PS3 or XBOX360 - Which one floats your boat?

[eimaj]

This makes me wonder, but couldn't the 360 pass lossless audio if it was encoded on the disc?

[dunlop]

Its already happening. Developers are always going to want to make a bigger game with more worlds, more detailed environments, better graphics, more enemy bosses, more weapons etc... It all requires more space and it just can't be provided with DVD.

This could be true but will never be realized on the PS3 outside of first party titles. Making everything "bigger and better" also increases the develpment costs dramatically. Outside of a "money hat" The PS3 is not in a situation where any studio is going to invest the money and resources for a game that cannot be ported to the 360. We are not even factoring in the difficulties they have with coding for it (which is why most games use the 360 as the lead platform)

think M$ rushed their new system too quickly just to be the first next gen system out there. In the end I believe the dvd will hurt the system. As for installing to the harddrive how many 50+ GB games can you install on a harddrive? It would be a big hassle to keep installing and deleting games.

"M$" mistake was poor quality control, it was genious for them to kill the XBOX and launch right away. 3 years ago nobody would have predicted the current console landscape. There will not be many "50+ GB" games, MS4 fell in that category because of the ridiculous amount of movie sequences.

This generation is pretty much set in stone now

1 - Nintendo
2 - Microsoft
3 - Sony

Luckily it's the first generaton where 2 and 3 are so close that it is almost negligable. I reiterate that you really cannot go wrong with any choice (I have a Wii and don't like it, but that's another thread ).

Using words like "M$" and quoting the techsheet of Sony advantages as if it is a black and white decision again show your bias.

[Jeff Flowerday]

This makes me wonder, but couldn't the 360 pass lossless audio if it was encoded on the disc?

No, Microsoft has indicated that there are hardware limitations in the 360 before actual HDMI components, so only the current options of Stereo, DD, WMA Pro will ever be supported in gaming. DTS being supported in movie watching as well.

[QuickSilver]

On the sound side I couldn't care less if and only if the games on any console can live up to Dead Space. Wow that game has some of the best surround I have witnessed. I only have the 360 version but am sure it is the same on the PS3. Developers should use Dead Space as the foundation for spatial sound environments in my opinion.

[dignatec]

Quote:
I really have to wonder though: lossless game audio? Does anyone really notice or care? Even those who have the gear to hear the difference? It's cool and all, but hardly a system selling point, IMO.

I agree with you, it doesn't matter to me. Graphics and smooth game play is far more important to me than being able to hear the upper and lower frequency capabilities and dynamics of uncompressed audio.

I'm too busy mashing buttons and reacting to be paying attention to how well the swords clashing sounds.

I agree here as well, for gaming, who cares if it's lossless or not, you're wayyy to busy doing things within the game to notice. Unless there's some symphonic piece within the game, I doubt most ppl would notice the diff...

However for movies, that's a whole other story/topic where lossless is great, which would be a point for the ps3 (which I plan to buy as a BD player).

[eimaj]

Originally Posted by dignatec

I agree here as well, for gaming, who cares if it's lossless or not, you're wayyy to busy doing things within the game to notice. Unless there's some symphonic piece within the game, I doubt most ppl would notice the diff...

However for movies, that's a whole other story/topic where lossless is great, which would be a point for the ps3 (which I plan to buy as a BD player).

I have to disagree in that my belief is that better sound creates better immersion. Just like graphics, the better it is, the more involved you become.

[MikeyP]

I have to disagree in that my belief is that better sound creates better immersion. Just like graphics, the better it is, the more involved you become.

I am not sure anyone is arguing against "better sound=better gaming experience" (to paraphrase) but I think diminishing returns factors in here. I would still argue that any potential increase in immersion by going to lossless audio would minimal at best, for most people.

Keep in mind this is a Home Theater forum - you or I might notice a difference (maybe even a significant one) between compressed and lossless audio but most people probably wouldn't. And at what cost? Dramatically decreased on-disc capacity for the rest of the game content, which would arguably have a bigger "bang for the buck" impact.

Imagine how crippled Oblivion or Mass Effect would be if all that dialog was lossless.

[dignatec]

I agree with MikeyP here. DTS/DD 5.1 is excellent and people were happy with them for many years, just b/c lossless is now here, unless the games are specifically designed to take advantage of it, I doubt it would improve much enjoyment at all. Like I said, in a game you're usually soo busy, you're not going to notice those extra Hz in the upper/lower registers u get with lossless. If you're doing critical music listening, then yes, Im sure you will enjoy the newer formats....

Just my two cents.

[eimaj]

I agree that the legacy audio formats WERE excellent, but just like DVD, they don't cut it anymore. And if Mass Effect or Oblivion had lossless audio, it would have made that experience that much better. If MS had the forsight to include this feature, maybe some of the 360 developers would be utilizing it. It's all about moving forward, or we would all still be playing pong.

And I don't think it would sacrifice anything if there were space issues as I don't think people would have problems with multiple discs, especially now that you can load a game right onto the hard drive. And it's not really an issue for the ps3 as the br disc should have plenty of space.

[MikeyP]

but just like DVD, they don't cut it anymore

I think you might be getting a bit ahead of yourself. Given the adoption ratio of BluRay to standard DVD, I think the masses would probably tell you that DVD (and compressed audio) is working just fine thanks :-)

And I think people might be open to multiple discs but probably not just so they can have lossless game audio. More content perhaps, but I can't see the *average* consumer being too excited about having to switch discs or have fewer things to do in the game world so they could have improved audio fidelity.

You keep forgetting that we are special :-)

[eimaj]

Gee thanks, my mom always told me I'm special too

Now that the players are coming down in price, I think br is going to start to pick up, and overall br is being adopted at almost the same rate as dvd was back when it first came out from what I have read.

And you raise a great point that everyone would rather have additional content over lossless audio. But can't we have it all!!?? CAN'T WE!!??

Maybe next gen, which when you think about it is only a couple years away, 3 tops.

My vote is still for the PS3 just so hopefully the mods don't shut us down for getting to off topic.

[admin]

Several posts deleted as they were inflammatory so this warning.

ANYONE flaming another member or calling someone a fanboy or equivalent derogatory term will be issued an infraction.

Multiple infractions can lead to your account being de-activated.

[asif9t9]

Originally Posted by dignatec

I agree you can only play one game at a time (of course) but there is something to be said to be able to play variety of games. Eg. I switch from GTA4 -> NHL 09 -> Gears of War 2 -> NBA Live 09... I don't always feel like playing the same thing, I get bored, so personally unless you only play RPG's, that argument doesn't really hold. There are many people who like pick up and play games due to limited time, so a variety keeps things fun.

But again, you can only play so many games at a time. People like to list out the 20 or 40 games you can get on the 360 that you can't get on the PS3. But you need to ask yourself if you're really planning on playing those games. The super hardcore guys (age 16 to 20) are playing on their PC's. The hardcore guys (low to mid 20's) might appreciate the 360 and the ability to join clans for online gaming, etc. But anyone with a regular 9 to 5 job and anything else going on probably only has time to play once in a while (and 3 of the 4 games you list are on both the 360 and PS3).

I thought the online for Gran Turismo Prologue was kinda buggy when I last played months ago. And I had to change settings on my router to connect to CoD4 online. But I got bored of the online pretty quickly because those guys online are way too good. Sadly the days of me being able to practice gaming all hours of the day and night are over.

[Arc|Angel]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

On the sound side I couldn't care less if and only if the games on any console can live up to Dead Space. Wow that game has some of the best surround I have witnessed. I only have the 360 version but am sure it is the same on the PS3. Developers should use Dead Space as the foundation for spatial sound environments in my opinion.

On the PS3 the sound scares the hell out of me.. I feel like I need meds after an hour of playing. My wife won't even stay in the room when I play it.

[NeoGoglu]

I downloaded the demo this week on my PS3,

It was 2h00 AM, i was playing on my 5.1 sound system
in my basement, in the dark and i must admit that the mood
of this game is awesome