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Forums - Gaming Discussion - IGN console showdown 4 : PS3 vs. Wii vs. 360

Welcome to the final installment of IGN Australia's 2008 Console Showdown. So far we've pitted each console's system exclusives head-to-head, we've gone through each platform's 2008 games slate genre by genre and we've checked out which system had the best games for download. In this, the fourth and final showdown, we've crunched the numbers to look at how each system's games performed statistically this year. Wait! Wait! Don't go. Seriously, this is interesting stuff, we promise.

Plus, the overall winner is still up in the air – the PS3 has won two categories so far, while the Xbox 360 has won one. Can the Xbox 360 tie with the PS3? Or can the Wii somehow pull a statistical miracle out of the hat? Read on to find out.

First, however, a little housekeeping to let you know how we compiled our data. We've basically included every game that was reviewed on IGN for each platform in 2008 – whether it was available at retail or available for download, and whether it came out in Australia or not. This feature is about the health of each platform's games as a whole, as seen by IGN as a global website. The only caveat is that we've – as in previous features – used the AU score over the US score where it's available. Oh, and we're not including straight retro re-releases, so no Virtual Console titles and no Xbox Originals. This is all about new games, with the only retro titles included being those that have been reworked. One last thing – we closed off entries to our database yesterday (the 17th in Australia) so the data for December isn't complete, but given how few titles are likely to be reviewed before the end of the year, that's not such a big deal. It certainly wouldn't affect the outcome.



Overall 2008 Score Averages
Let's start broad. IGN reviewed 221 Xbox 360 games, 165 PlayStation 3 games and 268 Wii games in 2008. Of those, the median Xbox 360 review was 6.9 and the average score was 6.6, the median PS3 review was 7.5 and the average score 7.1, and the median Wii review was 6 and the average score 5.8. Take a look...

The average and median review scores across 2008 for each platform. PS3 comes out ahead in each.

 

We searched high and low for this font. It's called "Excel, default", which we think is a lovely name.

 



Month By Month in 2008
How did each platform perform across the year? We broke down the figures month by month to find out. The PS3's stronger overall performance was mirrored in the month to month results, with the PS3 having the highest average score in ten of the twelve months, with the remaining two being taken by Xbox 360. The Wii's year, on the other hand, was quite uneven, with a clear disparity between its average review score and the other consoles on a number of months. In fact, the Wii's average score came in second on only two months of the year.

The PS3 clearly dominated on average score from month to month.

 

Click this image to be taken through to a much larger version.



This probably has a lot to do with the sheer volume of releases on Wii. IGN reviewed 47 more games on Wii than on Xbox 360, and 103 more than on PS3. As we go on you'll see the inverse relationship between quantity and quality really become established.

Taking a look at how many games were reviewed for each platform per month, you can really see how - while still dominated by the pre-Christmas release tidal wave - the game industry has three clear release peaks: one early in the year in February, one in June and then the traditional build from September through to November. The industry has been moving in this direction for a while, but it's interesting to see how clearly established it is now.

A little like when Homer first sees the Murderhorn... "no, a little to the right."

 

The month by month breakdown of console reviews by percentage. Joy!

Score Breakdowns in 2008
Averages are all well and good, but they really don't tell us the whole picture. More important is the distribution of scores. Have a look at the figures of games that scored 4.0 or lower on IGN in 2008:

  • 22 games, or 9.95% on Xbox 360

  • 13 games, or 7.88% on PS3

  • 64 games, or 23.88% on Wii


As you can see, the figures for Wii are nothing short of disturbing, indicating just how many terrible games get rushed senselessly onto the system. Or, to put it less politely, almost one in four Wii games in 2008 were utter, utter crap.

A quantitative analysis of games that scored 4.0 or lower - release numbers on the Y axis.

 

The percentage of titles released in 2008 that scored 4.0 or lower per platform.

 


Things don't improve for the Wii as we move to the other end of the scale, either. Whether you're looking at games that scored 7.5 or higher, 8.5 or higher or 9.0 or higher, the Wii figures are embarrassing next to the PS3 and Xbox 360. Both those consoles performed well, and in terms of raw numbers they're quite close, with the Xbox 360 having more games that scored 7.5 or over before being taken over by the PS3 in the 8.5 or over category. The PS3 is still clearly ahead of the Xbox 360 in overall quality, however, and this is really born out in the percentage figures, with fully half of games reviewed on the system in 2008 rating 7.5 or higher. By the time we hit the 9.0 or higher bracket, the Wii has been whittled down to under 2%, the 360 sits on just under 5%, while the PS3 is up over 10%.

A quantitative analysis of games that scored 7.5 or higher - release numbers on the Y axis.

 

The percentage of titles released in 2008 that scored 7.5 or higher per platform.

 

 

A quantitative analysis of games that scored 8.5 or higher - release numbers on the Y axis.

 

The percentage of titles released in 2008 that scored 8.5 or higher per platform.

 

 

A quantitative analysis of games that scored 9.0 or higher - release numbers on the Y axis.

 

The percentage of titles released in 2008 that scored 9.0 or higher per platform.



While these figures certainly indicate just how much shovelware is released on the Wii, and to a lesser extent the Xbox 360, leaving both systems with lower average scores than the PS3, Sony's machine came through where it matters, dominating the all-important 8.5 and above score range – both in terms of percentages and in raw numbers.

Showdown #4 Winner: PlayStation 3

 

 

The Overall Winner


So that's the final installment of our Console Showdown. With another victory under its belt, it's clear that the system that offered the best selection of games in 2008 was the PlayStation 3.

IGN AU's Best Games of 2008 Winner: PlayStation 3

 


http://au.games.ign.com/articles/939/939470p1.html



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poor Wii ==



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awesome,,,PS3 had a very good line up this year compared to last year,(even though i loved uncharted and heavenly sword last year alot)



 

 

 

Hmm interesting stuff. Sqrl will be pleased by the graphs.



Tease.

well we've always known wii is 95% shovelware. ign just proves it once again.



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Well, Wii games aren't those ppl call core games, and core is main target audience of IGN, so obviously they never gets high ratings, look at Wii Music, which finally sells pretty well. Only arrogant fanboys, who called themselves "hardcore gamers" (aka 14/16-year old boys who plays Halo\GeoW), calls these shovelware, as long it sells it's good. May be not for you, not for me, but it's good... for Nintendo. Anyway I got X360, so I got some games to play ^_^



Oh man, i cant wait for ign's intelligence to be called into question after putting the PS3 first and the wii last in this comparison



I hope my 360 doesn't RRoD
         "Suck my balls!" - Tag courtesy of Fkusmot

Well, I don't really rate the IGN AU team, they gave Halo 3 and Gears 2 under 9. IMO it's easily at least 9 for both games.



bugrimmar said:
well we've always known wii is 95% shovelware. ign just proves it once again.

 

 maybe so, but the 5% that isnt shovelware is way better than the top PS3 games.Period. IGN are shit, Gametrailers is the one!



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colonelstubbs said:
Oh man, i cant wait for ign's intelligence to be called into question after putting the PS3 first and the wii last in this comparison

Ps3 has the best games of 2008.