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Madden NFL 08

In a way, sports-franchise games have it easy. They build the game once and tweak for the next release. From a screenshot perspective, the differences between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions border on negligible. Aside from a marginally blurrier look on the PlayStation 3, the games look virtually identical. The players have similar shirt and pant folds, and the shadows match up completely. However, the Xbox 360 is considerably smoother in motion, given that it has nearly double the frame rate. The PlayStation 3 version of the game is more than playable, but the 360 definitely edges it out.

Xbox 360       Playstation 3      

Xbox 360       Playstation 3      

Xbox 360       Playstation 3      

Xbox 360       Playstation 3      

Xbox 360       Playstation 3      

Xbox 360       Playstation 3      

Conclusion

After going through another eight games, we've found a few trends that follow both of these consoles around. Outside of Rainbow Six Vegas 2, our findings didn't show any drastic differences in image quality between the two consoles--nothing compared to what we found when we compared first-generation games in our original comparison feature. The PlayStation 3 generally lags behind the Xbox 360 in high-quality textures and the depth/normal maps that go with them. However, in the same games, the PlayStation 3 sometimes comes ahead with better shadowing and antialiasing. Games on the PS3 do tend to be blurrier than their Xbox 360 counterparts, but the PlayStation 3 games can look just as good as the Xbox 360 games when developers put some effort into it, as is evident with both Grand Theft Auto IV and Burnout Paradise. Overall, the PlayStation 3 outputs visuals that are either on par with the Xbox 360 or only slightly behind.

5871 Comments

  • Nykid31

    Posted Jan 8, 2009 1:46 pm PT

    seems most look better on the ps3

  • dead_passive

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 2:00 pm PT

    Don't get me wrong, the PS3 graphics look good, but it's let down by some bland textures now and again, or some horrible lighting and shadows. Look at picture 5 on Assassins Creed...

    The wall textures are all blurred for the PS3, and have a bit more detail on the 360 version. Also notice the better self-shadows on the characters below, and how much sharper and how real they look.

  • tiggerxty

    Posted Dec 31, 2008 5:00 pm PT

    umm...you spelled idiot wrong. i think its just different games. they are trying to make the other product look bad by making the game look worse instead of equal.

  • MTMind2

    Posted Dec 30, 2008 12:23 pm PT

    @The_Unknown1

    i think you seeing what you what to see my friend. imo, these pics are so close that if gs didnt say which was 360 and which was ps3, most wouldnt be able to tell. and if gs accidently labelled them the wrong way around, some gamers here currently saying X is better than Y would be here saying Y is better than X instead, and giving new reasons to justify why this is so.
    anyways, what you say doesnt really make sense. cod4 looks the same, except 360 is slightly sharper and in some places got extra detail.

  • patrickphan2 posted Dec 29, 2008 4:45 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    patrickphan2

    Posted Dec 29, 2008 4:45 pm PT (hide)

    the 360 versions look better, more detailed and sharper while the ps3 is brighter and somethings look more transparent.

  • Biohazard8100

    Posted Dec 29, 2008 11:51 am PT

    most of the ps3 games look better. its just those ones that are either ported from the 360 which is very sad and then those that the devlopers have no idea how to make a game for the ps3

  • austin1012

    Posted Dec 28, 2008 9:37 pm PT

    actually i think the ps3 version looks a tad blurrier because the ps3 version has a motion blur effect the xbox360 version doesnt have. but to me there on par so the only reason people say the xbox 360 version is better is because they have a 360 but its the same thing with ps3 and by the way ps3 free online play yep im a sony fan boy

  • zacw

    Posted Dec 28, 2008 5:43 pm PT

    360

  • Max_Payne773 posted Dec 25, 2008 6:28 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Max_Payne773

    Posted Dec 25, 2008 6:28 pm PT (hide)

    I have played both consoles. Both are great. But people cant deny that Xbox 360 has to be the superiour console because PS3 has basicly no exclusives left to dish out. Final Fantasy is coming for 360. Tekken 6 is coming for 360. And no, Gears Of War 3 will NOT come out for PS3 because it is a Microsoft owed name brand. Sorry for the let down but that is the low down.

  • Acx6421

    Posted Dec 24, 2008 9:06 am PT

    PLAYSTATION 3

  • MTMind2

    Posted Dec 23, 2008 5:59 pm PT

    @Arkaskas - this has got nothing to do with pc. its about 360 vs ps3 for multiformat games.

  • Arkaskas posted Dec 23, 2008 1:07 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Arkaskas

    Posted Dec 23, 2008 1:07 pm PT (hide)

    c'mon people the graphic cant even get close to a pc.the only good thing with playstation 3 is the 8 cores and with the xbox one good graphic.the most games doesnt even want 4 cores so 8 cores are made to be on the play to use in the future.xbox 360 is quite cheap for his money i was thinking of bying it when i saw some videos with the ring of death and the hardware failure which makes us think that this consol is problematic. i will always support pcs.they might be expensive but c'mon consoles does only play games.if u buy a pc with about 700dollars or euros you will have the same and maybe better results with play 3 and xbox.blue-ray isnot something unique a lot pcs can support if u buy it ofcourse.

  • MTMind2

    Posted Dec 23, 2008 8:49 am PT

    @thesethcohen - agreed. i only have the ps3 version but they are basically the same like u said. so some will prefer the ps3 version and others the 360 version.

    @thegame1980 - exactly my friend, and yet so many make a big issue out of this for some reason. :-)

  • thegame1980 posted Dec 23, 2008 8:29 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    thegame1980

    Posted Dec 23, 2008 8:29 am PT (hide)

    Brightness can be ajusted on your TV and the consoles themselves. Brighter dosen't equate to better.

  • thesethcohen

    Posted Dec 23, 2008 6:06 am PT

    I have a 1080P TV and CoD4 on both 360 and PS3 and the graphics are basically the same but PS3 looks sharper and brighter ...that's pretty much it.

    Which one of you is going to tell me that my eyes decieve me ?

  • meunknown posted Dec 22, 2008 4:31 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    meunknown

    Posted Dec 22, 2008 4:31 am PT (hide)

    honestly, I more like this games on XBOX, I like how textures are sharped, and the lighting looks better, more feel of light "deeper". Also PS3 looks like using antialliasing feature because of "blured' textures, a bit more smooth but not too sharpen, XBOX sharper and bump textures looks better.

  • shadowluv12

    Posted Dec 21, 2008 3:55 pm PT

    XBOX 360 has better graphics but PS3 has better lighting and textures

  • MTMind2

    Posted Dec 21, 2008 9:40 am PT

    "well i ll only say onething iam a fanboy 360..."

    i stopped at that point, no need to read any more after that. :-P

  • scorpio85_rome posted Dec 20, 2008 9:38 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    scorpio85_rome

    Posted Dec 20, 2008 9:38 am PT (hide)

    well i ll only say onething iam a fanboy 360 all the time " ps3 is smooth but 360 is sharper" very true man

  • pium posted Dec 17, 2008 10:54 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    pium

    Posted Dec 17, 2008 10:54 am PT (hide)

    Xbox 360 owns PS3

  • The_Unknown1

    Posted Dec 16, 2008 8:43 am PT

    There is a difference between the two consoles.
    You just have to focus on the details like the objects, ground, light, the smoothness.

    If you are an Xbox 360 etc fanboy don't read the below phrases. As they might harm you.







    Come on who the heck said there is no difference just hit his/her head or what!?!?
    Look better and focus at the objects and surroundings, Xbox360 has the objects as if they were pictures glued to the place and most of all the buildings. PlayStation 3 has this difect too, but compared to the Xbox360 the PS3 has alot lot less then the Xbox360.

    For example COD4 look better at the walls etc you will see what i'm talking about.

    Some things on Xbox360 look like paper.

  • Kira_vs_L posted Dec 15, 2008 1:52 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Kira_vs_L

    Posted Dec 15, 2008 1:52 pm PT (hide)

    assassin's creed - 360 wins(better lightning and textures)
    the orange box -360 wins (ps3 is blurred ass hell,360 is crisp and sharp)
    gta 4 - both consoles look the same
    cod 4- both consoles look the same ,possibly ps 3 better (360 version has a visual bug ,the shadow on a character's forhead is not renderd correctly )
    burnout paradise - they look nearly the same (but the xbox 360 is a little more sharp ,ps3 a little blurred but not realy noticable)
    Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - 360 clearly wins this one
    Need For Speed Pro Street - 360 wins (the environment is more richer with a lot of more stuff in the screen and the reflexions on the cars in the 360 version is much more acurate)
    Madden NFL 08 - they look the same

    I am not a fanboy I don't own a console only a pc

  • mrme03

    Posted Dec 14, 2008 4:58 pm PT

    The ps3 orange box has sharper graphix to me.

  • MARS-BAR

    Posted Dec 13, 2008 12:31 pm PT

    theres real not much diffrents!

  • fatpumba3

    Posted Dec 12, 2008 10:43 pm PT

    I disagree with GS on the COD 4 I think ps3 looks much better

  • L4B-R4T

    Posted Dec 12, 2008 9:54 pm PT

    @monlosez - Everything you said is false. First off the 360's GPU is NOT faster, or even more powerful, it is actually a fact that both the PS3 & the 360's GPU are roughly equal in power, neither GPU can outdo the other. The only thing that you can claim is that the 360's GPU is easier for the Dev's to work with and get the power out of it, that is all. Oh, and just FYI the PS3's Cell IS actually more powerful than the 360's CPU even in games, as stated by Dev's such as the makers of the Burnout game above.

    Second is about the Madden Framerate's. The reason (as stated by EA) why the Madden game above is 30fps on PS3 and 60fps on 360 is because they were having problems developing the PS3 versions of their games at the time. But now that is no more the new Madden game that came out is 60fps on the PS3 as well. It never had anything to do with the GPU at all. For most games the framerates are always equal on both platforms.

    Third about PS3 games having lower resolutions, false again. To check out the native resolutions of games click here. The resolutions are all pretty much even and the same on every single game.

    It's quite clear you never even played a PS3 game, possibly never even seen one. If you want I can give links as proof to everything I just said ... can you?

  • MTMind2 posted Dec 10, 2008 1:31 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    MTMind2

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 1:31 pm PT (hide)

    @Jasonhunterx

    did you translate that into english by using an online translator?

    - and to those who thumbed this post down, lol it was not an insult, i genuinly think english is not this persons first language, like me, and so he probably used a language translator, cause his post barely makes any sense.

  • Jasonhunterx

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 1:01 pm PT

    Ha you people how say Xbox 360 is you are dumb it is overuse that it is the engine see like the killzone engine it is perfect for ps3

  • MTMind2 posted Dec 9, 2008 11:30 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    MTMind2

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 11:30 pm PT (hide)

    @monlosez

    if 360 gpu is better then its so small that it dont make much difference. and ps3 cell may not match the supercomputer hype, but its good for gaming cause ps3 versions of many of these games are about as good as 360 versions and its got great exclusives to like mgs4, lbp and soon killzone 2. so yeah, a lot of multiformat games are a tiny bit worse on ps3, but they are no way as bad as you make them seem to be.

  • monlosez posted Dec 9, 2008 12:12 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    monlosez

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 12:12 pm PT (hide)

    PS3 games are blurry, laggier, lower resolution and slower framerates because PS3's GPU aren't as fast as 360's GPU. PS3's Cell processor is great for playing blu-ray and stopping hackers, but not much for gaming. Double the framerates in Madden is amazing. Xbox 360's GPU is smoking fast, it's why you get so many ring of death on 360 consoles.

  • MTMind2 posted Dec 7, 2008 4:41 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    MTMind2

    Posted Dec 7, 2008 4:41 am PT (hide)

    "i think this is a dumb comparison...does good graphics make a good game????i dont think so!"

    and did anyone say good graphics make a good game???? i dont think so. :-)

    i like these comparisons and dont know why people complain about them.

  • CoolCheese6

    Posted Dec 6, 2008 7:06 pm PT

    i think this is a dumb comparison...does good graphics make a good game????i dont think so! personally, i like the ps3 cause i have a psp so i can download stuff on2 my psp also since u get free network access unlike the xbox 360..u have 2 pay! the xbox 360 has some good games 2 like gears of war 2!

  • dev8stator_Ic9 posted Dec 6, 2008 5:37 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    dev8stator_Ic9

    Posted Dec 6, 2008 5:37 am PT (hide)

    I'v kinda moved to PC. So,what should I do with my PS3?

  • rolltide101x

    Posted Dec 4, 2008 1:58 pm PT

    all stuff like this is always on 360's side it is bull but that is way it goes. ps3 is better than 360 in every possible way 360 has no decent solos halo WAY overrated and gears of war is alright but resistance KZ 2 and war hawk stomp anything 360 has got but EA has declared they are going to start making games for ps3 and porting over to 360. what ea does others will follow go here for confirmation 360 sucks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O94I0XbJvHU

  • tmorales509

    Posted Dec 1, 2008 11:13 am PT

    Aw quit it, gamestop is fanboys, the ps3 is not that damn blurry, they made it look like that! I should know i have seen these games and they aint that blurry even on a sd tv!

  • ResidnetEvil777

    Posted Nov 30, 2008 1:58 pm PT

    Xbox 360 has been having better graphical games because no one wants to take the time to develop the games to their full potential on the ps3, but hey I love my 360 and wouldn't trade it for a ps3 ever

  • MTMind2

    Posted Nov 25, 2008 8:30 am PT

    @VERSUS82 - 'WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO ADMIT THAT THE PS3 IS A TOTAL LETDOWN??'

    well im not a ps3 fanboy, but i have 360 and ps3 and its no way a letdown so theres nothing to admit. like the 360 its a great console to and its a shame u cant admit that.