Psn Vs. Live

[Bigdog]

Can someone that is at least somewhat bias and have actually used both services please tell me what is so great about the live service? I can never get a straight answer from any x-box fanboy other then the "psn sucks and live roxxors". I on the other hand will not comment on live since i have never used unlike many x-box users who just blatantly state that the psn is no good even though they have either never used it or used it at launch for ten minutes at a friends house and declared it trash compared to Microsoft's network.

I'm not trying to start any flame war here just would like a clear cut truthful answer as to what makes it so much superior to what Sony offers. Really i cant find any complaints to post about the psn, besides it being free, i never had a single connection issue to a game or d/l and it is very easy to navigate. Like i said i have never even seen the live service so I'm just trying to understand what makes it so much better then what Sony offers.

[ground chuck]

live, is 'user friendly,'

[u_nick]

I have both.

Bias? For years, I have always been more comfortable with Sony's products. Wehn I got my 360, I was fine with Live, as it was the only option. Once Sony's came out, i thought it personally made the Live interface feel... 'hard'. Just slighlty uncomfortable, and not 'smooth'.

But overall, it's fine for what it is. It was better before the latest update. Too many useless tab now. Overall, I can make it through, but I still simply prefer Sony's interface.

I guess the main thing they have going for it is in-game music, which I personally have only tried once or twice, but people seem to love it.

Their biggest fault in my eyes is that you have to pay for it. Unfortunately, I'm too lazy to call up and cancel my 'subscription', so I just paid for another year. God forbid they make an easy option to cancel on the system interface or online somewhere, instead of forcing you to call during business hours to do so.

Another thing I dont like is the 'points' system MS & Nintendo have setup. Working with dollars (or your local currency) is just a world of difference and so much easier.

Other than that, they both basically do what they need to: Download stuff you can see/hear/play/addon. As a Sony fan, I'm morre comfortable with how they go about it, but overall, they both do what I need them to.

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by ground chuck

live, is 'user friendly,'

Well it looks as if u_nick has the complete opposite view of yours, and how does being user friendly make it superior? And what makes it user friendly, really i cant see the psn being any easier to navigate and use then the way it's currently setup.

I mean are there like chat rooms and all kinds of other options on live that the psn does not have that makes it easier to meet up with buds to go and game?

[Salinger]

Speaking of... anyone know the latest word on PS "Home"? Is there any word of a launch date yet? That looks like it will be awesome!

[Cyorg]

Originally Posted by Salinger

Speaking of... anyone know the latest word on PS "Home"? Is there any word of a launch date yet? That looks like it will be awesome!

I heard it supposed to be released Q2 2008. Who knows really. I can't wait to try it out though.

[darkpoet25]

Originally Posted by Salinger

Speaking of... anyone know the latest word on PS "Home"? Is there any word of a launch date yet? That looks like it will be awesome!

Still no word on when it will hit yet. I was lucky enough to get on the Beta Team last year, as I am Gamer Advisory Panel member. It still needs work, but is coming along quite nicely. Each person will get their own apartment. You start off with a certain number of items to put into to it, then pay for more later on. The trailers in the movie theater look really good and run smoothly as do the ads. You can also do different dances in front of other people, which is funny. Hitting start brings up a mini PSP that you can use to go to different areas, change your character, or add items to your apartment. It uses the same XMB as the PSP too.

[pitabun]

I find PSN more user friendly,


In order to play your downloaded games on Live, you need to go through SOOO many menus!!! Especially RezHD

[darkpoet25]

Originally Posted by ground chuck

live, is 'user friendly,'

I think one of the main reasons being is that you don't have to stop a game to send a friend request to join a game, or send a message. Most people like the acheivments points you get for completing certain tasks in the game also. Hopefully Sony will integrate this into Home, as I have heard there will trophies to put into your apartment, to display them for others.

[pitabun]

Originally Posted by darkpoet25

I think one of the main reasons being is that you don't have to stop a game to send a friend request to join a game, or send a message. Most people like the acheivments points you get for completing certain tasks in the game also. Hopefully Sony will integrate this into Home, as I have heard there will trophies to put into your apartment, to display them for others.

Why do you say hopefully when you know its coming?
Duhh, it will be here.
Rock on

[SDon1969]

I have both the 360 and the PS3. I like them both for different reasons. XBL is the better online service (though it does cost $50 annually instead of being free, like PSN). It is more attractive (blades/tabs, backgraounds, themes are better) and easier to navigate. It is easier to see what your friends are doing online, when they were last on, invites and chats are easier to perform, basically just better overall and the more streamlined service of the two with more options & details included. Too bad the 360 has such a bad hardware failure rate. I use the 360 for most of my gaming (achievement ***** that I am) and the PS3 is used mostly as a blu-ray player. The PS3 Home idea could even things up, we'll have to see when it arrives!

[russ]

I think that by "user friendly", s/he is referring to how well the Live service is integrated into the entire Xbox 360 experience. Basically, at any time during a game, you can press the Guide button on your controller and bring up your Live interface, where you can access your friend list and start a chat, send a message, or (this is the important one) instantly invite friends to join your game. For example, you can be in the middle of a match of Call of Duty 4, pull up your friend list, and invite your buddy to join. If you want to have a voice chat with a buddy while you are playing Call of Duty and he is doing something else? That is easy to do. And that is actually preferable to listening to a 12 year old singing in the lobby, and two randoms on your team fighting over which one is more homosexual and which one worships the best god. I have seen people dismiss the private chat feature as useless, but I find it pretty useful in many situations. I will gladly pay less than $5 a month for Xbox Live. That is what it costs if you buy it a year at a time. $49.99 per year, roughly $4.17 per month.

PSN's main advantage is that it is free. I would not pay for PSN simply because of the fact that it rather bare bones in comparison to the robust Live service. Live has been around long enough for Sony to have completely copied everything about it, so I do not know what is taking them so long.

[Bigdog]

Thanks for the responses everyone, i have just been getting tired of the same x-box fanboi talk, that the psn sucks and then back that statement up with nothing.

It looks like the psn from all the responses here is not really all that different and both basically do the same things, i take it this new home thing Sony is working on is to kind of give a central meeting point for all gamers on the psn and will also give us the same extra features to match what live is doing?

[owa]

Yeah, the main advantage I saw with Live was that it was easy to access at all times. Initially, I thought it was easier to use also since the tabs were more familiar to me. Once I got use to the PS3 interface though, I found it easier and more efficient to navigate.

[BluM3]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

I have both the 360 and the PS3. I like them both for different reasons. XBL is the better online service (though it does cost $50 annually instead of being free, like PSN). It is more attractive (blades/tabs, backgraounds, themes are better) and easier to navigate. It is easier to see what your friends are doing online, when they were last on, invites and chats are easier to perform, basically just better overall and the more streamlined service of the two with more options & details included. Too bad the 360 has such a bad hardware failure rate. I use the 360 for most of my gaming (achievement ***** that I am) and the PS3 is used mostly as a blu-ray player. The PS3 Home idea could even things up, we'll have to see when it arrives!

Exactly what I was going to say. In XBL you can also see who you've had contact with over a certain period of time, not to mention being able to invite anybody you've meet in that time period into a game.

Oh, and I've waited up to 30 minutes in the COD4 lobby trying to get into a game on my PS3, most I've waited on the 360 was a minute. I'm not a 360 "fanboy" as I do prefer the PS3s capability and believe that the PS3 is a better console. I just think they need to work on their live interface, maybe this will come with HOME when it launches.

[solskei]

The 360 also has tons of preview movies for games and game demos you can download. The ps3 has a pathetic number of them to download. I was really surprised at just how bad the psn was after using my 360 for over a year and getting a ps3. But, the ps3 is free so I can't really complain about it. Hopefully the home feature will make it a lot better.

The 360 is also cool because you can rent movies from a rather large list and buy individual episodes from tv shows and anime and such. It's really nice for people that don't pirate everything. For example, the twilight zone dvds cost $50 a season. Instead of paying that I just download the specific episodes I want for a couple dollars an ep.

The other reasons it's better have already been stated, i'm just always surprised nobody ever brings up the amount of content available on live vs psn. It's like an anthill compared to a mountain. We'll have to wait for home to have a real comparison though. Sony keeps saying it will finally compete with live. Hopefully it does.

[darkpoet25]

Originally Posted by Bigdog

Thanks for the responses everyone, i have just been getting tired of the same x-box fanboi talk, that the psn sucks and then back that statement up with nothing.

It looks like the psn from all the responses here is not really all that different and both basically do the same things, i take it this new home thing Sony is working on is to kind of give a central meeting point for all gamers on the psn and will also give us the same extra features to match what live is doing?

Right, Home is going to be like live, but you interact with the charachters other PS owners created. There is a game room with Pool Tables, Arcade Machines, and a 3 Lane Bowling Alley. They also have a movie theater with game and movie trailers showing on different 'screens'. Another feature will be the ability to show movies in your apartment. You can invite guests and show movies on your wall.

[BluM3]

Originally Posted by russ

I think that by "user friendly", s/he is referring to how well the Live service is integrated into the entire Xbox 360 experience. Basically, at any time during a game, you can press the Guide button on your controller and bring up your Live interface, where you can access your friend list and start a chat, send a message, or (this is the important one) instantly invite friends to join your game. For example, you can be in the middle of a match of Call of Duty 4, pull up your friend list, and invite your buddy to join. If you want to have a voice chat with a buddy while you are playing Call of Duty and he is doing something else? That is easy to do. And that is actually preferable to listening to a 12 year old singing in the lobby, and two randoms on your team fighting over which one is more homosexual and which one worships the best god. I have seen people dismiss the private chat feature as useless, but I find it pretty useful in many situations. I will gladly pay less than $5 a month for Xbox Live. That is what it costs if you buy it a year at a time. $49.99 per year, roughly $4.17 per month.

PSN's main advantage is that it is free. I would not pay for PSN simply because of the fact that it rather bare bones in comparison to the robust Live service. Live has been around long enough for Sony to have completely copied everything about it, so I do not know what is taking them so long.

Yep, well said. I hate listening to people sing, or talk shit during a game.

[ResOGlas]

Xbox live - $50 per year
PSN - Free



'nuff said.

[klam]

Another thing with XBL is that you can join a game that your friend is playing online without being invited as long as their is an available slot for you to join.