E3 2005: Xbox 360 vs Playstation 3

Article - Sam provides the commentary in this console face-off

Sony and Microsoft have both now shot their pre-E3 load, so it's a good time to sit down and have a good look at the various claims made about each machine. We’ll also delve into the plans that each company have for their consoles, or at least as well as can be judged from a distance. We’ll also consider the relative merits of the game demos that have so far been exhibited to the gaming press and enthusiasts.

First and foremost on people's minds is the relative power difference between the two consoles. On paper, Sony certainly seem to have the upper hand over Microsoft. Their Cell processor certainly wins in both the hype and innovation stakes while the Power PC chips that will drive the 360 is looking decidedly less sexy then the Cell. The problem for us gamers is that we still have very little idea what sort of performance these two chips, in conjunction with each system's memory and graphics chips, will be able to manage when running actual games. We've seen some demos of the Cell processor running video streams, and very impressive they were. But we had no idea how many Cells were used for that demo.

In a similar fashion, while the videos displayed at Sony's press conference certainly looked impressive way too little is known about their provenance to justify the exuberance witnessed on some other gaming sites. The games we have seen on the 360 appear to be actual game footage for the most part, while most of the PS3 demos seem to be pre-rendered. Even those which were reportedly running in real time will be running on development kits which have a tendency to be more powerful than what you will buy in the shop. Both companies have been pimping the numbers that there systems can handle, which while good for willy-waving contests, give us gamers little indication as to the true capabilities of each machine.

Microsoft have been very quiet about the internal architecture of the XB360's CPU, while both Nvidia and ATi are remaining exceedingly tight-lipped about how the GPUs they are providing actual function. Still, we can accurately state that the potential of the Cell architecture outstrips that of the XB360's CPU. But potential does not always equate performance and the nature of games development is sure to play a large part in how much each machine is exploited by the games developers. Microsoft have built up a good reputation for creating platforms that are relatively easy to code for, while Sony have a less envious reputation with their machines. The unified XNA coding platform which Microsoft are pushing for the development of both the XB360 and future PC games is already getting a lot of positive press while the development process for the PS3 remains shrouded in mystery.

The trend in recent years has been towards lowest common denominator development, which leads us to reason that any differences in capabilities between the two machines will be neglected by the majority of titles that eventually vie for our attention on the shelves. It will probably fall to development studios that focus on a particular platform, like Polyphony for the Playstation and Tecmo for the Xbox, to squeeze the most out of their respective machines. So while there are sure to be many games that will blow our socks off, especially a year or two after the release of each machine when coders have gotten to grips with the tools at their disposal, I fear that most games will be frankly indistinguishable regardless of which console they are running on. Kind of like the current generation.

This time around the console wars are about a lot more than just which company makes the best gaming machine. The upcoming struggle is for the entire home, not just the games room. Both Sony and Microsoft are pushing the media functionality of their respective consoles very hard. Over the last year the first Xbox has received a few upgrades that have allowed those with the right kit and enough money to further extend the media capabilities of the console. While the homebrew crowd have been hacking and modifying their Xboxes for a while now, it was only recently that Microsoft began to release products that gave a better indication of where the company was heading with the next generation. We've now seen the 360 running as a media hub and witnessed the streamlined GUI that will ease the 360 into more living rooms then its predecessor managed. Sony have been testing the waters for a while now, although they've had to use a separate piece of hardware, the PSX. Even so, the huge range of connectivity options and the amount of focus given to the PS3's capabilities as a digital media device came as a bit of a surprise. With the huge number of USB ports and three different memory card readers one really gets the impression that Sony are trying to manoeuvre the PS3 into a position where it can compete with lower end PCs and the Mac Mini as the only piece of hardware you need if you want to browse the web, look at digital photos and watch some movies.

The Xbox 360 has a much more restricted amount of connectivity. There’s no Bluetooth, a measly 3 USB ports and no card reading ability. The XB360 still seems to shuffle a lot of duties off onto the PC whereas the PS3 is attempting to do everything by itself. According to a press release today, the XB360 will only work with Media Centre editions of the XP operating system, a move which would seriously hamper the usefulness of an unmodified 360 as a media hub. And considering as that is the purpose of Media Centre editions PCs anyway this attempt by Microsoft to exert too much control is a worrying attitude.