[QUOTE="clubside"] I try to keep out of these threads, honest, but I hate misinformation. While I am happy with my PS3, PSN is barely a network, and just baby steps pas where the PS2 was. Feature-wise (and I don't consider downloads a feature) PSN isn't even where Xbox Live was when it launched nearly four years ago, when voice chat in every game, seeing which friends were online in every online game or dashboard, and sending game invites were all standard from launch.This whole background downloading thing is so trivial, it is not a feature important to multiplayer gaming. For networking I want to see what my frinds are doing if they are online at any time in any gameor at the dashboard. I want to be able to chat with someone any time without being in the same place. I want to send messages and invites from wherever I am, and receive them. I want voice chat in every game. These are features the 360 had at launch and PSN doesn't have.
The thing I'm worried about is whether Sony can ever add these features given their infrastructure. Microsoft made a big switch from the original Xbox by placing Live withing the operating system so at any time you can press the XBOX button and access all the features, and every game knows this happens. Currently on the PS3 all we can do is turn off the controller or PS3. Can this interface be expanded? Will older games be "fixed" if these features come? I guess I'm waiting to see.
shady_825
The key words are "out-of-the-box". Live is better now, and Live on 360 is a lot better, but out of the box, PSN does/did more. Four years ago, when XBL began, it was nowhere near what it is now. PSN, which began about three months ago, is far beyond where XBL was in four months. I don't know if you have reading comprehension problems, so I'll try to be more direct.
When XBL launched, it had a common friends list, invites and notifications from any online game, and voice chat in every game. These three features aren't on PSN today, yet are the heart of online multiplayer.
Okay, so XBL on the Xbox wasn't "out-of-the-box" you say? Let's move on the 360's "out-of-the-box" features not on PSN: common friends list, invites and notifications from any game whether it supported multiplayer or not, voice chat in every game, messaging from any game with voice recording option, downloadable customizations for the dashboard, voice conferencing regardless of where the two users were, friends and recent player browsers including achivements and games owned, and a game with online co-op. Most every online feature listed here is avalable at the press of one button no matter wht you are doing.
Once again, I hope for improvements to PSN games. I like dedicated servers (though I also like the option of hosting my own). My time online with PSN has been limited because Full Auto 2 doesn't support voice and while Resistence can be fun, I just have more options on my 360. Given Sony's continued reliance on third parties to "cook their own" we're more than likely to get more games with unique friends lists (like Resistence), even more games that don't support voice, and never get the sort of "I wonder what my friends are doing, I just hit this one button, there you go!" online experience of XBL.
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