Comparing Products: Xbox Versus Playstation - Case Study Example

XBox versus Playstation In the current world, people are finding an increased need to be entertained and relaxed. This has called for people and companies to come up with games that shall serve the relaxation that most people are yearning for. The X-box and Play station are examples of these games that have become very common and mostly used in the world today. The availability of these games in the market have provided people with the opportunity to make a choice between the two depending on an individual’s tastes and preferences. Naturally, people shall have different opinions as to which one of the two is better that the other and why (Plunkett, 2009). This paper shall compare XBox and Playstation and attempt to make out which of the two is preferable. Determining which one of the two is better than the other is a rather difficult or an impossible task. This is because it all depends on the individual using it the console since each game console provides a broad range of varied features. Some people will love one console, while others could hate it. Generally, it has been agreed that the Play station and the Xbox are roughly comparable (Cheat, 2011). However, people will always hold different opinions as far as this matter is concerned. The Xbox was set to the market in North America on 15th November 2001. It offered a stiff competition with Sony’s PlayStation. During the early years of its development, the marketing department in Microsoft argued against the name Xbox with the argument that it would be very unpopular in the market. This, therefore, called for alternative names being suggested. However, testing from consumers revealed that the name was more preferable than all the other suggested names (Plunkett, 2009). This led to Xbox becoming the official name for the game. Xbox has been documented as the first video game console built using a hard disk drive, which was primarily used to store games. This development did away with the need to have separate memory cards that had been in the market for long. Over the years, these two games have developed to superiority, while at the same time maintaining significant differences among themselves than ever before. Each of the industries Sony and Microsoft is keen to avoid lagging behind the other. As soon as Sony began enjoying the success of the PlayStation 3 slim, Microsoft came in with the thinned edition of Xbox 360. Sources from industries have claimed that both Sony and Microsoft are intending to extend the consoles generation with the aim of maximizing their investment (Navarro, 2009). Currently, both games have competitive prices and provide very related functions. These progresses are making it more complicated to make a decision on which of the two is better. The comparison between Microsoft Xbox 360 S and Sony PlayStation 3 slim is one mission that has left many people exhausted. Even the game fans have had difficulties telling which of the two is better. PlayStation 3 slim is an overhauled version of the seventh generation form Sony’s video game console launched in 2009. This PlayStation has developments such as a new sleek design, a potent mix of old and new features such as online gaming, Blu-ray Disc technology, high optical disc format, and a removable hard drive (Beyazitoglu, 2010). All these developments have made gaming more interesting and easier. In addition to this, the PlayStation Move facilitating motion games has made it more popular. A year after the introduction of PlayStation 3 slim by Sony, Microsoft introduced its seventh generation the Xbox 360 S. this was 17 percent slimmer than the previous version. Some of the most common games with Xbox 360 S currently include Gears of War, Fable, Call of Duty, and Halo among others. Additionally, Xbox 360 S is easily well-matched to the motion gaming system introduced by Microsoft (Navarro, 2009). In determining which of the two games is better, there is a need to take into consideration a variety of features such as price, size, weight, and speed among others. Although both gaming consoles have significantly reduced their size and weight, the comparatively dull appearance of the PlayStation 3 slim provides Xbox 360 S with an advantage as far as the design is concerned. The interiors of the tow gaming consoles have been redesigned making them power efficient and less noisy as compared to the previous versions. The storage medium is an essential factor as a result of online game buying capabilities with both consoles. In addition to this, an increased memory ensures that the already saved data does not hinder downloading of more games. The chief storage medium in the PlayStation 3 slim is the Blu-ray disc. This has a storing capacity of close to 54 gigs (Beyazitoglu, 2010). The user-replaceable hard drives and the Blu-ray technology gives PlayStation 3 slim an advantage over the Xbox 360 S. a large number of all technology experts have agreed that Sony is far ahead of Microsoft as far as this aspect is concerned. In addition to this, the fact that PlayStation 3 slim has a Bluetooth compatibility with a variety of devices gives it a further advantage over Xbox 360 S. PlayStation has also caught up on Xbox 360 S on the game department. This is as a result of its exclusive games such as God of War iii, Metal Gear, Resistance 3, Killzone, and others. However, it is also important to consider that Xbox 360 S also has exclusive games such as Crackdown 2, the Halo series, Kinect Adventures, and Gears of War series among others (Plunkett, 2009). As much as the performance of this gaming consoles matches greatly, price turns out to be a significant deciding factor. The 4GB Xbox onboard console goes for US $ 199.99 with the higher model of Xbox 360 S going for US $299.99. Sony’s PlayStation 3 slim has its basic model with a 160GB hard drive going for US $249.99. The higher model 320 GB hard drive goes for US $299.99. It is therefore, arguable that the price factor acts at the favor of Xbox 360 S. however, it is important to note that once someone buys Xbox 360 at its lowest price, there is a need to separately buy the hard drive and make the subscription to access online games among other facilities. It has further been observed that the PlayStation 3 slim has more number of non-gaming and multimedia attributes. This is because the PlayStation can play videos, play music, and show pictures downloaded from a USB device or the internet. The Xbox 360 S has these features too, but unlike the PlayStation, it does not allow one to stream it remotely. Moreover, the PlayStation supports additional operating systems, which allows it to be used for a wide range of non-gaming purposes. The two types of gaming consoles offer online gaming and web surfing. However, the PlayStation 3 slim offers free and easier online gaming with no extra fees found on Xbox 360 S or the complex friend codes needed (Navarro, 2009). In addition to this, the PlayStation provides an exceptional world known as home where users can hang out, play games, and chat with other users. However, both gaming consoles have trophy systems that allow users to earn awards as well as compare their performances with other players. Technically speaking, it has been argued that the PlayStation 3 slim is advantaged as far as power processing is concerned. However, limitations by Sony have resulted to the fact that the PlayStation cannot run flat with all the graphics on, without having to leave something else off mode. This is because the internal the bandwidth of its internal memory is not enough to carry out everything at once. This translates to mean that any gap between the 360 and the PlayStation hardware is cancelled. For the players however, there is little, if any, difference. This is both have playable and interesting games within a variety of genres. Unless one buys a console for a particular title, it is probable that one is likely to get as much fun with one as with the other (Briere and Hurley, 2006). On a worldwide perspective, it is arguable that Sony is fairly advantaged since their sells are relatively higher than Microsoft. Sony has been in the market a year longer than Microsoft Xbox 360, therefore, Sony is more experienced than Microsoft. As far as the processors are concerned, both are unique in their own way such that making direct comparisons is difficult. The CPU chips run at roughly the equal GHz speed. However, the PlayStation 3 slim beats the Xbox 360 because the former has seven while the latter has three. Both consoles rely on graphic cards that are custom-designed. The Xbox card has more RAM compared to the PlayStation (Briere and Hurley, 2006). With the above analysis, it is evident that these consoles are very comparable. Comparing the systems with the components, the PlayStation 3 slim is comparatively better. However, comparing the two on individual preferences, it varies from one individual to another. References Beyazitoglu, F. (2010). Business Marketing - The Case of Microsoft. New York: GRIN Verlag. Briere, D. and Hurley, P. (2006). Home Theater For Dummies. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Cheat, M. (2011). EZ Cheats Multi-Format Video Game Cheats, Tips and Secrets for Ps3, Xbox 360 & Wii 4th Edition. New York: MY Books. Navarro, P. (2009). Always a Winner!: Finding Your Competitive Advantage in an Up and Down Economy. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Plunkett, J. (2009). Plunketts Entertainment and Media Industry Almanac 2009 (E-Book): Entertainment and Media Industry Market Research, Statistics, Trends and Leading Companies. Houston: Plunkett Research. Read More