So the folks at Eurogamer have taken it upon themselves to do the entire gaming community and the world at large a favor, and have conducted detailed framerate tests on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Grand Theft Auto IV.
But Eurogamer took it one step further, conducting the tests not once, but twice. The details of the tests can be found here, but the general results are shocking and conclusive:
Old 360: 33.798fps
Old PS3: 28.313fps
New 360: 33.713fps (2.35% torn frames in full capture)
New PS3: 28.313fps
Interesting figures, to say the least. But what does all of this mean for gamers, exactly? In an internal email discussion, the Destructoid staff breaks it down. Hit the jump for some real eye-opening industry discussion.
Nick Chester, Editor-in-Chief
Wait a minute ... wait a minute ... are Eurogamer kidding with those framerate tests?
Jim Sterling, Reviews Editor/Wearer of a Monocle
Just what IS the big erection about framerates anyway? Am I the only one who doesn't give a shit provided the characters aren't moving like stop motion Jason & the Argonauts skeletons?
Dale North, Writing Machine
I'm the same way. I've never cared, as long as it doesn't hinder the game. Shit, I still play games where the characters have three frames of animation -- left foot in front, together, and right foot in front -- all the time.
Nick
But I think this conclusively proves that the Xbox 360 version is BETTER than the PS3 version. I mean, it has more frames per second, guys.
Someone call Gametrailers.
Joe Burling, News Contributor/Framerate Expert
Frames per second is only one piece of a large pie. What makes games look good is a combination of things, including framerate, color, contrast, resolution, etc. All things are important, but no one should focus on one single thing.
Framerate is important because we've all seen what happens when the framerate drops. That sucks. To discount framerate altogether is ignorant. But, to think you NEED to have a framerate of 60 is just silly, as 30 can look great. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that framerate is often one of the things most associated to people getting motion sick when playing a game. The higher the framerate, the less likely you are to experience motion sickness.
Resolution is often the most misunderstood one. Resolution is like #4 on the importance list. As long as it is decently above 480p, the game or anything will look good. Call of Duty 4 was under 720p on the 360 and PS3, but most people think it runs at 1080p. Gears of War only ran at 720p. But why do these games look so good if they are under 720p? It's because the focus is on the other things, like contrast and whatever else they focused on.
By now, most of you have noticed a slight but consistent difference between the way 360 and PS3 games look. PS3 games tend to have lighter colors and look a little more washed out. 360 games have much richer colors and better standard lighting, but that can also make the games look more jagged because you can see everything in more detail. It's a matter of opinion. I think people should look through all of those comparison videos between the 360 and PS3, and pick the one that looks the best to them overall. To each their own.
But to focus on a five frame per second difference is just silly.
Nick
I think what you just said was that the Xbox 360 rules, the PS3 drools. Confirmed.
Jim
Jesus, Burling. How much is MS paying you to suck them off? Jesus!
Joe
Haha... I like the look of the 360 better, but some people like the PS3 look better.
At the same time, however, I don't see much a difference between the two at all anymore... and I doubt we'll see much of a difference going forward outside of specific exclusive games that really focus on the console it's being made on.
Jim
"I like the the 360 better."
What a fucking fanboy.
Adam Dork, News Contributor
TALLEDAGHEA NIGHTZZZ!!!
Joe
I'm such a fanboy, I know. I bought a PSP so I could piss on it. Fuck Sony!!! I LOVE my 8th 360 (yes, I've had that many RRoDs)!!! MS FTW!!!
Jim
YOU'LL NEVER GET METAL GEAR SOLID 4 BURLING! I AM PERSONALLY INVESTED IN YOU NOT DOING THIS THING I WRITE ABOUT!
Joe
OH YEH!?! WELL I'VE PLAYED IT AND YOU SUCK AND NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT AND YOUR BELLY IS BIG AND YOUR MONOACLE SXORS AND BAD GRAMMARS AND INTERNETS!!!!!
Jim
WHY DON'T YOU DRINK THE KOOL AID BURLING YOU HAVE GROUP THINK MENTALITY AND IS A SHEEPLE AND I AM CLEVER FOR POINTING OUT THESE THINGS I HAVE POINTED OUT HA HA DRINK THE KOOL AID!
Joe
ZOMG YOU IS RACIST ADN DONT NOW ANYTHING ABOUT VIDOE GAMES!!!! YOU ONLY LIKE TEH SONYS BECAUSE YOUR MOM!!!! MY DAD COULD TOTALLY BEAT YOUR DAD IN A FIGHT!!! mEET ME AT THE VIRTUAL BIKE RACK IN SEcOND LIFE AT 3PM!!! YOU ARE GOING DOWN!!! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO DRINKS TEH COOL AID! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT A KOOLAID IS? oBVIOUSLY YOU DONT BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T EVEN MENTION THE FACT THAT KOOLAID IS WAHT THE COOL KIDS DRINK, HENCE THE NAME KOOLAID!
Jim
KIIIIIIIIIIIIILL
ZOOOOOOOOONE!
Joe KILLZOONE SUXED THE FIRST TIME!!!! WHAT MAKES YOUTHINK ITS GOING TO BE ANYBETTER THE SEOCND TIME!!!!
I HATE YOU!!!!!!!!!
Dale
This needs to be a post.
Nick
Good idea. I'll do it.
RSS 
OR HIT OUR 
More from this author:
What the hell just happened here?
The only thing this post is missing is a severed wild boar head on a stick and a fat kid with glasses named Piggy.
Uh... Wow...
I had something to say until I read the whole thing.
Now I don't know anymore...
um.. what? woah.
That was, quite frankly, epic.
Surprising results indeed, too.
"ZOMG YOU IS RACIST ADN DONT NOW ANYTHING ABOUT VIDOE GAMES!!!!"
I can has Jim Sterling T-Shirt?
I thought I was going steadily insane as I worked my way down that post.
Also, framerate nitpicking for the lose.
Guys, I did my own test the other day; I got 0.000 fps on my 360 BECAUSE IT IS A PILE OR WORTHLESS, DISC READ ERRORING PILE OF CRAP.
meh. I think most people are still trying to get a damn HDTV before talking about which is better. Granted Sony are the ones constantly pushing 1080p yet half of their games are 720p as the highest resolution.
Then there's trying to configure your tv to look just right with whatever you do. As a out of the box default settings are never good enough. This alone takes time. though i'm with Jim. I don't care as much about how it looks. As long as it can look good AND be able to have good gameplay, i really don't complain.
It's comparisons like this that start mindless arguments between fanboys.
thanks...this was a wonderful birthday present!
My eyes are so open I feel like the protagonist in Clockwork Orange when they're making him watch the happy movie time except all I'm seeing is Jim Sterling in a hot tub.
LOL....
that was fucking hilarious. Great job guys :).
All right, I know you don't think 5 fps is a big deal, but when it is the difference between not noticing the refresh rate and noticing it, it matters.
Play GTA IV on PS3, then go play Burnout Paradise (60 fps), and get back to me on insignificant frame rate differences. I really did find the choppiness in GTA IV distracting.
I'm glad I hit the jump on what started out as an entirely uninteresting story.
Haha cowzilla, dammit... there's nothing to follow up on that.
Good to see some good old randomness on the frontpage again, oBVIOUSLY ftw!
lol kool aid :P
I love it when fanboys get upset.
Isn't the real question how often each respective system dips below these normal rates to a discernible degree?
Also, kool aid.
LOL, that was so worth reading.
5 frames isn't all that big of a difference, but it still amazes me every time I go from Halo to the silky smooth 60 fps of CoD4.
"Joe Burling, News Contributor/Framerate Expert"
BWAHHAHAHA
@Wardrox
But you got it over 0 seconds since you didn't play the game. So clearly GTA4 on the 360 runs at infinity frames per second. :p
What the hell? I am still trying to figure out how things lead up to that crazy point. KILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLZOOOOOOOOOOOOONEEEEE
OMG THAT WAS THE BEST POST EVAR! I'M GOING TO GO DRINK SOME KOOL AID NOW, 'CAUSE I'M A KOOL DUDE. ALL THE FAN BOYS CAN SUCK MY BALLS.
YATTA! \(^o^)/
I'm glad they saw the fanboy ammo potential and disposed of it carefully.
I never knew FPS stood for Fails Per Second.
I agree I have watched the crappy side by side comparisons about "graphics" and I never noticed anything with the frame rate. People look to hard to find differences between things so they can troll and fanboy, or fangirl.
Movies are filmed @ 24fps.......fail?
I aosl think that it is retareded when people brag about hitting 120+fps in games on the PC as you can't even tell.
Command and Conquer 3 (PC) has a FPS cap of 30, you'll never get higher who fucking bitched about that??
"Guys, I did my own test the other day; I got 0.000 fps on my 360 BECAUSE IT IS A PILE OR WORTHLESS, DISC READ ERRORING PILE OF CRAP."
Seconded.
You are all fanboy group think sheeple. Enjoy your Kool Aid while I enjoy serving a fresh slice of Vitamin Kickass to the Helghan Army!!!!1!!!
thats the greatest thing I've ever read
WHAT ABOUT THE WII!?
THE WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
??????????
This could quite possibly be the best post ever made
What the hell happened there?
No sir king, this is still the best post.
I missed you Destructoid.
@mix: Movies use 3:2 pulldown and minor slowing to convert them to about 30 fps on standard NTSC devices. If you didn't convert them, they too would look choppy on TV (24 fps is 20% less info than 30 fps, so every fifth frame would be black); movies in the theater play natively at 24 fps.
KIIIIIIIIIIIIILL
ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE
Films are taken at 24 frames per second, television shows are videoed at 29.97 frames per second. Most people can't tell shit of a difference.
@MAXVEST (everyone has capps now....)
You are an overflowing information machine!
Thanks for that bit of info, you should have Bill Nye as your sig, Now You Know!
Framerates in consoles (other than game breaking slowdowns) is just a useless argument that fanboys use to further their cause. On a PC, they were relevant in assessing the overall power of a PC based on a standard game benchmark. But trying to compare 2 different (yes, they are different) games on 2 different consoles is like comparing apples to cherry pie.
wow, this is the best thing i've ever read.
@DeusPayne
Apples would win....geez
Hahahahahaha that was rich and full of entertainment, insight, and intrigue.
Burling will play MGS4 over Jim's dead body.
IMO, FPS stats are for PC Gamers trying to tweak their systems and thats pretty much all that it should be used for.
Not sure why this was really necessary. Seems like nitpicking just for the sake of nitpicking to fuel fanboy/girl arguments. I just finished GTA last night on the PS3 and it was very smooth throughout.
Also, nicely done over the top argument in the writeup, made me laugh as I expected that to be in the comments.
Fucking win.
The difference between 40fps and 45 fps doesn't matter to me. But an average difference of 5fps right on either side of the threshold where some people can start to notice it sort of sucks.
That's why Rockstar put it in 640p on the PS3. If they had used any higher resolution, everybody would have noticed a difference instead of just a few people.
To use this as evidence that one console is superior to another is stupid. But to use this as evidence that one version of a game causes less eye fatigue (at the cost of increased tearing) than another version makes sense.
So what have we learned today kids?
That frame rates kill.. Kill dead.
"The only thing this post is missing is a severed wild boar head on a stick and a fat kid with glasses named Piggy."
SUCKS TO YOUR ASS-MAR!
Killzone 2 will sux
Drink the kool aid... sheeple....LMAO!
I love you guys.
Somehow I imagined Jim doing his Liquid Snake voice when talking in caps about MGS4
guys...?
more framerate is always better and mostly a deciding factor on how much fun a game makes!
This is pretty good.
You forgot to mention Killzone. That game is gonna be great!
Why are Mommy and Daddy yelling at each other!
I had a feeling the 360 would have higher framerate, but it wouldn't have made much a difference. It IS the sum of all the parts that determines the better system, and honestly the 360 and PS3 are still evenly matched when you go through all the checks and balances.
Hahahahahahaha.
Oh, so good.
Purple DRANK.
YOU DONT NOW ANYTHING JIM!!! TEH 360 IS THE GRATEST GAME IN THE WORLD! BLUERAEY ONLY ONE BECAUSE $ONY PAID OFF THE MOVIE INUDSTRY WITH THEYRE BLOOD MONEY!!!!
Um... wow. All I can say is wow.
BROWN AND BLOOMAN GAEMZ
What is the framerate of Kool Aid?
So how many FPS does GTA IV get on the Wii?
As the proud owner of a nice 1080p 47" TV (stay in school kids!) can someone point me to an XBox game that does actually render and display in 1080p?
I'm guessing Forza might, but I rilly rilly need to justify my impulse purchase of a large piece of far eastern electronics with 1,080 vertical pixels.
I like things that are funny.
I like this.
Personally, I don't think their tests are particularly good. On my 360 GTA IV's FPS drops noticably quite frequently and it pisses me off. After PC gaming for many years I buy a console to not have to worry about tweaking things, upgrades etc and this is what I get.
Could be worse though, the frame rate issues in Lost Odyssey, along with audio glitches etc is a joke. No it isn't the be all and end all but I would prefer if they dropped a couple of filters and delivered a smoother experience instead of saying "Look! Our game has big shinys".
If a console can't do something comfortably they shouldn't try and cram it in.
Also; the biggest unaddressed controversy about GTA isn't framerates or hookercide, it should be that sniper bullets cost $160 each and you have to pay $1000 for what is simply a bottle of petrol with a rag in the top...
28 fps.. :/ .. sorrz but I can not play something
with framrate that low....
I hope it'll be on pc soon....
60 fps ftw :)
I woke up and I looked at the computer and there was awesome on it and it was this post.
It may only sound like 5 frames per second, but multiply that with 100 hours of gameplay, and xbox owners receive a hell lot of frames, compared to ps3. You never thought of that, didn't you?
lawlzorz
THIS
IS