PS3 VS. X360 multi-plat Graphics Comparison

[MikeB]

Regarding the list of games using AA in games, it should be noted this does not give you bigger or more complex game worlds, higher res textures, more onscreen activity or per se a superior game version overall.

Anti-aliasing methods are mainly being applied for possible noticeable artifacts where 2 very different colors are next to each other making it easier to find the edges in graphics and notice separate pixels, making graphics look potentially jaggier.

The higher the resolution and the smaller the screen the less relevant usually Anti-aliasing techniques become. The techniques used vary greatly from a technical perspective but try to address the same problem, changing the colors of pixels to more closely match those of neighboring pixels.

In a 720p game you can handpick your colors for your graphics in ways that anti-aliasing isn't really needed, modern upscaling chips sometimes also have anti-aliasing abilities (can be done by the HDTV or source system). The best way to find out if a game needs more anti-aliasing is to try to game or read the reviews and look at high quality screenshots or footage to determine if a game shows many jaggies or not. That's more useful from a consumer perspective than just looking at some level of AA being applied. For example UT3 on the PS3 does not do full screen anti-aliasing, but does the game look full of jaggies. No, not really Epic however did apply edge blurring, which is also an anti-aliasing technique. It's the end result which matters to consumers.

The PS3 is just as capable of handling AA, but using the 360's methods the framerate is impacted too much in comparison (at least at lower resolutions). So either you'll have to use more advanced techniques like Killzone 2 or take fillrate related workload off the GPU by using the SPUs.

Regarding the mentioned framerates of GTA IV cutscenes, do note that framerates in normal paced cutscenes are less relevant than for fast paced gameplay scenes. Holywood movies have usually been shot in only 24 FPS and I have heard nobody ever claim such movies run at a far too low framerate. It can be sufficient for movement perception due to human perceptive limitations. The framerates with regard to the PS3 version of GTA IV is about on par with hollywood movies, it's not something which needs fixing and I have heard nobody request such a thing.