Xbox Live vs. PSN: Who Wins?

CCC Says: "Great rivalries have always been a part of history. From Caesar and Brutus to Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe, everyone loves a good battle. While the next-generation of consoles is no different; often times the focus is spent judging the systems on their technical merits of both the hardware and games that follow. While this is naturally the bread and butter of success, not nearly enough attention is given to what services each console has to offer (ultimately swaying its position in the market). In my opinion, a company’s online presence in the eyes of gamers today can literally make or break their future."

[NextLevel]

Including PS Plus. PSN.

[ThinkThink]

Xbox Live but PSN is getting better.

[xHeavYx]

I think PSN's biggest advantage is not needing PS+ to play FTP games

[mikeslemonade]

It's a myth that XBL is better. Try and use both services then tell me which one is better. If you have used both the answer is usually PSN. It's a cheaper service and better free games. Every other bullet point is negligible between the two services.

[Darkstares]

I guess those who use both win.

Personally I think PSN + offers better value overall but as far as matchmaking and online gaming in general Live is still the better service. Microsoft has simply invested far more resources into it and that is something nobody can argue.

[The_Hero]

@PS4SaleLol
Ouff, just nope.
Nothing you said is even remotely impressive.
If you are, then you're easy to impressed.

Driveatars is something that could have been done on the PSP.

I'm not kidding. There are games on the PSP that collect data from your gaming style and creates an AI out of it. Then you can share your AI with others and play against them.

If a PSP can do it: Everything Else Can Too.

[Crazay]

For pure gaming and reliability, look no further than xbox live

[darthv72]

@Mike, i use both and each one is good for the games i play with it.

As to who really wins, well that would be the suits at both companies. Cause they got you locked in to playing games via their service and bickering about this or that on internet sites.

It's free advertising on our part and they make all the $$ from people signing up because they want to play with their friends online.

[choujij]

I prefer PSN because some of Sony's policies allow devs more freedom to do things their way. However, that too can be a double edge sword. They're also open to cross-platform play which I think is awesome. Also, the PS+ service has a better price and value, which I take advantage of on all 3 platforms.

Service wise, I've experienced no real difference between either. Your internet connection quality, plus the distance you are from the servers often make the biggest difference.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

Same old topic that keeps being brought up periodically. When will people get tired of it, we'll never know.

[alexkoepp]

XBL for sure. Obviously though because they are a generation ahead in the online sector because of Live on the Xbox where nothing like that existed for PS2. Really Sony is just now starting to get the X360 online experience while Microsoft continues with a few years lead.

[blackbeld]

Xbox live is noway better then PSN.

I just played Killer Instinct and guess what. Latency 158ms!

That is huge!

On PSN is my latency around 30ms. still not good enough but a lot better then xbox live.

Imagine playing COD on xbox live! LOL.

[darthv72]

Both have really evolved over their respected lifetimes. I use and enjoy both services.

[Brim]

Couldn't had said it any better these articles are to get people yelling and debating and clicking their sites.. .do i blame them? no i blame the people that engage in the fanboy wars

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Opinions and preferences is what is so wonderful about having 2 great services.

[DeadRabbits]

My preference has always been to avoid paywalls and getting abuse from hormonal and frustrated pre-teens! So PSN for me!

[AngelicIceDiamond]

@Rabbit There's no paywall for Xbox anymore.

The X1 has a feature where you can browse the interface while the console sets up a game for you. The console will notify you when its ready so you can just join the game whenever it starts.

So you you don't have to listen to kids in lobbies anymore with any MP games.

[UnHoly_One]

That is the greatest feature ever, by the way.

Flip over to TV, or to Twitch, or just browse your friends, achievements, whatever... Then you get that little notification saying the game is ready to join.

LOVE IT. :)

[Bryanarchy101]

@AngelicIce

It's funny how people disagree on a comment that actually states a fact.
I guess the people who disagreed on your comment actually want to listen to a lobby full of kids, welp, your PS4 allows that :)

[Eejanaika]

I could conclude that
If the competition did not
exist between sony and microsoft
that a lot of these services
would have never been
implemented
such as
free games with gold
and PSN+ free games.

SO!
to my point
the people that disagreed with this comment
have no understanding of
how a competitive market works
concluding that
no company could stay in check
and a monopoly game console would exist
which then would f*** over us
consumers even more
when companies make poor decisions.

So! the people that disagreed with that comment are stupid.
Having more choices in a competitive market makes companies stay in check concluding a healthy competitive market of great services provided at cheap levels. For all you babies out their on this site who don't have a degree or understand economics

[Pogmathoin]

Online gaming and associated features, Xbox Live...
Freebies and so on, Clearly PSN plus.

[DLConspiracy]

Sorry to say, there are reasons why PSN is better and reasons why XBL is better. Sure PS+ offers a cheaper value, more games with it's service for "Free" and had the no pay wall issue. Which is a moot point now as Xbox has opened up that paywall.

When it comes to dedicated servers, Higher bit quality chat, and consistency with it's service (security and maintenance downtime). You have to go XBL. I ONLY buy pre paid cards for PSN because of my information being hacked, but that's a minor point really. MP games are made for XBL.

Now before you or anyone jumps on my back and beats me down because you think your service is better. Perhaps put into perspective that if you don't own both you will probably NEVER know the difference. I do. I test these things out. I love PS+ and it's free games and f2p stuff. that's why I subscribe to it. But that's the only reason I pay for it.

XBL wins for me, because of the dedicated servers for MP, Chat quality and features. If you enjoy multiplayer you CAN play on PSN, but odds are you are using a hybrid Dedicated/Listen server base which is more like P2P (server on your console for matchmaking) for most of your games. Also, odds are still able to play but not as seemless as FULL dedicated servers. MINUS any of the games that OPT for their own servers like EA does. Though we sort of know their track record with that.

EDIT: PS4 is mainly my SP game machine and that's not a bad thing. It usually has upped graphics and res.

[DarkHeroZX]

MS just started pushing dedicated servers this gen. Last gen even their heavy hitters where P2P while Sony provided dedicated servers for their exclusive.

[Spotie]

Originally, I was gonna give it to Live.

But basic, pay for nothing Live doesn't match up to basic, pay for nothing PSN. Live Gold doesn't quite match up to PS Plus, either. As far as functionality, they're about even, but value-wise, PS Plus is ahead by quite a bit.

[kewlkat007]

Sony never helped themselves last gen with the Ps3 online. It was awful based on what Microsoft was already doing. You are getting more value now with the new PSN but that might just be in the little extra games you get. A lot of advantages Sony had like Free multiplayer and no paywall have been matched by the competition so they are no longer advantages.

XBL is king of multiplayer and have pioneered online gaming since 2002. They have been doing it longer. I think they have the better infrastructure, security, apps and the frequent updates proves, they can deliver new features and promises faster without lagging behind the competition.

Microsoft can match whatever Sony may cook up with PSN pertaining to policy changes...etc but because of Microsoft's infrastructure, software know-how and how the XboxOne was built Sony cannot do the same looking at the future of these networks.

[Foraoise]

MP on the PS3 isn't bad at all. I have the same exact experience on my Xbox 360, so, when people say things like, "Xbox's online is better" - yeah? How so? That's not true at all. It's the same experience for both. PS+ is CLEARLY the winner.

[ALLWRONG]

PSN is Xbox Live. Except for the free games program, everything about PSN is a copy of Live.

[Azzanation]

Depends, XBOX LIVE now includes dedicated servers and rarely has down times. For free games PSN is better but everything else LIVE.

[liquidhalos]

I'm currently not too happy with the PSN, twice I've had people over for sessions and both times psn was down. The last time it went down I couldn't even play my single player games.

[randomass171]

PS Plus is the better value. You pay less for it but get more than what Xbox Live gives you. You also don't need PS Plus to play free to play games or use paid services like Netflix.

[darthv72]

same with live now that they removed that paywall.

[randomass171]

Ah, yes I forgot that they removed that. Well PS Plus is still a little cheaper. And it's worth noting its had a lot of the benefits like free games for a longer period of time than Xbox Live.

[Aleithian]

They removed the paywall?

[MRMagoo123]

Dont they stil have it on some things, I am pretty sure they only removed it from a few things.

[MARKSMAN7136]

Not yet they didn't. If you're on xb1 and 1 person has gold than everyone can use everything. Go on 360 with a silver membership and it's all blocked. I believe the update that changes that will roll out sometime in July tho. Then you can use that arguement.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

"Plus to play free to play games or use paid services like Netflix."

You don't need gold for Netflix or Hulu.

EDIT: Yeah not anymore at least.

[randomass171]

Not anymore. I forgot that they removed that this year.

[djplonker]

Yeah and it took them long enough how many years 4 - 6?

[n4rc]

Download speeds used to be a huge difference last gen... Like.. Huge!

Can't say if that gap has closed..

[zerog]

Download speed has to do mostly with your network set up. I never had a problem with download speed on psn. Longest download i ever had was the 29 gigs of ac4 which took half an hour.

[DLConspiracy]

Pay less and get less dedicated servers and get lower quality chat. Still more free games then XBL. You get what you pay for.

[DarkHeroZX]

Last gen you paid more for p2p while Sony provided dedicated servers for a lot of their exclusives.

[vinniects]

whats the difference in price 10 a year big deal.

[truefan1]

This is not even a discussion until psn no longer has maintenance. Also let's not forget XBL is pushing dedicated servers like crazy Forza 5, Titanfall, Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon 2, Halo MCC, Fable Legends.... all running on dedicated servers. Also MSFT opened up dedicated servers to all developers developing for XB1.

PS+ only exists because sony knows their service can't match xbl and of course they needed a reason to charge people after the infamous 2011 meltdown.

@Kinjo Takemura I agree but MSFT does maintenance in the background.
@nextlevel then where are the games utilizing them?

[KinjoTakemura]

All server based services have routine maintenance. Stating or believing anything else is just being delusional.

[UnHoly_One]

Of course they do, but what he really meant was "downtime for maintenance".

I'm not saying XBL never has an outage. They do have things go wrong occasionally, but PSN still has long, scheduled downtimes for maintenance, something XBL has never had.

[sGIBMBR]

How is XBL better than PSN? I'm not sure it does anything that PSN doesn't. They both perform the same in multiplayer gaming, and that's all that matters.

In terms of value, you have to give that to PSN... It has far better offerings.

[NextLevel]

"Also let's not forget XBL is pushing dedicated servers"

Let's not forget PSN has been pushing dedicated servers since the PS3.

[MasterCornholio]

I really dont see anything special with dedicated servers. I use PSN and I dont have lag or connection issues with it.

[DLConspiracy]

Everyone always says that. A few dedicated servers last gen from the publishers/developers. They never had all their games running fully dedicated. It's Dedicated servers with Listen servers.

https://answers.yahoo.com/q...

A comparison of Ghosts on both next gen.

"Jumping into an actual game was straightforward, considering that dedicated servers are now standard practice (although the PS4 runs on a hybrid mix of P2P and dedicated, whereas the Xbox One is entirely dedicated)."

http://www.destructoid.com/...

Kaz talking about needing to strengthen their network.

http://www.dualshockers.com...

Here is a breakdown of dedicated servers for Ghosts as well.

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

[NextLevel]

Call of Duty: Ghosts Will Sport Dedicated Servers on PS4
http://www.pushsquare.com/n...

ZeniMax: ‘Elder Scrolls Online’ on PS4 to have dedicated servers, PS Plus not required
http://vr-zone.com/articles...

Killzone Shadow Fall Goes Gold, Dedicated Multiplayer Servers Confirmed
http://www.igameresponsibly...

Just a few.

[MysticStrummer]

Planetside 2 will have dedicated servers also, along with PS+ not being required.

[Bigpappy]

Killzone does, run on dedicated servers. We when through all of this when the launch titles were released.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

@Next Ghost absolutely does not have dedicated servers on neither console.

Infiniti Ward lied that game is still a lag fest and connections still breaking from what I've heard.

[Volkama]

You need better examples. Ghosts and killzone claim to be "hybrid dedicated", but both are clearly p2p with a player host and a "dedicated" proxy to try and mitigate the issues that causes.

TESO is an MMORPG, of course it has servers. But they are Zenimax's servers, they currently have 1 single data centre (with a plan to open a second in Europe), and you pay a separate fee to Zenimax to access them.

There are other ps4 games that use dedicated server that would make a better case. DCOU, battlefield 4, probably some of the F2P efforts. But to pretend PSN is equal to live in this respect is kinda silly, specially based on the examples you provide...

[DLConspiracy]

FULL Dedicated is different from HYBRID dedicated. Listen/dedicated servers.

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

The difference of Dedicated vs. Listen servers.

https://answers.yahoo.com/q...

[Baka-akaB]

Half your list aint even out yet . And dedicated servers are nothing new or exclusive to either side . Stop pushing BS like it's 2007 .

[Magicite]

and still xbox loses to playstation in every sales aspect.

[Bryanarchy101]

How do people disagree over a comment that states a known FACT...

[KinjoTakemura]

Some people will support the console they believe in to the point of being delusional. That's why you have people disagreeing with the facts. It's the only explanation I can see.

[P_Bomb]

Truefan, psn had dedicated servers for many games last gen. If people didn't notice then why would they now other than marketing? From Warhawk and Resistance in the early years to MAG and DCUO in the later ones, they were there.

As far as pushing the envelope (drivatars?), PSN consistently had the highest VS player counts. 360 didn't have any 256 player games like MAG, or even the 60 player matches of Resistance2. Never had any MMOAGs like DC Universe or cross platform co- op like the PS3/PC Portal 2. PS Home is still up and running.

Seems like XBL gets a free pass sometimes. Several 360 games I have I can't back up to cloud storage due to DRM. PS Plus cracks all DRM allowing backups of everything. You gotta look at the bigger picture

[zerog]

Hate to break it to you but I've never had downtime from psn maintenance other then that 1 time they had the whole network down from the ahole who decided to hack in. Anybody who says they have had down time from psn maintenence is either lying or it was their own fault out of stupidity. Heres how it works, before they start the maintenence you get this message saying when its going to take place and as long as you sign in at least once in the 48 hours before it starts then you can still use it while its going on.
g

[user7402931]

psn

[Ksar]

Just remembered Psn Gate.

So, Xbox Live win.

[NextLevel]

PSN getting hacked 3 years ago for a month gives XBL the win?
http://38.media.tumblr.com/...

[StealthPandemic]

Yes.

[n4rc]

Yes..

Considering you guys like bringing up crap from 8 years ago as if its relevant today

[prime2046668]

just remember when that 8 year old kid hacked xbox live?

[Golden_Mud]

he was 5 and he didn't hack xbox live , he went through his father's pass code to enter his father's account

[Bryanarchy101]

@prime

lol, in what world did this happen?

[Eejanaika]

Theirs a difference between hacking a single console and the entire network of a gaming console.

[Master-H]

If we're counting last gen then PSN wins by default, PSN is free on ps3, and if you're subbed to plus you've been getting great games for years now way before the games with Gold program.

Another thing to remember is that one PS plus sub works on your PS4 PS3 and VITA at the same time so if you have more than one of those then you're getting a bunch of extra value for what you pay.

[cee773]

@ksar

😱 I remember as well it help birth the instant game collection 😏 so good 💩

What about the infamous FIFA hack on ps3/xbox360 that alone shows nothing always secure bear in mind all plastic like credit/debit are 9 times out of 10 insured as well. I see no problem eBay was just recently hacked as well and all I dit was change my password and claim my free 💸20$ from eBay and call it A day. No each companies security are more powerful than ever and we get free goodies in the process

[AllAboutGaming]

Steam!

I had to say it :)

[HighResHero]

Not with their nearly nonexistent support, no returns on broken games, DRM check ins, etc.
For online multiplayer, yes I would agree at this point.

[thegreatklemba]

quality control and steam , nahh who needs there games to actual work or have an over flow of mobile ports and games so old you have to boot the music of a cd

[Harmy666]

You're joking right? Steam's UI by itself puts it in last place. That thing is terrible to navigate. Value wise, Steam wins hands down.

[Magnus701]

XBL for network quality, but PSN for value.

XBL just has a better network for multiplayer and it's content has been getting better. PSN has better value for PS Plus because of all the free content and games you get, but their network is god awful and they constantly need to take down the entire network for maintenance. Not to mention that they stored credit card information in clear text....best decision ever.

PS Now also has a horrible pricing scheme.

[BlackTar187]

I don't understand i play on both and the network for multiplayer is flawless on both for the most part.

I fail to see how the MP on my xone performs any different then the MP on my ps4 much less any better they both maintain the exact same level of consistency for the most part.

I'll give the MS band a +1 for updates though. But i would take updates for the better PSN+ games offering.

So pick your poison do you prefer better games for free or 1 less 10min maintenance a month?

Also if i'm not mistaken there is 0 ZERO reported issues with information that was taken from sony. Feel free to correct me if that's wrong. Otherwise you're just being a little fickle and obtuse.

[Magnus701]

I play fighting games like BlazBlue, Ultra Street Fighter 4, and UMvC3 on both XBL and PSN and there is a large discrepancy between the two when it comes to network connectivity and continuity. You are able to connect to both XBL and PSN just fine, but the way they handle network traffic is different and PSN makes games that require 1 frame links (1/30th of a second) nearly impossible consistently. Part of the reason is the net code for the game. The other part is how the host network (and these are private proprietary networks) handles the data. Quality of Service is worse on PSN than XBL.

Also, you use "for the most part" a lot, which means that it negates most of your statement.

There is no need for a 10 min or 10 hour (don't try to tell me is just 10 minutes) window of downtime to perform maintenance on the network. It is completely possible to have redundancies built in so that users experience 0 downtime. At worst there should only be slight degraded quality which is a capacity issue.

As for the data theft issue, Sony was breaking the law and luckily no one (reportedly) had their credit cards used for fraud. Sony was not properly encrypting sensitive user information and was not PCI compliant (I once had to attend a 4 hour boring conference on PCI compliance....but I got to go to a soccer game for free). Which meant they were illegally handling thousands of credit card transactions on PSN. Their policies for data storage were unacceptable and affected 77 million users. That is a serious issue. That is not being a little fickle.

[BlackTar187]

Magnus

For the most part doesn't do anything to my statement. There is small things + or - or extra here or there that isn't enough of an issue to define any value. So i disagree.

My downtime for Maintenance usually doesn't hit 10 minutes like 3 days ago with the new update it took about 10minutes total. Don't try an tel me i don't know how to keep time or that i don't know the difference in my experience epically since i probably have more time on xbox live then i do PSN.

Can you link me to an article that says SOny broke the law? I see sony got fined in the UK but not much else. i'll admit i'm a little weary of sony Breaking the law in the USA and being let off the hook for it.

Also using it 2x doesn't constitute a lot

EDIT*

Also sony stated CC information was encrypted and personal data was encrypted with Hash system. I'm not saying either are top of line but what you're saying is either misleading in your description or wrong.

[voodoochild346]

@Magnus701 you don't think the issues you might be facing are console related? Street Fighter 4 and UMVC 3 are completely different console to console. If you watch tournaments using ps3 like evo(last year being an exception) you'll see games on the same training stages for marvel because the majority are known to lag only on the ps3 version. With street fighter it's just certain stages. With both games players find out ahead of time what console the game is being played on so they can get appropriate practice. The ps3 and xbox versions of capcom fighters are so different that just by switching systems you are changing your combo timing by a full frame.

[Bennibop]

Ps now is a beta! The is no diffrence in the services anymore hence why games with gold. Dedicated servers is something sony has been using since ps3 launch it was the multiplats that we're not. I have both machines and there is as much maintenance on live as psn.

[True_Samurai]

It might be a beta... But they're still charging outrageous prices to use the "beta". This is the first time I ever heard you have to pay in order to participate in a beta

"There is as much maintenance on live as psn" but when has Ms ever had to take down xbl in order to deal with maintenance?

[djplonker]

"There is as much maintenance on live as psn" but when has Ms ever had to take down xbl in order to deal with maintenance?

http://downdetector.com/sta...

http://www.computerandvideo...

http://techcrunch.com/2013/...

http://www.xboxachievements...

http://www.gamesindustry.bi...

http://www.gamespot.com/art...

Want anymore?

xbox live being better than psn is the only thing xbox fans had but not anymore...

[y7jzdgy]

When comparing the PS4 and X1 the "better value" argument is irrelevant now due to Micro's recent changes with XBL. Apps are no longer behind a pay wall and Games for Gold is now modeled after PS+. So if we want to be honest about it XBL is better overall vs PSN; if we're comparing the X1 vs PS4.

[Majin-vegeta]

Wrong PS+ still craps all over xbox live since you still need Gold to play F2P games.

[FunAndGun]

You saying "god awful" and "constantly" negates any credibility to your comment.

I don't know how I have been gaming online for the past 8 years with a god awful network that constantly needs to be taken down for maintenance. /s oh lordy!

[nope111]

PSN get steam like deals now.

PSN wins.

[TheDevKit]

Lel.

[Half_Minute_Hero]

So does XBL. Ever hear of Deals with Gold?

[Harmy666]

Ha.

[nope111]

Crysis 3 for $4.99
Tales of Xillia for $9.99 (was $39.99 at the time)
Killzone Mercenary $8.99 (was still $39.99 at the time)
Muramasa Rebirth for $6.99 (was $39.99 at the time)
Muramasa Rebirth DLC, 2 for $4.99
Injustice Gods Among Us $24.99 (was $59.99 at the time)
Guacamelee! $3.75
Saints Row IV for $12.00
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 for $13.99 (Still $49.99)
Final Fantasy XIV ARR for $12.00

PSN and PS+ shits all over XBL gold.

[Artista]

is this even a contest? Easily Xbox live. Free games does not make PSN on par. Its a good service second to Live. Here is the order:

Xbox Live
PSN
Nintendo Network.

There are other areas PS excels over Xbox, it's definitely not the online service.

[BlackTar187]

What does Xbox live do more or better then psn except for updates?

I would take better games over updates any day of the week.

please base your argument in the present not a three year old issue. Keep it relevant to the times please

[BlackTar187]

Dude i got like 60k Gamerscore and level 22 Trophies

Edit i think i got alot more then 60k to be honest but my brother borrowed my system like 3 months ago and he lives in another city so i can't take credit for his stuff on 360.

[MRMagoo123]

exactly what Blacktar says, there is no difference at all , the only ppl thinking there is a difference is the ppl that havent updated there opinion since 2007, the playstation network works just as well as live now, go give it a try there is nothing wrong with either of them.

[hello12]

x box live has more security and Microsoft is able to give gamers dedicated servers for free and lot of first party games are now using dedicated servers for private matches. If Sony starts doing this than i doubt the PSN is all that different. The xb1 is build with cloud in mind and its reason Microsoft updates the console weekly and monthly (beta and official release) They have the support in place. Sony is not yet near that level, maybe with the next console?

[Bennibop]

I use both they are the same no issues on either psn or live.

[Dudebro90]

Terms of stability, xbl has always been better for me. Ps4 so far has been much better than ps3 but there's also 10% as many users.

[prime2046668]

PSN/PS+>XBL/GWG

[thebudgetgamer]

When it comes to social elements Xbox live, value for money goes to PSN. Though games for live makes it very close.

[Tedakin]

Over its lifetime XBL has been far superior. PSN just got good recently. PSN is cheaper and its free games are better obviously, but XBL is catching up to that recently. Stability wise XBL wins methinks.

[starrman1985]

As a service Xbox live wins hands down - everyone should see that, the servers are far more reliable and I can't really think of any problems I've encountered over the 9 years I've used it!

PSN is much better for deals and PS+ is amazing, the only problem is when they made PS+ a requirement for PS4 they really should have stepped up their game. I've encountered lots of (albeit small - some larger) problems over my time with PSN.

Overall I'd say that Xbox Live is the better service though, now that games for gold has hit next gen plus they're slowly rolling in more decent discounts!

[Geekman]

Microsoft: We sold 80 million Xbox 360s, but yeah, you still gotta pay for Xbox Live.

EDIT:That's what I meant. If you're competition, who mind you is in worse financial state, offers free online multiplayer for the PS3, then why can't a console that isn't selling that much worse offer the same?

[True_Samurai]

*84 million xbox 360s
And the only thing you have to pay for is to play mp online

[Locknuts]

Paying to play online is a joke. Especially for the peer to peer garbage that most game use.

[Magnus701]

The revenue from 80 million Xbox 360 sales does not cover the ongoing costs related to maintaining the Xbox Live infrastructure. Annual maintenance and upgrades most likely range in the tens of millions. I have an electrical engineer friend that worked on a brand new data center for Amazon that cost 2 billion to build and would cost around 1-2 million a year in electricity bills. That is a brand new data center, but Microsoft most likely follows suit with their Azure platform.

I don't like having to pay for XBL, but I pay for a better functioning network. Originally you didn't need to pay for PSN and you got a network that just wasn't quite as good as XBL and required more frequent maintenance windows where the entire network was brought down. I can only imagine that the PSN was a huge money money for a long time or was compensated elsewhere which brought their overall net revenue down.

[urwifeminder]

Never used PSN and likely never will so I cant really comment about its quality but I am happy with Xbox live.

[MasterCornholio]

I dont have XBL now so I can't comment on it. I use PSN and so far I'm extremely satisfied with it.

[hello12]

I would give it to PSN just for the newer games they give away. This is a plus for gamers, but not necessarily great for Sony and its finances. But like i said gamers will love it and will hardly complain.

Online infrastructure. x box live is at least 5 or 10 years ahead. PS4 has a similar online infrastructure to what the 360 had and that's a big improvement.

Apps, are about the same on both i think not sure don't own a PS4.

[n4gusername]

For me it is plus versus gold. We lost the family plan option on xbox, so plus is the winner. Had to pay more for 2 accounts than 4, since it ran out with no sales a couple weeks ago. Aarrgh.

[S2Killinit]

Plus has been better for a while now. MS has certainly made some recent changes to catch up in the value department, like copying the free monthly games, and removing their dreaded paywall, but they still don't offer the same quality games for free download as PSPlus does.

[Goku781]

People with common sense understand how a paywall works and more and more players see now PSN is actually better.

[Half_Minute_Hero]

People with common sense knew that the paywall is gone on XBL. The rest, like you, troll n4g.

[Goro]

This is N4G, of course PSN will win.

[cfc83]

My experience is that ps plus on ps4 is better than gold for the 360, but as xb1 pretty much copied sonys stategy, then my guess is that theyre pretty much the same between ps4/xb1. In terms of online, fifa sucks equally on both of them, and the experience on battlefield isnt that great between 5-11pm. Lets be honest, they both need to improve, or perhaps its the isps. Oh yeah, psn now will tilt it in sonys favour, if they price it sensibly.

[user9558903]

Psboxlivenetwork is the best hands down

[Skankinruby]

Only thing I will say against ps4 is the WiFi sucks big time. So much lag if I don't use Ethernet

[CaptainPunch]

Been using both services for years and I feel more connected to my online friends on Xbox Live. It just feels more social to me than PSN.

[lahariko]

Psn for sure <33333

[SoulSercher620]

Obviously PSN especially with PS Plus. No contest.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Now that Xbox One has its own free monthly games... Xbox Live is the better service. You get free games, discounts but also much better audio chat quality and reliability of service stability. No monthly maintenance downtime.

That said....they both are pretty dang comperable and really you cant go wrong with either.

[D-riders]

??? The fames aren't even in the same ball park offering shifty services doesn't make the system better

[OC_MurphysLaw]

whatever helps you sleep at night. If you read my last comment I said they're all comparable at this point moving forward.

[D-riders]

I'm gonna stop reading articles on here. This guy said Xbox live was the biggest innovation last gen.???? So cross game chat was bigger than bluray. Since yeah bluray has become pretty much standard across all platforms even becoming defects in some pcs. This guy is crazy that Xbox live which Is on the worst selling system last gen is the biggest innovation when people where playing online and chatting since before dreamcast. Really man come its Not even close , psn didn't adopt Xbox live Xbox live adopt psn practices plus anyone.guess who has Blu Ray this gen though. But if you call this a fan boy article people want to trip.

[aragon]

This article is about psn and live, they are networks, cross game chat, parties has to do with xbox live and psn.. Bluray is hardware right?

[Artemidorus]

Blu Ray has nothing to do with any online service.

[Stryfeno2]

Xbl

[mochachino]

If we're voting I say PSN

Was a live user for a long time. Left a bad aftertaste after getting Plus.

[Provolone24]

The "Xbox Live is better" trump card simply doesn't work anymore. Sony has gotten their crap together in terms of online service and you're delusional if you think Games With Gold competes with PS+

[Max-Zorin]

I win.

[zu4G]

PSN/PS+ nuffsaid ..
keep thumbs down GreenBoys..

[RustEGearz]

If a gamer is enjoying either one of the two services, then he or she is the real winner.

[Ihatetrolls76]

Xbox live is the best for online sony from what I hear has gotten better and the free games they offer are great. I still feel a little butt hurt over how sony screwed over a lot of original ps3 owners. I been on the fence on buying a ps4 because it is a great system and I do miss there games I even miss playing the ps3 exclusives. Time to forgive not sure I can forget though

[Masterh0ppa]

What the hell fanboys in here are nuts. Got both consoles and i don't know how ppl are arguing that psn is better then xboxlive. But that's just fanboys who have no idea what they talking about. Xbox live is way more steady then psn and online gaming is not on par at all with xlive.

[Slick81]

Last gen was probably a win for xbox but now sony has caught up

[FayZ_]

on n4g psn is superior no matter how many times its hacked or down. both services have terrible free games, outlast was the best on psn tho but no lomger free if you didnt sign up on time :/

psn needs to be more reliable, use dedicated servers for games, needs better chat quality

[IrishSt0ner]

Dedicated servers > peer to peer, apply evidence and any argument to the contrary is wrong. For free games PSN is better, but I love online gaming so LIVE is a clear and easy winner. When Sony moves away from P2P as a standard, then and only then, things may change.

[sAVAge_bEaST]

Astro Turfers, came out of the woodwork, on this comment section.

[Artemidorus]

Reading some comments on here it's clear many are Playstation users and they are ignorant or just plain ill educated.

Xbox Live as a whole offers more and history will tell you about PSN. Xbox Live has extended it's numbers on a large scale to provide a better online. Microsoft are also software kings so this section works in their favour.

Disagree all you want it's the truth.

[SpinalRemains138]

Why in God's name would any sane person select the service which jams ads down your throat after you pay to us it?

My goodness people are ignorant.

[xDHAV0K24x]

Who wins? Anyone that uses either service

[Killzoner99]

Xbox Live is way too unreliable for online gaming. I hear its down all the time for maitinence which should piss those off who pay for the service. PSN until recently was free so that just shows Sony cares about the gamers more than M$. If you want a trustworthy online service you have to go with Sony.

[marloc_x]

"I HEAR its down all the time.."?

"PSN until recently was free.."?

..fanboy.

[iamnsuperman]

There is practically no difference between Live and PSN to question which is better. Now games with gold and plus can be compared but that will could change on a monthly basis

[Flames76]

Xbox Live of course and thats a fact.PSN cant stay up a week without problems.Plus i like to keep my games im given free from gold.I like how the little sony kiddies think they cant keep theirs lol

[corvusmd]

By far XBL, not even a comparison really.

Since people on this page are all about numbers to prove a point...this is the one area where either console has complete dominance by numbers. As of early 2013 it was XBL more than 300k dedicated servers to Sony less than 15k (still less than old XBL). Sony isn't even on the top ten of companies with dedicated servers and number 10 now has 30k, funny how in this argument numbers all the sudden mean nothing on n4g. Not to mention that most of PSNs actual dedicated server support is tied up in PS Now, not even gaming and when they SAY a game has dedicated server support, look at how they carefully word it, it's not REAL dedicated server support, it's a dedicated server just setting up the P2P match. ..and let's not forget (although somehow we always do) that developers like Respawn have said several times that game like Titanfall can not get the network support that it needs from PSn because it doesn't have a cloud service to the degree that XBL does.

http://www.respawn.com/news...

Anyone saying that PSN is better does no online gaming and just likes free old games, or they are simply being fanboy delusional, there seriously is no other explanation.

Most comparisons on this site are a joke because they yield no difference, this one is a joke for the exact opposite reason.

[sovkhan]

Used both and there is no competition :

PSN is far more superior in all aspects to Xlive, and the people bragging about dedicated servers and the like :

Psn used far more dedictated server the previous gen than the xlive.

The PSN is so good that on both server side and game side Ms is trying hard to compete and even adopted many of psn policies. That's only says it all.