Microsoftannouncedthis week that after ten - and - a - half days , they were finally calling it quits on the Xbox 360 , at least in terms of invent the console . While the Xbox 360 will proceed to be supported — there are still games being relinquish for it , and the system ’s Xbox Live features are still fully integral — we ’ve now arrived at the symbolic destruction of the cabinet ’s life . Despite being an improbably unreliable piece of music of hardware in its former geezerhood ( the reddish rings of death still strike fear in the hearts of gamers everywhere ) , the Xbox 360 managed to ground itself as the console of choice for many players thanks to its incredible program library of game and generally uncomplicated design .
We call back we ’d fete the Xbox 360 ’s impact on gaming by comparing it to its main competitor , Sony ’s PlayStation 3 ( yes , Nintendo ’s Wii outsold both , but it was geared toward a different consultation ) , and listing off the domain where Microsoft ’s console had Sony ’s metre . Do n’t worry , we ’re not claiming that the Xbox 360 is “ better ” than the PlayStation 3 ( in fact , we design to do another piece focused on the PS3 ’s advantages ) but it ’s hard to deny that the Xbox 360 had the bound in the following class .
10. Xbox Live > PlayStation Network
While PlayStation web had the reward of being a loose table service up until Sony introduced the PlayStation Plus subscription in 2010 , this turned out to be a shell of “ you get what you pay for . ” Microsoft ’s $ 50 / yr asking price for Xbox Live Gold seemed a moment steep ( and still does to some arcdegree ) but it lead to a much stable on-line experience on Xbox 360 as compare to PS3 . Live has get its fair share of outage over the years , but it has much better security system and infrastructure than PlayStation connection , as evidenced by the ill-famed 2011 outage where PSN was taken offline for over a calendar month after a security department breach . Sony has made pace since then in better their connection and while the two service are much more on equivalence on PS4 and Xbox One , the Xbox 360 had the exonerated vantage in the on-line space over the PS3 .
9. Backwards Compatibility
The backwards compatibility battle between the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 was actually pretty fascinating in hindsight , although it was quite frustrative at the time . When the Xbox 360 launched in 2005 , it did so without the power to play original Xbox games natively . alternatively , Microsoft used computer software emulation , an imperfect solution that was pick apart for only have a selection of Xbox title and not the intact library . In dividing line , the PS3 found the next class with full support for both PS1 and PS2 games , which was true a pretty amazing feature .
Before long though , Sony realized that their console was too damn expensive and to help shorten costs , they removed constituent that allowed for PS2 playback , which mean that launch PS3s became a pretty hot commodity . While Sony lover seethed that they could n’t play their PS2 games on the PS3 without cut through down an earlier poser , the Xbox 360 reaped the benefit by actually having some var. of backward compatibility , something that Sony could no longer tug as a feature on their console .
8. Faster Download and Install Speeds
A paltry advantage but one all the same , the Xbox 360 was simply capable to download and install games and update much quicker than the PS3 ever could . This seems to be an issue with PlayStation internet itself , as the PS4 still hurt from slow than require download speeds and install time ( to be clean , the Xbox One is n’t all that prompt either ) . In a genesis that focused so hard on networked consoles for the first metre , speed was a legitimate business for Xbox 360 and PS3 possessor , and the PS3 ’s torpid downloads and installs were a source of frustration for many gamers . This payoff was heighten by Sony ’s apparent need to release a newfangled microcode update every other week ( possible overstatement ) , which translated to PS3 owners merely induce to expect longer than 360 owners to play their game .
7. Party Chat
By no way a deal breakers , the fact that the PS3 was incapable of offer party chat — or any voice schmoose sitting outside of a game — seems unbelievable by today ’s standards , especially when the 360 had these lineament from the beginning . The Xbox 360 was very much the expert social system , as it insert quite a few innovations that had n’t been seen previously on game console table , including the ability to chat with friends outside of a game session . This meant that you could make any activity a much more social event , such as watching movie or TV shows online with friend . Of course , the PS4 and Xbox One are pretty much at parity now with these sorts of features , but in the last console genesis , the Xbox 360 definitely had the upper hand when it came to interact with the masses on your champion list .
6. Design Aesthetics
While the PS4 may have the Xbox One pulsate in terms of aesthetics this contemporaries , the Xbox 360 had the edge in this department over the PS3 . The Xbox 360 ’s original console design was a vast improvement over it ’s heavy , ugly predecessor , sport an heart - pleasing curved invention while replacing the black and light-green with a nice strike white . The first PS3 model calculate too much like a fax machine and did n’t quite have the show of a must - have , cut bound plot machine on the outside ( the often - ridiculed Spider - Man font surely did n’t help ) . Each console get a couple redesigned “ slim ” models and while it ’s a flip - up between which of these had the better expression , the Xbox 360 at least had the advantage out of the gate .
5. Better UI
The Xbox 360 had the misfortune of have its user user interface get progressively risky as it went along ( heck , we still believe the original vane design is better than the Xbox One ’s dashboard in some ways , but even the bad 360 UI was better than the PS3 ’s xross medium bar ( XMB ) . The PS3 ’s UI was perfectly functional , but it quickly became jolly wearisome to employ and felt disinvest down equate to the 360 ’s different purpose , which were both elegant and functional . Even the Xbox Store had a much better layout than the PlayStation Store , which generally suffer from take too many steps to get to the subject matter you wanted . for sure , many users prefer the PS3 ’s port , but for us , there was just something about the Xbox 360 ’s UI — no matter which version it was — that made us choose it .
4. Name Changes
A relatively small-scale advantage , but an advantage all the same , the Xbox 360 allowed users to change their Xbox Live Gamertag name ( for a fee ) , a feature that the PS3 did not have . uproariously , this is something that really continued into the next generation , as the Xbox One still allows users to interchange their name while the PS4 does not . According to Sony , the PlayStation web was designed in such a way that makes it improbably difficult to bring a feature that allow for name alteration , which means that if you made a PlayStation web ID back in 2006 and ended up hating the name , you ’re still stuck with it a decade later unless you created a new account . With more and more of our game library being tie directly to these accounts , the fact that users still ca n’t change their name on PlayStation platform is nonsensical , and Microsoft has by all odds do good from having the prospicience to design Xbox Live in such a way as to let for name changes .
3. The Controller
Sony ’s DualShock is arguably the cracking controller design of all - clip … but the PS3 ’s DualShock 3 kind of sucked . miss the haptic feedback features of the DualShock 2 and feature a distich of initiation that left much to be desire ( they could even squeeze your finger’s breadth ! ) , the DualShock 3 was simply inferior to the Xbox 360 accountant , which still stands as one of the best ever made . An melioration in every way over the original Xbox ’s lackluster gamepads , the 360 restrainer handled like a dreaming , so much so that it ’s still used by many PC gamers . Sure , the d - stamp pad was fairly bad and the analog sticks did weary down passably easy , but in term of frame factor and overall comfort , the 360 controller in spades take to task the PS3 ’s oblation .
2. Better Exclusives (If You Liked Shooters)
The PlayStation 3 arguably had the Xbox 360 measure when it came to higher calibre exclusives , asThe Last of Usand theUnchartedseries are easy some of the best games of the last decade and they could only be found on Sony ’s console . That being enounce , the Xbox 360 was no slouch when it come to exclusives either and when it came to shooters , the 360 definitely had the PS3 ’s number . First - party serial such asHaloandGears of Warensured that the 360 had an participating line - up of competitive shooters . In demarcation , the PS3 had its fair share of great shooters in the form ofKillzoneandResistance , but they just could n’t maintain a cd to what the 360 ’s library was offering in term of on-line period of play .
Even the Call of Duty series was marginally better on 360 , as a combination of timed DLC exclusives ( ironically , something that the PS4 now has over the Xbox One ) and a controller that was simply better designed for first and third - person gunslinger gave that popular series the border on Microsoft ’s cabinet . Again , the answer to the “ which cabinet had the better exclusives ? ” question count on your own personal genre preference , but if you were a shooter fan , it was strong to fend what the 360 offered .
1. Better 3rd Party Games
Although the PS3 is technically more powerful than the Xbox 360 , in most font , the 360 received higher-ranking versions of multiplatform games . The 360 was simply easier to program for , as the PS3 ’s complex system architecture was a nightmare for developers . This meant that the 360 version was often the objectively better edition of the game , as these porthole had good frame rates and overall stability . One need only look at the difference between the Xbox 360 and PS3 interlingual rendition of Bethesda plot such asFallout 3andSkyrimto see how substandard PS3 porthole could get . Of of course , the PC version was ( and still is ) the room to go if you could make out it , but for those who have both console , it was often an easy selection resolve which reading of a multiplatform biz to buy .
