Now that the dust has practically settled, now that new consoles are on the scene, maybe now is a good time to evaluate the performance of the two main consoles of the last two generations? Which did you prefer — the Xbox 360 or the PS3?
I’m not adding the Wii to this conversation because I don’t know if the Wii ever really competed against any other console. It sort of just stood there alone, its own thing on its own separate path.
But the Xbox 360 and the PS3? That was a competition. Probably as even a competition as we’ve ever seen in a console generation.
Which one did you prefer? Which one did you use most? Vote! Then let us know your reasoning in the comments below.
Comments
55 responses to “The Big Question: PS3 vs 360”
Wii for me, still.
http://xenmediagallery.com/attachments/get-out-jpg.1760/?lightbox=1&last_edit_date=1390852999
PS3. Sure it had a slow few years to get traction. But once it dropped in price and the first slim version came out, it really got the traction it needed. It was a big and an expensive move for Sony but it paid off for Blu-Ray alone.
Ditto. I’ll give the 360 the lead for the first few years but after a while, the frequency of decent exclusives dropped off a cliff as Microsoft began to pile on Kinect.
http://i.imgur.com/zl10SZ0.jpg
Everything from 2011 onward was an embarrassment of riches for PS3 owners, and I found myself gravitating towards that more. Also didn’t help that my 360 slim began to sound like a jet engine during use.
Started off loving the 360, until the multiple, multiple unit failures.
I went through 8 or more 360 consoles, only got 2 replaced under waranty, and those failed outside the new warranty period as well. But during that time, played a lot of games on it, thrashed out to the various RockBand releases, and enjoyed a lot of XBL titles as well.
My wife and kids played a lot of Dance Central too.
I bought the PS3 2nd hand about 6 months after launch, and originally only used it for Bluray playback. In the last 18 months though my gaming was nearly exclusively PS3.
So I’d have to vote in the end for the PS3, but I did get a lot of fun out of the 360 in the early days of it.
Ended up using 360 more as I bought games to share with my friends who only seemed to own 360s. As Steam got more consoley and controller support on PC became standard, I now use my PC waaaay more than both. Recently I use my PS3 more so I get online play without having to sporadically subscribe to XBL (ie Dark Souls II).
I came in late to consoles (2012), but I started off with a PS3, for good reasons. I got an Xbox to play the other exclusives, because YOLO.
I don’t have experience with the early years, and there is tons of proof saying 360 was the better console on launch-day and for many years onwards…. but I wholeheartedly say that the last few years were amazing for PS3.
The GUI, PS+, better quality game visuals, excellent AAA exclusives, massive exclusive range, higher-quality hardware, 1080p UI, bluray playback ..
I have both, and there are great games on both, but I definitely favour my 360. Mainly because the controller is so much better, and I know it’s kinda shallow, but I’m kind of addicted to achievements, trophies, not so much.
wow neck and neck I had both but after I played all the exclusives my ps3 just sat there, not that I hated it just because I have all that gamerscore and I preferred the xbox controller to the ps3 controller
360 for me. Sure i probably played more exclusives on the PS3 but i generally bought all my third party games for 360 simply because the controller was much more comfortable to use for extended periods of time (which is now much less of an issue on the dualshock 4). Also generally would have any and all online games for 360 as i just always found to have more issues with PSN multiplayer in terms of latency and stability.
But other then that… both did what i asked them to do so i felt i got my moneys worth out of them both. Just a slight edge to 360 over controller comfort and online.
I was very happy with my 360 purchase in 2008 (didn’t get the PS3 until 2010), but these days I’m still using the PS3, while the 360 sits dusty and unloved (with the controllers cannibalised onto the two PCs in the house).
PS3 won the battle of my lounge room with longevity and exclusive titles. 360 exclusives didn’t do much for me, it started life as the Guitar Hero box, and now it’s the Skylanders box. I have no interest in buying 360 titles even though I’m continuing to expand the PS3 library.
360… anyone that says different obviously doesn’t own both 😛
Is there anyone that doesn’t own both?
i’m sure there is… i know a few
Troll?
I have both. I’ve spent more time on the PS3 in the last three months than in the several years I’ve had a 360.
This is mostly because of the massive lead the PS3 has in JRPGs, of which the 360 has had very few released since its first year. The free premium games with PS+ are an added bonus; from what I’ve seen, most of the “free” titles released for the 360 under Gold are distinctly second string.
i guess if you only play/prefer playing JRPG’s then yeah the ps3 will be your console of choice…
if we’re talking majority of mainstream multiplatform titles the 360 is the better system… ps3 multiplatform games have had many issues/poor performance…
thats not to say the ps3 exclusives aren’t great… but so are the 360’s… xbox live may cost more (for less now that ps+ has improved from its original days) but i feel it gives the best online experience… ps3 is still clunky and shit in comparison with its online features when directly compared to 360
i love all the hate i’ve gotten from a simple 1 line comment by the way but i truely believe the 360 is the better system… but seriously everyone should have both cause both systems have great games
I respectfully disagree. I’ve had both since the start of the console generation and there have been obvious pros and cons to each. In the end I’d definitely have to say I’ve gotten more use out of the PS3 though.
Early on I bought mostly 360 titles since I found the controller much more comfortable. While the PS3 controller is totally usable, it’s just not as pleasant on the hands. It seems too small for me, and the analogue sticks don’t feel like they give me the same precise control, nor do the triggers. It’ll do fine in a pinch, and never really stopped me from playing something, I just enjoy using the 360 controller a lot more.
As more console games started including online features however, I found myself using my PS3 more and more. I couldn’t justify paying for an Xbox live subscription that I would rarely ever use, especially since I mostly play games on PC these days. The PS3 at least had a lot of exclusives I wanted to play, so it’s seen plenty of use still, but the 360 honestly has not even been plugged into the tv in years.
PS3, I felt that Sony always had the better exclusives, better ID management system for updating details online, better system activation, and I still have my PS3, and a PS4 but the 360 went long ago. I’m hoping to get a XBOX One soon though.
The 360 has Halo, and I love the Halo games, all of them. I don’t mind Gears of War either.
But I would swap Halo and Gears in a heartbeat for all the amazing PS3 exclusives that have popped up over the years.
Actually, I’d swap Halo and Gears for just The Last of Us or Journey to be honest, so PS3 by a mile. Glad I don’t have to make that choice though!
PS3, mainly for Naughty Dog and Quantic Dream and Sucker Punch related reasons.
A tight competition, as it rightly should be.
The 360 got off to a wonderful start and the PS3 worked hard to catch up (and probably surpass) it by the end of the generation.
A good reminder to anyone who’s hoping for one side (likely PS4) to dominate this generation- the competition between the two meant that BOTH consoles were far better.
BTW I voted for the 360, I feel like the early strides made by the 360 (Xbox Live Arcade, achievements, XBL generally, better games early) pushed the industry forward a bit more than Sony did. They essentially played catch-up to Microsoft on innovation and arguably didn’t take the lead until the generation started to stagnate.
I own all “last gen”consoles and my vote for favourite goes to the PS3. Not only did it have my favourite exclusives but it’s also the only one that still feels current. I’ve barely used my 360 or Wii for a few years now, but I still use my PS3 every day.
Early on my 360 would have been my most used but as time went on it just felt old and clunky compared to playing games on my PS3.
PS3, also having a gaming PC meant I never really had need for a 360.
Im a ps3 and pc person and havent really missed a tittle ive wanted to play.
The PS3 had some great exclusives but the 360 was the most used for me, mostly because of the multi-platform games that came out, the 360 versions turned out to be better visually and performance wise in most cases (according to eurogamer faceoff features) and I didn’t have a PC that could run them.
Wii for me too 😛
I won a 360 (slim), and even though I’ve got a fair few games for it now I still don’t see it as being worth shelling out for one. At the start of the generation I thought 360 was the obvious choice and PS3 was crap, but these days it feels like they’ve managed to turn things around quite a lot. But that said I really don’t like the PS3 controller and much prefer the 360’s, so that’s enough in itself to choose one over the other.
I bought both on release, both still in working order now (the 360 having the ring of death early on but no problems once fixed, apart from an ultra loud fan). PS3 had a lot more use. Mainly because my friends all had that and not the 360 so I tended to just buy games on that. Basically my 360 became my Gears of War and Halo machine. And also a part time heater and air circulator. 😉
It had to be the 360 for me. When the came time to purchase a console, I didn’t have a lot of money for games. My friends had extensive 360 collections I could dip into. None of them had a PS3.
I did want the PS3 more, but my mates convinced me otherwise.
PS3. Uncharted was the original deciding factor, but BluRays and Play TV actually ended up being what I used it for more than anything else.
Plus, unlike apparently everyone else in the world, I actually like the controller a lot more than Xbox’s.
I own both. One of them lives in a box in my wardrobe. The PS3 lives next to my TV.
I couldn’t say no to both.
And now that they’re a bit cheaper, its well worth the money for the exclusives.
Ps3
For the Majority of this console cycle I was PC.
In 2012 I wanted to get a console for the exclusives that I missed out on. After a few weeks of looking up exclusives on both systems I decided to try both and see which one i preferred. I got a 360 first and tried out Halo and Gears and it just wasn’t for me (I’m Terrible at aiming with thumb sticks).
So after a month 1/2 or so i traded it in for a ps3. To my surprise the ps3 had way more exclusives then the 360. I liked not having to pay for a subscription to access basic features and the store showing prices instead of MS points. Soon after that PS+ started the instant game collection and I knew this system was going to be my console over the xbox 360.
I originally bought an XBox 360 when the previous generation started, then a PS3 later down the track once it became cheaper. Once I’d bought it, my XBox 360 started seeing less and less use, even after upgrading it to the newer model a few years back. Then I sold it last year and kept the PS3. Basically it all came down to the PS3 having the exclusive games I wanted to play, and the fact that it has PlayTV.
PS3 start was something out of a horror movie, but it feels like Sony put in the hard yards to try to turn it and I think for the most part in the end they were successful.
PS3 –
PS Plus won the day in the end and I found the gaming centric dashboard and ethos to be preferable to that of the X360 that constantly updated which features that I did not need or care about it.
X360 –
It had the stability of online services to begin with but PS3 brought it back later in the game and didn’t charge you for the privilege . Why was Xbox live so expensive just to play online. No discounts, no free games. Shameful.
I’ve been nothing but Nintendo for most my life. I’ve grown up with it and always loved the games. A few years back when Kev gave us all $900 or whatever it was, I decided it was time to look into a second console. At the time, Infamous has just come out and along with a truck load of other awesome titles, the PS3 won pretty easily in the end (for my tastes).
I’ve been on PS+ for the past couple of years and that has been amazing. Even with a PS4, I’ve still got PS3 games to keep me going back.
Both. Why limit your gaming experiences?
Has to be PS3 because u got to pay to play Xbawx online
PS3. Almost entirely due to the exclusives.
I was pretty much covered with MS ‘exclusive’ titles because I have a gaming PC as well.
PS3 was definitely my favourite but I was surprised to see the poll reflect the same feeling.
360 by a mile.
Games with Gold alone will bring us another 50 – 100 free games over the next few years before official support stops.
At the end of it’s lifecycle and when 360 online support ends, X360 games will have 250gig hard drives chockablock with free content they can keep forever.
Playstation fans will have to hand it all back.
In the end, the choice is pretty simple.
Why would PlayStation fans have to hand it all back?
They still make brand new ps2 games even with the ps4 out. What will we be handing back?
Yeah man. In 3 years time I’m going to look back at my mates with 360s and go WOW mate you still have Shoot Many Robots from Games with Gold. Maaannn you made the right decision.
PS3 for me, i never did like the 360’s controller.
I was surprised that the PS3 is beating the 360 atm though.
I started with a 360 because it was cheaper, but I later got a PS3 free with my TV. Due to multiple hardware failures with the 360 I gravitated towards buying multiplatform titles on the PS3 (which ironically died and had to be replaced a couple of years ago) and I just preferred the system because it had the better exclusives and didn’t sound like a helicopter when it was running.
Last year I sold and traded my 360 stuff in towards my PS4 because there wasn’t really anything on there that I was going to miss that I couldn’t buy on PS3/PC. It was a great console but when choosing between the two I’d go PS3.
Like most of the comments being posted I started with a 360 because it was released from memory a year earlier and I wanted to jump into next gen asap, and I had a good time with it. When the PS3 came out both lived next to my TV but as time went on and exclusive after exclusive shipped on the Sony platform combined with not wanting to pay for online services the dustbox moved into the cupboard. Now my PS3 happily lives alongside its younger brother as PS Plus just continues to deliver great value, compared to Gold for the month of march:
PS PLUS – Tomb Raider released March 2013 and Brothers A Tale of Two Sons released August 2013.
Gold: Sid Meiers Civilization Revolution released June 2008 and Dungeon Defenders October 2011.
PS3 ended way ahead for mine.
Well i guess most people here don’t like online play because Microsoft clearly killed that department….. they also killed the controller department. These are undeniable facts but i guess it doesn’t mean it’s a better console but it sure counts for alot
Im one of the people that never liked the xbox controller.
Off course there will be some but you sre definitely in the minority good sir
I have never owned or played either. I did own a Wii for about 6 months. I do have 2 xbox 360 controllers for my PC.
PS3 gets my vote.
I bought a 360 first mainly due to the price point and I do prefer the 360 controller. That said I went through 3 power bricks on my 360 (I lost the reciept so no warranty >.<) before it was the console to fail.
Next I got a ps3 when the slim model came out and love it. Great exclusives, ps+ is fantastic (I also own a psp and vita so when they got added to the plus program the value was amazing.) My account is US PSN so I can take advantage of the regular discounts and cheaper launch prices which is a huge plus. The library for PS3 aligned with my preferences better then the 360 and while the controller isn’t as good, I grew up marathoning rpgs on psx/2 so its hardly a deal breaker and had work arounds (third party controller with 360 designs were available…kind of like the ps2 design for the original xbox in japan.)
I bought another 360 eventually because I had the games and I do enjoy local halo, perfect dark and forza. That said this console is also no more and had far less hours spent on it than the ps3.
The Ps3 did run into some issues late in the cycle with insufficient ram for games like skyrim but as a pc gamer also this doesnt change my experiences.
ps3 wins in this direct comparison. Given more choices I’d take a vita/3ds and a pc. Those portables had some of the best rpgs and vns of the generation.
PS3. It had the best exclusives of last gen, the best online experience and Blu-ray going for it. I never really got into the 360… had some good games but everything Sony did with the PS3 seemed to be superior in everyway. Thats my honest opinion.
I love the 360. I have a PS3, even bought PSN Plus. Didn’t play any of the games from that for more then a sitting. I beat Heavy Rain. Bought Uncharted 1 + 2 and played 1 for about an hour.
Even though I really liked it, I just never kept playing it. Something about the PS3 just never felt ‘right’, whether it was the interface, or the controller, or the network. Actually, no, it as the fact that EVERY time I went to play anything on it, the console needed an update, and then the game needed an update, and then it needed to install the update, and then the controller was flat, and it wouldn’t charge unless the console was also on.
All that lead to a negative experience. At least when Xbox games updated in was only a few MB and it didn’t take half an hour.
Dont own a xbox1 then i take it.
I do have an Xbox One. I have no problems with updates as I have mine set to update whenever one is available. Because of that I have never seen a game update on the one.
More to the point, this is about 360 vs PS3.
So surprised by all the PS3 votes, the console was kind of crap compared to the 360, lots of features missing and sooooo slow and clumsy to use, not to mention the dated controller. I adored my 360, even though Microsoft ruined it with the Metro interface ugh.
Now I’m strictly PS4 though, the xbone doesn’t appeal to me at all + it’s not available here in Japan anyway. I’ll miss you, gamerscore 🙁