PS3 Vs. Xbox 360

Over the last decade or so, the gaming industry has reached new heights, with the major players in the market coming up with some of the most sophisticated video game consoles ever seen. Two of the most popular gaming platforms today - PS3, the latest variant of PlayStation from Sony, and Xbox 360, Microsoft's successor to Xbox, which are battling it out for the top slot in the world of gaming. PS3 vs. Xbox 360 comparison is not at all easy, with both the consoles having their own positives and negatives, but then there are some points wherein each of these consoles have an edge over the other. Before we move on to find out which is better - PS3 or Xbox 360, let's get some more information about each of them.

PlayStation 3 (PS3)

PlayStation 3, often abbreviated as PS3, is the seventh-generation video game console launched by electronics giant Sony, in 2006. The console was an instant hit among various age groups owing to its high-definition optical disc format, which made gaming even more exciting. PlayStation 3 provided a Blu-ray Disc as a storage medium which simply meant more place to store data. At present, two variants of PS3 are available in the market - the PS3 120 GB Slim and PS3 250 GB Slim. With games like Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia, Devil May Cry and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare to its credit, PS3 is indeed one of the best gaming consoles you can lay your hands on.

Xbox 360

Xbox 360 is the seventh-generation video game console launched by Microsoft, in 2005. One of the most amazing feature of the Xbox 360 was Xbox Live, which played a crucial role in the tremendous success of the console the world over. Other than online gaming and downloading, Xbox 360 also facilitated TV shows and movie broadcasts. At present, two variants of the Microsoft Xbox 360 - the Arcade and the Elite are available in the market. The rising popularity of the Xbox 360 can also be attributed to the amazing range of games it supports, including Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Mass Effect 2 and Resident Evil 5.

PS3 Vs. Xbox 360 Comparison

Both PS3 and Xbox 360 are seventh-generation video game consoles, and hence have a lot of similar features. However, there do exist some points of difference between PS3 and Xbox 360, which can make the comparison a bit easier.

GPU and CPU Comparison
GPU, i.e. the graphics processing unit, and CPU, i.e. the central processing unit, are important components of the video game console. The Xenos GPU in Xbox 360 does have an edge over the RSX GPU in PS3, but then the Cell engine (microprocessor chip) in PS3, which is more powerful than the triple-core Xenon CPU in Xbox 360, comes to the rescue of PS3 by handling the workload at any given point of time.

Storage Comparison
PS3 uses a Blu-ray Disc as the primary storage medium, while Xbox 360 uses double layer DVDs as the primary storage medium. In PS3, armed with the Blu-ray Disk, approximately 54 gigs of data can be stored, while the same amounts to only 9 gigs in Xbox 360's double layer DVDs. This gives PS3 a thumbs up in terms of storage capacity, which is quite important as both the consoles offer game downloads.

Price Comparison
Price is indeed one of the deciding factors when it comes to PS3 vs. Xbox 360 comparison. In case of Xbox 360, the Arcade version, sans the HDD, is priced at USD 199.99, making it the most inexpensive Xbox 360 console of the lot. If you are ready to shell out some more money, you can always opt for Xbox 360 Elite, which is the higher end version of Xbox 360 console. It has two variants - Xbox 360 Elite with 120 GB HDD, priced at USD 299.99, and Xbox 360 Elite with 250 GB HDD, priced at USD 399.99. On the other hand, PS3 also has two models based on the storage capacity. PS3 120 GB Slim is priced at USD 300, while PS3 250 GB Slim is priced at USD 400, which is almost similar to the price of Xbox 360 Elite models.

Online Gaming
Microsoft charges a stipulated monthly fee for online gaming, while PS3 offers online gaming for free. This means that the PS3, which is a bit costlier than Xbox 360 in terms of market price, is actually a better bet in the long term. This is one of the most important aspect of PS3 which tends to give it an edge in the PS3 and Xbox 360 comparison.

At the end of the day, it becomes quite difficult to determine which is better, PS3 or Xbox 360, as both have their own positives and negatives. In such circumstances, the winner of PS3 vs. Xbox 360 battle can be only decided by you, based on your personal preferences. We do believe that Microsoft's Xbox 360 has a slight edge over Sony's PS3, but PS3 has its own positives, owing to which it has such a tremendous fan following.