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International | Feature

Feature: Next-Gen Console Score Card

Feature by Sid Shuman | 10/09/2006 | 16:12:11 PM PST

Which next-gen console has the best overall experience? The verdicts are in...and you might be surprised by who won.

As the Wii and PlayStation 3 console launches draw near, and the Xbox 360 continues to release impressive games, a key question arises: which of these game consoles is worth buying, and which isn't?

Based on our own hands-on experiences with all three systems, we've compiled a thorough evaluation of each based on nine criteria:

And finally...

May the best next-gen console win!



CPU

The central processing unit of any game system is its heart. A fast, technologically advanced CPU can open the doors to previously unavailable processes, such as more advanced artificial intelligence, more detailed landscapes, realistic physics for a more lifelike look and feel, as well as subtle visual effects like rippling cloth or realistic fluid modeling.

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360's CPU is a big boost from the original Xbox's aging single-core 733 MHz Intel Celeron. Based on IBM's PowerPC spec, the 360's CPU features a powerful three-core design that runs at a perky 3.2 GHz -- enough horsepower to ensure some serious next-gen giddyup. The CPU also handles up to six hardware threads, giving developers extra power to handle more tasks at once.

But as powerful as it is, the Xbox 360 CPU can't quite hang with Sony's "supercomputer-on-a-chip" Cell processor, though it does allow for more (and better) special effects, visual detail, and advanced artificial intelligence. It slightly trails the PS3's Cell processor in terms of long-term potential, but the 360 has more than enough brainpower.

CPU score: 4.25 (out of 5.0)

PlayStation 3

The PS3's CPU, called "Cell," is a product of a long-term partnership between IBM, Sony, and Toshiba. It's probably the PS3's key technological advantage. Cell's 3.2 Ghz PowerPC core is surrounded by seven co-processing units, and is capable of running with up to nine hardware threads. In theory, the Cell's nine-thread design should give it a leg up over the competition, empowering programmers to support realistic real-time environment deformation, complex particle effects, and higher-quality artificial intelligence.

Of course, this kind of power comes with a price. Cell isn't the easiest CPU to code for, and many next-gen developers are struggling to make sense of the chip's unusually complex design. But the developers we've spoken with agree that once coders begin to program in parallel, Cell's true power will become apparent. Besides, judging by the PS3's showing at this year's Tokyo Game Show, programmers are already showing signs of picking up on the Cell's processing strengths. In short, programmers will still be finding new ways to leverage this processor long after the PS3 ships.

Graphics score: 4.75 (out of 5.0)

Wii

Easily the small fry of the next-gen lineup, the Wii is powered by a PowerPC-based CPU called "Broadway." This chip was jointly developed by Nintendo and IBM specifically for the Nintendo Wii and is a 90-nanometer process version of the 180-nm "Gekko" chip that powered Nintendo's 2001 console, the GameCube. One advantage to shrinking down the existing Gekko silicon is that Broadway will draw 20 percent less power while providing a modest boost to speed.

The only catch: Nintendo hasn't released any official ratings for the Broadway, and it's unlikely to do so in the near future. Current speculation places the Wii's Broadway CPU at roughly 700 megahertz, or less than twice as fast as the GameCube's Gekko (485 MHz). It also boasts a single-core design, making it closer to a last-gen processor than a next-gen processor. Though it's crushed by the PS3 and Xbox 360 CPUs, the Broadway should provide enough power for Nintendo's mass-market approach.



Graphics score: 2.75 (out of 5.0)

*UPDATE: Clarified language concerning CPU processing abilities.

DECISION



PlayStation 3

If consumer battles were won by sheer CPU speed and power alone, there'd be no next-gen war at all -- Microsoft and Nintendo would already be retreating with their tails between their legs. The PS3's Cell processor has the downside of being tricky to work with, but will give developers the long-term flexibility they need to pull off radical effects like widespread environment deformation, pixel-perfect ragdoll physics, and massive-scale particle effects without so much as a hitch in the frame rate. Harnessed properly, there's no doubt that Cell is a processing monster.

Victor!

Victor!


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