Midterm Report Card: Xbox 360 (A-), Wii (B-), and PS3 (B-)

[Zeus]

EW has once again graded the Xbox 360, Wii and PS3. This is a follow up to their article back in November, but one thing has remained the same - Xbox 360 is top of the class! Xbox 360 has been awarded an A- with a good solid strong performance, the Wii gets a B- due to a lack of compelling games and the PS3 also receives a B- due to its sluggish start so far.


No one can dispute that the PS3 is the most technologically impressive of the three consoles. In the scheme of things, a sluggish two or three fiscal quarters won't doom a machine. But a sluggish year or two most certainly can — that's when perceptions solidify into common wisdom. Really, there's nothing so wrong with the PS3 that a few breakout titles and some bold executive decisions can't fix. We lowered the grade — but can't help thinking that a few shiny stickers could still wind up adorning the PS3 report card this winter. Our grade now: B-


News Source: <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20044621,00.html" target="_blank">ew.com</a>

[mystic54]

I can feel the the fight comming on this one, you know nobody will let this go especially when the 360 got that high.

[stop_loading]

x360:
hardware: F (reliability)
games: A+
online services & community: A+

PS3:
hardware: A
games: C+
online services & community: B

Wii:
Hardware: D (6 yr old technology)
games: C-
online services & community: C

[soulfoot]

amazing the scores, so what your saying is i should go out and buy a machine that has a 33% chance of failing the first month

riiiiiiiiight

oh and 2nd poster, dont believe everything you hear about the wii's hardware, its not called gamecube 1.5 for nothin lol

and how does a wii get a c for online service and community, since both are non existant (unless mario strikers really is that good, last i checked the pokemon "community" takes place on gamefaqs serebii and the like, not ont he wii)

[pal]

Every other piece of 'news' is some crap about how some person somewhere rates this console over that console. Who gives a sh!t apart from the 50 people who then respond with some lame rubbish about how true it is/isn't and how much better microsoft/sony/nintendo are.

It was boring 20+ years ago when the same idiots were arguing over spectrums/c64s and amstrads.

Yawn...

[hoky]

Every other piece of 'news' is some crap about how some person somewhere rates this console over that console. Who gives a sh!t apart from the 50 people who then respond with some lame rubbish about how true it is/isn't and how much better microsoft/sony/nintendo are.

It was boring 20+ years ago when the same idiots were arguing over spectrums/c64s and amstrads.

Yawn...

I gotta agree with you. Too bad these idiotic wars will never stop cause people will always try to justify their purchase even if they know they made a bonehead one.

I don't see why on every thread we have at least one person bashing one of the other systems. I'm sure none of the three companies gives a flying **** about what some asshole on a forum thinks about it's system especially when it's selling like food to the hungry and turning a profit on every sale.

take a guess which system is selling like food....

[SSChevy2001]

Who doesn't know 360 is the best so far.

It's not surprising that we find ourselves playing most multi-platform games on the PS3 and 360 instead of on the lower-resolution (and sometimes gimmicky) WiiWii a gimmick! :rolleyes:

[khukon]

360 must have been sleepin with the teacher:D

[el username]

I have a hard time believing that the 360 gets an A- when they are banning people from live unjustly. My box was banned and it is not modded. poo poo on MS.

[pal]

I have a hard time believing that the 360 gets an A- when they are banning people from live unjustly. My box was banned and it is not modded. poo poo on MS.

I thought you said in another thread that it was modded at some point?

[EL_CAD]

I thought you said in another thread that it was modded at some point?
You're right he did:
Ok lads, I've gotten myself into a bit of a pickle, lol. My console was banned during the recent crackdown and I have been trying to convince MS that it has not been tampered with. Here is the thing, now MS has agreed to inspect my console and are sending me a box to ship it to them. So now I need to flash it back to the original firmware and get it back to factory shape ASAP.

the drive is an MS28 and I have flashed it back to the original firmware but I need to be sure that it will not show that it was ever flashed when MS inspects it, lol. Do you lads think there will be any problems here?

[Scorpion3]

x360:
hardware: F (reliability)
games: A+
online services & community: A+

PS3:
hardware: A
games: C+
online services & community: B

Wii:
Hardware: D (6 yr old technology)
games: C-
online services & community: C

Almost got everything perfectly, except with everything with the Wii. The Wii doesn't have 6 year old technology in it, it's an updated Gamecube and is probably just over the power of the Xbox. True that doesn't sound like much, but the Xbox never reached it's full power anyway. I blame Microsoft on that for killing the Xbox too early, but like they said back in 2005, the Xbox was just their Beta console or whatever you have it. Either way, the Hardware for the Wii isn't the console itself, it's the controls as well, which IMO, would put it up to a B+ at least.

[msanchez]

Oh well to each his own I guess.

[Xenogears V]

Ew fanboy :rolleyes:.

As you do to give A- to a console where 33% are console damaged. Perhaps Ew forget that the Wii sells to an impressive speed.

Wii B

Xbox360 C

Ps3 C-

[grapeape]

I agree with the scores.

I love my Wii but frankly after Zelda, Wii Play and Wario I feel like I've played them all...there is nothing left at the moment. There are great titles coming up that im sure will raise their grade but until they ship my Wii continues to mostly get played by my kids.

Despite hardware issues for some (I'm still on my launch day console so are all but 1 of my friends and he was a dumbass and screwed his up trying to mod it), the 360 still has by far the best library of titles. Most of the multi-platformers so far look better and from what has been exposed lately it appears that will continue to be the case (EA games and 360 vs PS3 framerates). Fanboys will cry that its because developers havent fully figured out how to handle the cel processor, but in the meantime their year or two to figure it out is going to be a year of two to tweak even more performance out of the 360. Who's to say when or if the PS3 will ever live up to the hype and blow the doors off the 360?

I cant speak for the PS3, I dont own one. I have a PS2 and still play it regularly but nothing so far on PS3 has compelled me enough to buy it, maybe after a few decent RPG's and a price drop.

[OblivionX]

Xbox 360: A-

Hardware: A+
Build Quality: F
Online: A+
Games:A+

I would say 360 hardware as it was originally intended is amazing. The xenos esspecially. The build quality and failure rate lets it down alot. But hopefully with the 3 year warrenty these will iron out. Online simply nothing in its league. And same with games. Ps3 and Wii can only hope to have the 360s exclusive library.

Wii: B

Hardware: A
Build Quality: A
Online: E
Games: C

Hardware well builit, reliable and fun. Online isnt really used, strikers plays well but no chat of any kind and no real interaction may aswell play against the computer. Games are fun but it needs more, there just not coming out fast enough.

PS3: D

Hardware: C
Build Quality: A
Online: C
Games: F

Ok the hardware, it could be powerful but simply isnt. No one at the moment is willing to put enough effort in to get the power required. And it shows, also blu ray and high ram usage prevent textures from being as high as the 360. Combined with a bad gpu that cant provide AA without massive bottlenecks and you have a bit of a shambles. Eventually when work arrounds and hacks are developed some raw power will show through, but you will need to wait for the big guns. Online, its functional, works ok, just nothing special at the moment. Games, has 1 worth playing and its also droping exclusives quicker than jack bauer drops terrorists. Overall it costs too much, provides less eye candy than the 360 and it has no games.

How i would line them up.

[dannybII]

I hate having to slate a console because it's pretty stupid as I know it's a personal taste. However I am simply amazed that people have been taken in by the Wii. Granted the controller is novel, broke the mould say no more (though I find it not to my taste for a lot of games, specifically driving). But other than that it's just not lighting my fire. O.K so I'm a working class 30 something male. Probably not the target audience. But of the 40+ games I've tried it's just not engaged me. Longest to hold my attention was Excite Truck, that was for a grand total of about an hour. Through the tutorial and 4 tracks. And thats the LONGEST I've played it. PS3 hasn't demanded I buy one yet as there are no must have titles YET. To paraphrase field of dreams If they make them then I will come..... not yet..... maybe not ever, too early to say. I have played PS3 arounf my mates, Resistance and Motorstorm And thought they were SoSo.
360, she's a quirky often breaky ol' girl but I've grown fond of her. I like (more often than not) Live and by and large I can say I've enjoyed a lot of games so far. I've been gaming for close to 30 years now and I've owned EVERYTHING, yep even Spectrum 16K, 3DO, CD32, DC,GC, Jaguar, MegaCD etc etc etc. I can hand on heart say I've played to completion more games on the 360 than any other console, that must be some indication of how much I've enjoyed it.