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Why the PS3 slim won't kill the Xbox 360

Neocrisis.com writes: "Many have cited the new PS3 slim as the end for the Xbox 360, and the day Sony starts gaining lost ground. Can the PS3 slim save Sony in this generation and can they claw back second place? The internet has been full of debate regarding this subject, but every argument and discussion on every board doesn't take into account how Microsoft will respond."
pwnamon - contributor
Published: 125 days 15 hours ago | Article | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Gaming | Industry News
 
 

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ultimolu - 125 days 16 hours ago
1 -
But Sony stands a good chance of moving to second place.
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coolirisGB - 125 days 16 hours ago
1.1 -
LOL how is that? and when in 2016. The 360 would have to stop selling period(not one console) for PS3 to catch up this generation.
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Mr Sandman - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.2 -
Why would you say that when MS has a strategy for 2010...Plus the 360 is still selling well.
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fishd - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.3 -
Can't consoles just live together, you know happily?!
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deadreckoning666 - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.4 -
cooliris is right. 360 would have to stop selling over 20,000 consoles a month for Sony to win in console sales.....UNLESS Sony throws the biggest marketing campaign the videogame industry has ever seen.If things stay the way they are now, then Sony has a chance to take second place sometime next year, but undoubtedly M$ will do somethg to ensure that doesn't happen.

@z-hayden-Well, we don't know when this generation of consoles will end exactly. For all we know Microsoft can announce the 720(or what ever the hell there gunna call it) next year and it'll feature hardcore games with Natal support. We really don't know.

Edit- Dude, if were talking long term like 8 years down the line. Then yes, the PS3 will be outselling the 360 by a wide margin. However, I thk MOST determine the sales winner as "whoever sells the most consoles UNTIL the NEXT next-gen consoles come out".

So the PS3 WILL be outselling the 360 5 years down the line, but it WON'T outsell the 360 before the next batch of new consoles come out. Ya kno wat I mean.
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z-hayden - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.5 -
We're still in the second quarter people, it ain't even halftime

Do you determine the winner by who wins at the end or who is leading by halftime? I doubt that either the 360 or the ps3 will win (WII) but we are still a long way off from determining second place. The ps3 will be supported for over ten years, while who knows about the 360, knowing microsoft they will cut support for it so that their fanbase will be forced to buy another console in order to play new games...it just boggles my mind that the 360 fans can't see how many damn ways that microsoft has screwed them over this gen.

^^ya thats pretty much what i'm saying...by the time sony stops manufacturing the ps3 it will be ahead of the 360...but honestly i think that it will pull ahead of the 360 well before that period
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SaberEdge - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.6 -
I'm not going to say it is impossible, but the odds are against it. Microsoft WILL have moves of its own to make and unless the PS3 starts outselling the 360 by a huge margin it won't be able to catch up anytime soon.

Remember, the 360 has been outselling the PS3 in North America (the biggest market) by over 100,000 a month lately. Not only is it going to have to catch up, but then it would have to also outsell the 360 by a large number in order to catch up. Then, even if it catches up to the 360, does that mean that the 360 is dead? No, it would simply mean that we have two equal competitors in the market. So, no, the PS3 slim will in no way kill the 360. Not even close.
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foxtheory - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.7 - I think both will do just fine...
...but you gotta admit, Sony will probably do better now than they did before. I don't think it will "kill" the 360, but I do believe it can catch up to it.

We'll just have to wait and see...
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StayHigh - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.8 -
sony only behind 7 million they can easily catch up..they got japan and europe we will see soon enough
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Trollimite - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.9 - who said it was???
i just want things to go back to normal! before the whole fanboy war! i really hope this gen ends in a tie! so nobody wins, and next gen wont suck!
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Cold 2000 - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.10 -
"but every argument and discussion on every board doesn't take into account how Microsoft will respond."

That is so true.

But it goes both ways.

I think the PS3, if things stay the way it is now, will catch up in a 2012 at the best. 8 million isnt nothing !

BUT that is IF things dont change. We all know things will change, for MS and Sony. Natal will be huge for the 360 if MS execute the whole idea right. That alone will change the whole situation again.

I see each console alternating every year. One year the PS3 on top, the next 360 and so on.
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RememberThe357 - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.11 - Trollimite
I'm with you on that. This little fanboy war is getting pretty petty. I don't want either console to fail, their is plenty of room for both.
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Mike134nl - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.12 - They do but it will take time
Even then there is the matter how low Microsoft is prepared to go in their pricing.
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InfectedDK - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.13 -
Why this and why that.. This is one endless road of hate..
Btw. Sony PS3 is the BOMB. Period :)
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Estranged - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.14 - Don't write it off
Funny how people are so sure about PS3 not catching up. Most people saying that it could aren't saying it will(aside from fanboys).

People have been waiting to purchase a PS3, they have not been waiting to purchase a 360 when it is already $200 and won't be dropping below $200 for awhile.

PS3 is already #2 in Japan and Europe.
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CWMR - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.15 -
-LOL why are some people are acting like now that the slim has come out that the 360 is going to basically stop selling a single console and the ps3 is just going to gobble up the market to itself? I genuinely hope the PS3 does well. The slim and price cut was a good move by Sony.

BTW, Xbox 360 is the BOMB. Period :) I love my 360.-
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Above Awesome - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.16 -
I don't know if the Slim will kill the 360 but it will be more competition for sure. New hardware no matter what it is will spur new sales. Collectors, enthusiasts, and fence sitters all jump on new hardware. Take iPods for an example.

Really, I just think the price drop for the Fat PS3 will spur sales alone.

The price drop of the Elite will also spur 360 sales, I don't know how many people want the black 360, the 120GB hard drive would be a plus.

I'm really liking the holiday season this year.

I'm thinking the PS3 Slim will outsell the 360 by a reasonable number but not a lot. I'm saying maybe 70k max.
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tonsoffun - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.17 - WHO GIVES A CRAP ABOUT 2ND/3RD PLACE?
I'm sorry, but what difference it makes if the PS3 goes to number 2 or if the 360 manages to hold onto it?

At the end of the day, both consoles have great games and we shouldn't be wasting our time trolling and flaming each other about sales and which console is better. Neither company is going out of business if they come 3rd. Both will do well.

The PS3 IMO, has been needing a price cut in order to make it a more mainstream console and as such sales should rise significantly because of it. BUT only if Sony market the hell out of it. This is the one thing about sony, they don't market their games/system (well over here anyway). Spend some decent cash on touting the price drop and they will sell like hotcakes. But again it matters not because the PS3 was a great console (IMO worth the money I spent on release day) prior to the slim.

Play the games people! Not the fanboy nonsense.
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jammy_70 - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.18 - i think us gamers
know more then them writers
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Estranged - 125 days 15 hours ago
1.19 - @CWMR
Um no one is saying the 360 will just stop selling, they are saying that the PS3 could catch up. The wii easily caught up and surpassed the 8 million that the 360 already had by 2006, only a fool would write something off like this. I can see being skeptical because this would be a huge challenge, but impossible it is not.
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Above Awesome - 125 days 14 hours ago
1.20 - @1.19
The PS3 Slim is definitely not going to sell as much as the Wii did at launch, absolutely not. The Wii was actually sold out in my city, (London, Ontario, Canada) for literally a year after release.

That is mindboggling. Seriously.
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Estranged - 125 days 14 hours ago
1.21 - WTH Above Awesome
Just damn... You try to type here and people misconstrue your whole point. I never said it would sell as well as the Wii. PERIOD. I just said the Wii could do it, the PS3 can too possibly. Notice how I didn't put a time frame on it? Maybe you haven't noticed but the Wii has sold a lot more than 8 million so I'm not saying the Slim will sell 50 million just like that. No.
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Shbzshar - 125 days 14 hours ago
1.22 - time will tell
... as good of a year as the ps 3 has had in 2009 ... 2010 seems to be just as good for the 360 ... i'll gaurantee you one thing ... it'll take 1 or 2 more 2009's for ps3 to fully break the 360 lead... but 2010 for 360 will not be the same as 2009... its shaping up to be a killer year

urgh but honestly i'm done with this console war bullsh*t...
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raztad - 125 days 14 hours ago
1.23 -
LOL

Xbox doesnt need the Slim for that, RROD is doing a pretty good job.

On a more serious note, I expect the Slim outsells the xbox from now on. Consistently. Will it be able to surmount the one year difference between both? I dont know, but what is relevant to me is that the PS3 is a force to reckon and developers will need to step up and produce more and better games.

BTW, when this gen is over? everybody but me seems to know that
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IDemonstalkerXI - 125 days 14 hours ago
1.24 - 100+ MILLION Sold before its all said and done.
I could be wrong but I think the ps3 will do a 100 million+ sold or more before its no longer supported, if the wii or 360 reach that mark its because they too stuck with there console for more then 3-5 years. Which if that happens you can thank Sony for setting the trend of the 10 year lifecycle.

When each console has such a vast install base its good because it shows the industry is large enough to sustain 3 consoles for such a long time whilst having next gen consoles overlap and that this 1 console future BS is just that BS.

you can take your disagree and shove it up your ___ all in your ___. I am calling it 100+ milli b4 its all said and done. I could be wrong though in which case you should take that disagree out of your ___.
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Above Awesome - 125 days 14 hours ago
1.25 - @1.21
Nice stealth edit, I stand by my post, even if it no longer has any context and makes no sense anymore.

Well, with your new point, the answer is simply, no. If the Wii did it, it does not mean the PS3 Slim will do it. There is no correlation with the userbase interested in the Wii and the userbase interested with the PS3.

The Wii was featured on Oprah, let me repeat that, OPRAH. It interested pretty much all demographics, even demographics that most people would never believe would buy the gaming console, mainly, seniors. No console except for the Wii could have done that.

Now talking about the PS3 Slim sales, Yes, it will outsell the Xbox 360, and I expect it to outsell it well into 2010.

*

*From this point on, this is me rambling about motion controls and Natal

*

The Wii simplified gaming through the use of motion controls, letting older people and younger people to play. This is the train of thought that Microsoft is following with Natal, instead of having motion controllers, have no controllers and make it even more simpler for more demographics.

This is precisely why I think Natal will be popular. Natal is not just a webcam, it's a controller within itself. I haven't seen anything you could do with Natal you could do with an ordinary webcam.

So in summary of this:

If your products appear on Oprah, people WILL buy it. Example: Snuggies, those backwards sweaters you wear when you're cold. Google it.
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starvinbull - 125 days 14 hours ago
1.26 -
This article assumes that everything Sony do M$ will also do.

One thing M$ won't do is keep much of the exclusive gaming content they have paid for. GTAIV DLC content is all but confirmed for PS3, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and even die hard Live titles like Castle Crashers and Braid are on their way to PSN.

Another is that they won't publish a game on a par with Uncharted 2 or God of War 3. I am not too arrogant to make rash statements but the fact is if they were making or funding anything on a par with either of those games they'd have said so by now. If those two games are to be exceeded by 360 titles this year then it will be either Splinter Cell or ODST that have the best shots. I'm not hopefull where those games are concerned.

Finally something M$ won't do is see their console pushed any harder than was done in Gears of War 2. ODST won't do it, Splinter Cell won't do it and Mass Effect 2 won't do it. I'd personally be quite happy to see a second wave of titles that push the console but with ODST confirmed to run at a sub HD resolution, Mass Effect 2 using the unreal engine 3 as will Gears of War 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction it looks like more of the same for the time being.
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masterg - 125 days 14 hours ago
1.27 - -
Lets do some math.
The 360 has been outselling the PS3 by 100000 or so per month in the US in the last year.
Yet the 360 has only outsold the PS3 be small margins worldwide.
Meaning the PS3 is outselling the 360 by close to the same number outside the US.
Now what happens if the PS3 starts to outsell the 360 in the US by 100000 (a shift of 200000 units) per month and excels outside also.

Well then we are looking at a gab of 300000-400000 per month (3.5-5 million per year). I'm not saying that that is what is going to happen. I'm just saying the numbers can shift drastically.

It's also important to remember that as the prices in general goes down the month to month numbers go up. Meaning any shift is worth much more now and in the future than it would have been a year ago.
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Brutallyhonest - 125 days 13 hours ago
1.28 - Just a thought
The majority of N4G members are either 360, PS3 fans or both. Neither one of these consoles is in 1st place and I don't think it's far fetched to say it doesn't look like either will be. So why does it matter which place either Sony or MS are currently in or where they will end up when all is said and done?

It's the arguing over crap like this as to why the gaming media has turned into complete and utter garbage! We are fueling it by arguing over sales (VGChartz, NPD, etc), reviews, pixel counts (Lensoftruth, digitalfoundry, etc), and your console is doomed (</insert nearly any garbage blog here>).

We are not going to get better media coverage if we keep fanning the flames of garbage like this. What happened to the times when gamers could care less what a game is rated, how it sells, what resolution it runs at, or what hardware it runs on or developer created it? All they use to care about is the games plain and simple!
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All Time Greatness - 125 days 13 hours ago
1.29 - "But Sony stands a good chance of moving to second place. "
Yea ,in the year 2016. Maybe. Maybe not, lol there are many moves to still be made...I know extreme Sony fans would love to believe this 100$ pricecut will now catapault Sony into second place in a couple years, but if you go look at how much Sony would have to win by every month, it's just not going to happen.

And when MS reveals their 360 slim next year with Halo: Reach, Natal and their massive advertising campaign....they are going to make Sony's little announcement look amateurish. There are moves that will still be made, only the foolish and over-excited believe a 300$ machine can win something with cheaper and more popular competition.
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Jaces - 125 days 12 hours ago
1.30 - @fishd
Consoles can, fanboys can't.

Besides, the slim was never ment to kill anything.
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darkride66 - 125 days 11 hours ago
1.31 - What I find interesting about these articles is they neglect to mention that since the PS3 launched worlwide, it's outsold the 360.
Check it out. From 2007 till present the PS3 has sold over a million consoles more worldwide then the 360. The notion that the PS3 is struggling to keep up to the Xbox 360 is blatantly false, easy to look up and verify and it continues to amaze me that journalists still continue to act like this isn't happening.

And if Sony hits their targets this year, which they most likely will with the price cut and the slim, that will have eaten into the 360's lead from it's early launch by 2-3 million consoles. That only leaves a couple million left to make up in 2010, which should be relatively straight forward unless the 360 receives another price cut next year, but so far the $200 price cut boost was relatively short lived. A good Christmas season and now suddenly the 360 has it's worst sales quarter in 2 years.
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slayorofgods - 125 days 10 hours ago
1.32 - WTF?
I've never heard that the PS3 slim is going to "kill" the 360 off?? That sounds about as stupid as the saying Sony is close to going out of business and the PS3 is doomed.
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a_squirrel - 125 days 10 hours ago
1.33 -
They are in second place you dummy =]

Oh, and at all you microsoft fannies, there will NOT be and XBOX360 slim. The problem is the hardware (I wanna know what happened to the slim powerbrick... while the xbox360 needs that space.

Xbox 360 slim = FAIL
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FF7numbaone - 125 days 9 hours ago
1.34 -
Willing to bet ps3 out last 360 by years.
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ThanatosDMC - 125 days 8 hours ago
1.35 -
::reads title::

Ummm... cuz it's all ready dead???
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commodore64 - 125 days 8 hours ago
1.36 -
I have to (partly) agree with Ultimolu on that one.
The Slim does have a good chance of moving to second place!
HOWEVER, the 360 also has a good chance of keeping the ps3 in third place.

If we assume that, potentially, the ps3 DOES move to second place, we must also ask the question of *how long* will this take.

If it catches up only by 2012, then no-one will care.
2012 is too late.
The 360 will have been on the market for 7 years by then.

We must also remember that this 2012 timeframe necessitates 3 straight years of ps3 outselling the 360 by 200k+ units a MONTH, on average, EVERY single month!
Whoa.
That's a big ask, in anyone's language.

Don't forget, the ps3 has only caught up 1-2 million skus so far, overall!
It is still behind by about 8 million.
In fact, until about a week ago, this number was growing daily.

If Sony achieves record sales this holiday season, maybe the gap will narrow to about 5 million. (maybe)

Problem is, after this price drop AND the release of the slim, i fear Sony is spent. The ps3 slim is likely LOSING money and MS will counter with massive Natal advertising and their own pricecut... if not this year, then next year.
That's just common sense.

This countermove by MS will once again shift the sales battle in their favour - or at least to breakeven!

So yeah... is it too late for ps3 second place?
Is Ultimolu dreaming of a hollow victory?
Is Darkride66 lost in Sony fanboy fantasy again?
You tell me.
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FiftyFourPointTwo - 125 days 7 hours ago
1.37 -
PS3 : "I'll let RROD kill 360s then." XD
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Ashriel - 125 days 6 hours ago
1.38 -
This is one of the few times I agree with you xD
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Lightsaber - 125 days 5 hours ago
1.39 -
god I hope not cause I'm soooooooooooooo not giving my 360 mouth to mouth if it dies oh sept 1.

maybe on sept 2nd tho
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Kornholic - 124 days 22 hours ago
1.40 -
Xbox 360 kills itself by RROD so there's no need for Sony to bother killing that overpriced DVD player
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darkride66 - 124 days 20 hours ago
1.41 - I think Commodore might finally have a point, kinda.
I agree with him that the Slim has the potential to move Sony into second place (again, remembering that it's only the 360's year head start that has them in third. They've outsold the 360 since they launched worldwide in 2007).
However, I don't see 360 sales being the one to keep the PS3 in 3rd as it hasn't been able to outsell the PS3 yet since the PS3 launched, why would we suddenly think it'll outsell the PS3 now that the PS3 has lowered it's price?
And, let's look at the estimates we've seen so far. At the start of 2007, the 360 had a lead of 8.62 million consoles. The PS3's worldwide launch hit in March of 2007 and since then the PS3 has matched and outsold the 360, bringing the 360's lead down to 7.56 million. So, if both the PS3 and 360 hit their expected targets this year, the 360's lead should be knocked back to about 5 million consoles. So, in 2011, all that has to happen for the PS3 to overtake the 360 is for 360 sales to stay the same and the PS3 to continue to grow at the rate we're seeing now.

Of course, there are any number of factors that could affect this. If we saw another price cut from either company between now and 2011, that could change everything.

Now, as for Sony losing money on the PS3, there's zero evidence to support that. Sony's Network division may have posted a loss recently, but that could have been R&D, that could have been notebooks, it could have been money spent developing the Slim or PSP Go, we simply don't know. What we do know is that when PS3 sales were up last year at the same time, the Games division was posting profits. Now sales are down, profits are down. It doesn't take a genius to put forth the theory that "Hey, when PS3 sales are up, profits are up. That must mean the PS3 makes a profit."

Quite the contrast to Microsoft. 360 sales go up, revenue goes up, yet profits go down to the point that MS Entertainment has been in the red the past 6 months again. Usually when sales go up, profits go up. The opposite seems to be happening with the 360. What do you suppose that means?
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coolirisGB - 125 days 16 hours ago
2 -
Why would it? people buy the 360 for it's industry support(Developers and other companies), games, features, online support, services, superior multi platform games. People wan't the 360.
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suunyd - 125 days 15 hours ago
2.1 -
Empty shelves at store retailers and #1 on amazon the world's largest online retailer says otherwise.
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dustgavin - 125 days 15 hours ago
2.2 -
^^^
That is very true. When was the last time you witnessed a 360 surge of sales like that!

Microsoft is going to bail on the 360 just like they did with the first system.
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StayHigh - 125 days 15 hours ago
2.3 -
superior multiplatform games?? u got to be joking..lol..developers did have problem with the ps3 but not anymore..and rage final fantasy viii is all coming to the 360 on 3 disks or more..psn is really close to live and it will keep on evolving..
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CWMR - 125 days 15 hours ago
2.4 -
-Even recent comparisons I have done have mostly shown the 360 versions still pulling out ahead. Lens of Truth and Digital Foundry have also shown the 360 version doing better in general.-
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Above Awesome - 125 days 15 hours ago
2.5 -
Soooo... The PS3 Slim comes out and the 360 crashes completely and forces Microsoft to pull out of the console race?

Sounds about right.....?
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thor - 125 days 14 hours ago
2.6 -
Well regarding the "superior multiplatform games" issue... if you look at all the cases where the 360 'wins' you'll see that in most categories the games are equal.. but the PS3 version has some slight screen-tearing or something. Making it black and white as they do ignores the fact that 99% of multiplatform games are indistinguishable unless you're actually comparing side-by-side.

The reason they look better on 360 is because it has a better graphics card... end of story... but that's not to say that the PS3 isn't capable of better graphics, because it is. The fact that some games have slightly less screen tearing is NOT a reason to buy a 360 over a PS3... especially when many people won't even notice it.
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masterg - 125 days 14 hours ago
2.7 - -
"Superior multi-platform".
Please visit metacritic.com and wise up.
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