Head-to-Head Results
Every so often, Eurogamer run a series of technical comparison reviews for games released on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. While this information is interesting and useful for those of us fortunate enough to own both consoles, they don’t appear to have coalesced their musings into a simple list.
Now it should be noted that Eurogamer doesn’t always definitively say which version is better and even sometimes proclaims a draw despite pointing out shortcomings on the PlayStation 3 one of the consoles and vice versa. For example, in the case of the KOEI games Bladestorm and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, I interpreted their comments to be a draw but an aside several months later attributed ‘victory,’ one each, to specific consoles. Also note that some of the decisions are won by minutiae and, if no specific victor is proclaimed, I sometimes award this as a draw. Therefore, bear in mind that this is my understanding of the comments made by the Eurogamer writer Richard Leadbetter.
Xbox 360 versus PS3 Summary
A damning victory for the Xbox 360. While the best-looking PS3 exclusives inarguably look better than the best-looking 360 exclusives, this really is a terrible indictment on the state of high-end cross-platform development.
Frequently, when the 360 and PS3 versions have achieved parity, it is too often because they are both equally reprehensible. Ubisoft and Electronics Arts (EA Black Box studios aside) have improved across the course of these articles while Koei consistently produce equally performing titles so ‘yay’ them. Though they’ve only produced a single cross-platform game, Criterion are probably the best developer having produced a game that looks and plays superb and at a rock-solid 60fps (I’ve played both and tipped the PS3 as better).
Eurogamer
105 
54 
15 
9
IGN Insider Head-to-Heads
- 23
- 22
- 14
- 14
- PC / PS3: 1
- Third Kidney: 1
- Wii: 1
Lens of Truth: Head2Head
- 26
- 9
- 8
Newest Games
Bayonetta 
Borderlands - Brutal Legend
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Colin McRae: Dirt 2
- Dragon Age: Origins
- IL2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
- Need for Speed: Shift
- Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
- Tekken 6
Full List
The winner is taken from Eurogamer where available.
If the PC version was superior to the winning console version it is marked with this icon. Generally, the PC wins out but frequently requires a suspiciously beefy machine.
You can click on the site symbol to access the original article. Hyperlinked titles take you to my review of the game itself. You’ll need an Insider account to access the IGN article.
- 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
- Afro Samurai
- Army of Two
- Assassin’s Creed (7/10)
- Baja: Edge of Control
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Battle Fantasia
- Battlefield 1943
- Battlefield: Bad Company
- Bayonetta
- BlazBlue
- Beijing 2008
- Beowulf (1/10)
- Bionic Commando
- Bioshock (10/10)
- Blacksite: Area 51 (6/10)
- Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War
- Blazing Angels: Secret Missions of WWII
- Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
- Borderlands
- Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway
- Brutal Legend
- Burnout Paradise (9/10)
- Call of Duty 3
- Call of Duty 4 (10/10)
- Call of Duty: World at War (9/10)
- Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
- Cars Mater-National
- Clive Barker’s Jericho
- Colin McRae: DiRT (9/10)
- Colin McRae: Dirt 2
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3
- Conan
- Condemned 2: Bloodshot
- Conflict: Denied Ops
- Dark Sector
- Dead Space
- Def Jam: Icon
- Devil May Cry 4 (9/10)
- Dynasty Warriors: Gundam
- Dynasty Warriors 6
- Enchanted Arms (7/10)
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
- Eternal Sonata aka Trusty Bell
- FaceBreaker
- Far Cry 2
- Fallout 3
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (4/10)
- FEAR
- FEAR 2: Project Origin
- FIFA 08
- FIFA 09
- FIFA Street 3
- Fight Night Round 3
- Fight Night Round 4
- Fracture
- Fuel (7/10)
- Ghostbusters: The Video Game
- G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra
- Golden Axe: Beast Rider
- Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV)
- Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
- Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
- Guitar Hero: Metallica
- Guitar Hero: Smash Hits
- Guitar Hero: World Tour
- Half-Life 2
- Half-Life 2: Episode One
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- IL2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
- Iron Man
- Juiced 2
- Kane and Lynch: Dead Men
- Kung Fu Panda (7/10)
- Legendary
- LEGO Batman
- LEGO Indiana Jones (6/10)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (7/10)
- Lost: The Video Game (7/10)
- Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
- Madden NFL ‘08
- Madden NFL 09
- Madden NFL 10
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
- Medal of Honor: Airborne
- Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
- Midnight Club: Los Angeles (7/10)
- Mirror’s Edge (7/10)
- MLB 2K9
- Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe
- MX vs. ATV Untamed
- NBA 2K7
- NBA 2K9
- NBA Live 08
- NBA Live 09
- NBA Street Homecourt
- NCAA Basketball 09
- NCAA Football 10
- Need for Speed: Carbon
- Need for Speed: ProStreet (4/10)
- Need for Speed: Shift
- Need for Speed: Undercover
- NFL Tour
- NHL 2K7
- NHL ‘08
- NHL 09
- Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
- Oblivion, The Elder Scrolls IV
- Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
- Overlord / Overlord: Raising Hell
- Overlord II
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (4/10)
- Portal
- Prince of Persia
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
- Prototype
- Pure
- Quantum of Solace (7/10)
- Race Driver: GRID (7/10)
- Ratatouille
- Red Faction: Guerilla
- Resident Evil 5
- Ridge Racer 6 /7
- Rise of the Argonauts
- Rock Band 2
- Saints Row 2
- SCORE International Baja 1000 (6/10)
- Sega Rally
- Sega Superstars Tennis
- Shaun White Snowboarding
- Silent Hill: Homecoming
- Skate
- Skate 2
- Soldier of Fortune: Payback
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic: Unleashed
- Soul Calibur IV
- Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
- Spider-Man 3: The Game
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (7/10)
- Stranglehold, John Woo Presents (8/10)
- Street Fighter IV
- Stuntman Ignition
- Team Fortress 2
- Tekken 6
- Terminator: Salvation (6/10)
- The Bourne Conspiracy
- The Chronicles of Riddick
- The Club
- The Darkness
- The Godfather
- The Godfather II
- The Golden Compass (2/10)
- The Incredible Hulk
- The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
- The Lord of the Rings: Conquest
- The Simpsons Game
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
- Timeshift
- TNA Impact!
- Tom Clancy’s EndWar
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
- Tom Clancy’s HAWX
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6: Vegas
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6: Vegas 2
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent
- Tomb Raider: Underworld
- Tony Hawk Project 8
- Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground
- Top Spin 3
- Transformers: The Game
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
- Turning Point (6/10)
- Turok (1/10)
- UEFA Euro 2008
- UFC 2009: Undisputed
- Unreal Tournament 3
- Viking: Battle for Asgard
- Virtua Fighter 5
- Virtua Tennis 2009
- Virtua Tennis 3
- Wanted: Weapons of Fate
- Wheelman
- WWE Legends of Wrestlemania
- WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008
- WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009
- WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010
- Wolfenstein
- World Championship Snooker 2007
- X-Blades
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Unreal Tournament 3 is bad linked and certainly looking and reading Eurogamer is NOT a PS3 win!
As on B3D sumarised one user PS3 version:
“On top of that, more noticeable LODs (ie. shorter appearing distance of foilage), less effects (like snowing is completely absent in some of the levels on PS3), less stable framerate (when things get chaotic)”
No motion blur, simpler geometry etc.
That two pictures (from EG) in this post should show you clearly what the problem is:
http://forum.beyond3d.com/showpost.php?p=1234468&postcount=1530
There is also japanese compare site:
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/yoda-dip-jp/archive?word=*[Game%20Compare]
And one example – also badly tied win to PS3:
3 gif’s made from that site:
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/anonim1979/EternalSonata17-1.gif
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/anonim1979/EternalSonata07-1.gif
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/anonim1979/EternalSonata04-1.gif
Quincux + missing ligtning on PS3…
Certainly NOT a win!
i had 360 traded it for a ps3 and there is a ton more to do on ps3 i mean gaming is slightly better on 360 but that is why they call a ps3 the ps3 entertainment system not gaming system like internet bluray and lots more
I own both ps3 and an xbox and I honestly like the xbox better and will always buy a game for the 360 over ps3 if given the chance. Xbox has the better online service, which is what adds most to replay value, which is what makes me want to own a game as opposed to just renting it from gamefly. Glad to see they gave Microsoft the W.
The irony of this is that in the last generation sony had the weaker hardware but more software whereas Microsoft had more power in the xbox, but fewer games, and Sony won the console war for that generation. Now it’s the exact opposite. Sony has the more powerful system, but Microsoft’s system has the more popular games.
PS3 still have the best looking games on the market:
GT5Prologue, Metal Gear Solid 4, Killzone 2, Uncharted 2, etc…
I’d rather have the BEST of the BEST, than have the best of the average.
No surprise for me :(
Hey, just so you know, I randomly come by here from time to time to check for updates. Love this list you provide – please keep it for posterity! Very useful.
There is one small error I’ve noticed; Burnout Paradise should be a tie, not a PS3 win. They say to buy it for the platform on which you have more online friends.
Thanks again!
I’ve played both and the PS3 definitely feels better so I awarded the win!
i forgot SSX 3 xbox game also works on the 360.
the xbox regular game star wars battlefront 2 works on xbox 360 so dont sell it if u have it.
This isn’t the backward compatibility list.
im not sure but if when it shows 360 and ps3 on the same bar if that means both have that game the i just want to say skate 1+2 is on both.
This is a comparison between 360 and PS3 versions. If it shows both, then both versions are technically comparable.
I would have to agree with most of your list, but there’s one that I got to say you are completly wrong. Rainbow 6 Vegas(1st one). This is not a tie, the ps3 version looks like crap compared to the 360 version.