gamespot:360 vs PS3 graphics comparison

Cygnus

Pretty detailed graphical comparison of recently released games on PS3 and 360. Click on link for screenshots.

http://www.gamespot.com/features/620...opslot;title;2
The PlayStation 3 platform is now two years old, and the Xbox 360 has just passed the three-year mark. That means several second-generation games have appeared on both systems since our last graphics comparison feature. We're still seeing the occasional first "next-gen" development effort, such as Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, but many development studios are now releasing their second projects for the current-generation consoles. Bethesda, for example, has followed up on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with Fallout 3. All of the additional experience developers have had with both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 means that the window for blaming performance issues and graphical shortcomings on platform growing pains is coming to a close.

The Xbox 360 had an advantage over the PlayStation 3 in early multiplatform games in our first graphics comparison feature because Microsoft had a one-year head start on Sony, but we saw the PlayStation 3 catch up to the Xbox 360 in subsequent graphics comparison features. We're at the point where games look and play nearly the same on both systems--any differences tend to focus on texture resolutions and antialiasing nitpicks that most people wouldn't notice unless they were playing the games side by side and pausing every few seconds to compare the two. Fortunately, we've done all of that for you.

We captured all of our images over HDMI with games running at 720p resolution, and we enabled full HDMI range on the PS3. Each game has four sets of rollover images. The first image is a full screenshot set resized to fit the width of the page, followed by a zoomed-in image set that we created by cropping the original screen grabs to show you how the games look at a 1:1 pixel ratio. The third and fourth image sets follow the same pattern. Just mouse over the captions to swap the images back and forth. Keep in mind that these are large screenshots, so viewers with slow Internet connections should expect to wait a while for images to load.

Fallout 3
The Washington DC metro area in Fallout 3 is filled with the browns and grays of concrete and the red of rusted metal. The game makes great use of lighting to change how the world looks as the sun passes overhead. We made sure to match the in-game time for our comparison shots to keep the lighting consistent, but even then the Xbox 360 seemed to have better shadowed rocks. We also noticed that the PS3 didn't have the bridge pillar water reflection that's visible on the Xbox 360. The Super-Duper building in the background of the first image set also has more jaggies in the PS3 version. Fallout 3 hides draw distance well by showing major landmarks in the distance while leaving out smaller details that pop into view as you get closer. Pop-in was more noticeable on the PS3--you can see a small stand to the left of the bus in the Xbox 360 shot that isn't visible in the PS3 image.

Soulcalibur IV
Namco's Soulcalibur IV looks and plays great on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Frame rates don't waver with the game's complex moves, sweeping camera angles, and heavy combat. The character models look identical on both systems, and we had to study the 1:1 pixel shots to detect any visual differences between the platforms. Both systems have plenty of jaggies in the first screenshot, but we can't say that one system has any more than the other. The Xbox 360, however, has superior flowers as illustrated in the close-up shot. We noticed that the PS3 seems to have better anisotropic filtering or higher-resolution ground textures farther in the distance in the second map. It's not noticeable in the first set of images, but you can see it in the second set.

Dead Space
We didn't want to venture back to the USG Ishimura because, frankly, that place scares us, but we had to get our screenshots. Muting the game made it easier to find a decent way into the ship without any embarrassing screaming, but we ultimately decided on using two comparison shots from the very beginning of the game. We noticed a curious banding issue with shadows on the PS3, which you can see in the shadow covering half of Isaac's back in the second image set. Despite being graphically complex, Dead Space doesn't pose much of a challenge to either of the consoles. The main character's shuffling pace adds to the tension and keeps frame rates steady.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed from LucasArts showcases physics effects with the game's Force powers, but it also has the beautiful environments that we expect from the Star Wars universe. The Force Unleashed ran well on both platforms in our test, but we saw some frame rate issues and visible tearing in both games--while turning quickly in hallway areas, for example. Overall, the graphics resolution looks higher on the Xbox 360. You can see it everywhere in the first image set where the shadows, plants, and even the cliff face off in the background all have higher detail levels on the Xbox 360. The corridor flooring in the hallway shot is sharper on the Xbox 360, and the far set of lights framing the right side of the hall seem to bleed together on the PS3.

Call of Duty: World at War
Not one to abandon a good thing, Treyarch used the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare engine to bring players to the Japanese and Russian WWII fronts in Call of Duty: World at War. The graphics look even on both platforms, and we didn't encounter any frame rate inconsistencies during our gameplay tests. Storming beaches filled with artillery fire and calling in air strikes on heavily fortified positions did little to slow down the pace of the game on either console. We didn't notice any significant differences in the graphics, but we have to say that the lighting contrast on the PS3 adds an extra dramatic effect. The Xbox 360 maintains its antialiasing advantage, which you can see in the disappearing antenna in the second set of shots. Don't look too much into the fact that some of the soldiers have camo'd helmets on one platform but not on the other--the gear is randomized for the character models.

Madden NFL 09
We wouldn't be able to tell the Xbox 360 and the PS3 apart in Madden 09 if it weren't for the different onscreen action buttons. Both games are now running at a full 60 frames per second. The only slowdowns we experienced occurred between plays, but those were relatively minor and were present on both platforms. It was surprising to see just as many jaggies on the Xbox 360 as on the PS3.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Midway's Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe doesn't push the Xbox 360 or the PS3 very hard. Both versions of the game performed well in our gameplay testing, but we detected a few places in the background graphics where the Xbox had sharper textures and superior lighting. The blue highlights in the Temple level on the Xbox aren't in the PS3 Temple level, and the Oan Senate level has a few missing details as well. The Green Lantern close-up shots also suggest a lower resolution on the PS3.

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junehhan

Good article Cyg, as I see that you are still good at finding this stuff. It more or less states what we and IBM engineers have known for a while. Even when optimized, IBM engineers stated that the PS3 Cell processor is only 12-14% more powerful.

We have known that the X360's GPU is superior, and we know that is the vast majority of cases, it is the GPU that is the limiting factor and not the CPU. Sure you can do creative things with that Cell, but it more or less falls down to whether the developers have the ability to use it creatively, and are willing to do it considering their time constraint.

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LordGamer

For a pure gaming experience, 360 wins, no question. It should be noted, the PS3 could equal the visuals; however, third party companies don't want to put the time and effort into developing for the PS3.

With sales and easier development in 360's favor, it's easy to see why third parties focus on the 360.

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F91

Love to see a Killzone 2 comparison. Oh...wait...

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LordGamer

The same could be said for GoW2.

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EddieDZ

you read my mind..


... what taste like apples to me might taste like oranges to you, nuff said .. with that said, i can clearly back up dead space on the PS3 because my version DOES NOT have that odd shadow banding issues that gamespot shows in their screenshot, i even went as far as to start a new game, set my character up in the same spot and position the camera the same as that of gamespot did, and guess what, my shadows looked flawless!, NOTHING like what was in their screenshot, extremely weird, and just goes to show, what do you really trust, your eyes or screenshots? .. i have no idea why their screenshot shows such intense shadow banding...

also, i thought alot of us agreed that what makes a console this gen is exclusive/first party titles... not multiplatform titles?.. let gamespot do a technical graphic comparison with Gears 2 and KZ2.... oh wait.. that'll never happen

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Cygnus

Well since you mentioned that then, which console has the best exclusives?

Well OK, lets see. One game, GOW2 is out and selling in the millions...and the other is uhh..vaporware?

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DonnyDC

I wonder what it would look like...

brianh

Most of the reviews I see give a slight graphics edge to the 360.

John Carmack gave an interview a while back saying the 360 was better.

When you know that Sony spent so much time and money on the Cell and the ps3 was marketed as THE next-gen console, "the next gen doesn't start untill WE say it does!"

It's kinda crazy how similar the two are. The trump card is xbox live, imo.

kamspy

Dead Space on 360 has a grayscale issue. That's been discussed on the more technical gaming forums quite a bit. But other than that, the comparison seems pretty accurate.

They seem to cherry pick though. Mirrors Edge has a clear lead on the PS3, yet most all the games are known to look better on 360 (save for Madden and COD5).

Maybe just covering the 'Big Name' games. Just seems like the selection was skewed just dump on the PS3. Fallout 3 is a known issue, and it seems some shots have slight time-of-day differences which can lead to different lighting and texturing. Dead Space was factually wrong by not commenting on the grey scale error.

Soul Cal looks nice on the 360. I'll agree with the contrast crush that they showed on the PS3 version.

Crazy how the COD4 engine runs so good on the PS3 framerate wise. It's a marvel of technology and deserves more attention than the U3 engine IMO. I think it may actually still be based on Quake 3 coding (zing for engineering id!) I know is was as recently as COD2.

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brianh

I guess the problem with the ps3 is the developers not taking enough time to really use the Cell.

Both consoles are great in different ways. All the fanboy talk seems like a waste 2 years later.
The main thing for me personally is, I remember the bad old days of trying to play online before xbox live came around.
I've used both networks and xbox live is so easy it's ridiculous.

Makes people forget how hard it used to be to play anything anywhere on line.
MS deserves HUGE credit for that alone.

Pinoy

Since we're on the subject how many 360 exclusives are actually 'exclusive'
Off the top of my my head I can only think of Gears2 (and for how long?) PGR, Forza, and Fable 2... I'm sure there's some other ones I can't think of right now but for the most part I can play almost any game that's on the 360 on my pc.

You do realize that Eddie is playing that "vaporware" right now

As to the article you posted, not too surprising really. Like I said before the 360 does have a slightly more powerful GPU.... SLIGHTLY. Most people will not notice these minor differences... only nitpicking fanboys or people who make money off the said fanboys cruising to their sites for ammo


EDIT: BTw the weird shadow issue they had on Dead Space could very well have been caused by enabling the Full RGB setting on the ps3 on a tv set that wasn't compliant.

junehhan

You hit the nail on the head! Developers didn't really have a choice in the last gen as the PS2 was simply THE platform to program for. This generation, there are a lot of alternatives and time constraints dictate that they will have to make the most productive use of what they have. There is simply not as big of an incentive for developers to learn all of the tricks you can do with the Cell when the X360 is a much easier and better alternative. For multiplatform games, it has become clear.

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bboncorr

What's funny is all these Sony Fanboys complaining about the devs not putting in the time on the ps3 version are tools. these same people were most likely the same people saying MS fans were tool when they said things like "Devs are just not putting in the time on the xbox version". i was one of those people calling XBOX owners tools so it's only fair that i bring it back to the other side.

Man i just hope all these comparisons keep this gaming industry going strong. i would hate to see next gen end up sucking simply because both sides got the fat cat disease. it seems MS has been on this mission to own the gaming industry but how will they react now that they are there remains to be seen. also how will sony react now that they have slipped some. will they fight back or walk away.

these are valid questions simply based on each companies corporate history. MS has a history is getting that disease and not pushing the industry further while sony is known for folding when things don't go their way.

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Cygnus

Since this was off the top of your head, take more time to think it over Besides M$ wants $ony's stranglehold on gaming industry to diminish. They will take it any way they can, rather (and preferred) by 360, PC gaming, or even the Wii. Its basically a battle over who will control your entertainment room. So far, its working. BTW, the bolded part is also true for PS3 as well.

As long as this game has been in development and hyped, until it is released, I wouldn't get too excited. Besides, we all know how the first KZ turned out... I hope it is a good game for $ony's sake and for gaming in general; always good to have healthy competition...

True you have to also consider the ease of development environment too.

I liked gspot's harsh analysis. They are pretty fair and balanced IMHO. Not to say they are perfect with their reviews, but I tend to prefer them over other online sites. I rather go by more independent voices than the hype delivered from biased 1st/2nd party developers, e.g. "This is only possible on.." blah blah blah

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