Xbox 360 vs. PlayStation 3 vs. Nintendo Wii: A Technical Comparison
It's the battle of the ages, played out with a new generation of hardware that, for the first time, appears to leave all but the most high-end gaming PCs in the dust. Opinions about Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 vary, but it's pretty clear that both devices kick serious butt from a technical perspective. Looking over the specifications, and listening to representatives of both companies, however, I've come away with a few general thoughts.
From a pure processing standpoint, the PS3 appears to beat the Xbox 360, but the first generation PS3 games are not graphically superior to anything that's available on the Xbox 360. The PS3 has a few advantages, however. For example, it's mostly compatible with the millions of existing PlayStation (PS1) and PlayStation 2 (PS2) titles, which is a huge plus.
Xbox 360, however, drops the bomb on the PS3 in a few important categories as well. It's HD Media Center Extender experience blows away anything Sony offers on the PS3, and it supports live and recorded HDTV over your home network, along with TV show and movie downlaods. Its device connectivity--including direct support for Apple iPod and Sony PSP devices--is top notch. And the hugely compelling Xbox Live service gets even better with Xbox 360. Sony has nothing like it: On the PS3, games are isolated islands of connectivity, allowing gamers only to communicate with others in the same games. Finally, Microsoft took away one of Sony's biggest advantages when it announced a free 1080p upgrade for all existing Xbox 360 units.
And then there's the Nintendo Wii. Nintendo's next-generation console eschews technical prowress for a truly innovative new hand controller system that includes two devices, a remote controller that can double as a classic NES-type controller for older games, and a Nunchuk, which plugs into the remote controller and provide additonal functionality. The remote controller is wireless and provdes gamers with a degree of motion and freedom that is simply unavailable on either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3: For example, to swing a golf club in Wii Sports, which is bundled with the console, you literally swing the remote controller as if it were a golf club. To hit a baseball, you swing the controller like a bat. This system is much less expensive than Microsoft's and Sony's offerings, and it is much more appealing for kids of all ages.
No matter what your perpective, this is an interesting battle to watch. Here's how the systems fare.
From a pure processing standpoint, the PS3 appears to beat the Xbox 360, but the first generation PS3 games are not graphically superior to anything that's available on the Xbox 360. The PS3 has a few advantages, however. For example, it's mostly compatible with the millions of existing PlayStation (PS1) and PlayStation 2 (PS2) titles, which is a huge plus.
Xbox 360, however, drops the bomb on the PS3 in a few important categories as well. It's HD Media Center Extender experience blows away anything Sony offers on the PS3, and it supports live and recorded HDTV over your home network, along with TV show and movie downlaods. Its device connectivity--including direct support for Apple iPod and Sony PSP devices--is top notch. And the hugely compelling Xbox Live service gets even better with Xbox 360. Sony has nothing like it: On the PS3, games are isolated islands of connectivity, allowing gamers only to communicate with others in the same games. Finally, Microsoft took away one of Sony's biggest advantages when it announced a free 1080p upgrade for all existing Xbox 360 units.
And then there's the Nintendo Wii. Nintendo's next-generation console eschews technical prowress for a truly innovative new hand controller system that includes two devices, a remote controller that can double as a classic NES-type controller for older games, and a Nunchuk, which plugs into the remote controller and provide additonal functionality. The remote controller is wireless and provdes gamers with a degree of motion and freedom that is simply unavailable on either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3: For example, to swing a golf club in Wii Sports, which is bundled with the console, you literally swing the remote controller as if it were a golf club. To hit a baseball, you swing the controller like a bat. This system is much less expensive than Microsoft's and Sony's offerings, and it is much more appealing for kids of all ages.
No matter what your perpective, this is an interesting battle to watch. Here's how the systems fare.
| Pricing | |||
| | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
| Low-end model | $299 | $499 | n/a |
| Mainstream model | $399 | $599 | $249 |
| Microprocessor | |||
| Feature | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
| Processor type | 3.2 GHz PowerPC with 3 dual-threaded processor cores | 3.2 GHz Cell processor with 7 single-threaded synergistic processing units cores (not directly comparable to Xbox 360 processor cores) | 729 MHz IBM Broadway processor with 5 execution units |
| Graphics processor | |||
| Feature | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
| GPU Type | ATI-based custom processor | NVIDIA-based RSX "Reality Synthesizer" | ATI Hollywood processor |
| Clock speed | 500 MHz | 550 MHz | 243 MHz |
| Video RAM | Up to 512 MB GDDR3 system RAM (700 MHz) plus 10 MB embedded DRAM (eDRAM) frame buffer | 256MB GDDR3 (700MHz) | 24 MB of system RAM (486 MHz) plus 3 MB of embedded DRAM (eDRAM) |
| Video memory bandwidth | 21.6 GBps to system RAM 256 GBps to eDRAM | 22.4 GBps | 3.9 GBps |
| Video | |||
| Feature | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
| Native video resolutions | 16:9 widescreen 720p, 1080i, 1080p (will downsample to standard definition) | 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p (will downsample to standard definition) | 853 x 480 (480p) in widescreen or 4:3 aspect ratio |
| Component HDTV output | Yes | Yes | No (does support 480p EDTV) |
| HDMI output | No | Yes, but HDMI cable not included | No |
| Audio | |||
| Feature | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
| Sound output | Multi-channel, up to 256 discrete channels | 5.1 channel Dolby surround sound | Dolby Pro-Logic II |
| System memory | |||
| Feature | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
| Main System RAM | 512 MB GDDR3 RAM (700 MHz), shared with GPU | 256 MB XDR RAM (3.2GHz) | 64 MB GDDR3 RAM |
| Memory bandwidth | 22.4 GBps | 25.6 GBps | 1.9 GBps |
| Storage | |||
| Feature | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
| Optical drive | 12X dual-layer DVD; HD-DVD drive offered as add-on | Blu-Ray | DVD-like optical drive (late 2007 models will support DVD movie playback) |
| Supported optical formats | Xbox DVD, DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, and JPEG Photo CD (HD-DVD supported with optional HD-DVD drive) | BD, BD-ROM, Blu-ray Disc, CD, CD-DA, CD-DA (ROM), CD-R, CD-RW, DualDisc (audio side), DualDisc (DVD side), DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-ROM, DVD-RW, PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM, PlayStation 3 BD-ROM, PlayStation 3 DVD-ROM, PlayStation CD-ROM, PlayStation2 CD-ROM, SACD HD, and SACD Hybrid (CD layer) | Wii discs (both 4.7 GB single layer and 8.5 GB dual layer), Nintendo GameCube discs |
| Hard drive | 20 GB removable hard drive | 20 GB or 60 GB replaceable hard drive | No (does include 512 MB of flash memory for storing saved games, downloaded games, and other data) |
| Memory card ports | 2 Xbox 360 Memory Unit ports (64 MB each; 256 MB unit coming soon) | n/a in 20 GB version; 60 GB version includes flash memory card reader (supports Memory Stick, Compact Flash and SD/MMC) | 1 SD card slot, 2 GameCube memory card ports |
| USB 2.0 ports | 3 | 4 in 20 GB version; 6 in 60 GB version | 2 |
| Networking | |||
| Feature | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
| Ethernet | 1 port (100 Mbs) | 1 port (1 Gbps) | No; optional with USB-based add-on |
| Wireless networking | Wi-Fi ready, 802.11-based controller communications | Bluetooth 2.0, Bluetooth controller interface; Wi-Fi is available only on 60 GB version | Integrated Wi-Fi for networking and Internet access; Bluetooth 2.0 for controllers |
| Online service | Pervasive online experience through Xbox Live Silver (free), Xbox Live Gold; includes ability to download full-length movies and TV shows | "Free" PlayStation Network with micropayment system; includes a Web browser | Includes access to Wii Network online service with online shopping, Web browsing, messaging, and other features |
| Multimedia features | |||
| Feature | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
| Full Media Center Extender 2.0 experience | Yes | No | No |
| Live and recorded TV support (including HDTV) | Yes | No | No |
| Supports streaming video | Yes | Yes | No |
| Supports streaming audio | Yes | Yes | No |
| Supports streaming photo slideshows | Yes | Yes | No |
| Plays content from portable media players, including iPod and Sony PSP, and with digital cameras | Yes (includes supported for protected WMA files) | Some; cannot play protected WMA files | No |
| Displays content from portable storage devices | Yes | Yes | Photos, MPEG and Quicktime movies, and MP3 music files from SD storage only |
| Controllers | |||
| Feature | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
| Number of supported controllers | 4 wireless (plus wired controllers via USB), controllers will work with Windows PCs as well. Controllers feature removable batteries and can be replaced with removable rechargeable batteries. | 4 wireless (plus wired controllers via USB). PS3 controller does not feature a removable battery. | 4 wireless (plus 4 wired GameCube controllers). Also supports Nunchuk add-on controller (attaches to remote contrller and for many Wii games) and Wii Classic Controller (also attaches to remote controller; for older, downloadable games). |
| Compatibility | |||
| Feature | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
| Compatible with previous generation games | Partial compatibility with original Xbox titles (only some original Xbox titles work, more are being added slowly over time) | Near-complete compatiblity with PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games (only a minority of titles don't work) | Plays all GameCube game titles (but doesn't include GameCube controller or memory card); Nintendo offers some downloadable versions of Nintendo NES, SNES, and N64 titles, as well as NEC TurboGrafix-16 and Sega Genseis titles, for $5 to $10 each via online service. |
| Improves legacy game experience | Yes. Original Xbox games are upscaled to HDTV resolutions and some games (like Halo 2) are graphically improved. | No. PS3 can only downscale current-gen games to non-HDTV resolutions. | No |
I'd like this table to remain the definitive guide to the differences between the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. Please email me with any additions, comments, or corrections. Thanks!
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