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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 (in US and Japan only: European PS3 units lack a compatibility chip, making them far less compatible with previous generation games).

 

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 downloads. 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 prowess 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 provides 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. It is also much less compelling to traditional gamers.

 

Looking for more information? Check out my showcase, Choosing a Video Game System, in which I describe each system in a bit more depth and provide some advice for those looking into these consoles.

 

No matter what your perpective, this is an interesting battle to watch. Here are the facts, and only the facts:

 

Pricing

 

Xbox 360

PlayStation 3

Wii

Low-end model

$299
(Xbox 360 Core System)

n/a

n/a

Mainstream model

$399
(Xbox 360)

$499
(PlayStation 3 20-GB)

$249

High-end model

$479
(Xbox 360 Elite)

$599
(PlayStation 3 60-GB)

n/a

 

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

500 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

Elite model only

Yes

No

Video cables included

Core model includes composite only. Mainstream model includes both composite and component. Elite model includes HDMI cables as well as composite and component.

Composite only

Composite only

 

Audio

Feature

Xbox 360

PlayStation 3

Wii

Analog sound output

Dolby Pro-Logic II

Stereo

Dolby Pro-Logic II

Digital sound output

5.1-channel Dolby Digital

5.1-channel Dolby Digital (HDMI), 7.1-channel LPCM

n/a

Number of voices

Software-based, limited only by CPU and memory

Hardware based: 320 compressed channels; software based: limited only by CPU and memory

Hardware DSP with 64+ channels

 

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 $200 add-on (for movies only).

Blu-Ray

Proprietary optical drive

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. Not DVD compatible.

Hard drive

Core System: No
Xbox 360: 20 GB removable hard drive
Elite: 120 GB removable hard drive

20 GB or 60 GB replaceable hard drive.

No. (Does include 512 MB of internal flash memory for storing saved games, downloaded games, and other data).

External hard drive support

Yes, but limited to media playback only.

Yes

No

Memory card ports

2 Xbox 360 Memory Unit ports (64 MB or 512 MB).

None 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

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

No. 802.11g is optional ($100) on all models.

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, many in HD format.

Free PlayStation Network with micropayment system; includes a Web browser. Individual game makers can choose to charge for online services.

Wii Network online service includes 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 from PCs

Yes

No

No

Supports streaming audio from PCs

Yes

No

No

Supports streaming photo slideshows from PCs

Yes

No

No

Plays content from portable media players, including iPod and Sony PSP, and with digital cameras

Yes

Yes

No

Displays content from portable storage devices

Yes

Yes

Photos, MPEG and Quicktime movies, and MP3 music files from SD storage only.

Plays DVD movies

Yes

Yes

No

Upscales DVD movies to HD resolutions, including 1080p

Yes

No

No

Supports next-generation DVD formats

No. Can play HD-DVD movies with optional $200 add-on.

Yes. Blu-Ray drive included with console.

No

 

Controllers

Feature

Xbox 360

PlayStation 3

Wii

Number of supported controllers

4 wireless (plus 3 wired controllers via USB), controllers will work with Windows PCs as well. Controllers feature removable AA batteries and can be replaced with removable rechargeable battery packs.

7 wireless and/or wired controllers total. PS3 controller does not feature a removable battery.

4 wireless Remote Controllers. Also supports Nunchuk add-on controller (attaches to Remote Controller and for many Wii games) Wii Classic Controller (also attaches to remote controller; for older, downloadable games), and up to four legacy GameCube controllers.

Rumble functionality

Yes

No

Yes

Motion sensor functionality

No

Yes

Yes

USB keyboard support

Yes

Yes

No

 

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 in North America and Japan only - European version of console offers just partial compatibility with PS and PS2 titles.

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

Downloadable N64 games offer enhanced graphics quality.


I'd like this table to remain the definitive guide to the differences between the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii.

 

 

  

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