PS4 is the superior everything. Aside from having superior hardware and functions, it is actually produced by a company that didn't try to royally **** their consumers.
"If we keep giving away online access for free, the natural pressure is that we have to cut down on the cost to provide this free service. But that's conflicting with our goal of being able to provide very robust and great online services going forward. So we decided that on PS4, because we want to continue to invest and improve our new services, we've asked the most engaged consumers in the online activities to share the burden with us so that we can continue to invest."
I also agree. I think PSN needs to get more lively and filled with people's voices and mics. XBL is a great online service thought. It may not offer the CASH VALUE that PS+ does, however I think XBL offers better features such as party chat, which is HUGE in my opinion. I really hope cross-game party chat comes to PSN next gen.
A man hasn't experiences instability on PSN. He has played LoU today and connected just fine. A man doesn't see what XBL could improve, especially considering PS3 works fine free and already had dedicated servers for many games. Now they will have a paywall so PSN will only get better.
There are: radical Xbox fanboys, Xbox fans, neutral gamers, PS fans, and radical PS fanboys.
(I excluded Nintendo, because they are not immediately relevant to the topic of this article. Also, the format of my listing would look odd with three groups.)
I like to classify myself as a 'PS fan'. I prefer PS and as such, will defend them, but I try to give credit where credit is due. For example, I'd have to be delusional to deny that MS has a quality network on heir hands in the form of XBL.
I think both services will excel, but where the differences will lie is in value and fairness in service. I think XBL is a quality network and service, but like I said before these consoles were even announced, you'd have to be a bit naive to think that Sony has no chance of having a network that stands against XBL, especially since they have Gaikai technology on their side.
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"But as of right now, Xbox Live still has the edge due to more stable servers, cross-game chat, ESPN, and other exclusive apps such as HBO GO."
How do we know that the servers are more stable for PS4 and XB1? Sony has their own ever increasing farm of servers as well as the Gaikai servers, now that they have ownership of that company.
Cross-game chat has been confirmed to be free outside of the PS+ premium service as well as auto-updates, applications and free-to-play games.
Access to applications is locked into the premium service on Xbox One, based on what we know.
I don't see Microsoft topping the absolute blasting value of PS+, because they don't want to give this value away. It hurts them to allow it, as has been shown recently with their Games for Gold.
"As for the PSN side, their network is also improving, albeit less ambitiously."
I can agree to Microsoft adding a larger stable of non-gaming related features, but how can you be sure Sony's network capabilities are less ambitious than Microsoft. Have you seen how the OS and network are integrated?
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You also skipped over Microsoft's desire to use Kinect as a way to personalise advertisements on the Xbox One, on your Policies section - surely this is an important thing to consider under this column. Microsoft are planning to build advertisements into the gaming experience to attempt to combat 'ad blindness' and ensure you enjoy interacting with them, so they can make money without most people knowing. http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Probably one of the main reasons they are bundling Kinect with the system and ensuring that it has be "always-listening".
Well said. Given how Sony has performed with PS+ I have no worries that I will get a ton of value with my continued subscription. Will Microsoft match that value, it's too early to say. I sure hope so.
It's a hard call, if it were the same like this gen I would give the edge to Microsoft but we have yet to actually see how we'll the new psn will be handled with everything changing.
I laughed so hard when I read how M$'s reversal of the DRM situation showed they listen to their customers. Consumer complaints had nothing to do with the reversal at all, M$ listened to all the complaints by the fans and said it's better this way. The reversal was the direct affect of being slaughtered in pre-orders, and that is fact.
Have you been laughing hard with how Sony has been handling the PS4? Cause that's a direct result from all the sales they lost from the PS2 era and how bad the PS3 launch was with it's high price point, difficult hardware and their ego flattened.
Why do you think they changed their launch for the PS4, btw don't get me wrong i bought my PS3 launch day as i did my 360 and unlike my 360 it didn't break on me the second month after i bought it. MS launch with so much hardware failure just to beat Sony's launch day, but now PS3 have sold more World Wide then 360 with a year late and a higher price point start, that tells you how well Sony dealt with their arrogance now its time to see how MS will deal with theirs.
I was still laughing when I still got GoTY titles like TLOU and AAA games GT6, Beyond: TS while I cant even remember the last exclusive 360 even released with. I am sure Sony wouldnt re-do how they approached last gen with their price because it allowed Blu-Ray to succeed which was a necessary evil at the time. What Sony needed last gen was better availability at the start which hurt them and better marketing campaign as MS slaughters Sony in the states in marketing.
As I understand it, dedicated servers are an option for One games but are not guaranteed. It's up to the publisher, who would pay a fee to MS to handle those servers if they chose to use them.
ALL developers can access the servers free of cost. Microsoft handles everything so the devs don't have to. Thus the reason many have talked about being able to do things they otherwise might not, or wouldn't be cost effective to do.
Can someone tell me why microsofts marketing is so god awful. No commercial out for Xbox one, Sony had one. No UI video out for Xbox one Sony has one. I'm a die hard gamer and will be getting both but love my Xbox360 way more than my ps3. Sony makes great offline exclusives that's about it. Online service is slow and shotty, so naturally I'm pulling for the new Xbox. But they fumble at every opportunity and then don't even market the products. It's just redic in my honest opinion!
for ages I've been playing online on ps3 and its quiet good service, i have also tried xbox live and for the money you pay its just not worth the little difference if there is any. and most importantly the ads, its strange that they didn't mention them but for me its certainly a deal breaker considering its a paid service to begin with.
I know Microsoft reversed the DRM policy in the Xbox one(after the first update). But my question is this. What about all those people who have no internet access. There are many people I know who bought 360's and PS3's, and never had internet providers. I know that's a small percentage today. But that's still a large number of people. Unless the game store will update your xbox one for free if you tell them you have no internet connection or your internet is turned off temp. There might be a lot of bricked Xbox ones at launch.
Games will ship with the update at some point most likely. Go to the library & download the update to a usb. Tether your smartphone. There will be options.
Microsoft can solve this problem easily by including the patch with every Xbox One game that way even those without an internet connection can free their Xbox from Microsoft's previous DRM policy.
How can you compare online services that you have not even tried? What a troll article this is. One can only wait and see which network is better in the long run... It will take weeks of comparisons and years of improvements before we know. Until then we can only assume there will be no difference!
Who has the longer HDMI cable? followed by who uses better plastic with the packaging of their games. followed by "Green Vs blue...what colour is better?"
Live right now is better than PS+, but, with the help of all the money that they are going to be bringing in with these required subscriptions, i wouldn't be surprised if PS+ surpasses Live with flying colors.
PS+> Xbox one apps.
Indie self publishing alone should have won PS4 this round.
Indie games will be mentioned in the next round
A fair enough decision.
Personally, I prefer the services and value provided by PS+, but it's hard to deny that Xbox LIVE is a quality and stable network.
I think both services will excel, but where the differences will lie is in value and fairness in service. I think XBL is a quality network and service, but like I said before these consoles were even announced, you'd have to be a bit naive to think that Sony has no chance of having a network that stands against XBL, especially since they have Gaikai technology on their side.
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"But as of right now, Xbox Live still has the edge due to more stable servers, cross-game chat, ESPN, and other exclusive apps such as HBO GO."
How do we know that the servers are more stable for PS4 and XB1? Sony has their own ever increasing farm of servers as well as the Gaikai servers, now that they have ownership of that company.
Cross-game chat has been confirmed to be free outside of the PS+ premium service as well as auto-updates, applications and free-to-play games.
Access to applications is locked into the premium service on Xbox One, based on what we know.
I don't see Microsoft topping the absolute blasting value of PS+, because they don't want to give this value away. It hurts them to allow it, as has been shown recently with their Games for Gold.
"As for the PSN side, their network is also improving, albeit less ambitiously."
I can agree to Microsoft adding a larger stable of non-gaming related features, but how can you be sure Sony's network capabilities are less ambitious than Microsoft. Have you seen how the OS and network are integrated?
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You also skipped over Microsoft's desire to use Kinect as a way to personalise advertisements on the Xbox One, on your Policies section - surely this is an important thing to consider under this column. Microsoft are planning to build advertisements into the gaming experience to attempt to combat 'ad blindness' and ensure you enjoy interacting with them, so they can make money without most people knowing. http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Probably one of the main reasons they are bundling Kinect with the system and ensuring that it has be "always-listening".
It's a hard call, if it were the same like this gen I would give the edge to Microsoft but we have yet to actually see how we'll the new psn will be handled with everything changing.
So as of now =