Hello everyone. Most of you probably do not know me but I stop by from time to time and I have submitted a few new articles that made it to the top 3.
With that small introduction out of the way Ill get to the real issue, I came across a blog post which claimed GTA IV's 360 version to be the better version. I figured I would read the post before marking it as a fanboy article so I gave it a shot and read the whole thing. Unsurprisingly it was full of decent points but some of them were terrible points which I will address in a moment but before I do I should make something clear.
When it comes to Grand theft auto IV Rockstar Games has promised that both games are identical games. No graphical differences and no framerate drops (the frame rate is confirmed to be smooth on both consoles) exist between either version. With that said it should be clear that I am not here to defend a version but rather to put this fanboy nonsense to rest. No onto the blog in question. The writer had "4 main points" which I will address in the order he put them in.
The first point of his was how Live is basically better then Playstation network because of being able to invite friends with ease and how the Xbox 360 has a better headset then Playstation 3 does.
First I want to say that you are able to invite friends to your online game in Playstation 3 games. Most online games these days have the option to send your friends invites to your party or lobby or whatever you want to call it. This is not merely "an announcement". You can already do it.
The next thing I want to talk about is the headset. I am completely baffled by this statement.
"Perhaps the most important online quality is a simply one, the microphone, Again, social play is best over Live where you know your playing with humans, whereas psn silent nicknames seem to be nothing more then bots."
Um what? Honestly this sounds like words from somebody who has never touched a PS3. Whenever I go into a game with my headset I always hear people. It's usually never silent, in fact most of the users have mics and are usually quite talkative, in-game and out-game. Most people on my PSN send me chat invites for talking instead of messaging back and fourth so that should settle that quote. PSN users do have mics regardless of what some non-PS3 users want you to think.
The second point is basically about the achievements advantage. Im not going to argue with that. It's a great system to test your gaming skill and add some replay value to the game. However I would like to mention how it's funny that he did not mention that Playstation network is getting it's own achievements. They will be called "accomplishments" and they are already encoded in Devil May Cry 4's PS3 version of the game. This feature is most likely set for a release with home and since GTA IV is using home integration then they must have the accomplishment system set up for at as well.
The third point was centered around the downloadable content.
Yes we all know that Xbox 360 is getting exclusive downloadable content. "Episode packs" to be precise which would indicate that they are new missions. Rockstar has stated that they will be new missions but weather there is anything else is unclear. What most don't know is that extra content is not exclusive to the 360, the two packs are exclusive yes but the Playstation 3 is in fact getting downloadable content of it's own. Now one may ask "what about the 50 million that Microsoft paid?" Good question. It should be interesting to note that Microsoft or Rockstar never confirmed a payment for this content. It's only rumored and this type of payment would not be replaceable for the content they paid for. People will buy this but it will not cause them to profit over 50 million dollars. It wouldn't even be close.
http://www.gamecollision.com/news/grand-theft-auto-4-ps3-downloadable-content-confirmed
The last point (there are actually 5 but he lists this as his last one) was about how Multi platform games lag behind on PS3. Honestly these things are very much blown out of proportion buy the console fans. I have watched nearly every one of these "360 vs PS3 comparisons" only to find that there is little to no difference at all between both versions. Maybe a slight color shade difference but lets be honest here. Are you really going to try both versions of the game and then say "Holy crap this one has a slight color shade difference! It suckz!" The reality is the only ones who care about such things are the fanboys.
Not to mention it's been made pretty clear by rockstar and game previews that both games are graphicially the same so there is nothing to discuss here. When the game releases feel free to buy both games and do a comparison but other then color shade differences that would probably wouldnt have even noticed otherwise without sticking two tv's together, you probably are not going to find anything that points to a "superior version".
His fifth point was simple. 360's controller is better then ps3's.
Im honestly flabbergasted. A controller is really about personal preference so you really cant point to one controller and claim for a fact that it's better. Personally I think that the 360 controller is too big and has it's buttons in crooked places but thats a preference and nothing more. How someone can claim otherwise is beyond me.
The next part to this was it's rumble. The PS3 may lack it but the Dualshock 3 was just released 2-3 days ago so of course that means that not that many people have it yet but that fact is that it is available and people will buy it just like they did with ps1's dual analog controller. So this is not really an advantage on either side considering both games offer vibration feedback.
So my basic idea of this was simply to prove that these games are the same by showing you that ps3 has these features as well. Achievements are there, rumble is there, DLC is there, it has a good network, and both versions are confirmed to be identical. Buy whichever one you like because they will both be very much worth while to play and regardless of which version you choose you won't be getting the short end of the stick.
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To sum up - your saying the PS3 version will be equal at best?
It's funny how I'm accused of writing about my preference, when you do the very same thing many times throughout.
And as I stated in the 2nd sentence of my blog, I would not discuss anything that may or may not happen in the future. That includes adoption of the DS3 by PS3 owners, and HOME.
You also misquoted me more than once, and sometimes you forgot the quote and just said what you thought I said.
Again, every one of my points can be countered. But when all is said in done I'm still confident that the Xbox 360 version will be superior.
I wrote my blog in response to some of the comments on the "Why GTA IV will be better on Xbox 360" article. These comments were outright denial and 'fanboyism' at its worse.
If the PS3 version turns out to be graphically similar, to have equal online capabilites, and lets say something extra like a splitscreen mode. The better version would still be as clear (refer to blog).
I hope I didn't spawn a blog-war or anything I merely wanted to address what most of the site seems to be unaware of.
Toughname and SlayerOP for making insightful, non fanboyish sensible blogs.
I read both of them, and to be honest, you both put up valid reasons. Im not really gonna go into which version is better, as I know there identical, and people will get same experience (most likely.
I have some interesting propositions for both of you. I will send you a PM later on.
I read both your blogs. I could comment on end about both. I dont see links provided anywhere just claims. but when it comes down to it... it's a blog. These both are blogs which means "only opinion" not proof of anything. Hence why i dont see quotes from R* saying "XBL will play better" or "BR benefited us greatly" or anything. Just hypothetical situations that dont matter cause here in about a week we will be seeing hundereds of comparisons and everything else. No worries eh
=D game on
I don't understand why people are getting in debates about which version of GTA IV is going to be better. Just buy the game for the console your prefer or own. Its going to be the same game. I'm starting to get sick and tired of fanboys always claiming that their console is so much better than the competitors. Just play the console you prefer. You don't have to defend it. I play the Xbox 360 because it is my choice of console. I don't have to go on to explain about Xbox Live, or the controller, or Marketplace, or whatever. I like the Xbox 360, so I bought it. But people think they have to defend their console and explain why they bought it. Why can't gamers just accept the fact that not everyone is going to buy a PS3, or a Wii, or a 360? Its really starting to get on my nerves. GTA IV is going to be exactly the same no matter what console you buy it on. Ok, maybe the 360 gets downloadable content, but that won't make it superior. Just buy the damn game for which ever console you prefer, and stop trying to defend the consoles.