With Final Fantasy XIII gearing up for its North American release next week, the expected curiosity of whether the Xbox 360 version is on par with the PlayStation 3 version has reached fever pitch. The match-up has been among - if not the - dividing line between the most hardcore (i.e. hardheaded) fanboy purists searching for whatever scrap of confirmation-bias they could find, hoping to prove, once-and for all, of their console-of-choice's superiority.

The Xbox 360 has typically come out ahead in this regard, most likely due to the console being the lead development platform on most multi-console games, with PlayStation 3 versions not performing as well. But Final Fantasy XIII is that rarest of things; a blockbuster multi-console release that began life as a PlayStation 3 exclusive. Not only that, but one that many felt would prove the console's tech and choice of Blu-ray format superior to that of the Xbox 360. So you can only imagine the collected nerd-rage that followed Square-Enix's announcement the game would also be headed to Microsoft's machine, and thus began the long and often banal war of screenshot analysis and screenshot comparisons.

The Digital Foundry (by way of Eurogamer) goes into what can only be described as near-orgasmic detail about what they perceive are vital differences between the two, at least in their visual differences and performance. They put the Xbox 360's multi-disc version through the ringers, splicing open every byte of calculable data, and counting every line of resolution they could find.

Their verdict? The Xbox 360 version is "adequate but a touch disappointing", although they do cede it regularly bests the PlayStation 3 version with superior frame-rates throughout. They put the blame on shoddy encoding techniques, the result of what they feel are significant down-scaling of the original PlayStation 3's higher-quality video textures and definition.

What's troubling, however, in that three pages of analysis and several video comparisons between the two versions, no mention is made anywhere of how these supposed infractions impact actual gameplay, other than to say that it's "fundamentally the same." Their recommendation of the PlayStation 3 version as "superior" seems to be based solely on the slight resolution and color saturation afforded by uncompressed visuals. This wouldn't be such a problem if, all other things being equal, the recommendation was meant to offer the cleanest and most appropriate experience for multi-console fans.

The thinking here is that the linear structure and simplistic design of the game lends itself to being a multi-platform release, and one that easily makes the transition from one Blu-ray disc to several DVDs. But their report is riddled with harsh language, even claiming the Xbox 360 version was "roughly manhandled and bludgeoned" from its original PlayStation 3 origins, even opening a comparison video with the line "ugliness ensues." Saying "the encoding solution Square has employed collapses horribly" is apparently their major basis for recommending owners of both consoles chooses the Sony version.

But they've also been kind enough to include several video examples, with side-by-side comparisons of both versions demonstrating various in-game and CG movie sequences. Try as I might, these eyes of mine failed to find any major discrepancy between the two, at least in any substantial way that normal human beings would object to. They looked indistinguishable, and while it may not be completely fair to judge either version's visual merits based on encoded video, it certainly appears that anyone looking to pick up Final Fantasy XIII, on either console, is going to experience pretty much the same exact thing.

I'm glad that places like The Digital Foundry exist, and I'm equally glad they do whatever it is they do. I just hope that I never, ever think about games the way they do.  Check out their full report, including those interesting comparison videos, for yourselves right HERE!

Popzara