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Wow! This generation of gaming has seen the harshest and most heated console war ever. The words “fanboy” and “bias” have been over used strenuously by both gamers and the media. Fans of the PS3 shout the word “bias” more than anyone else. However, I usually can find myself agreeing with the majority of their logic. I feel that sometimes these levelheaded PS3 fans get lumped in with all the fanboys in the comment section. I honestly don’t know how they can be called fanboys when they defend what they say with evidence as to what they believe, why they believe. And you know what else I’ve discovered? I too am a PS3 fan, because I’m also sickened of the media’s double standards and oversights, though they are subliminal. I will try to make some of you see things from the PS3 fans’ perspectives. Read more for the full article.

I would like to touch on why PS3 gamers call some websites “biased”, so I’ll start with IGN first. IGN recently scored Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 on PS3 (8.4), lower than the XBOX 360 version, Ninja Gaiden 2 (8.7). Now I know many of you will say that games have progressed since the release of Ninja Gaiden 2 and you are correct, games should be judged against the progress that has been made in the market. However, when the situations were parallel like they were with Virtua Fighter 5, the PS3 version of VF5 (8.8) scored lower than its 360 counterpart, Virtua Fighter 5 (9.0) which included online. Also, to prove even more how the situations are parallel, both Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and VF5 with online were released after their previous versions on the opposing console and both had graphical tweaks and added online elements. However, if you read both reviews, the 360 review of VF5 mentions all the graphical improvements made to the game over the previous PS3 version; things like improved lighting, clean lines (better anti-aliasing), better environmental effects, and better gameplay tweaking. Now look at the PS3 review of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, they hardly allude to any of the benefits the PS3 version holds over the 360 version; things like: increased resolution to native 720p, improved lighting, and better texture detail. So again, this raises red flags amongst some PS3 fans when you mention graphical improvements in a 360 review of a re-release and don’t do the same for PS3 re-release of a game. Also, how do you explain the scoring differences, though minor in both cases? I mean are not both of these games situations parallel? Yet, VF5 with online on 360 scored higher than the PS3 version of Virtua Fighter 5. Now when the situation is parallel for the PS3 then the rules change and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 scores lower than the previous 360 release of Ninja Gaiden 2, despite being a clearly superior game. I’m not saying IGN was wrong; I’m just pointing out the double standard here folks. IGN needs to be clear across the board with gamers going over the site now with a fine toothed comb in this heated console war.

Reason for Being Considered Bias: Scoring Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 on PS3 lower then Ninja Gaiden 2 on XBOX 360 despite it being a superior experience and then in a parallel situation they scored Virtua Fighter 5 with online on 360 higher than VF5 on PS3 when it was a superior experience. So IGN don’t be IGNorant and get your review discrepancies ironed out.

Next, I want to look at another site that has been called biased against the PS3 and that was GamesRadar. The months leading up to the release of Killzone 2, GamesRadar was running lots of negative or cynical pieces about Killzone 2 and many of the fans on NeoGAF were ripping on their articles and calling them biased. So one of GamesRadar’s editors asked the forum members why they were ripping on their articles and one of them took the bait, Private Hoffman. Private Hoffman showed in great detail as to why forum members considered GamesRadar biased. To be honest, their coverage of Killzone 2 was atrocious at best and reeked of cynicism. I definitely could see how Sony fans could start to think that GamesRadar was biased. GamesRadar’s coverage of Microsoft’s games, Gears of War 2 and Halo 3, was fairly positive and helped show those games in a good light; however, this was in stark contrast to their coverage of Killzone 2. Here is the link to the conversation.

Reason for Being Considered Bias: Lopsided and atrocious coverage of Killzone 2, in comparison to rival shooters on Microsoft’s platform.

The last gaming site I would like to mention that many PS3 fans feel are biased is GameTrailers. The site had a blunder when they did their video comparison of GRID. GameTrailers accidentally submitted the PS3 footage twice in their comparison video. Now, while this is funny, things got sketchy when the PS3 footage that was labeled on the 360 side of the head to head comparison had better crash scenes, as if someone purposely chose better crash scenes with the intent of having them showcase the 360 version in a better light. Also, another thing that led to PS3 fans growing weary of GameTrailers’ head to head videos was the fact that they never turned on the PS3’s Full Range HDMI settings which was known to improve contrast in the images. Once they enabled Full Range on the PS3, it eliminated the washed out look that many gamers believed to be inherent of the PS3 itself. Also, another thing that made PS3 gamers feel like GameTrailers’ was biased is when a video editor name D-Block went on a rant about how the 360 is better than the PS3. The thing is, all the stuff he was saying was subjective and juvenile at best.

Reason for Being Considered Bias: Botched up video comparison where they put the PS3 version of GRID running side by side; however, somehow the side that was mistakenly labeled XBOX 360 still had better crash scenes. How is that possible if both are from the same game? Then another thing that killed their credibility with PS3 fans was letting D-Block spout off at the mouth about his love for Microsoft. You know what’s even funnier? Where is this guy’s love for the PS3 now? Because their exclusive content this year has vastly outstripped Microsoft’s exclusive offerings this year. Where are you at D-Block?

Also, just to gloss over a couple more reasons why PS3 fans feels gaming journalism is somewhat biased towards PS3 is because reviews don’t add up sometimes from sites like EDGE, who have also been considered bias by PS3 fans. The reason that they are always called into question by PS3 fans is because their review scores for high profile PS3 games like Killzone 2 (7/10) and MGS 4 (8/10) both garnered scores lower than similar games on the 360 like Halo 3 ( 10/10) and Gears of War 2 (9/10). While I’m not questioning their review methods because everyone is different, I feel like a review is more than any person’s opinion. It should be an objective analysis by one or more people. When you review a game, you take on a certain responsibility to the gamer. So even if, say a game may not be your style, but you can tell that it’s still has the production essentials (intended example: good graphics, great control, great story, good multiplayer, etc…) to get a high review score, then you should set your preference aside and acknowledge what the game does well. Reviewers need to take their own opinions more serious because their reviews have an effect on the perception of a game to the masses, and if it is bad, well it could be detrimental to the developer, who may lose their job if the game doesn’t score well. That is why I feel that it is a reviewer’s responsibly to balance out his opinion, while still maintaining an objective viewpoint. I feel at some point you have to acknowledge what’s in the package as well because developers still put in time to polish all those modes. In the case of Killzone 2 and MGS 4, their production values were at the very least equal to those of Halo 3 and Gears of War 2.

Well, I hope I have illuminated some of the reasons why PS3 fans are the one’s shouting “bias” most of the time. I mean how can they not, with such double standards and oversights going around? I gladly support the death of these discrepancies in the media and to be honest, these discrepancies are why I started writing in the first place. One thing is for certain, the media needs to straighten up its act. These discrepancies in the media almost always end up with the PS3 gamer on the short end of the stick. I’ll challenge the internet to find me an article where a major publication is being biased against the 360 where the double standard is apparent.

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