Devs Say 'No visual difference between PS3 and Xbox 360'

[Haoshiro]

This snippet is from an interview with Starbreeze (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/704/704421p1.html) on IGN, the reply is from Magnus Högdahl, the technical director of "The Darkness" (PS3/360) who also worked on Enclave and Riddick...

IGN: What is it like to program and design the game for Xbox 360 versus the PlayStation 3? We're not looking to start a blood war here. We're more interested in what it's like to program for each, and what each one's strengths and weaknesses seem to be? Also, how do you foresee the two versions differing in the final product visually, gameplay-wise, sound wise?

Magnus Högdahl: The PS3 will have a content size advantage with blu-ray and a CPU advantage for titles that are able to utilize a lot of the SPUs. The Xbox360 has a slight GPU advantage and its general purpose triple-core CPU is relatively easy to utilize compared to SPUs. I expect that it will be near impossible to tell Xbox360 and PS3 screenshots apart.

I thought this was rather interesting with all the ravings of PS3 vs 360 in this forum (and others!).

I'm not looking to cause another debate (perhaps that is inevitable); E3 isn't very far away and we'll really get to see how things stack up.

Honestly though I'm not sure why it is important to the PS3 fans that it be more powerful then 360; the PS2 was under powered but still dominated and PS3 is definitely going to be more powerful then PS2, no worries there...

This of course doesn't mean one system couldn't have an edge in, say, Physics, etc.

It makes me wonder though, with the increasing power of these systems and it results becoming more and more identical, will console systems begin to have longer lifespans as both gamers and developers become reluctant to switch over to new hardware, since the noticable difference is getting less each generation.

I've had people say Fight Night 3 on 360 did not impress them that much, and said 'I don't know,doesn't seem much better than Dreamcast [Ready 2 Rumble]', this coming from someone who barely played games. Now that of course is ridiculous, I'm sure everyone here knows there is a HUGE difference between those two... but I think it demonstrates that, to the general public, these later console generations do not seem like the huge leap forward seen in other generations (like SNES to PSX, PSX to Dreamcast/PS2, etc)... so when do developers and consumers say "meh, I think I'll just stick with what I have for another 2-4 years, and wait for the Next "next-gen" systems"?

[kjr39]

Not really all that surprising. I look at the difference between the Xbox and 360 and am pretty much 'Meh.' I bought all three systems last time and to me, the one that was the most fun (and the only one I still own) was the Gamecube.

It is not all about the graphics, but how fun the game is to play....

[Yvan256]

I always find it funny (and a bit annoying) that it's always "Xbox vs Playstation". Nintendo are never even mentionned...

Of course, the Nintendo Revolution (Wii?!) won't be as powerful as the Xbox360/PS3, but in the end all that matters is games.

As for that guy saying that it looked pretty much like a Dreamcast game, well, the Dreamcast is quite high-resolution (isn't it 640x480?), so on a regular television those "next-gen consoles" won't make any real difference.

As long as the Revolution has the same resolution as the Xbox, I'd be happy. If it can add full-screen anti-aliasing too, it'd be the best one can ask for (if you have a non-HD television).

And if the PS3 looks about the same as the Xbox360, then all those screenshots and trailers we've seen so far (from the PS3) are 100% marketing and possibly even false advertising.

We'll have to wait and see. In any case, the PS3 is going to cost too much for most people. Even the Xbox360 is over-priced for lots of people.

If Nintendo plays their cards right, they could step up to #1 instead of #2 (world-wide).

It is not all about the graphics, but how fun the game is to play....

Can't wait to play Metroid Prime 3 with the new controllers!

[Dagless]

It's already been said by developers that the Wii, PS3 and 360 will produce similar quality graphics in SD resolutions. So the PS3 and 360 will look the same at HD resolutions? colour me surprised. Sony's hyperbole in action again. All this they were spouting at dual 1080p setups (did someone even say it ran at 120fps too?) even though the 360 apparently has a better video card, a console that stutters visually in 720p and 1080i.

I wonder if by the PS4 hyping time comes around people are still believing the uber-hype?

*pretty much what I said on Joystiq*

If this is the case then one of my mates will be chuffed. He bought a 360 on an impulse buy after getting very excited about HD consoles. Was so looking forward to a PS3 but the delays and that, just got a 360 and now plays it at 1080i. always said he'd sell this and buy a PS3 just for the better graphics. well. I think somebody is sticking to his 360 now.

[Dagless]

...Can't wait to play Metroid Prime 3 with the new controllers!

Which I honestly think will be a defining moment in my gaming life.
/now lets not turn this into another argument thread :) it will happen!

[GFLPraxis]

I figured.

The PS3 is a tad more powerful, but both systems have the same physical hardware capabilities and effects. The only difference might be a slightly higher polygon count onscreen with the PS3 (and a physics edge due to cell), and the human eye won't even notice a few extra polygons, nor are developers likely to go in and add a few polygons for the sake of it in ports.

And not all games will push the PS3's physics capabilities to the max.

[MacRumorUser]

Yeah not really big news. Didn't the Metal Gear Hideo Kojima already state that the two systems are the same pretty much.

I've pre-ordered a wii but i'm not going to bother wih the ps3.

[yoshiii]

I was at the Tokyo Game Show last year I think the PS3 is going to be much better compared with the graphics I saw.

[XNine]

For me, I don't care if the Graphics are practically the same between both systems. I'm buying the PS3 because it presents more positives than the Xbox 360 (which is very nice in itself). More of my favorite games, Linux, a 60 gig hd and built in wireless are extremely nice to have, not to mention Bluray. People say "well, MGS 4 might be on the 360 too." Well, if you ever played MGS 2 on the Xbox after it was released for the PS2, you could see why it sucked. It slowed down just on the deck of the ship where it rained. Not only that, but the controls were awful when going into/coming out of first person view mode). Some games are just ment to be on one system.

I for one don't really even care about Nintendo anymore. I haven't been satisfied or impressed since the SNES. Not to mention I boycotted them once they turned Link into a powerpuff girl.

The 360 and PS3 will have their own advantages, and I think Sony waiting to release it until everything's right with the console is wise. Less blunder than what the 360 has had. Needless to say, I think I'll love and hate both consoles for different reasons.

[Mord]

It's already been said by developers that the Wii, PS3 and 360 will produce similar quality graphics in SD resolutions. So the PS3 and 360 will look the same at HD resolutions? colour me surprised. Sony's hyperbole in action again. All this they were spouting at dual 1080p setups (did someone even say it ran at 120fps too?) even though the 360 apparently has a better video card, a console that stutters visually in 720p and 1080i.

I wonder if by the PS4 hyping time comes around people are still believing the uber-hype?

*pretty much what I said on Joystiq*

If this is the case then one of my mates will be chuffed. He bought a 360 on an impulse buy after getting very excited about HD consoles. Was so looking forward to a PS3 but the delays and that, just got a 360 and now plays it at 1080i. always said he'd sell this and buy a PS3 just for the better graphics. well. I think somebody is sticking to his 360 now.

you well and truely fell for sony's marketing tripe.

the ps3 can output two 120Hz 1080P signals, so can my g4 cube, can it run games at that res and framerate? no.

devs have said that the ps3 can just about do 1080i but not at all do 1080p, to do 1080p they would have to sacrifice graphics quality.

[2nyRiggz]

This topic again.....we all know the 360 and PS3 will be running head to head in the graphics department...no biggie. I still want a PS3 because of the GAMES!.....just as i want a Wii for its games.


Bless

[Abulia]

I always find it funny (and a bit annoying) that it's always "Xbox vs Playstation". Nintendo are never even mentionned...
Saw a report on Monday (?) from an analyst that puts Nintendo in third, capping at 25% market share. *shrug* Who knows?
As long as the Revolution has the same resolution as the Xbox, I'd be happy. If it can add full-screen anti-aliasing too, it'd be the best one can ask for (if you have a non-HD television).
Considering the *original* Xbox supported 480i/480p/720p/1080i last generation and the Wii doesn't support any HD at all, the Wii already lags behind the circa-2002 Xbox.
If Nintendo plays their cards right, they could step up to #1 instead of #2 (world-wide).
Unlikely.

[Abulia]

This topic again.....we all know the 360 and PS3 will be running head to head in the graphics department...no biggie. I still want a PS3 because of the GAMES!.....just as i want a Wii for its games.
And this really is the metric that people should use to choose what system is best for them.

[Dagless]

Saw a report on Monday (?) from an analyst that puts Nintendo in third, capping at 25% market share. *shrug* Who knows?

Considering the *original* Xbox supported 480i/480p/720p/1080i last generation and the Wii doesn't support any HD at all, the Wii already lags behind the circa-2002 Xbox.

Unlikely.

Was that the report from IGN that went off Smallville and other crazy stuff? It was a very silly poll. Do you like Smallville? You like Nintendo. Do you like to breath in trumps? you like something else... it was all very daft. if you mean the same one?

Last generation stuff is daft. One could argue that everything after the NES was last generation with optional wireless controllers, or anything that wasn't online too as that had online abilities. Also argue that the PS3 and 360 are last gen with their controllers?
The Xbox wasn't even officially HD compatible. It could run the resolutions in theory, it takes a hacked bios to run those resolutions. in theory you could do the same with the Gamecube and PS2. Emulators can run higher resolutions, possible to play Super Mario Bros at 1680*1050. hm.

[Dagless]

*double post*

[MacRumorUser]

The Xbox wasn't even officially HD compatible. It could run the resolutions in theory, it takes a hacked bios to run those resolutions. in theory you could do the same with the Gamecube and PS2. Emulators can run higher resolutions, possible to play Super Mario Bros at 1680*1050. hm.

Sorry matey your wrong there. It WAS official supporting HD, just not on PAL machines.

I have an import US Xbox and the OFFICIAL component cable from microsoft and a good amount of games ran in 720p. Hey True Crime even looked good and was in 1080i (still played crap though)

There is an equal argument for Nintendo's decision to not support HD. Personally I would have prefered it if they did as I've already invested in nice HD equipment. However I will be getting one.

PS3 - never been a big fan of Tekken, Metal Gear or Devil May Cry so I dont care about next gen versions of them. Linux could be interesting, or Sony could totally cripple it, I'll reserve judgment till I've seen it. Blu Ray has no interest for me AT ALL.

Besides cost of games nowadays an Xbox360 and Wii will be costly enough to keep :)

[GFLPraxis]

The Xbox wasn't even officially HD compatible. It could run the resolutions in theory, it takes a hacked bios to run those resolutions. in theory you could do the same with the Gamecube and PS2. Emulators can run higher resolutions, possible to play Super Mario Bros at 1680*1050. hm.

Yes it was; Halo 2 has 1080i and 720p.

I bought a friend of mine the HD cable, and set up his system. Weirdly, it was LAGGING on 1080i. 720p ran perfectly though, so he plays at 720p.

Tony Hawk's Underground 2 also had 1080i and 720p on the 360.

The PS2 wasn't officially HD compatible until just recently, GT4 is HD.

[MacRumorUser]

GT4 is HD.

But not PAL version.

And Halo 2 on the XBOX (not 360) is 480p only. I have my Xbox setup for HD and it only ever plays Halo2 in 480p even though 720 & 1080i are enabled on the dash.

[PlaceofDis]

I've pre-ordered a wii but i'm not going to bother wih the ps3.

pre-ordered?! from where? i didn't know they were taking orders, or had even released a price yet... :confused: :eek:

[MacRumorUser]

pre-ordered?! from where? i didn't know they were taking orders, or had even released a price yet... :confused: :eek:

Ahh the benefits of the other half being the manager of the software dept in a toyshop ;) Your right though I don't think they will be excepting official orders until a price & date has been officialy set.

[PlaceofDis]

Ahh the benefits of the other half being the manager of the software dept in a toyshop ;) Your right though I don't think they will be excepting official orders until a price & date has been officialy set.


gotcha. i thought i had missed something in there. i'm really looking forward to the Wii.

On Topic:

as has been stated, gameplay is what matters in the end, not graphics. that being said and clear, the one good thing about PS3 and Xbox 360 clamoring to get the best graphics is that its pushing the envelope as much as possible, rather than just moderately going along slowly. hey, i'm just trying to look at some positives of this whole mess.

[Abulia]

Sorry matey your wrong there. It WAS official supporting HD, just not on PAL machines.

Ditto everything MacRumorUser said as he has it right. Rumors to the contrary, the original Xbox supported HD right out of the box, no modding required.

Halo2 did not support 720p or 1080i, only 480p. Some games like Dragon's Lair and NBA2K4 supported 720p and 1080i natively and played just fine while looking fantastic.

[Abulia]

Was that the report from IGN that went off Smallville and other crazy stuff? It was a very silly poll. Do you like Smallville? You like Nintendo. Do you like to breath in trumps? you like something else... it was all very daft. if you mean the same one?No, it was an industry analyst report. I thought about linking it here but with all the pro-Nintendo posters it seemed like a bad idea.

Anyway, it's only just one report so no need to sweat it. :)

[GFLPraxis]

But not PAL version.

And Halo 2 on the XBOX (not 360) is 480p only. I have my Xbox setup for HD and it only ever plays Halo2 in 480p even though 720 & 1080i are enabled on the dash.

I could have sworn it supported it.
We got notable lag when 1080i and 720p were enabled, and no lag when 1080i was disabled.

[Dagless]

Jeez. us europeans really are getting a raw deal. makes sense though, as the site that told me to go find a hacked BIOS was a UK centric.

god dammit if Sony, MS or Nitendo pull another "europe sucks" trick with any of their next consoles (barring MS, its out!) then I'm going to... get even more annoyed! yea.
Gamecube? no progressive scan or s-video output.
Micro? no faceplates in box or shops.
Xbox? no HD!
PSP? NINE months later. NINE!

*sobs*

[Mord]

the core xbox doesn't come with a HD wherever you live...

[risc]

Jeez. us europeans really are getting a raw deal.

Try living in Australia or New Zealand! :rolleyes:

As for PS3 and 360 having the same visuals - did anyone really exepct a huge difference?

[risc]

the core xbox doesn't come with a HD wherever you live...

raggedjimmi is talking about the original PAL Xbox not supporting high definition or progressive scan.

[MacRumorUser]

Sony has already said games will be region free. Much like a hell of alot of Xbox 360 pal games are 60HZ only (DOA4 and Oblivion for example), you bet the same will apply to Sony's machine.

Best thing means the release dates between Euopean & American releases are now only a week compared to the month and months of before.

Bout time too if you ask me :)

[arcsbite]

daft question and off topic, sorry, but
are 360's in the UK supporting HD now?

I bought one last week, and although I've not hooked it up to a HD screen yet, the guy in game told me it was.

[Mord]

yes, i run my PAL 360 at 720p.

[arcsbite]

yes, i run my PAL 360 at 720p.

*phew*

I figured when reading the thread that something changed after the first batch but I wasn't sure.

I just checked the PAL boxes to my games and Full Auto's eve say's that for best performace it should be run at 720p

[toomuchstereo]

Keep in mind this is one developer saying this about whether their game is going to look different across the two platforms. I don't believe we will see much difference between 360/PS3 games that are developed for both systems. The difference will come in games made exclusively for the PS3.

[Haoshiro]

On Games being the best gauge of a system, I do agree. Regardless though, people still care about graphics quality and if message boards everywhere are any indication, a lot of people find it important that "their" system be superior in every aspect.

Personally I do agree that a game that is exclusive to a system will likely have an edge, in such cases comparisons should be made to like-titles that are exclusive to the other platforms (like Halo 3 compared to MGS4, etc).

Honestly though, besides 1st/2nd party games I really think it's just a dumb idea for a developer to make there games "exclusive" as they are just cutting in to their own potential profits. Developers should (if they haven't already) buy or develop a game engine/enviroment that is fine tuned for each platform and can reuse assests. High quality multi-platform releases should be the norm by now, but so many publishers/developers just don't seem to get that (or get lots of extra money to stay exclusive, MGS, Tekken, Final Fantasy (main series), anyone?).

Namco could have cashed in had it released the PS2 Tekken games on the Xbox as they did Soul Calibur, as could have many other developers. Shoddy ports simply do not count (GTA)...

Consumers, then, could decide what first party games have the most draw for them... and it would encourage first party developers to deliver more and better games.

[saunders45]

Ducks man... that's all im gonna say... remember the ducks....

[MacRumorUser]

daft question and off topic, sorry, but
are 360's in the UK supporting HD now?

I bought one last week, and although I've not hooked it up to a HD screen yet, the guy in game told me it was.

??? When didn't they?

We were refering to the original xbox that supported 720p & 1080i (depending if the game did) but was only in America & Japan.

ALL 360's support HD via VGA or Component (not to be confused with Composite).

[Dagless]

the core xbox doesn't come with a HD wherever you live...

HD= High Definition,
HDD= Hard disk drive.

at least to me :) sorry if I lost you there.

[MacRumorUser]

LOL! Oop's looks like we were both lost there mate ;) :D

I thought he Hector meant HD output rather than a HD drive too.