5 Things Microsoft Could Learn From Sony

MMGN: With the next generation of consoles surely imminent within the next 1-2 years, the big three console manufacturers in Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony could be forgiven for becoming a little complacent with their current-generation efforts. However, that's far from the case with Sony, who have managed to stay relevant through a variety of new additions to the PlayStation experience, on top of the many features they've continually built upon. Microsoft, on the other hand, seem to be placing more of an emphasis on the 'entertainment' side of things, rather than gaming (which is all well and good if that floats your boat) - here's five ways Sony can teach Microsoft a thing or two about the industry:

[DialgaMarine]

Microsoft could learn alot of things from Sony, like How to actually contribute something to an industry that you claim to be closely tied to, instead of abusing people's sheer stupidity and sucking all the money you can out. That, and if you're going to market a product to a more casual audience, try not sh*tting all over the audience that made you popular to begin with. These things are just a start.

[dee-ecks]

Waiting for the obligatory "5 Things Sony Could Learn From Microsoft" now....Ugh i hate these....

[t0mmyb0y]

Haah the only reason I opened this was to make that comment. Bubbles

[dee-ecks]

Great minds dude!!!

[knowyourstuff]

I know right. Thing is, very few xbox gamers have any clue what Sony is offering, their mindset is just so closed off from anything outside of xbox, Microsoft has certainly done a magnificent job of keeping xbots in a bubble of limited information, so if a competitor even offers something great like free game trials etc. people would have no idea without endless marketing campaign dollars to push the new content.

[ShinMaster]

I'm fine with Sony reaching for the casual crowd because they haven't abandoned their core fans.
Despite their efforts with Move, WBook and other games, they're still constantly announcing and releasing solid core games to the fans.

[JellyJelly]

@knowyourstuff - A lot of Xbox gamers, like myself, have been gamers since the 80's or 90's and know perfectly well what Sony is offering but are still choosing the 360 over the PS3.

I've had a lot of first-hand experience with the PS3 and it has a lot of awesome games. The thing that makes me choose the 360 over the PS3 is:

* I tend to play a lot of multiplat games which generally work better on the 360.

*I prefer the 360 controller over the Dual Shock.

* Xbox Live works better than PSN (especially voice chat. I play a lot online) and has a lot more games and content on offer. Can't get games like Trials Evolution, Mark of the Ninja or Shadow Complex on PSN.

* Although I love games like Uncharted, InFamous and other PS3 exclusives I like games like Halo, Gears of War, Alan Wake and Forza Motorsport more.

What I'm trying to say is that you don't always have to be close-minded to pick the 360 over the PS3. But since you are the type who goes off calling people "xbots" I don't think you will understand.

[Irishguy95]

Fanboys are so bloody close minded, it always has to be "They don't want Playstation because they don't understand it". Please stfu, they don't get PS because they like Xbox more, and only an idiot would think Xbox doesn't have 'some' qualities over Playstation. Playstation has exclusives/ie more games. Xbox still has a large backlog of multiplats which are good. Geez:
Ps fanboy - Yay exclusives coming out soon
Xb fanboy - Waaah..no exclusives :'(
Xbox fan - Yay, games coming out soon
Px fan - Yay, games coming out soon

If you're looking for quantity Ps3 has it along with Quality. If your looking for quality 360 still has it. Xbox also has quantity, jsut not as much as Ps

360 is good because of it's interface and Xblive. Every time I introduce people to Ps3 they don't like how it's layed out. It's like going from Windows Xp to windows 98. Then there is the chat, which might not be a big deal to some people here, however from personal experience, it makes Xblive a more user friendly environment to play with friends, or simply have a chat with them while gaming if you wish. "I go out to talk to friends" --- Yeah, anyone who ses this is also an idiot, the point is you can do it and you would do it if you had the option to do it. Again, in my experience people use it for that too, and if you don't want to chat to people and get immersed in a single player game, you can do that if you want.

Anyway, everytime I introduce people it's always "why do you play this, it's so annoying to use over Xbox". I simply respond "It has alot more quality games". That as simple as that. But i'd rather play multi and with friends on my 360.

[tokugawa]

knowyourstuff.. just stfu. me like millions of people that own an xbox have owned all the playstation consoles and know exactly what sony has to offer.

for numerous reasons i use my xbox alot more than my ps3. at the end of the last gen i used my xbox more than my ps2. the almost 70mil consoles microsoft have sold have not been to new gamers.

whereas last gen the ps2 sold around 120mil before this gen kicked off, they have now sold around 70mil also... what happened to those other 50mil gamers??

[kariyanine]

@knowyourstuff the same can be said of Sony gamers as well.

[mcstorm]

Jellyjelly i agree with everything you said and could not of worded it any better.

I own all 3 home consoles and also own a 3ds and psv. The 360 is the console i buy most games for because it offers a better online experience than the ps3.

But i always own all consoles because i like what nintendo and sony offer too.

I hope nintendo sony and microsoft all carry on the way they are going as they all offer something of there own and something different.

Last gen there was not much difference between the ps2 xbox and gamecub where there is this gen.

We will always have fan boys of big tech like games consoles computers phones ect because we live in a world of mine is better than your and until people wake up and say they pick something for themselfs rather than because its the best it will all carry on.

[Brosy]

I dont think MS needs to look at sony or nintendo for ideas. Live is great, games are great, they are doing just fine. If you are a sony loyalist please disagree. If you are a stealth sony troll please respond and act all innocent.

[Godmars290]

They certainly took notes, and licenses, from them. The Latter of which they then ran into the ground if not failed to utilize.

[guitarded77]

It's not about Sony/Nintendo loyalist, it's about making MS even better. As a gamer, I'd love to see MS adopt some things from Sony/Nintendo, and vice/versa. Sony adopted trophies from MS's achievement system, and it made Sony better than they were. That's just one example, but there are many more. The article lists some things that Sony does, that would make MS better than it already is if they adopted them. As a gold member, why wouldn't you like to see additions to the program to compete with PS+? Why wouldn't you like to see more HD remakes like Halo CE? Why wouldn't you like to see more exclusive core IPs? You blame Sony users, but you seem to be the loyalist here. Defending a company while the article isn't bashing, but just bringing forth some constructive ideas which could make MS even better.

[ShinMaster]

And that's it.

[Neko_Mega]

Live is a rip off and heres why:

Can't use Neflix without being gold.
Can't play online without gold.
Most so called "Apps" can't be use without gold.

Yet you can do all that for free on other consoles, PC, phones, tablets and so on. An by free I mean you don't have to pay to use Netflix (besides being a paid member).

Plus Microsoft did rush their system out of fear of PS3, which hurt them money wise.

[Godmars290]

@guitarded77

You're looking at it wrong. Doing what MS is, which is ignoring Silver accounts.

In "allowing" people who just buy their console to access Netflix or even Youtube with the browser and before the app, Sony gave value to their system where MS is more about service, which is paid for in addition to the system you've already bought.

Also PS+ and XBL are not the same services.

PS+ was a frequent buyer program which gave discounts and a few free things, now with giving access to full tiles its more of a leasing service. And still if you don't want it you don't have to buy it

XBL is primarily for online access. Achievements and cross game chat only enhance it, but with games more and more leaning on online multiplayer, its technically mandatory. You cannot get the full value out of a 360 game unless you have an online connection and XBL.

If MS tries to directly mimic PS+, add a full game leasing service o XBL, expect to pay more for XBL. Just like its price will go up once this cable thing is fully up and running.

[MysticStrummer]

Sony loyalists and stealth trolls are the only sources of opinions that differ from yours? No one can just, you know, disagree with you?

Too funny.

Here's reality : Some people prefer PS3 and some people prefer 360. I have more than a few friends who bought a 360 because it was first to market, but now none of them has one. They prefer PS3 and PSN over 360 and XBL. Who is right... them or you? The answer is neither.

MS will learn from both Sony and Nintendo, unless they never want to reach 1st place in the console market, which I seriously doubt.

[showtimefolks]

Hopefully with the hiring of Phil Harrison we will see MS game studios actually make decent games. Phil Harrison is one of the main reasons Sony has so many studios

I don't know at 5 things I know about 3

Make sure your next products doesn't have a big fault like RROD and I know they have fixed it with DLIM model but going forward they shouldn't have a fault that big in their launched products

Live shuld be free when ps4 offers free cross game chat along with the fact a psn service that's free why is live a paid service? Is it because f espn,twitter,Facebook,YouTube? Give us a service where we can download demos and play online and if someone want more features than they should have a option to pay for that service. MS fanboys disagree all you want besides cross game chat PSN does everything LIVE does and something's even better. So stop with blindly being in LVE with live

And games,games and nothing but games. Instead of paying millions for exclusive DLC pay that to a 2nd party studios to make some actual games for LIVE or retail version. For the first 4_5 years everything was about core gamers but than they saw wii making money with casuals and they totally forgotten about it and that's not an opinion that's a fact. Look at last few E3 and you will see its all casual better with kinect this or better with kinect that

I think MS will see the affect of that with their next system they turned a lot of core gamers against them self when they went all casual in us

So a free live
A fault free hardware launch
And games games and more games

Nintendo and Sony know how to delivers to their core audience

[nerdkiller]

i am very happy with my ps3, the one thing sony could learn from msoft is a new control model. however theres one thing sony should not be doing like msoft, and that is fps. i wish they would just make the games there great at.

fps games suck give me god of war over gears of war any day. thats including all fps even sonys im not a fan boy.

[demonddel]

Hey Nerdy dude FPS been around before Microsoft especially when Goldeneye put them on the map for consoles Microsoft just grab that audience that's now playing the most popular game on the planet COD which Microsoft don't own

[Bon Scott]

This article is a prime example of what N4g is REALLY about lol.
This article over time will pull out Sonys finest defenders on the net..... go figure.
I think Sony could learn the same if not more from MS from this gen......fact:)
Someone please submit a "Sony can learn from MS"opinion piece and see if it passes,along with the mass disagrees that would fall upon MS fans that post on it.

This article is so laughable and shows the transparency of n4 and it's SDF.
The 90 + agrees on the first post say it all.

[GuruStarr78]

@jellyjelly:

100% agreed..

[RumbleFish]

Since they've both sold about the same amount of current gen consoles, there has to be something for both of them to learn from each other.

[greenpowerz]

So MSFT should learn lessons from Sony resulting in being in last place after dominating for two generations? Fat chance!

[lonesoul65]

Only one thing Sony could learn from MS and probably the most important in the end...how to make a profit = P

[Blastoise]

How to make games instead of relying on timed-exclusive third party DLC.

[OneAboveAll]

This goes both ways. Sony could learn a lot from MS too you know. Such as how to have better security...

Fanboys gonna fanboy though...

[jslash]

Never said they couldn't.

FYI I'm the polar opposite of a Sony fanboy. Owned a 360 since launch and had a PS3 for just over a year, with every major game I play being on my 360.

[Blastoise]

Dude, its not like that. You don't pay for extra security with Xbox live, you pay because Microsoft want your money.

If anonymous wanted to hack Xbox live I have no doubt they would succeed.

Edit: Whatever man, I'm not denying PSN could'nt be a better more stable service. Just pointing out that Xbox live's "Better security" would be useless when it comes to Anonymous, which I assumed was what you were hinting at.

[OneAboveAll]

Wrong. Xbox live is a great service because the money we spend on it keeps it well maintained.

Second of all, I never said anything about paying for the security. Learn to read. Even if we didn't Sony could still learn how to upgrade theirs by taking poits from MS. Last time I checked XBL wasn't down months at a time... EVER.

[Kingnichendrix]

Yeah Xbox live is brilliant you pay for cross party chat and ads :)

[TCG_Returns]

Well maintained he says..

I never had any problems with hacked COD lobbies on PSN..

[GTRrocker666]

I have a ps3 and used to have a 360. I honestly couldnt tell the difference other than games, cosmetic differences, and features like chat. Beyond that they are the same.

[srcBFMVBMTH]

Better security? You REALLY think the dudes who hacked PSN couldn't hack XBL if they actually gave them a reason to? LMFAO. They were able to hack into the security of banks bro. What makes you think a gaming service won't be cake?

And what Blastoise said.

"You don't pay for extra security with Xbox live, you pay because Microsoft want your money."

Microsoft could learn from Sony about how to make hardware that doesn't blow up half the time. lol

[GrahamGolden]

the only thing sony could learn or copy if u prefer is in the controler department..sony has nothing to be jealous

they have the best AAA games and doesnt depend on third party exclusive dlc

the best online deals,borderlands,Red Dead,LBP2 just to name a few

the best indie devs who will dominate next gen sony console

better cloud service gaikai

u mad sis ?

[TheRealHeisenberg]

The one thing they have in common is their fanbases. Can't tell either side a damn thing because logic pretty much escapes them both.

[wages of sin]

They have the best games in your opinion. I find Sony's games to be overrated-and by a lot. That's why I sold mine.

Secondly, Sony rose to the top on the backs of third party. Now third party doesn't count? Fail. Either that or you're too young to remember when Sony came into the industry and what that was like. A lot of the shit you Sony fantards harp on Sony was doing years ago. They have exclusives but most of them are average at best. Not only that but MS started this gen with an explosion of games. Total they have about the same amount.

Play beyond my ass.

[srcBFMVBMTH]

@wages of sin

"I find Sony's games to be overrated-and by a lot."

Like what I find about Gears and Halo.

"Secondly, Sony rose to the top on the backs of third party. Now third party doesn't count? Fail."

"A lot of the shit you Sony fantards harp on Sony was doing years ago."

Same reason how exclusives only mattered to 360 fans when the PS3 didn't have much. And they constantly bashed on PS3 for it. But when the 360 doesn't have any, exclusives all of a sudden don't matter? Fail.

"They have exclusives but most of them are average at best."

"Not only that but MS started this gen with an explosion of games."

Your opinion. IMO that award goes to Gears and Halo. Same stuff they've been pushing out because they are too stupid to think of anything new expect for Kinect shovelware.

"Total they have about the same amount."

Maybe. But the 360 is practically beaten in most genres except for FPS. They severely lack variety. That right there is a fact, not an opinion.

[Kingnichendrix]

That is so true like the only thing they can learn, Marketing.

[xXBlondieVanHarlowXx]

Haha too funny, if it wasn't for that hack you'd be giving us the 07' "we haz more games" speech. How about writing an actual vice-versa article?

"Wrong. Xbox live is a great service because the money we spend on it keeps it well maintained."

Haha the money YOU spend allows you to get CoD maps 1 month ahead of other consoles. THAT and alot of advertisement for MS. You can't seriously believe XboxLive is un-hackable right?? :D Anyways, good laugh.

[Jazz4108]

You do understand that almost every advertisement on live is for things happening on the service. What ms has done so much better then sony this time is make a user friendly and dev friendly console thats not full of partial installs and slow ass connections a sloppy menu after sub menu and a commuinty broken apart with no standard headset plus a ton of great features are included on live sony does not offer with crisp voice connections and cross game chat and marketing. Sony has fallen so far this gen and i hate to say it but they deserve it and if they stay in business as there finances are a mess as not near as many people want there arrorgant overpriced junk then they will get trounced even more next gen if they dont change there ways which fans on here are blinded by.

[ninjabake]

@Jazz4108

I don't think an ad about the army and a TV Show has much to do with gaming.

[PirateThom]

All from 2012.... Top notch Microsoft security, am I right?

http://articles.timesofindi... - Microsoft's India store hacked, usernames & passwords stolen (Note: Passwords stored in plain text format)

http://nakedsecurity.sophos... - Microsoft rushes out fix after hackers reset passwords to hack Hotmail accounts

http://www.networkworld.com... - Microsoft's MAPP reportedly hacked, RDP exploits coming sooner than expected

http://finance.yahoo.com/bl... - Microsoft Warns of Internet Explorer Hack Potential

Whatever, though, it's not like online security matters as long as XBL isn't hacked, right?

[Oner]

"Whatever, though, it's not like online security matters as long as XBL isn't hacked, right?"

QFT

[rpd123]

The fact remains that XBL has never been hacked. ;)

[cpayne93]

I think the main thing they could learn from both ms and ninty is to have a mascot. They have a lot of great ips, which is why I perfer Sony, but nothing has the same influence that the chief and Mario have. Nathan Drake and Kratos are probably the closest things to mascots.

[ninjabake]

That's the thing, Sony has mascots. Plenty of them they just don't have one solid mascot and haven't had a bonafide mascot since the Crash Bandicoot days. But if you ask me Sackboy is an easy choice with Kratos being a candidate as well. As much as I like Nathan Drake I just don't see him as a viable mascot.

When I think of a videogame mascot you think of something sort of fantasty like or at least not necessarily "realistic" per say. Something with wide mass appeal that people who don't follow gaming as much, or are casual gamers can instantly recognize as a videogame character.

Now I know the days of the mascot are long gone but if Sony wanted to put a specific character at the forefront to push as a mascot, they easily could. Probably more so now than they ever could.

[attilayavuzer]

Sony could learn how not to put themselves out of business

[calis]

"Such as how to have better security... "

Live is hacked all the time, just not on the level Sony was.
Even Major Nelson had his account hacked.

Just google for the amount of stories of Live being hacked.

[ItsTrue]

Live was not hacked, his account was. Account does not equal online service.

[calis]

This may seem a little hard for you to understand, but who is responsible for the protection of his account and information?

[Sithlord-Gamble]

Sorry but ill take GOOD GAMES & 1st party exclusives ANY DAY over a nice interface for my online gaming needs.

Fanboys gonna fanboy tho.

[DOMination-]

Must be into xbox then as MS have 7 more first party studios than Sony ready for next gen.

[ceballos77mx]

Not kinect exclusives I imagen

[cedaridge]

@NoFanboyRequired! I may be wrong about the Christmas Season and xbox live been HACKED so i'll give you that BUBBLE. BUT then i'll snatch it back with YES xbox customers account's being Hacked. With xbox being a $ payed membership provider and Sony being a FREE payed membership provider How is xbox live better? I took your advise and researched it and found indeed "Major Nelson and other ppl ACCOUNT'S been hacked and microsoft employees have given folks the run around." Don't get on here acting like Microsoft can't do anything Wrong. And don't be NAIVE in thinkin just because you pay for something it won't happen to you. So THANK YOU I did my reseach and found xbox live is no better than psn when it come to being HACKED. Microsoft is just better at hideing it. LOL psn: cedaridge / xbl: cedar4Thunder

[DOMination-]

Funny that I get so many disagrees. MS has 20 first party studios now. Sony only has 12. Exclusives will not be a problem for MS next gen.

[Sithlord-Gamble]

Funny, howd those 20 studios work out for u this gen?
Other than the same 4 AAA titles every year?

Ill take Sonys 12 studios over MS 20 ANYDAY.

Theres no reason to believe things will change with MS.
Theyre all about multimedia and multiplat timed exclusives ... oh and kinect. Cant forget about that and all those great onrail games u guys get.

Youre just in denial. Wake Up.

[cedaridge]

You do know xbl have been hacked before during the Christmas Season? Now it wasn't to the degree that Sony was hacked but neverless XBOX Live Payed $ Service been hacked and Sony's FREE psn Service been hacked. So Really how much more better xbox live was than playstation network when they both got HACKED? psn: cedaridge / xbl: cedar4Thunder

[NoFanboyRequired]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it wasnt hacked, it was a server overload from the thousands and thousands of people connecting to live the day halo 3 came out. Also, it didnt go completely down, just had an unstable connection. Do some research before you fail more lol.

[Ayabrea123]

Fifa Hack. What security? That was a backdoor situation that compromised people's accounts that MS did NOT give compensation for but in fact blamed there customers, including the ones who didn't play fifa. I could understand Sony hack but at least they took fault and gave a free insurance policy to psn user affected for 1 million dollars if it ever happens again, on top of that free games and 3 months on PS+! Give me a break. For someone who got hacked they handled it a whole lot better than people who were actually COMPROMISED on Xbox. No one was compromised on Psn, not one person so where's the bs?

[iNFAMOUZ1]

why so much hate on 360 i love mine :) always on it

[jslash]

Not hate! I love mine too! It's just five things Microsoft could learn from Sony.

[QuantumWake]

Not exactly hating. I for one play my Xbox 360 everyday. But these are just some of the things MS could improve on. Most of the points made in the article are pretty good.

[Tito08]

Actually it's not hating... As Sony could learn a few things from Microsoft, but Microsoft could learn from Sony as well... I would say it is mostly on the first party department.. There's Crimson Skies, Killer Instinct, Jade Empire, Project Gotham, & other past IPs they could work on... They don't have to make em into full retail games, could be XBLA games too.. They have a very good developer in Rare...

Of what I read from a former Rare developer, Rare wanted to make KI3, but Microsoft said no... And funny that some of those Xbox fanboys in the comments saying Microsoft did the right thing by not allowing them to work on it, wow, on a very good IP..

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Yeah Microsoft can learn some things from Sony. Just like Sony, can learn some things from Microsoft. Other than MS doing just fine.

[jslash]

Considering doing a reverse article next week on what Sony could learn from MS, how does that sound?

[AngelicIceDiamond]

How does that soun.. I could care less. Ok so MS can learn to put more 1st party output, big whoop. MS seems to be doing fine with out new retail IP's. Though I like new Ip's sure but there not do or die for me and obviously from MS.

[cpayne93]

???

You ok? Seem kinda emotional. Don't be an asshole to the writer.