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**darkpower** · 03-28-2008, 03:11 AM

Right now Live is better but not as attractive because of the 50 dollar fee and of the P2P way of setting up multiplayer games. They have the achievement that right now are the big advantage. That and they right now have the bigger install base. Plus, right now, their Marketplace's interface is MUCH more user friendly than the PSN is. And don't forget those two exclusive DLC things they get on GTA4. Don't think I'm just going and outright bashing the 360 because I can or that I'm a fanboy of any system.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves: Live isn't this godsent just because we have to pay for it. The downtime during the holidays wasn't welcome, and Microsoft is really strict about what servers a game runs on (theirs). Plus, the notion that "we don't care WHAT your expenses are, you can pay 50 dollars a year" (you forgot that, it's not a one time fee. I think it's 50/year or something like that for the gold membership) is kinda lame considering that you have to pay that before you even GET access to the online stuff (plus you have to buy the game itself and the ISP you need to even GET online). Also, with the backwards way I've heard the "XBL police" actually do their policing sometimes, you never know how one might interpret anything. Some sore loser might whine that you were cheating to win and they might never even do a little investigating before rendering their verdict (not sure if this is as severe as I heard it was, but I don't have a 360 right now, so I don't know anything about this first hand).

Oh, and don't forget the number of the beast on the 360 still: the RRoD that still looms over the system like a bad omen. The hardware is still not as reliable as it should be, which is a shame. If you're paying to play online, you REALLY don't want that thing to fail and you have to ship it back. That's 50 dollars that's not being put to good use. Factor also in that you may not be playing online every single day you use that 360.

Now, right now the PSN has the more attractive service because it is free, the hardware is more reliable, and every game has its own server to play on. Everything is run through those servers and you don't have to set up this P2P thing. Generally, it should run smoother, and I really haven't had a problem (aside from a few pull-outs on Guitar Hero and Rock Band and the fact that, for right now, I SUCK at COD4 MP) with playing online at all. It seems just like I'm playing someone sitting beside me. The achievements that XBL has as an advantage might be erased, too, once Home comes out (which should be by summer, although they seem to move the goalposts a hell of a lot with that).

However, the PSN Store is far from perfect. It's tough as hell to be able to go up one level in the hierarchy when you get into the separate categories (I shouldn't have to press L1 all the fucking time when I just want to go back to the Rock Band alphabetical selection screen. There's no option to do that). This should be fixed, however, within the next few weeks as Sony announced that they are changing the design of the store (which, judging by what they said it might be looking like, should be pretty cool). There's not as big of an install base right now, and although I never experienced it, some people have said that they can get disconnected from time to time (I do, as well, but that's just because the router I got right now sucks ass and knocks EVERYONE offline whenever it feels like it).

So yeah, XBL is a bit better, but I don't think it's THAT much better, and once Sony fixes this stuff and (finally) launches Home, I think it'll become a battle.

As far as your notion about the Wii...I forgot the Wii HAD an internet service.

03-28-2008, 03:11 AM	#7
darkpower Why So Curious? Posts: 3,408	Right now Live is better but not as attractive because of the 50 dollar fee and of the P2P way of setting up multiplayer games. They have the achievement that right now are the big advantage. That and they right now have the bigger install base. Plus, right now, their Marketplace's interface is MUCH more user friendly than the PSN is. And don't forget those two exclusive DLC things they get on GTA4. Don't think I'm just going and outright bashing the 360 because I can or that I'm a fanboy of any system. But let's not get ahead of ourselves: Live isn't this godsent just because we have to pay for it. The downtime during the holidays wasn't welcome, and Microsoft is really strict about what servers a game runs on (theirs). Plus, the notion that "we don't care WHAT your expenses are, you can pay 50 dollars a year" (you forgot that, it's not a one time fee. I think it's 50/year or something like that for the gold membership) is kinda lame considering that you have to pay that before you even GET access to the online stuff (plus you have to buy the game itself and the ISP you need to even GET online). Also, with the backwards way I've heard the "XBL police" actually do their policing sometimes, you never know how one might interpret anything. Some sore loser might whine that you were cheating to win and they might never even do a little investigating before rendering their verdict (not sure if this is as severe as I heard it was, but I don't have a 360 right now, so I don't know anything about this first hand). Oh, and don't forget the number of the beast on the 360 still: the RRoD that still looms over the system like a bad omen. The hardware is still not as reliable as it should be, which is a shame. If you're paying to play online, you REALLY don't want that thing to fail and you have to ship it back. That's 50 dollars that's not being put to good use. Factor also in that you may not be playing online every single day you use that 360. Now, right now the PSN has the more attractive service because it is free, the hardware is more reliable, and every game has its own server to play on. Everything is run through those servers and you don't have to set up this P2P thing. Generally, it should run smoother, and I really haven't had a problem (aside from a few pull-outs on Guitar Hero and Rock Band and the fact that, for right now, I SUCK at COD4 MP) with playing online at all. It seems just like I'm playing someone sitting beside me. The achievements that XBL has as an advantage might be erased, too, once Home comes out (which should be by summer, although they seem to move the goalposts a hell of a lot with that). However, the PSN Store is far from perfect. It's tough as hell to be able to go up one level in the hierarchy when you get into the separate categories (I shouldn't have to press L1 all the fucking time when I just want to go back to the Rock Band alphabetical selection screen. There's no option to do that). This should be fixed, however, within the next few weeks as Sony announced that they are changing the design of the store (which, judging by what they said it might be looking like, should be pretty cool). There's not as big of an install base right now, and although I never experienced it, some people have said that they can get disconnected from time to time (I do, as well, but that's just because the router I got right now sucks ass and knocks EVERYONE offline whenever it feels like it). So yeah, XBL is a bit better, but I don't think it's THAT much better, and once Sony fixes this stuff and (finally) launches Home, I think it'll become a battle. As far as your notion about the Wii...I forgot the Wii HAD an internet service.