XBL's Greenberg calls PS3 online a "knockoff"

Yesterday, Sony finally showed its cards for the PlayStation 3's online network strategy. At a Gamers' Day press event in San Francisco, the electronics giant demonstrated a number of features for its PlayStation Network, from streaming video to the PlayStation Portable to downloading new titles and original PlayStation games straight to the PS3's hard drive.

As closely as gamers were watching the event, it's a safe bet the architects of Microsoft's Xbox Live service were just as interested. In July, Xbox Live group marketing manager Aaron Greenberg answered some questions for GameSpot at Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays premiere event. In the wake of Sony's event, GameSpot again went to Greenberg to get his reactions to the PS3 online service and see how much difference a few months can make.

GameSpot: What are your impressions of Sony's online initiative? What do you think it offers that Xbox Live doesn't, and vice versa?

Aaron Greenberg: We welcomed the same approach from Sony four years ago. We're proud that we've created a smash hit service that has prevailed over four years by growing to 4 million members during that time. And we're flattered that we've created a service that is breeding yet another knockoff. That said, it's still hard to comment in much depth around their online announcement since there are still a lot of details that haven't been made clear and there are a lot of unanswered questions. Is this a fully connected service with one identity across your entire gameplay experience? Is every game online with voice chat integration? Do they have Achievements and Gamerscore? How are they handling safety, security, hacking, viruses, and parental controls? While competition is always great, we feel confident in our leadership position in online, especially given our four-year and 4-million-member head start.

GS: With Sony's online service being free and apparently offering nearly everything that Xbox Live offers, how will Microsoft justify continuing to charge gamers for online play?

AG: There is so much more for gamers to experience on Xbox Live and so little new news in Sony's online announcements. We will compete with them in the same way we have for the last four years by out-innovating and focusing on community, value, and the content that gamers want. They offered basic free matchmaking on the PS2, and from what we can tell, their online story has not evolved much. Do they offer the ability to build your reputation across the network? Can you accumulate achievements and gamerscore? Do they have voice in every game? What about cross-game invites and communication? Is every game online enabled? Heck, do they have exclusive titles that can compete with Halo 3, Gears of War, Geometry Wars, Next Splinter Cell, Halo Wars, and exclusive episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV that you won't be playing on the PS3?

GS: What do you think of Sony's choice to use real-world currency instead of a points-based system for purchasing goods online?

AG: We were the first platform to offer a microtransaction model online for a console. With the Microsoft Points model, consumers are able to purchase items for as little as 25 cents all the way up to $15, without burdening the consumer with transaction fees or the need for a credit card. The adoption of Microsoft Points has exceeded our expectations with more than 2 billion Points consumed and over 70 million downloads from Xbox Live Marketplace to date.

GS: As someone who works very closely with an online marketplace, who do you think has a better online marketplace model from what you've seen so far--Nintendo or Sony?

AG: We've seen a lot of interest from both companies to get into the digital distribution space, similar to Xbox Live Marketplace. It is hard for us to comment specifically on their offerings, as a lot of those details have not yet been provided. But we believe that in order for the online service to be successful, it must be simple, safe and secure. In regards to simplicity, we believe you need one single digital identity and you need the service to be very consistent. For safety and security, you need tools to be able to manage your profile, provide feedback, and offer enhanced matchmaking. Consumers also want to know that their personal information is protected, so your payment methods must always all be secure. And finally, your privacy and family settings are extremely important, and we believe it is imperative to be able to regulate who you play with and who you invite into your community, no matter what your age is. And remember, Xbox Live has been delivering all of these components since we launched.

GS: Are many developers of downloadable games making their titles cross-platform? Or are most Arcade titles going to be console-exclusive?

AG: Our focus with Arcade is to bring both classic/retro arcade favorites, like Street Fighter, Dig Dug, and Doom, as well as provide a platform for independent game developers to bring new, innovative content to gamers. We believe that the majority of the content that you will find on Xbox Live Arcade will not be on any other console platform. And when you start to think about things like the XNA Game Studio Express, we are enabling anyone to create their own games that they can run this holiday on their Xbox 360. We think this will bring even more game creators and new concepts to this space, even allowing a couple of guys in a garage the opportunity to eventually make their own Xbox Live Arcade game.

GS: Any word on when the fall update will arrive or what changes it will include?

AG: It is still on track to release soon, and we can't wait to talk about even more enhancements to the service, but we haven't been able to provide any details yet. You will be hearing from us soon!

GS: Can we expect any more backward-compatibility updates?

AG: We have around 300 titles supporting backwards compatibility today, and we are continuing to add to this list, but at this time, we don't have any new information to share.

GS: In the last few months, we've found out about major content upgrades for Xbox 360 games that will be released exclusively over Xbox Live Marketplace, specifically the Oblivion expansion and the episodic Grand Theft Auto IV add-ons, both of which sound like products retailers would love to stock. How are your retail partners responding to these deals?

AG: Our model has not changed. We continue to heavily support the retail channel for all retail software, console hardware, and accessories, including Xbox Live subscriptions, Microsoft Points, etc. We see the digital distribution model as complementary to this. We have Xbox Live Arcade games selling for as little as 400 Points ($5). The economics could not support those games to be distributed at retail. However, we did recently release the Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged retail SKU, and early sales have been very strong and exceeded our initial forecast. We will continue to work closely with and support our retail partners to look for opportunities like this in the future.

GS: Are there any plans for any sort of Web browsing functionality on the 360? Nintendo and Sony are going in that direction. Do you think gamers will want to surf the Internet on their consoles?

AG: There have been a lot of different product offerings like this over the years--even our own WebTV, which we brought out 10 years ago--and none of these products have had much consumer appeal and adoption. People want to browse the Web with their keyboard and mouse on their PC, and we've talked to gamers who told us the same thing. You also potentially expose your platform to security risks by opening up access to browsing the internet.

GS: 20GB can be filled up pretty quickly when you're downloading 1GB demos. How soon can we expect to see larger 360 hard drives, and will memory cards be the only way to transfer content from one to the other?

AG: Our research today indicates that the 20GB hard drive provides sufficient storage for the large majority of consumers, and we haven't announced any plans to release a larger hard drive at this time. The console design is modular so this does allow flexibility, but again, currently we haven't announced any plans for a bigger hard drive.

GS: A few months ago Microsoft said we would get 50 Xbox Live Arcade games by the end of the year. Even with a new game every Wednesday from now until the end of the year, we'd still wind up well short of that. Will you fall short of 50? If so, by how much and why?

AG: Our focus is really putting out the best possible games for our community, and we have a commitment to bringing as many quality titles to Xbox Live Arcade as we can by the end of the calendar year. We have 33 titles on the service today with many more great games to come. I don't have the final projection for how many Arcade titles will be available by December 30, but I know each and every one will offer a great gaming experience for all kinds of gamers.

GS: The Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays program has provided more consistency to the release of Live Arcade games, but there's still not much in the way of warning. You announced Lumines Live, Dig Dug, Doom, and TotemBall each just hours before they went up on the Marketplace. Why can't we get a schedule that looks a few weeks out, like we did with the original Xbox Live Arcade lineup?

AG: The response from publishers and consumers to Xbox Live Arcade continues to amaze us, and our goal is to always give advance notice whenever possible, but with the short development process and the way the title certification works, sometimes we are unable to give as much notice as we would like.

GS: The Xbox Live Marketplace has been criticized for the way it arranges its content. Is there an overhaul for the Marketplace in the works?

AG: As you know, we continually listen to customers and work to evolve the service in response. There are some changes planned for Marketplace this fall, but at this point we are not able to talk about any details. Stay tuned.