The Xbox 360 Gaming Network
While all modern gaming consoles aim to be the entertainment focus of your home, the Nintendo Wii chases a more general audience (which it has been wildly successful in doing) while Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and the Sony Playstation 3 are marketed towards the hard-core action-gaming crowd of male teens and tweens in particular. In terms of hardware, the Wii is outclassed by both the Xbox and the PS3. But it’s the software that truly makes a gaming console, and as Microsoft and Sony are both wooing the same demographic, their respective catalogs can seem quite similar.
But numbers earn bragging rights in the action-gaming culture dominated by young males (ever hear someone brag about their Xbox 360 Power Brick?), and it has to be noted that hardware features dictate software features. In that regard, many may find the Xbox 360 and the PS3 rather similar under the hood, despite Sony’s much-ballyhooed “emotion engine” which is said to realistically render facial expressions for a much more engrossing gaming experience. However, each platform has its coterie of near-rabid followers who will swear that there are many major differences between the two. But the catalog of software for each console might appear similar, too. A similar number of titles are offered, with a similar range of action gameplay involved. Yet it’s safe to say that very few even of the most devoted fan of each platform, if any at all, would turn down a rival console should it be received as a gift! (They probably wouldn’t even turn down, say, an Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapter.)
The real differences, in fact, involve the special features offered by each as well as the respective online experiences. Microsoft has created a noticeably richer online experience compared to Sony, whose online service is not bad at all. But a more extensive experience is offered by the Xbox 360, though the PS3 tries to make up for it with a built-in Blu-ray DVD player, WiFi web browsing, and Bluetooth wireless support. Then again, the Xbox 360 has NetFlix on-demand, possibly ameliorating the PS3’s Blu-ray Disc advantage. Still again, the PS3 is extensively moddable, while the Xbox 360 seems to discourage such hobbyist tinkering.
Finally, there’s the matter of pricing, with the PS3 costing more for its slightly greater number of features. PS3 and Accessories for Xbox 360 run about even, though. Of course, if you’re a hard-core gamer prices are typically not an issue, with decisions made often based on titles exclusive to each platform. Of course, the hard-core of the hard-core really don’t care about prices and would just purchase both systems!
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