The opening level of R2 truly showcases where the current gen consoles have reached. I have never seen this sharp a texture showcase on anything except a VERY high end PC. The textures are all bimp-mapped and are INCREDIBLE detailed. Gauranteed no one can, after close scrutiny, say that GOW2 has better textures. The character models in R2 are also very detailed and sharp. Somehow the overall texture resolution and lighting seem a lot better.

Another thing is that R2 is capable of throwing a whole bunch of enemies at you and the size of some of them is truly staggering. Gears 2 does that as well but somehow the enemies in R2 seem larger (to scale). The Titan in the first stage is truly a thing of immense size - probably the biggest enemy ever in any console game. I am still shell-shocked at the animation of the damn thing.... Notice the way the feet com clamping down when it moves. Very involving.

I have both systems and these are two of the most sought after tites released this year. Frankly, even though Gears wipes the floor when it came to comparing it with Resistance 1, R2 definitely is better looking. Waaay better looking. Somehow the textures this time around in R2 are icredibly striking and detailed. Almost photorealistic at times. And what to say about the lighting and the fog...the PS3 hardware really excels here.

Gears 2 seems to have definitely better looking graphics than the first installment but the overall texture detail has definitely been toned down. Maybe the xbox truly has reached the pinacle of its performance cycle and the memory and bus limitations are coming into play.

Fact is that R2 has a way less involving single player campaign but Gears 2 has much inferior Multiplayer. I mean 15 minutes wait times for getting into a match. Sickening.

Overall the two consoles definitely seem to have reached a new threshold in interactive entertainment and the next year is going to be truly exciting.

The question is that if developers start making games to suit the sensibilities of the casual (read - 4 hours a week to 10 hours a week) gamers, then would that lead to more uncomplicated, easy to beat and less innovative games????  I mean there is no way a mom playing wii-fit is going to be able to play Bioshock or Fallout 3 with any level of proficiency so if revenues from games like Rock Star and Guitar Hero apart from the wii blockbusters are going to be huge then is it a logical extrapolation to believe that at some point developers are going to start focusing their energies towards these genres???? 

A topic stirring things up in the industry echelons seems to be the decision to appeal to casuals along with the 'core' gamers.  IMO everyone starts out being a casual and if hooked progresses onto bcoming a core gamer.  However, if game developers, keeping sales in mind, end up creating more software for th bankable casual gaming market, is that really good fo the overall game industry?  I mean if features and complexity is dumbed down in order to cater to the masses then how is that going to effect us 'core' gamers?  

Your thoughts and comments please!! 

you made a BIG mistake:

PS3's RSX was developed by NVidea

360's graphics processor was developed by ATI

Rafinator

No dude i believe you are wrong. Check again.

What bothers me though is that I am sure someone there at Sony must have figured out that there are serious fill-rate limitations to their GPU.  If so then why go ahead with the product.  Also I believe the hype about CELL is pretty sad.  I dont think it is the 'supercomputer' that Sony is making it out to be.  I am sure that come next gen, both companies will be keeping a very keen eye out for the specs of the other.  And I am pretty sure that whichever company comes out with the earlier console will probably win again.  

Sony has cited a 10 year active support cycle for the PS3.  I dont know if that is a good idea as Microsoft will probably have the next 2 consoles out by then. 

I mean if sales were the criteria to determine a superior product then the McDonald's burger would be the best burger on the planet. Or a Wal-Mart pair of sunglasses would be superior to Gucci originals.  LOL.  People keep saying that the XBOX360 has better sales than the PS3.  Well that's a flawed statement if the territory is missing.  The PS3 has better sales in the hole of Europe except the UK.  There are several industry reports that clearly suggest this.  Also the PS3 is the clear winner in Asia and Japan.  It's only the US where it is behind.

I have both systems so I am not a fanboy of either but here is my 3 point synopsis of this console generation -

1) Multi-plats mostly run and look better on the Xbox.  True.  But it could be due to the complicated architecture of the PS3 or sheer laziness on the part of the developer.  On the other hand the crappy graphics card (ATI, now AMD) that the Sony guys decided on has significant fill-rate limitations when compared to the NVIDIA that the Xbox sports.

 2) Usability - the PS3 is a winner here.  It can do a lot of things and frankly wireless out of the box is a big time positive.  Plus the Blu-Ray is definitely a clincher for a lot of folks out there that want to do more on their system than just play games.  Also the convergence advantages (such as connecting a camera/memory stick) are a very cool factor.  All in all the PS3 is a far more edgier and cooler system IMO even in terms of sheer looks (though the looks aspect is definitely not a deal maker/breaker).  The sound processor coupled with the brilliant Blu-Ray functionality make the PS3 one of the best entertainment solutions out there.

3) Hardware reliability - well I don't think there is any competition here.  I have had to replace 2 xboxes (I bought two initially) because of the rings of death.  Apart from this serious hardware issue. i find the Xbox to be very 'clunky'.  It simply lacks the sophisticated feel of the PS3 that to Microsoft's credit is only to be expected from a corporation that was primarily a software-based company.
Like i said i have both and bought the PS3 only a few months back for MGS4 but after having used both systems I would recommend only one thing to all -

GET BOTH.  You really will be pleased.

According to me the top 5 are as follows:

1)  GOW2 (XBOX)

2)  Dead Space (XBOX)

3)  Little Big Planet (PS3)

4)  FAR CRY 2

5) BROTHERS IN ARMS (MORE FOR ITS VISUAL STYLE THAN SHEER EYE CANDY)

 List yours below.