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:
40°
40°
40°
30°
Ad 
30°
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.
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.
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.
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??
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.
And that's it.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
100% agreed..
Fanboys gonna fanboy though...
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.
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.
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.
I never had any problems with hacked COD lobbies on PSN..
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
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 ?
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.
"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.
"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.
I don't think an ad about the army and a TV Show has much to do with gaming.
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?
QFT
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.
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.
Fanboys gonna fanboy tho.
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.
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..
You ok? Seem kinda emotional. Don't be an asshole to the writer.
kratos rape master chief nice bro
I live in Mexico I know these things.
I also have a feeling that the only people complaining about Live costing money (an astonishing 13 cents/day) are all under 15 years old. I just don't see how anyone who makes some sort of income couldn't afford it.
I mean, 50 bucks a year for someone who'll put up 600-700 hours online seems like a solid deal...can't remember the last game I bought that gave me that much value.
But anyway this is a dead issue, everyone here knows the online situation on each console and should buy accordingly...no use protesting something you knew you were getting into.
A programm like Playstation +.
The bottom line that competition is good, its probably not too smart to try and be directly like your competitor because your fans went with you for a reason. As a Xbox 360 owner I'm overall pretty happy with how they have come along in just their second generation, I do wish they had released a successor to the Xbox 360 already, but next year isn't too far off.
Read above: "UUHHH YOU PAY FOR XBOX LIVE LOLOLOLOLOL" so what? What's it to you what services people use and don't use? If you don't want to pay for XBL then don't but don't bitch at the people that prefer XBL to the PSN.
Each has their benefits and short comings.
It sets precedents that shouldn't be set.
Microsofts actions effect the entire industry and if something negative comes along such as forcing people to pay for online then people will automatically want it to fail so that it does not catch on with other companys who they game through.
The major ones being:
PSN: Free
Steam: Free
Whatever Nintendo Use (Sorry I don't own Wii): Free.
Non of these companies show any sign of saying "RIGHT, you need to pay to play now".
I love the PSN. Between my Xbox360 and PS3, PS3 has definitely had the most game time put into it. What bothers me here though is all the Sony fanboys having a circle jerk over how 'lame' they think XBL is.
I could say many things about Microsoft, and how much they've made me angry, but I've learned it makes other people upset when I do, so I will try to direct my complaints to Microsoft in a forum that only Microsoft themselves can hear or see it.
Game saves are becoming an issue as they are now locked by certain developers and unable to be backed up by users. These locked saves can magically be saved to cloud storage though...provided a paid membership is used. Past consoles didn't have this problem. So why take the user's ability to copy saves away?
Almost every game disc requires at least one online update. These "1.01" updates are available on release day and seem to only provide a "hook" to online in order to complete the game. Past consoles didn't have that many broken games on release day. So why use online to make sure every game is broken on release day? Doesn't that contradict the entire purpose of online updates to begin with?
Every digital game bought from the online store can't be backed up by the user. You can back up the garbage data but you can never recover your "purchases" unless the digital store activates it. So instead the only reliable method of getting your purchased games is through the online store... a store that might not be available next generation. Sega, Panasonic, NEC, and others left the console market. Who's to say these three will stay or even bother to keep the service next gen? Microsoft and Sony both stopped supporting backwards compatability of PS2 and Xbox titles. Why would the digital format be any different?
Online game servers dropping out before the gen is over. Yet they surrounded the entire industry around it and call it the future without any considerable foresight…or hindsight for that matter. Instead they pass the costs on to the consumer to feed their pockets endlessly.
Get your gaming priorities to the top and the service should follow. Not the other way around where your service comes first and nothing else stands in the way. Because of that both the games and the gamers have gotten a lot less this generation and most don't even know it yet. Those who haven't read the terms and conditions yet will only be fooled until the next generation starts. Mark my words.
u r an idiot i would not call that begging, i think ur jealous coz u could not write an article of this quality
You must be twelve years old or something, go to school and stop name-calling people on the internet for asking a question that didn't harm anyone.
They all have strengths, and all have weakness, every company does. Simply implying a company could learn from someone else isn't saying the company sucks....
For Sony:
-They can learn to make their online network run a little smoother and possibly making online communication with friends and other people easier. Not saying anythings wrong with PSN. I love it very much but you can't lie and say live isn't the better service for online. But I don't want Sony to start charging for online but I'm definitely willing to pay for psn+ which I already do and am enjoying the free game if they use some of that revenue for building a better online network
-The next thing Somy needs to learn is to market their blockbuster games better like how Mocrosoft does. I mean the Kevin Butler commercials were a great start so build on that and have him do more commercials.
For Microsoft:
-They can learn from Sony is to produce a bunch of new IP exclusives and stop doing the exclusive times DLC. There is no benefit to that. Go buy some creative and talented studios and give them the freedom to create their own unique game. For example I know RARE can still make great games so let them do their own thing instead of kinect shovelware.
- Xbox live should be similar to PS+ that you get free games and discounts for paying yearly subscription. It has certainly benefited for Sony so they should do the same to rewards 360 owners.
Those are my thoughts for both sides. I used to own a 360 but now I own a ps3. Im most likely going ps4 next gen but that doesn't mean I won't get a 720 eventually
BTW 360 outsold the PS3 WW last year. So there goes that "past 3 years" theory.
Well you were talking shit about something that had nothing completely to do with this article. Man you xbox fanboys are ignorant.I know the 360 outsold it WW last year but what by less than a million? The only reason 360 did was becaus of that holiday bundle which had reach and fable 3. That barely put you over the edge. Well lets see this year Oh I think the ps3 is winning WW sales. So the next time you want to talk shit dont be a moron about it
so i can get hack like sony hell ya and have bad net codeing and 200 games and jap that i cant get and games that online die and re release ps3 for 2012 put red on a psp 2!!! and be 6 billion in the hole and lay off people to. all i got to say is halo ftw. ps sony is ass
The only thing that MAINLY keeps me on my PS3 is the fact that MS fell asleep at the gaming wheel quite a while ago, my appeal in Sony is the fact they take dramatic risks in most their exclusive titles where MS wants the safe bet all the time... The fresh ideas are what keep me interested, the ideas of doing something on 1 console that you can't on the other... that's where 3rd party support don't mean much if at all to me!
MS's happy cause they are still in the lead currently, but with sales of PS3 still going strong and staying in close... I know they gotta be somewhat bummed in that!
Might I also add that Sony can learn a thing or two about how to make their network as engaging as Xbox live. PSN is a joke and the community aspect needs to be completely revamped.
Oh and by the way, don't get me started on the ridiculous install times for games on Playstation 3... Just as easy as it is for a fanboy to praise their console, a real gamer would be honest enough to point out the flaws for their system as well. Xbox and Nintendo both have flaws too but given the nature of this article my points on focused on sony for the minute.
and community aspect of PSN needs to be revamped?... Playstation Home STILL exists and TONS of people STILL use it!
I know I'd love to be on Home but my internet isn't the greatest for it at the moment. But when Home first went live... it was freaking awesome going bowling with people than right there your Avatars link up while still in Home, and boot right into a game for you all to play together...
Also if they carry over Home to PS4 I can only imagine what they do with it, and I definatley see it as a overlooked edge that Live definatley don't have... and the Arcade for your Live avatars, IS indeed a crappy attempt at it!
Obviously no system is perfect and I'm sure Xbox 360 fans would admit the faults of company and move on.
Funny thing is Sony fans must also admit the same. After all the PSN hacking was just as bad as the xbox rrod fiasco.
... but there were trophies in Star Ocean last generation.
So even IF Insomniac hadn't done it first, Microsoft STILL wouldn't be next in line.
Engaging? What do you consider "engaging?" Because there's nothing as "engaging" on XBL as Home is. Lemme guess: party and cross-game chat. Because it's SO "engaging" to talk to your buddies in different games while you're playing something that SHOULD require teamwork...
Install times... that was the last card in your hand? You sure you don't wanna fold? I'd advise you to walk away from the table now; this pot is too rich for your blood.
Edit: You can tell whose fans were reading by the agree-disagree rates on the various comments. Even the factual ones.
That "Home is boring" argument is the last bastion of people who aren't using it. Simple enough.
Installs don't take an hour. Most- and most games don't require an install- are a matter of minutes. You DO have some info-heavy games, like Gran Turismo, but those are few and far between.
Wanna try again?
Spoken like a true Sony fanboy who doesn't and has never owned a 360. For your information talking to your buddies cross gameas IS engaging and just goes to show that there is a huge community on Live playing different games. But I guess Home would be MORE engaging right? I mean trying to hit on every (fake) woman avatar that runs your way is a much better gaming experience.