Finally, they’re all here. The Xbox 360 has had the next generation gaming market to itself for a year. Now its two competitors, the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii, are here. No more speculating about speed. No more guessing about memory. Now we can take a look and see exactly how they stack up compared to one another. Let the console wars begin again. Price The PS3 has two configurations much like the Xbox 360. The PS3 comes in a $499 version that comes with a 20 GB hard drive and a $599 version that comes with a 60 GB hard drive; Wi-Fi; and memory stick, SD, and Compact Flash slots. The Xbox 360 has two configurations. It comes in a $299 core version and a $399 version that comes with a 20GB hard drive.
The Nintendo Wii is the cheapest of the bunch with just one configuration that costs $250. Processing Power The Playstation 3 comes with its Cell processor. It’s a PowerPC based core that runs at 3.2 GHz that also have seven DSPs that run at 3.2 GHz. This configuration could do about 2 Teraflops. The Xbox 360 has custom IBM PowerPC processor. This processor also runs at 3.2 GHz. However, Xbox went with a true 3 core processor compared to the one general processor of the Cell and seven additional DSPs. This configuration could do about 1 Teraflop.
The Nintendo Wii includes its Broadway processor, a PowerPC based processor running at 729 MHz. Disc Media Part of the reason the PS3 is so much more expensive than the Xbox 360 is because the Sony decided to include a Blu-ray drive on the system. The drive could play both Blu-ray movies and regular DVDs. The Xbox 360 comes with a DVD player and a HD-DVD add-on is planned. The Nintendo Wii uses a DVD drive; however, the system will not work for playback of movies, just Nintendo games. Backwards Compatibility The Playstation 3 is just like the PS2 was. You’ll be able to play both PS2 and PSone games on the PS3. Nintendo is taking things a bit farther. Their system will be compatible with the Gamecube games and the Gamecube controllers since the two systems use very different controllers. Not only that, but the Wii will also can download games from the original Nintendo (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES), and the Nintendo 64.
Sweet Features If you want high definition gaming, then the PS3 is the way to go. It comes with a Blu-ray drive built in and can output in 1080p. Although the PS3 controller may look familiar, it’s had some updates. The controller is now motion sensing so in some games you’ll be able to move your character or fly a plane just by moving the controller.
The Nintendo Wii is the cheapest of the bunch with just one configuration that costs $250. Processing Power The Playstation 3 comes with its Cell processor. It’s a PowerPC based core that runs at 3.2 GHz that also have seven DSPs that run at 3.2 GHz. This configuration could do about 2 Teraflops. The Xbox 360 has custom IBM PowerPC processor. This processor also runs at 3.2 GHz. However, Xbox went with a true 3 core processor compared to the one general processor of the Cell and seven additional DSPs. This configuration could do about 1 Teraflop.
The Nintendo Wii includes its Broadway processor, a PowerPC based processor running at 729 MHz. Disc Media Part of the reason the PS3 is so much more expensive than the Xbox 360 is because the Sony decided to include a Blu-ray drive on the system. The drive could play both Blu-ray movies and regular DVDs. The Xbox 360 comes with a DVD player and a HD-DVD add-on is planned. The Nintendo Wii uses a DVD drive; however, the system will not work for playback of movies, just Nintendo games. Backwards Compatibility The Playstation 3 is just like the PS2 was. You’ll be able to play both PS2 and PSone games on the PS3. Nintendo is taking things a bit farther. Their system will be compatible with the Gamecube games and the Gamecube controllers since the two systems use very different controllers. Not only that, but the Wii will also can download games from the original Nintendo (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES), and the Nintendo 64.Sweet Features If you want high definition gaming, then the PS3 is the way to go. It comes with a Blu-ray drive built in and can output in 1080p. Although the PS3 controller may look familiar, it’s had some updates. The controller is now motion sensing so in some games you’ll be able to move your character or fly a plane just by moving the controller.
