PS3 Slim Vs. Xbox 360 Slim

While Sony launched its slim gaming console - the PS3 Slim, in September 2009, Microsoft launched its own slim variant - the Xbox 360 Slim, in July 2010. Even though there was almost a yearlong gap between the launch of these two consoles - both of them find themselves at loggerheads today. (A large part of the credit for this goes to the fact that both Sony and Microsoft have discontinued most of their previous consoles with the launch of these slim versions.)

Sony PlayStation 3 Slim

The PS3 Slim is a redesigned version of Sony's PlayStation 3 console, which boasts of its slim appearance, enhanced features and power efficiency. Sony launched this redesigned console in the United States on 1st September, 2009, with a 120 GB hard drive. In July 2010, Sony launched two new versions of the slim console, the 160 GB slim and 320 GB slim. The new console is 33 percent smaller and 34 percent lighter than the original PS3 console. Similarly, it is also a lot quieter as compared to its predecessor. A redesigned cooling system makes sure that the console doesn't heat up. The fact that PlayStation 2 games are not compatible to PS3 Slim may come as a blow to its popularity, but other than that everything is a smooth sail for this console.

Microsoft Xbox 360 S
What we refer to a Xbox 360 Slim here is basically the redesigned version of Microsoft Xbox 360, which is slimmer and offers more features as compared to its older version. The new slimmer model, which was announced by Microsoft on 14 June, 2010, sports a black glossy finish and touch sensitive buttons. Other than changes in hardware, the new Xbox 360 also boasts of revamped components such as a 250GB hard drive, a special AUX port and two additional USB 2.0 ports (bringing the total number to 5). With the launch of this redesigned console, Microsoft has discontinued the production of the original Xbox 360 consoles.

PS3 Slim Vs. Xbox 360 S

Earlier, the price factor played a crucial role in deciding which is better between PS3 and Xbox 360. Now, both the companies have slashed their price and brought it down to $299, which means the price factor doesn't quite hold ground and everything comes down to their features. Given below are details of some of the main factors that have to be taken into consideration when you compare the two.

Appearance: When we talk about redesigned gaming consoles, appearance does matter and when it comes to appearance, the Xbox 360 Slim scores over its counterpart. Both the consoles are lot smaller than their predecessors, but when kept side by side PS3 Slim looks a bit dull as compared to the sleek Xbox 360 Slim. In fact, many people are of the opinion that the Xbox 360 Slim looks better than the original Xbox 360, while the original PS3 looked better than its revamped avatar - the PS3 Slim.

Features: While the Xbox 360 Slim scores in terms of appearance, the PS3 Slim takes the crown in terms of features offered by these consoles. As in the case of PS3-Xbox 360 comparison, the Blu-ray technology comes to Sony's rescue yet again. Similarly, PS3's excellent Bluetooth compatibility is yet another factor which makes it stand tall among the two.

Games: Not all is lost for the Xbox Slim version though, as Xbox Live makes sure that its stays in the race for the best console among the two. The lengthy list of Xbox 360 games offered as a part of the Xbox Live service also gives Xbox 360 Slim a slight edge in terms of games offered. However, PS3 Slim bounces back in the comparison with its superb graphics which add to your gaming appearance by making various video games look as good as real.

At the end of the day, the PS3 Slim, powered by Blu-ray technology and superb graphics, scores over Xbox 360 Slim. The sleek appearance and Xbox Live service, that the latter boasts of, are no doubt appealing, but they fail to give it that much-needed boost to topple the PS3 Slim off the top spot.