PlayStation 3 Graphics to Streak Ahead of XBox 360 in 2009?

[Starlight]

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have been locked in a deadly battle for graphical supremacy since their respective launches.

Despite the PS3's much talked about processing power superiority, the 360 versions have managed to hold their own and often have the ability to outshine their PS3 counterparts.

Even though exclusive titles are said to be the true indication of a consoles graphical prowess, upcoming games like Resident Evil 5 have arguably some of the most intense visuals despite the multi-platform issue. It is becoming more apparent that when the Xbox is the lead platform, developers have more trouble porting it to Sony's console, but when that situation is reversed, both versions seem to reap the benefits, which is an interesting turn of events.

Gears of War - Mad World Cinematic

The 360 hit first with its wildly successful third person shooter, Gears of War. Utilising the Unreal Engine 3, EPIC crafted a visually impressive world, which was renowned for its oppressive, achromatic colours that depicted the harsh nature of war.

Though Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was certainly an impressive display of lighting and vivid environments, the PS3's big gun; MGS4 would be the next title to officially raise the bar.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is an amazing feat in terms of graphical performance. It is the subtle things that elevated Kojima's masterpiece above the 360's offerings. From the dust that licked the camera to the fluid movements of Old Snake's ever increasingly frail body, MGS4 is still the pinnacle of console graphics.

MGS4: Guns of the Patriots - Courage is Solid English Trailer

The infamous long awaited Alan Wake, looks set to amaze 360 owners with a mature approach to both graphical style and content. From the small amount of information and gameplay footage released the lighting looks remarkable, as does character and facial animation.

Though Alan Wake looks astonishing, the PS3 is finally stretching its legs, and looks set to come into its own in '09 with a couple of games that will raise the bar again.

First up is the much-hyped Killzone 2. Though the first game didn't critically and commercially live up to Sony's aspirations, Killzone 2 will no doubt become the benchmark in terms of console graphics. The title uses the same dull gritty colour palette as Gear of War, but streaks ahead with moderate destructibility and impressive particle effects.

Heavy Rain - GC 2008: First Gameplay Trailer

The precedent won't last long as another PS3 title will put the graphical bar (in my opinion) well above what the Xbox 360 is capable of. That title is Heavy Rain. Developed by French studio, Quantic Dream, Heavy Rain features full motion capture, advanced rendering and even complex physics for appendages and hair.

So what does all this mean for the end user; are the graphics that important? Yes and No...

Unfortunately the core market places a huge emphasis on graphical prowess, causing a great deal of a developer's energy being devoted to that aspect of the game, often at the expense of the end product. You could have the most visually impressive game, yet if the gameplay lacks substance the great graphics become a mute point.

From a personal perspective, I am more inclined to lean towards the gameplay side of the fence. With that in mind the 360, whilst not as technically advanced as the PS3, is more than capable of producing exceptional games without needing to reach the pinnacle of graphical ability.

The success of the Nintendo Wii is a testament to the fact that graphics are not the be and end all of gaming. You could also look at the original Xbox and PS2, with the Xbox more than capable of wiping the floor with the PS2 in terms of graphics, yet Sony's offering still managing to outsell Microsoft's big black box by a considerable margin.

And finally... We still don't know the full extent of Microsoft's '09 line-up: could we see a title announced that is even more graphically intense than Sony's big hitters? Whatever the case, 2009 may finally put to rest the debate over 'best graphics' and the more important question of 'does it really matter'?

More PlayStation 3 News...

[BlingOnMyWrist]

I agree, that before the graphics up the ante, there has to be an amazing game to go along side. I do hope that the games that have yet to come to the PlayStation 3 are great games and have amazing graphics. And, if I were to choose between which to come first, as I'm sure everybody else would answer the same, a great game would come first. That's why we play games anyways, right? To have fun, to get away, not exactly to see something pretty while not having a great time.

And, even if the 360 does announce some great exclusives during the course of next year, who says that PlayStation can't as well?

Ah, back to my rambling again...

[deftonesmx17]

Only Sony fanboys and people who have no idea about GPU hardware think the PS3 is capable of beating the 360 in terms of graphics. The Xenos boasts more advanced features than the RSX. The RSX is based on geforce 7 technology - old technology. The Xenos is based on modern GPU tech.

Nvidia GPU's sold for the PC today are not based on the older RSX tech, but instead are built more like the Xenos. The Xenos supports FP16 HDRR and AA at the same time. The RSX does not. The Xenos has access to more than 256MB of GDDR. The RSX does not. The Xenos can achieve 4xAA @720p with little to no performance hit. The RSX can't say that.

Blu-ray has a higher capacity than DVD9. This means it can house larger textures, but... A texture still has to fit within the available VRAM while being processed for output; meaning if it is to large to fit, it will be compressed anyways.

And as a PS3 owner, I don't understand why everyone thinks MGS4 looks so stunning. It is rather bland and flat if you ask me. For example: wall textures look flat and do not give the illusion of having a touchable texture. There are other PS3 games that look better if you ask me.

As for gameplay, i agree its more important than graphics. Which is why I have bought more XBLA and PSN games than full retail games; because the fun they provide is worth the price.

[GZA1984]

when software is programmed well it can make alot of difference. Besides that In the end what matters is the full architecture of a system, not just a GPU. You can have an outstanding powerfull piece of hardware in your system, but if for instance your bus can't provide sufficient data dragged between a specific time from one piece of your hardware to the other it will still be the bottleneck.

Last edited by GZA1984; 12-25-2008 at 05:56 PM.

[Toader]

I like the graphics on the PS3 over the Xbox 360.