistic."

Junior Executive: "But sir, what about all the industry insiders? For God's sake, think of the industry insiders! They'll be confused! Reality means nothing to them, and literalism means everything. They'll cry 'liar, liar, pants on fire' when they find out we broke our magical promise."

CEO: "By 'industry insiders' do you mean people on internet forums who rage over trifles rather than the real injustices of the world?"

Junior Executive: "Yes! And don't forget, some of them have blogs! I fear their judgment more than I fear for our solvency."

CEO: "That's what I thought. You're fired."

THE END

Agamon · Jan 10, 2012

Snark wasn't necessary, dude. Just said that it was surprising, not that it shouldn't happen. I have buddy with a PS3, i don't think he saw it coming either.

Felon · Jan 10, 2012

That's not snark. That's pure wit, my friend, and I would recommend savoring it. How many one-act plays have you ever gotten?

Agamon · Jan 12, 2012

Hmmm. Maybe Sony isn't announcing a new PS after all...

Gaikai teaming with Sony to add cloud gaming to the PS3 sounds likely to be Sony's big news at E3.

Janx · Jan 12, 2012

Agamon said:
Hmmm. Maybe Sony isn't announcing a new PS after all...

Gaikai teaming with Sony to add cloud gaming to the PS3 sounds likely to be Sony's big news at E3.

kind of what I been saying. Felon's fine one-act play poking fun at the fact that as of yet, Sony does not change its platform release strategy. We are on year 5 of the PS3. At the end of the 6th year is when the PS4 will come out.

MS does not have a public record to base on, but they have no reason to rush. They have a solid outline of what Sony will do and can stick to the same schedule as Sony and be a year earlier.

And MS has made it very clear that they do not release in sync with CES so MS has nothing cool to announce at CES. Which is why they are pulling out of CES.

and in case this Sony schedule is unclear, here it is straight from my google-fu to you:
PlayStation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xbox timeline - Microsoft Games Wiki

December 1994 PS1 released
??? 2000 PS 2 released (6 years after PS1)
November 2001 Xbox released
November 2005 Xbox 360 released (4 years after original Xbox)
January 2006 PS 3 released (6 years after PS2)

A slight ammendment to my own understanding, the 360 only appears to have had a 2 month lead over the PS3.

There's no telling what MS will do, but I am confident Sony will stick to its schedule like clockwork. And because of that, MS will take advantage of that.

The sad thing, as I was under the impression the 360 had a year lead, is that the PS3 sales performance was so bad when it was hot on the heals of the 360.

I could not guess the exact month the PS4 will come out. But January 2013 seems a reasonable target. Plus or minus a few months.

MS is in a wierd spot, because they releases the 360 slim so recently (June 2010). They should still be readying to launch the Xbox-Next for x-mas this year, to beat Sony in the market. They've had quite a long time to work on it, compared to the last launch.

Ultimately, one should also remember, any of the hardware revisions for PS3 or 360 are cost reductions and design corrections. Any stimulation of the market over the new look is superficial. These new models came out because they fixed problems and used cheaper parts. Otherwise, they never could have justified the expense of doing the R&D to replace chips and parts and retooling manufacturing, as well as QA efforts to then produce the Slim models that also had a lower retail price. I've been involved with the work to replace 1 chip because the OEM was end-of-lifing the original chip. This is not the kind of thing you jack with unless you get a huge savings or have to.

Agamon · Jan 12, 2012

The new XBox won't be out this year. Not unless upscaling backwards compatibility is part of the package (as Cliffy B and Todd Howard are hoping for). Halo 4 isn't releasing months before a new console.

Also, if PS4 comes out in the next 18 months, they'd announce it at this coming E3, right?

Janx · Jan 12, 2012

Agamon said:
The new XBox won't be out this year. Not unless upscaling backwards compatibility is part of the package (as Cliffy B and Todd Howard are hoping for). Halo 4 isn't releasing months before a new console.

Also, if PS4 comes out in the next 18 months, they'd announce it at this coming E3, right?

I'd heard fall 2012 for new xbox, but I have no facts to back that up.

With over a year away, they'd be more likely to announce at next CES than this CES or E3.

Another factor to this is Apple. Apple has proven that you do not need to announce at a general tech fair. Instead, you hold your own event and announce there. Additionally, Apple doesn't allow much lead before launch. They announce maybe a few weeks before product launch.

Microsoft is probably moving this way. Using their own events that map to their schedule, rather than big annual conferences like CES which do not align with their roadmap timeline.

Anyway, based on the timeline of past machines, it looks like Xbox-Next in Novmber 2012, and PS4 in January 2013.

I could be off by a couple months just because of internal issues, or like the iPhone 4s, the japanese Tsunami pushed it from a July to fall release. But I suspect we will see new consoles around that time as actual products, not just announcements.

Feel free to mark that on your calendar and mock me on this thread if I am wrong. My guess is based on public launch patterns and basic industry knowledge and not any insider info or internet rumor.

Janx · Jan 12, 2012

Agamon said:
The new XBox won't be out this year. Not unless upscaling backwards compatibility is part of the package (as Cliffy B and Todd Howard are hoping for). Halo 4 isn't releasing months before a new console.

Also, if PS4 comes out in the next 18 months, they'd announce it at this coming E3, right?

extra part I missed about halo.

halo 2 came out sort of around the 360 launch window (right after if I recall). It was much bemoaned that it was xbox original and NOT a 360 version.

So it is not without precedent for Halo 4 to launch as a 360-only title, even if the Xbox-Next has just come out.

Agamon · Jan 12, 2012

I'm okay with agreeing to disagree.

I'm just not into the whole precedent as the be-all, end-all.

That said, with up-scaling backward compatibility, they can put out the new XBox tomorrow and I'll be all over it.