Xbox 360 Games vs PlayStation 3 Games

After considering which PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 console is best, then comes the crux of the whole gaming war. Which console has the better games? The answer to this question can outstrip the rest of each consoles’ pros and cons for the average gamer, but of course, who has the better games is by nature largely subjective.

XBox 360 Games vs PS3 Games: Exclusives

Many games are available on both XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 and are comparable in game play and price. This factoid makes the decision of which system has better games require a little more research.

Several popular game series are only available on 1 console. The highest rated of these exclusive series include:

• Halo 1, 2, 3 – XBox
• Ninja Gaiden – XBox
• Knight of the Old Republic – XBox
• Rallisport Challenge – XBox
• Fable 1, 2 – XBox
• Ratchet and Clank – PlayStation
• Arc the Lad – PlayStation
• EverQuest – PlayStation
• Tekken – PlayStation

Within the gaming community, it is a well-voiced complaint that there are not enough PlayStation 3 exclusive games to make the $400+ price tag worth it yet. XBox 360, at half the price and with probably double the game catalog seems the likely winner of the gaming catalog war.

Game Reviews: MetaCritic

Xbox 360 may have more games, but who wins the quality battle? A bunch of games doesn’t mean anything if none of them are good, right? While gaming reviews are largely objective, there are some universal factors that most professional reviewers take into account when reviewing a game. These factors include graphics, difficulty, story, downloadable content and replayability, among other things.

Research from gaming review sites such as MetaCritic.com and IGN.com indicates that XBox 360 not only has more higher rated games that PlayStation 3, but, also, a higher percentage of its games are more highly rated, meaning that between a random 360 game and a random PS3 game chances are good the XBox 360 game is more highly rated than the PS3 game.

However, Sony’s stance is that the PlayStation 3 will come out on top in the long run and therefore it requires more patience from its community of fans, who will be rewarded later. XBox 360 already proved that it rushes things out without properly QA testing (see XBox Hardware Failure) so perhaps PlayStation 3 will pass the test of time better than 360 by coming out with an extensive collection of quality games.

XBox Live Marketplace VS PlayStation Store

Another component of the console war to consider is the online community. Both consoles come with an online community available through a subscription service. XBox Live charges for a membership while PlayStation provides a free online service.

Bottom line: The XBox Live Marketplace is more evolved than the PlayStation Home/Store.

Both consoles have recently updated versions of their online community. Microsoft launched the New XBox Experience in November 2008 complete with avatars, streaming Netflix movies, party chats and more goodies added to its already extensive online marketplace. PlayStation added Home to its online community but has received numerous criticisms.

While XBox Live isn’t perfect, it far outdoes PlayStation Home’s freeze-prone shoddy programming, lack of properly working features, and constantly late releases on promised and much-hyped items for the online community.

In conclusion, XBox 360 has a higher percentage of highly rated games and a more intuitive and inclusive online marketplace than PlayStation 3.