PS3 has best average review scores of current gen consoles [Update]

by Nick Doerr { Feb 14th 2008 at 1:00AM }

As you may or may not know, video games get reviewed. These scores, sometimes arbitrary in nature, add up over time as more games are released for consoles. Are we being elementary enough? Anyway, as things stand right now, apparently the PS3 library has a higher average review score than the other two current gen consoles.

With the 360's longer life, it has had an opportunity to collect more "shovelware," lowering its average review score. Surprisingly, in spite of Wii's success, there are many titles the critics deem of poor quality. (Titles like Zack and Wiki and No More Heroes are quality, but don't sell for some odd reason). Still, we're impressed PS3 games can hold this title for the time being. Just like any other system, it will have its fair share of great games, average games, and downright awful games. Let's hope it can produce more of the former.

[Via Kotaku]

Editor's Note: Hey everyone. There are a few points we'd like to clarify for those of you arguing the comments section. These figures were provided by Next Gen (all our sources can be seen by clicking "Read"). Also, there are quality games on all three systems, no matter which one is your preferred system. Some of the more inflammatory language has been edited out of this post, and we apologize.

Tags: critics, scores

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

doom saber @ Feb 14th 2008 1:14AM

Hmmmmm...Interesting, considering how new the ps3 is when compared to the other systems out there

warlock7 @ Feb 15th 2008 12:37AM

So, you think that the PS3 came out last?!? You're suggesting that the PS3 didn't come out eight days before the Wii?!?

Really?

The Wii is the newest by eight days and it has the worst game ratings of all current and last gen systems?
But what about the fun factor we keep hearing about?

Chnkylovrr53 @ Feb 14th 2008 1:40AM

This includes multi-platform games?

x silence x @ Feb 14th 2008 1:39AM

Games that are rated higher then 90 on Metacritic...

PS3:

1 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 94
2 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The 93
3 Rock Band 92

Xbox 360:

1 BioShock 96
2 Orange Box, The 96
3 Gears of War 94
4 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The 94
5 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 94
6 Halo 3 94
7 Rock Band 93
8 Guitar Hero II 92
9 Mass Effect 91
10 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 90
11 Forza Motorsport 2 90

As you can see this doesn't mean much. I don't mean to be a dick but were grasping for straws people.

TheEnd187 @ Feb 20th 2008 3:35PM

Why is Oblivion for X360 rated higher? isnt the PS3 version superior? even after the 360 patch

emaxximus @ Feb 14th 2008 3:13AM

They are talking about the ratio of good games versus shitty games, not the total number of games for each system. So if you had to list all the shitty games that are on the 360 there wouldn't be any room left in here for comments.

Carlton @ Feb 14th 2008 6:21AM

Shhhhh! Don't poop the party!

Josh @ Feb 14th 2008 7:15AM

Exactly

johnny @ Feb 14th 2008 7:53AM

sorry but if uncharted isnt rated higher than 90 than thats bull. also resistance should be as well. there are enough good games on ps3 to keep me happy now, i am not playing games 3 hours a day like some loosers anyway but even so i would still keep my ps3 over an xbox 360 or wii anyday.

johnny @ Feb 14th 2008 7:53AM

SKI @ Feb 14th 2008 7:59AM

For comparison's sake.
Wii
Super Mario Galaxy 97
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The 95
Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition 91
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption 90

CL34N3R @ Feb 14th 2008 8:06AM

That's precisely what I came here to say. If we gauge it by exclusive games only, the 360 is kicking the PS3's butt, so let's not try to gloat over meaningless statistics.

linebeginstoblur @ Feb 14th 2008 8:34AM

True, but the chart suggests that there then must be even more games for the 360 that fall under the score average. Again, like you, I'm not trying to be a dick, and in fact, I do think that the news story is inaccurate. I mean, they may have their facts straight, but saying "We have the best console because certain websites gave the games good numbers" is flawed. I never let review scores affect my buying habits; I just read the full review instead.

And besides, you know who says "Haha, your game console has games with bad reviews, unlike me"? Trolls, that's who. No disrespect at all to PS3 Fanboy, but you're helping out the trolls with this post. :P

schoolimangooli @ Feb 14th 2008 9:43AM

While your trying to forge a point, why would you inscribe a agglomerate games that 360 and ps3 both embody?

Matt @ Feb 14th 2008 10:01AM

Good call silence. Definitely grasping at straws. I'm still trying to find out exactly what this post means.

dontlikeitmodit @ Feb 14th 2008 10:09AM

Funny how the 360fanboy crowd comments here on things that look to favor the PS3. Who cares about someones stupid poll about game scores. Oh wait, obviously the people who don't value their time enough to go to a 'competitors' site and try and defend it.

I think you should be going to original xbox sites to defend how the 360 came in lower. Maybe even troll the GameCube sites while your at it .....

Matt @ Feb 14th 2008 10:43AM

dontlikeitmodit, There has been lots of positive PS3 news as of late that is totally positive and is without question. However, we only have to question such a bizarre, confusing, and mis-leading post. Plus if you go to that link it shows another chart that shows the "top 10% of each systems's library" and the PS3 and 360 are equal. Obviously, the 360 has been out longer and you can't judge a system because some crappy developer releases a crappy game on the system. For example. Two Worlds.

warlock7 @ Feb 15th 2008 1:17AM

By the Metacritic games lists and using their arbitrary ranking color key as a guide:

47.4% of the PS3 games they've rated ranked over 74%
40.7% of the 360 games they've rated ranked over 74%

47.4% of the PS3 games they've rated rank between 50-74%
50.3% of the 360 games they've rated rank between 50-74%

4.5% of the PS3 games they've rated rank below 50%
9.0% of the 360 games they've rated rank below 50%

So, while the number of highly ranked games on that site appear to be in favor of the 360 looking at it by the number of 90+ scores isn't as telling as the percentages. When you really break it down into something meaningful you see that the PS3 has a higher percentage of higher quality games than the 360. The 360 has a slightly higher percentage of the mediocre titles. And the percentage of garbage on the 360 is double that of the PS3. Interesting if you look at it that way.

By the way.
The percentage of games between 90 and 100:
2.3% of PS3 games
3.2% of 360 games

between 80 and 89:
29.3% of PS3 games
21.5% of 360 games

between 70 and 79:
32.3% of PS3 games
28.5% of 360 games

between 60 and 69:
18.8% of PS3 games
22.7% of 360 games

between 50 and 59:
9.8% of PS3 games
14.0% of 360 games

between 40 and 49:
3.0% of PS3 games
6.7% of 360 games

between 30 and 39:
1.7% of 360 games
1.5% of PS3 games

BELOW 20
yaris on the 360 got a 17

So the 360 has a higher percentage of 90+ by half a percent
the PS3 has a higher percentage of 70-80
the 360 has a higher percentage of 30-60

When you weight this all against time since release. The library of the 360, while vast is full of junk.

Chnkylovrr53 @ Feb 14th 2008 1:41AM

Oh wait, that would be stupid if it didn't... never mind, I'm dumb...

emaxximus @ Feb 14th 2008 1:44AM

"Awesome. Awesome to the max." - '80s guy

soccerdrew17 @ Feb 14th 2008 1:46AM

fyi of the last 2 gens (yes dreamcast) has a pretty weird hardware sales compared to software average.

software, highest to lowest: dreamcast, ps3, gcn, xbox, 360, ps2, wii

hardware by gen, highest to lowest: ps2, xbox, gcn, dreamcast and wii, 360, ps3

notice something? they are opposite.

adolson @ Feb 14th 2008 2:14AM

It's not a shock. Wii game development is super cheap and fast and easy, and the majority of the games are quick cash-ins and PS2 ports, or games that have terrible waggle controls that don't work well. The 360 has been around a year longer than the Wii and PS3, and so more developers are more comfortable with the platform and they can dish out some shovelware now. Check out the charts, and you'll see that the 360's game score averages have dropped over the past year, compared to the first year. PS3 development, being the most expensive and most difficult currently, means it stands to reason that fewer publishers are willing to take the risk of putting out lesser quality titles, especially when the market share is so low at the present time. All of these things are bound to change in various ways a year, two years, three years from now.

x silence x @ Feb 14th 2008 2:17AM

Games rated 90 or above on Metacritic...

PS3:

1 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 94
2 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The 93
3 Rock Band 92

Wii:

1 Super Mario Galaxy 97
2 Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The 95
3 Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition 91
4 Metroid Prime 3: Corruption 90

Xbox 360:

1 BioShock 96
2 Orange Box, The 96
3 Gears of War 94
4 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The 94
5 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 94
6 Halo 3 94
7 Rock Band 93
8 Guitar Hero II 92
9 Mass Effect 91
10 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 90
11 Forza Motorsport 2 90

Sure a few are multiplatform but the quality and quantity speak for it's self.

NineT9 @ Feb 14th 2008 3:03AM

trust me, i love the PS3 and im pretty much a hardcore Sony fanboy... but this chart is complete utter crap

Xbox1 ranked higher then PS2/X360/Wii?! r u kidding me?!

I'm pretty sure a majority of people would agree the xbox1 did horrible (besides xbmc :)), there was only a few games that sold over a million (Halo, Fable, & Splinter Cell)...compared to the PS2 Library of games that had atleast 70 games that sold over 1 million

Sure the PS2 had more consoles, but come on...GTA, MGS, FF, GT3, DMC...The list goes on for the top multimillion dollar franchises that had games for the PS2...

Xbox1 basically had Halo.

I dont know, as soon as I saw the Xbox1 do better then all the other consoles, I took this chart with a grain of salt...Anyone else agree? or am i simply the minority here that thinks this?

cl34n3r @ Feb 15th 2008 5:03AM

I'm sorry, but the original xbox had the Splinter Cells, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Otogi 1 and 2, Beyond Good and Evil, the Burnout series, Forza, Morrowind, Ninja Gaiden, KOTOR 1 and 2, Jade Empire, Fable, the PGR series, etc, etc, etc. To say that the xbox only had Halo is extremely ignorant and naive. That's the problem with the die hard fanboys, they claim to be experts on the gaming scene while missing out on tons of important games.

NineT9 @ Feb 15th 2008 1:24PM

sorry didn't mean to sound so negative, and i know Xbox doesn't only have 'Halo'...but if you look at facts of how many games sold over 1million for the Xbox1, you'll notice it was only Halo1, Halo2, Splinter Cell & Fable.

The games you listed, although good, didn't sell well...trust me, Fuzion Frenzy 1 is probably one of the best games ive ever played ha, but obviously its not by a majority of people cause youll see it didn't sell very well at all

WTangoFoxtrot @ Feb 14th 2008 3:30AM

seriously this blog just sunk to a new low. why is it that pretty much every ps3 owner i see out there goes to huge lengths to prove they made a sound investment with the console ? meaning how much reassurance do u guys need ? the ps3 is a good console and games are already here, just enjoy them instead of digging such fodder for fanboys will yea !

Imbro @ Feb 14th 2008 6:15AM

The fact that the GC got second place tells us how much this means. A lot of bad stuff isn't bad as long as we have a few gold nuggets. IMHO getting some good _creative_ work means making a lot of crappy "creative" work.

Killer @ Feb 14th 2008 6:28AM

I have a question. Does anyone know how this data was figured? Is it by a mean or a median? If they did a mean, it would be incorrect because you have games that are 20, that can bring down the percent extremely. If they used a median then this data is accurate. If not then it has errors, because a low scoring game messes with the data alot.

xXcrisisXx @ Feb 14th 2008 6:51AM

wow, they'd actually put this article up and say that they have better titles than other platforms. rofl! the ps3 has like 3 games. why do these ps3 sites use their poor stats in their advantage?

Staude @ Feb 14th 2008 7:44AM

Actually the ps3 currently has 330 released titles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_3_games

Quite a difference.

SKI @ Feb 14th 2008 7:57AM

More like 130, you can't count PSN titles for stuff like this.

CL34N3R @ Feb 14th 2008 8:07AM

Epic fail Staude, God of War 3 and Call of Duty 5 are on that list. I'm sure there are loads more unreleased titles on there but those were the first ones I noticed.

CL34N3R @ Feb 14th 2008 8:12AM

What is impressive is the high average for PS2 titles. Considering there are like a billion PS2 games you'd expect the average to be quite a bit lower.

baby sea tuna @ Feb 14th 2008 8:33AM

Don't blame Nintendo, I think No More Heroes didn't sell because A) it's very VERY Japanese and B) it's not very good.

Phoenix8387 @ Feb 14th 2008 9:24AM

This isn't a shocker to me, the Wii seems to get a LOT of shovelware and the box has had an extra year with a lot of not so prime games,and also many good ones.
But regardless, sometimes I think multi-platform games reviews are flawed. We all know all games are not created equal, anyone who bought a 360 port can attest to that, but scores do not reflect this on most review sites.

Either way, fanboy lines aside, we all have much to look forward to for both consoles... and for people with a decent PC, many 360 'exclusives.'

adam @ Feb 14th 2008 9:28AM

Thats not sying much with the gamecube and original xbox right behind it.Maybe its becuase the owners dont have enough good games to play so there bored and end up typing phony reviews hoping to hype there failing machines.

look at the wii the most bought system and the ps2 near last place it doesnt say much at all becuase the poeple with wiis 360's and ps2's are to busy enjoying games top type phony reviews.

coolchris@hotmail.com @ Feb 14th 2008 9:34AM

These figures are wrong, but then again its a PS3 site so there going to make the PS3 look good , if you want the true go to a website like http://www.next-gen.biz/ there you can trust the people, they show that they treat all platforms the same , come on lol can't really believe these figures now can you?

naxe @ Feb 14th 2008 9:52AM

ps3 fanboy....... why do you come on here to talk your crap? if your pissed off about the chart then go complain to the person who made it. it must make you feel good to point out everything thats wrong with the ps3. what about the (the highest failure rate for any electronic in history). i had an xbox but two rrod's later i paid good money to have my console serviced for two weeks at a time. iam done with 360

shoosh @ Feb 14th 2008 10:08AM

I'm still confused why xbox 360 fans comments in a ps3 fan website. My guess is...that there is hope ps3 will lose out in which of the consoles is the best.

Just remember this gamers, ps3 is yet to grow and know it's true performance. Developers are adjusting to its new technology that it has to offer. While, these same developers produce x360 titles to gain income, how many are actually are really selling and to even say that are great games?

I don't know about the rest of the gamers out there, but I rather have quality than quantity. To buy a product that has quality will often sell itself and gain the numbers to be sold.

I have this question...(if given a million dollars) when selecting for your next game title, how many of the games for the x360, if all x360 games are displayed at the store would you actually buy? And for the ps3?

As for nintendo, as long there will be young children and fans of nintendo, they will never die out. If it's japanese made, you know there product is guaranteed satisfaction.

But all in the end, it's about the turtle and the rabbit approaching the same goal. Enjoy your great games today because when tomorrow comes...will it even compare to the new and improved?

Matt @ Feb 14th 2008 10:58AM

Considering the next Xbox will be out in 2-3 years, we're not worried. I can assure you the next Xbox will be out as early as 2010. If you don't believe that, you are extremely naive.

As for us commenting on this, obviously we have to question such a bizarre, confusing, and mis-leading post. It means nothing, but implies something. If you go to that link you'll see a more meaningful chart that shows "top 10% of each system's library" and the 360 and PS3 are equal. You can't judge a system on the fact that crappy developers release crappy games, ala Two Worlds.

emaxximus @ Feb 15th 2008 12:55AM

@ Matt - Of course the next Xbox will be out in 2-3 years, because by then there will only be like 2 working 360's left on the planet!! LMAO!! .... they will be on ebay for a million bucks each! Thanks for making that so easy.

James @ Feb 14th 2008 10:35AM

Some of these comments are hilarious. One minute listing more 90+ scoring games on the 360, the next saying game score figures are meaningless! You cannot have it both ways, RRoD morons!

The fact is the AVERAGE across the library is better for the PS3. Better than EVERYTHING else. Just freakin' deal with it and go home to your own fanboy site, trolls.

John McPoop @ Feb 14th 2008 10:47AM

well there are less games for ps3... There is a greater amount of good exclusive 360 titles... The wii has some great games and a lot of trash games.... As a pswii60 owner I can say that I have about an equal amount of ps3 and 360 games (maybe 15 or so on each) and only 4-5 wii games (1 isnt nintendo)... But, I enjoy the ps3 experience and games more... Always loved Sony systems since gex & toshinden... Im straying from the point but I'm just saying I enjoy all 3 consoles (games) and when I can I lean towards ps3.... Had all since launch and just as many (if not more) ps3 games... And I tend to only buy the good ones (other than a few)

Viva La PS3!!!!

Xiru @ Feb 14th 2008 11:25AM

Ps3 is for those who want quality. Wii is for those who want quantity and cheap games. You get what you pay for.

Warren @ Feb 14th 2008 3:27PM

Really? So I should buy Madden, The Orange Box and other 3rd party multi-platform games for the PS3 instead of the 360, even though they're all inferior ports?

John McPoop @ Feb 14th 2008 3:55PM

@warren

Don't be so ignorant. Everyone who has a brain knows thats a sotware issue not a hardware issue. It has nothing to do with the 360 vs PS3. it has more to do with a lazy developer who tried to lead on the 360 version and port over a craptastic version to the PS3 without doing any tweaking.

Just because you dont like the article doesnt make it untrue. The PS3 is more of a quality system IMHO (owning all 3 i can say this objectively). Just look at everything you can do with the damn thing other than just games. i admit at its core its a game console but it hasn't been much over a year now and its new architecture for developers. In the long run the PS3 will be around long after the 360 dies out.

But, you are correct when it comes to those multiplatform sports games right now the 360 is better. Orange Box on PS3 is not near as bad as its hyped and in fact having played DMC 4 and burnout paradise on my PS3 and on my brothers 360 I can say that both are better on the PS3. Obviously, thats my opinion but the 369 lighting effects make DMC4 look way to shiny and shimmery and Burnout paradise (cross developed on both platforms) has frame rate issues on the 360 that are not in the PS3 version. So, the tides are turning my friend.

John McPoop @ Feb 14th 2008 3:57PM

@warren

Those are software and developer issues not hardware related. Blame EA not the PS3.

cl34n3r @ Feb 15th 2008 5:52AM

@John McPoop

I've not noticed any frame issues with Burnout on 360, and DMC4 looks awesome on the 360 but I've not played the PS3 version. I've got a PS3 and a 360 and I'll always buy the 360 version of multiplatform games for 3 reasons. 1 - Xbox Live. PSN does not compare, let's not try to kid ourselves, there's a reason it's free. If PSN ever has all the features of Live they will start charging, I promise. 2 - Achievements. Not that I'm an achievement whore or anything, but it's an awesome system for competing with friends in single player games, plus they add a ton of replay value. 3 - Quality. Now this last point will (hopefully) soon be a moot point as developers improve at utilizing the cell processer, but for now experience has shown us that games just run better on the 360.

And as far as your comment: "Just look at everything you can do with the damn thing other than just games.". Other than a browser (which is horrible, btw) and a couple other small, cute little features, the PS3 can't compete with the 360 in features. You can't even send voice messages with the PS3, what's up with that?

Overall, I'm glad I bought the PS3, but it's not getting much play. There are just too damn many 360 games to play.

Xiru @ Feb 14th 2008 11:27AM

Oh and this chart is counting ALL games across the platforms. This means that while 360 does have more 90% titles, it also means 360 has more crap titles than the PS3. So for all intents and purposes, the PS3 has more high quality games overall. You can't argue with statistics people. :)

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