I actually found the following text in a gamespy forum so I will not pretend to take credit for it. I just felt that it summarises why Xbox Live on the Xbox 360 is the biggest revolution that is about to hit the next generation and why I am defecting from the PlayStation brand to go and join the Xbox clans on the 360. I've slightly amended one or two minor posts to clear up the context in which it was written but it is all him, minor alterations apart: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "One thing I think hasn't been addressed sufficiently is the fact that 'online' doesn't necessarily have to just mean 'fragging or racing your friends' - that integration of downloadable demos, leaderboards, and add-ons makes the whole experience a lot more fun as well and is just as important. I don't want to sound like a Microsoft partisan here, but I just can't help myself blabbing about how the Xbox 360 gets it right. Sure, online PLAY on Xbox Live is simply phenomenal but the 360's online integration component is the real killer app of the console. I love being able to download the top PGR3 racer's replays and see how they school the rest of us. I dig competing with my friends to see who can unlock the most achievements and playing through a game a second (or third!) time to jack up my Gamerscore. I'm grateful to be able to stick in an audio CD and have the unit go out and find the album title and track names so I can rip it to the hard drive. I'm incredibly happy to be able to buy the Arcade games and spend hours going back to the simpler days. I like seeing movie trailers and music videos for free in high definition. I love it that I can download new multiplayer maps, campaign levels, skins, pictures, episodes, etc that add more longevity to my games. I love it that I can stream live content from a Windows Media PC, such as photos, music, videos and TV shows. I love the fact that every player is rated eBay-style, so I can see which jerks I should avoid at all costs With any video game console, it's most important to emphasize "The play is the thing"... but the play doesn't have to be the ONLY thing, and that's what I think is exciting about the next gen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think that you'll all agree that that mans post says it all. I have a wireless network in my house that I juts setup. There is no way that I'll be getting a PlayStation 3 now. Xbox 360 all the way for me!
[QUOTE="billyea"]i agreed years ago, it already revolutionized this generation Yes, I agree 100%. perhaps I should've been more clear. I originally bought a PlayStation 2 when it first came out (all that hype, I couldn't resist). I questioned the expense of buying a second machine when the Xbox came out but caved in when Xbox Live was available. It's many innovations are well know. Unified walled-garden service, unique identities, universal ranking and leaderboards, 100% voice chat support, downloadable content, need I go on? So yes, you're right. Xbox Live has already been at the pinnacle of gaming for some time now. But its implementation in the Xbox 360 is going to blow the roof off this industry. I haven't touched my PlayStation 2 in well over a year now. I will not be buying PlayStation 3
Meh, I wish they would make it cheaper though. Or have Silver let you game on weekends, cause that would get a lot more people to go Gold.D00nut
People go on about the price of Xbox Live. There are two very pertinent sayings here. "you get nothing for nothing in this world" and "you get what you pay for". Xbox Live is as good as it is *because* you have to pay for it. It enables Microsoft to pay for and mainatin those huge servers (the cost of development of which is why Sony will never match the functionality of Live. They don't have enough money). If we didn't pay for it, there's no way that nifty little features like being able to download player-created ghost cars in Project Gotham Racing 2 could happen. Anyway, Xbox Live only costs £40 a year the same price as one game. That's less than a fiver a month! I don't know about you but for everything that I get, I think a couple of quid a month is well worth the price, don't you?
i guess PC doesnt count, because they have had most of this for a while....hondacrx898
This discussion is really more of console-oriented. I don't count PCs because they are different products. It's like comparing an iPod to a hi-fi system. They both play music but are used in completely different ways and situations
Interesting question. One of the main drawbacks of online gaming is that some of the people that you play with will inevitably be jerks. Microsoft have sought to weed out the unpleasant players by a) allowing everyone to group themselves into Zones that state their community preferences and b) the reputation meter which shows just how naughty you have or haven't been in the past. To all Xbox 360 owners, how easy have these two instruments made the act of avoiding unwanted opponenets?
the majority of people probly wont even try xbox live, i know what it does and the features of it yet ive only used it the one time
and i know im not the only one so u can hardly say its gunna define the next generation coz alot of people dont realy care about online gaming full stop if they did there would be tonnnsssss more players online
"Why Xbox Live on the 360 will define the next generation of gaming..... " Well, here's why it won't. Not even 40% of all the people who buy a X360 will go online. That's not just a Microsoft thing, that's for all consoles. Not even every PC is online. Until the majority of gamers from all consoles plug in, no online service will define the generation.
the majority of people probly wont even try xbox live, i know what it does and the features of it yet ive only used it the one time
and i know im not the only one so u can hardly say its gunna define the next generation coz alot of people dont realy care about online gaming full stop if they did there would be tonnnsssss more players online
slikonebtz
You make a fair point and one that I agree with. I invite you to the read the first post in this again though. Microsoft rightly agree that not everyone is interested in fragging in Halo 2 (just as not every member of the population is interested in gaming, full stop). Because of this, they've expanded Xbox Live beyond being *just* an online gaming service. Without repeating the original post word for word, you can now download Arcade games that are fun for all the family, communicate with friends via text or voice, download music and movie trailers (maybe even TV shows someday, a la iTunes), stream media off your PC... I could go on but I won't. What's more, all this can be done without having to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold. By simply having a broadband connection, plug in the Xbox 360 and you're good to go. You might say "but I can already do all this stuff on my PC". And you'd be right. But we all know that PCs are cumbersome. You don't put a PC slap bang in the middle of your living room. You don't sit with a PC, a beer and a pizza. You don't intend to sit by your PC for two or three hours to watch or listen to media. You don't have your PC situated in front of a four seater couch that can fit a couple of frineds. That's why I agree and disagree with you in one broad brushstroke. Not everyone wants to game online. But with the Xbox 360, Xbox Live is way more than just a gaming service now. It's an all-encompassing media hub, designed for practical, comfortable and family use in your living/bedroom
NO. WRONG> PC has been doing this for years, and does it better and FOR FREE. and in 6 months it will be doing it with better gfx than xbox360. just stop it lemmings, you are making fools of yourselves.
Also, let's design a scenario for me. I like online gaming as a concept. i own Halo 2, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Forza Motorsport and Project Gotham Racing 2. I bought all of these mainly for their single player. They just happen to have really good online portions as well. However, there is one game that I bought purely for its online play. My favourite game in the whole world. Best online game ever and the only one that I ever really play on Live - Pro Evolution Soccer 5. I've already touched on how not everyone is actually interested in online gaming but that the Silver Live membership opens up a lot of the functionality of the service and does so for free. However, what you will find is that even for those that couldn't care less about Live, it only takes *one* game that they'd really, really like to play online, to get them on board. Rememeber, it's only £40 to subscribe for a year. That's not really an awful lot, when you get right down to it. So, for someone like me, say, I would definitely pay £40 just to play Pro Evolution Soccer 5 online. it's just such an amazing example of a football game. Similarly, there are those that might like to play the odd Street Fighter II game online and will shell out the bucks just for that purpose. All I'm saying is, don't underestimate the potential for Xbox Live to pull in some large numbers. Microsofts Silver and Gold strategy may prove to be a lot shrewder than it first appears.....
NO. WRONG> PC has been doing this for years, and does it better and FOR FREE. and in 6 months it will be doing it with better gfx than xbox360. just stop it lemmings, you are making fools of yourselves.OwnageDevice
There has been online gaming for the PC for years, but no truly dedicated service like XBL. The online service is completely up to the software producer and the quality can vary. It can be tough to develop a good list of players as opposed to the matchmaking services provided on XBL - even if you do use xfire.
Some PC online games are amazing with great support, but many are not. It is very variable.
[QUOTE="OwnageDevice"]NO. WRONG> PC has been doing this for years, and does it better and FOR FREE. and in 6 months it will be doing it with better gfx than xbox360. just stop it lemmings, you are making fools of yourselves.
Microsoft have done there homework with the 360. As soon as you switch it on, you on live. Even if you havent got an live membership your still using live in some sort of way, thats if youve gotthe 360 into wireless connection or using a cable.
Interesting question. One of the main drawbacks of online gaming is that some of the people that you play with will inevitably be jerks. Microsoft have sought to weed out the unpleasant players by a) allowing everyone to group themselves into Zones that state their community preferences and b) the reputation meter which shows just how naughty you have or haven't been in the past. To all Xbox 360 owners, how easy have these two instruments made the act of avoiding unwanted opponenets?The_Streets
The features work well for when you do matchmaking or something of that sort. But if you do a custom game you can't help the possibility someones annoying in there.
[QUOTE="OwnageDevice"]NO. WRONG> PC has been doing this for years, and does it better and FOR FREE. and in 6 months it will be doing it with better gfx than xbox360. just stop it lemmings, you are making fools of yourselves. First of all, there's no need to get so defensive. This is only videogames we're discussing here, not life and death. Nobody's slagging off your precious PC or PlayStation or whatever! Second, There's one thing you have to remember about Live, that completely dwarfs the PC experience. I've been told that if I'm playing with a guy that i find to be obnoxiois and rude, I can simply highlight his name and ask the 360 to avoid him in future. That is phenomenal. One problem online gaming has always faced is that the experience is variable, depending on who you happen to end up in a room with. Xbox Live now allows you to systematically weed out the troublemakers, so essentially, all the jerks on Live will oneday be herded into a corner, like the animals that they are. This will lead to one glorious thing - guaranteed experiences. Where you log into Live and you *know* that the people you play with will all be polite, civil and up for a competitive but fair game. Fear will control the rabblement. Fear of getting bad ratings or feedback. Just as fear controls eBay and makes sure that people act in an honourable fashion most of the time. This can only work *because* Xbox Live is unified, dedicated and identities carry themselves across all games. If you meet mein Pro Evolution Soccer 5 and then again in Halo 2 weeks later, it is the same guy that beat you 3-0(!) that is now going to take that flag! Because of this, persistent communities can flourish, idiots can be controlled and online gaming can become a fun and pleasant mainstream hobby. None of this can be accomplished 100% with a PC because of its open-ended structure. In theory, each and every game could e running off of a completely different server. PC online gaming has its merits and I will not be so arrogant as to defy that notion. But Xbox Live is turning into a truly exceptional standard-setting service
[QUOTE="OwnageDevice"]NO. WRONG> PC has been doing this for years, and does it better and FOR FREE. and in 6 months it will be doing it with better gfx than xbox360. just stop it lemmings, you are making fools of yourselves.The_Streets
First of all, there's no need to get so defensive. This is only videogames we're discussing here, not life and death. Nobody's slagging off your precious PC or PlayStation or whatever! Second, There's one thing you have to remember about Live, that completely dwarfs the PC experience. I've been told that if I'm playing with a guy that i find to be obnoxiois and rude, I can simply highlight his name and ask the 360 to avoid him in future. That is phenomenal. One problem online gaming has always faced is that the experience is variable, depending on who you happen to end up in a room with. Xbox Live now allows you to systematically weed out the troublemakers, so essentially, all the jerks on Live will oneday be herded into a corner, like the animals that they are. This will lead to one glorious thing - guaranteed experiences. Where you log into Live and you *know* that the people you play with will all be polite, civil and up for a competitive but fair game. Fear will control the rabblement. Fear of getting bad ratings or feedback. Just as fear controls eBay and makes sure that people act in an honourable fashion most of the time. This can only work *because* Xbox Live is unified, dedicated and identities carry themselves across all games. If you meet mein Pro Evolution Soccer 5 and then again in Halo 2 weeks later, it is the same guy that beat you 3-0(!) that is now going to take that flag! Because of this, persistent communities can flourish, idiots can be controlled and online gaming can become a fun and pleasant mainstream hobby. None of this can be accomplished 100% with a PC because of its open-ended structure. In theory, each and every game could e running off of a completely different server. PC online gaming has its merits and I will not be so arrogant as to defy that notion. But Xbox Live is turning into a truly exceptional standard-setting service
"blah blah blah, yeah i know PC gaming > console gaming, blah blah blah, i will shutup now"
It's all about opinions anyway. Let me give you an analogy - the import car scene. Some people live for all that Forza Motorsport stuff. Buying cars, fixing them, upgrading them, etc. Same goes with PC gaming. It's very cost means that the mean demographic tends to be older men, with a degree of disposable income. Trash-talking 12 year olds need not apply. There are many in the PC crowd that enjoy the whole aspect of building up their 'rig' and prefer to play online in a more stylised setting. Think Steel Battalion and that monstrous controller. they enjoy sitting in their study, with their expensive PC rig and their professional gear. To someone like this, Xbox Live would seem a very simpleton and watered down affair. That is why I do not believe that the PC-Xbox 360 argument is 100% relevant. Different demographics entirely. I believe that Xbox 360-PlayStation 3 is far more applicable. And in that regard, Xbox Live wins out every time
360 online games are nowhere near phenominal. The trouble with online xbox games was that they were all simple run & gun games. None of them had any real strategy like PC FPS did. It all felt the same because of that.
[QUOTE="The_Streets"][QUOTE="OwnageDevice"]NO. WRONG> PC has been doing this for years, and does it better and FOR FREE. and in 6 months it will be doing it with better gfx than xbox360. just stop it lemmings, you are making fools of yourselves.hondacrx898
First of all, there's no need to get so defensive. This is only videogames we're discussing here, not life and death. Nobody's slagging off your precious PC or PlayStation or whatever! Second, There's one thing you have to remember about Live, that completely dwarfs the PC experience. I've been told that if I'm playing with a guy that i find to be obnoxiois and rude, I can simply highlight his name and ask the 360 to avoid him in future. That is phenomenal. One problem online gaming has always faced is that the experience is variable, depending on who you happen to end up in a room with. Xbox Live now allows you to systematically weed out the troublemakers, so essentially, all the jerks on Live will oneday be herded into a corner, like the animals that they are. This will lead to one glorious thing - guaranteed experiences. Where you log into Live and you *know* that the people you play with will all be polite, civil and up for a competitive but fair game. Fear will control the rabblement. Fear of getting bad ratings or feedback. Just as fear controls eBay and makes sure that people act in an honourable fashion most of the time. This can only work *because* Xbox Live is unified, dedicated and identities carry themselves across all games. If you meet mein Pro Evolution Soccer 5 and then again in Halo 2 weeks later, it is the same guy that beat you 3-0(!) that is now going to take that flag! Because of this, persistent communities can flourish, idiots can be controlled and online gaming can become a fun and pleasant mainstream hobby. None of this can be accomplished 100% with a PC because of its open-ended structure. In theory, each and every game could e running off of a completely different server. PC online gaming has its merits and I will not be so arrogant as to defy that notion. But Xbox Live is turning into a truly exceptional standard-setting service
"blah blah blah, yeah i know PC gaming > console gaming, blah blah blah, i will shutup now"
shortened it up for you
No its not really.
Xbox Live >>>>>>PC online.Fact. Just ignorant fools would think otherwise.
[QUOTE="The_Streets"][QUOTE="OwnageDevice"]NO. WRONG> PC has been doing this for years, and does it better and FOR FREE. and in 6 months it will be doing it with better gfx than xbox360. just stop it lemmings, you are making fools of yourselves.-Ninja_Dog-
First of all, there's no need to get so defensive. This is only videogames we're discussing here, not life and death. Nobody's slagging off your precious PC or PlayStation or whatever! Second, There's one thing you have to remember about Live, that completely dwarfs the PC experience. I've been told that if I'm playing with a guy that i find to be obnoxiois and rude, I can simply highlight his name and ask the 360 to avoid him in future. That is phenomenal. One problem online gaming has always faced is that the experience is variable, depending on who you happen to end up in a room with. Xbox Live now allows you to systematically weed out the troublemakers, so essentially, all the jerks on Live will oneday be herded into a corner, like the animals that they are. This will lead to one glorious thing - guaranteed experiences. Where you log into Live and you *know* that the people you play with will all be polite, civil and up for a competitive but fair game. Fear will control the rabblement. Fear of getting bad ratings or feedback. Just as fear controls eBay and makes sure that people act in an honourable fashion most of the time. This can only work *because* Xbox Live is unified, dedicated and identities carry themselves across all games. If you meet mein Pro Evolution Soccer 5 and then again in Halo 2 weeks later, it is the same guy that beat you 3-0(!) that is now going to take that flag! Because of this, persistent communities can flourish, idiots can be controlled and online gaming can become a fun and pleasant mainstream hobby. None of this can be accomplished 100% with a PC because of its open-ended structure. In theory, each and every game could e running off of a completely different server. PC online gaming has its merits and I will not be so arrogant as to defy that notion. But Xbox Live is turning into a truly exceptional standard-setting service
"blah blah blah, yeah i know PC gaming > console gaming, blah blah blah, i will shutup now"
shortened it up for you
No its not really.
Xbox Live >>>>>>PC online.Fact. Just ignorant fools would think otherwise.
explain why Xbox Live >>>>>> PC online. i would really like to hear it
Meh, I wish they would make it cheaper though. Or have Silver let you game on weekends, cause that would get a lot more people to go Gold.D00nut
I don't mean to rag on you...but Xbox LIVE is only $50 a year, $4.16 a month, and around 14 cents a day...people who make minimum wage can afford that, as long as they get the use out of it.
x-box stinks all they can hope to do is make halo 3 and a x-box that will brake down in a week instead of 60 hourspaop1
People like you who put down a system w/o logic are threatened by another systems capabilities, in this case it's Xbox. You give all Xbox supporters a good feeling inside every time you try to bash the system.
[QUOTE="D00nut"]Meh, I wish they would make it cheaper though. Or have Silver let you game on weekends, cause that would get a lot more people to go Gold.jesseandnikki
I don't mean to rag on you...but Xbox LIVE is only $50 a year, $4.16 a month, and around 14 cents a day...people who make minimum wage can afford that, as long as they get the use out of it.
It doesn't matter what it breaks down to. $50 is the price of a game. The Xbox franchise lacks an identity, it feels like a closed box PC.
So for that same $50 you can buy an extra game and get much much more than what live offers for free.
360 online games are nowhere near phenominal. The trouble with online xbox games was that they were all simple run & gun games. None of them had any real strategy like PC FPS did. It all felt the same because of that.Solid_Snake0000
You're correct. It's all racing racing, shooting, fighting and sports. Splinter Cell is a welcome alternative. Final Fantasy XI is a step in the right direction. More strategies in the next generation please. Other than that, full marks
[QUOTE="Solid_Snake0000"]360 online games are nowhere near phenominal. The trouble with online xbox games was that they were all simple run & gun games. None of them had any real strategy like PC FPS did. It all felt the same because of that.The_Streets
You're correct. It's all racing racing, shooting, fighting and sports. Splinter Cell is a welcome alternative. Final Fantasy XI is a step in the right direction. More strategies in the next generation please. Other than that, full marks Although I'd just like to point out the Rainbow Six series. Simply essential
i noticed that when i play cod2 on live, most people doesn't use real strats to play the game, it's basically run and gun anyone u see. In pc when i play cod2, people attually using alot of moves and that because it was easier to move around with keyboard and mouse. But that is just for fps, fighting game like DOA4 is pretty cool on xbox360
I was going to pick and choose what to reply to here, but I think most points have been made.
I've been singing the praises of Xbox Live since it debuted in 2002. But now with the way the 360 has been setup, its dashboard and its much enhanced Xbox Live experience, MS has done a phenomenal job.
I've said it before in several of my previous posts: MS has redefined what being "online" means. It's not just about multiplayer anymore. All of the old XBL features like the single ID, friends list and downloadable game content, voice and text messaging... all have been improved fivefold. Then the new features like the Achievements, the gamerscore, demos, trailers, access to XBL Arcade... it's all there even without multiplayer.
On top of that, MS has taken away any cost barrier to connecting to the Live service by offering up the Silver account at no charge. Silver, of course, comes with one free month of Gold access to multiplayer.
Sure, it's been done before on PC, but PC online is still as disjointed and non-standard as ever. What XBL sacrifices in games supporting more than 12-24 in a session or tons of user-created mods... it's more than acceptible considering everything your getting in the tradeoff. I have yet to see a single PC online gaming service as feature-rich, as seamless, and as easy-to-use as Xbox Live.
People keep wondering where the 360's killer app is. They can't seem to shake the old console way of thinking. They fail to see that the killer app has been there all along.
And let's not forget the 360 interface...another killer app.... but I think we can reserve that for another conversation.
i noticed that when i play cod2 on live, most people doesn't use real strats to play the game, it's basically run and gun anyone u see. In pc when i play cod2, people attually using alot of moves and that because it was easier to move around with keyboard and mouse. But that is just for fps, fighting game like DOA4 is pretty cool on xbox360EvilSpeaker
Herein lies an inherent fault with Xbox Live - it's a console based service. This means that a lot of its users will tend to be run and gun twitch shooters. There are games on Live that encourage more refined squad based mechanics, for example the Splinter Cell and Brothers In Arms games. However, most Live players tend to prefer the likes of Halo 2, Perfect Dark Zero and Call Of Duty 2. I agree that Xbox Live needs more strategy games. When it comes to shooting, racing, fighting and sports, Xbox Live is more than covered in every regard. But it is severely lacking some good quality MMORPGs, startegy games and other such cerebral content. I think Microsoft have already identified this. Getting Final Fantasy XI was a masterstroke, despite what the Sony fanboys say. yes, it's two years old but it ticks yet another box on the Xbox Live rap sheet. Also, don't be surprised to see True Fantasy Live resurface for the Xbox 360. It's like anything though. Microsoft needed certain types of games in order to attract the first wave of Live subscribers. Not that Live is established and broadband penetartion is beginning to accelerate a an astonishing speed, expect to see them begin to barnch out into new areas and genres. Military sims, online RPGs, god games. All of these will start to become a fixture on Xbox Live and when they do, the demogarphic and profile of the average Live subscriber will start to evolve with it. Now me personally, I prefer my games of Pro Evolution Soccer 5 and Moto GP: Ultimate Racing Technology 3. However, I can't wait for the day when I'm finally playing some real slow, methodical, community-based strategy games that I can play when I'm looking for a bit of relaxation, chat and calmness. Once that happens, Live truly will be complete as a Nirvana of gaming
Right. Some games easily lend themselves multiplayer gaming on a console. FPS and racing are perfect choices, so I can see why MS has played to those strengths. In terms of strategy, as with any FPS out there, PC or console, your experience will be as tactical as those that play with you. Games like Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell are great example of how communication is key.
DOA4 represents a genre that the PC has never catered to.
I imagine more games will follow suit.
Just look at the arcade games. Some of them sport a multplayer component.
Right now, we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. The next few years will be an exciting time for gamers. And the 360 is leading the charge in next gen thinking.
One of the reasons why I don't really ebjoy playing Halo that much (aside from the ruinous 12 year olds) is the fact that I don't feel as if I'm playing in a team in team amtches. Nine times out of ten, they'll simply descend into bnch of individuals formulating their own strategies on the fly. Unless you play the game a lot and/or have a really strong core group of friends that you've learned to play well with, tactical play is nigh on non-existant. This is completely different in certain games, ie. the Splinter Cell games, Brothers In Arms and such like. I can't quite articulate this but these games are designed in such a way that running and gunning will lead to death - every time. For that reason, I enjoy these two games immensely because the challenge is far more cerebral. Now, as I've alluded to before, I do not play on the PC. I don't like the controls, I don't all the installation and maintaining crap that goes along with it, I don't like the restricted-to-the-individual play enviroment. For this reason, I have a very limited experience with the likes of strategy games, war sims, MMORPGs and God games online. However, I wouldn't mind seeig one or two of these come along for Live in the next 12 months and will be certainly interested in playing Final Fantasy XI as soon as I get the Xbox 360
your a idiot, you know nothign of ps's online service.mxdirector
Well, I have a PlayStation 2 which I (used) to play online, so I think I do. And as for the PlayStation 3s online service, do you honestly think that it will be able to match Xbox Live stride-for-stride? It's taken Microsoft years and numerous updates, just to get it to the level that it's at now. Do you even know how expensive Xbox Live is to maintain? For a start, they have those four super-servers (in London, Tokyo, Chicago and New York, I THINK. Not to sure of their exact locations). The cost of sustaining what is in essence, a closed internet client-server model, is enormous. The only reason that Microsoft can pull it off is because a) they're Microsoft. They have more money than any other company on the face of this planet b) they are a software company. This is their area of specialisation and expertise. If you think that Sony are going to make a few token announcements at this years E3 and then suddenly, like magic! they'll have a service that comes even near 1/10th of Xbox Live, I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken. They just don't have the cash and that's assuming that they even have the will.
If Xbox live on the 360 is so good, why does COD2 suck in it? The PC has the very best online play.XEviscerateX
If Xbox Live on the 360 is so bad, why does PGR2 excel in it? Rememeber, the Xbox 360 has only just launched. We're talking completely new hardware here. Some developers may fail to get to grips with this hardware early on, same as with all new consoles. The difference is that Bizzarre Creations are a Microsoft company, so their online implementation is flawless. You really should check your facts first next time, before you start making ill-advsised comments
I actually found the following text in a gamespy forum so I will not pretend to take credit for it. I just felt that it summarises why Xbox Live on the Xbox 360 is the biggest revolution that is about to hit the next generation and why I am defecting from the PlayStation brand to go and join the Xbox clans on the 360. I've slightly amended one or two minor posts to clear up the context in which it was written but it is all him, minor alterations apart: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "One thing I think hasn't been addressed sufficiently is the fact that 'online' doesn't necessarily have to just mean 'fragging or racing your friends' - that integration of downloadable demos, leaderboards, and add-ons makes the whole experience a lot more fun as well and is just as important. I don't want to sound like a Microsoft partisan here, but I just can't help myself blabbing about how the Xbox 360 gets it right. Sure, online PLAY on Xbox Live is simply phenomenal but the 360's online integration component is the real killer app of the console. I love being able to download the top PGR3 racer's replays and see how they school the rest of us. I dig competing with my friends to see who can unlock the most achievements and playing through a game a second (or third!) time to jack up my Gamerscore. I'm grateful to be able to stick in an audio CD and have the unit go out and find the album title and track names so I can rip it to the hard drive. I'm incredibly happy to be able to buy the Arcade games and spend hours going back to the simpler days. I like seeing movie trailers and music videos for free in high definition. I love it that I can download new multiplayer maps, campaign levels, skins, pictures, episodes, etc that add more longevity to my games. I love it that I can stream live content from a Windows Media PC, such as photos, music, videos and TV shows. I love the fact that every player is rated eBay-style, so I can see which jerks I should avoid at all costs With any video game console, it's most important to emphasize "The play is the thing"... but the play doesn't have to be the ONLY thing, and that's what I think is exciting about the next gen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think that you'll all agree that that mans post says it all. I have a wireless network in my house that I juts setup. There is no way that I'll be getting a PlayStation 3 now. Xbox 360 all the way for me!The_Streets
Thankyou for making me be 110% that i will buy a 360! Great post.
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