Why Xbox Live is a Paid Service – Why PSN is NOT

"I’m getting downright sick and tired of reading so many fan boy comments on the internet about how Xbox Live shouldn’t cost any money. As someone who is unbiased to this, as I own both an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and have used both of their online services I can attest that paying for Xbox Live is absolutely worth it, and I plan to explain why in this article."

Cody @ VideoGameBlogger

[come_at_me_bro]

Two of your favorite features are contradictory. Everyone has a mic so they can communicate, but you don't hear anyone because you're in a party with your friends all the time? Okay bro, you sold me.

[codyodiodi]

No. I can talk with them if I want. But I don't have to.

On top of that all my friends have mics, so no they don't contradict at all.

[skagrerrrr]

wow mate, you got 60 disagrees...aawesoooomeee! I'd hate to be you right now :o(

[Kleptic]

I'm a little lost at some of your examples of why XBL is better though, aside from the party chat feature...

What I'm really confused about though is your problems with title updates?...I've never owned a multiplatform game that was 'never' getting updates that the 360 version was...and the only one that I know of is the orange box, which Valve never supported the PS3 version from the beginning...

Also, this too has nothing to do with XBL or the PSN...in fact developers (valve included) have ALWAYS stated that the PSN is easier to patch games than XBL...where patches need to be submitted much farther in advance than the PSN or PC patches, as MS will do their own quality control checks on the updates before letting them go live...this makes patching 360 games even more expensive...Sony does this to some degree with the PSN, but the PSN is a much more open networking community for developers to do what they want (i.e. UGC for games like UTIII)...so developers still need to get certain updates approved by Sony, the process is far less tedious and cheaper...

When the 360 gets an update first...its because of the user base, not that its 'easier' for XBL...more people are playing games like MW2 on XBL at any given moment than on the PSN...so there is a stronger incentive to fix that version first...also, more users ALWAYS means more problems with networking...a lot of the time problems on XBL are NOT being experience for the PSN user base...they are different networks and different systems entirely...the reverse side of this would be fallout 3...where the PS3 version was getting constant updates, and the 360 was not...point being, the 360 didn't need them, the PS3 did...

I see what you mean about certain DLC coming to the 360 first...thats just marketing by MS and 3rd party publishers...You are not getting the DLC free...you still pay the EXACT same amount as PSN users...you just get access to it first...to many of us that, thats simply a waste of money...you are paying a premium to have access to premium content first, albeit you will still have to pay for it?...I look at PS plus the same way...but i like that the PSN gives you the option for this, you still get all the features (all but ONE of XBL) for free...and are offered the xbl'like premise of paying a premium to be offered content before others...

either way man, your article reads like you made up your mind first...and then just listed things that fit your opinion...Down time on PSN?...come on, both have down time...and the PSN is only down for hours at a time a few times a year for scheduled maintenance...XBL has crashed for days on end several times this generation...christmas after Halo 3 nearly shattered it...it happens when something is popular...but the biggest problem is that almost everything you listed has nothing to do with where exactly your money is going for the service...

lastly...just like every article like this...you always dodge the biggest thing...Why do tons of online PSN titles have huge banks of high speed dedicated servers?...and almost no 360 titles?...that is something where money would be well spent on XBL...Sony seems to manage doing this for nearly every online title they make, and even some 3rd parties do it on the PSN, but not on XBL? (back to epic again with UT3 for example)...MS doesn't even do it for their own games?...

Paying a premium to play games online where someone's residential broadband connection is the host never made that much sense to me (leave out the P2P stuff, XBL doesn't do that nearly as much as many people think)...but I guess i'm in the minority on this...

[VandimionX]

I really wish this idiot wouldn't dodge all the replies like yours, and actually elaborate on his (never well thought out) articles. He's a fanboy troll folks, best we all just move-along and ignore his posts from now on.

[cruncher_20]

Having both system (ps3 and xbox) don't make you unbiased !

[spec_ops_comm]

"I could set up a fake KKK related account on PSN right now and really annoy some African Americans."

Wow... Just... Wow.

Unreal. Such an unbelievably random and offensive idea. Why would you publish this with your name on it?

Your article sounds like it was written by a 12 year old boy. Please keep your thoughts to yourself next time, kthx.

[specialguest]

This has got to be one of the worse written articles/opinion blog ever. It reminds me of a simplistic children's argument similar to the "my dad can beat your dad up" stuff.

And then when asked to elaborate why? Little Cody replies with, "because..umm..because my dad has big muscles!"...oh no! lol!

Most of your examples are irrelevant and could be countered.

[UltraNova]

Kleptic, man I couldnt say it better my self. Well said made.

[TheREAL-HyDRo1x]

It's funny how the author of this ridiculous story is posting the obvious on a news website. Anyhow, I go on PSN every day as I have been for almost 4 years now and I've only been unable to connect due to Sony like 3 times now! I like this one, "...I’m getting ESPN and a couple other streaming services on Xbox Live this month, sure I don’t like sports but it’s nice to know that I have it.", Hey I'm getting a bowl of cow manure, I don't like its taste but good to know its there! Also I don't read any text messages on my phone because I'd rather just by a book (sure Text parties are lame but hey thats a sorry reason!). You can now report people through PSN also I don't see how creating a new account counts as cheating, I've seen cheating in almost every 360 game and only in COD series on PS3! You sure love bashing huh, as if creating a new account for free is a bad thing. What if a girl want to get away from all the harassment and creates a new account, or you just want another personal account. Go ahead and post your terrible blog on your blog website, but don't bring it here man!

[jessupj]

I've said it once and I'll say it again, dedicated servers will always trumpth ANYTHING XBL has to offer as long as it forces you to pay for greatly inferiour P2P technology. It seems for a lot of 360 fanboys this is their first gaming console and so they are uneducated about the benifits of dedicated servers.

XBL could give me a blowjob while I play online for all I care, I'd still hate it because I'd still be playing laggy P2P games.

[Kleptic]

^^XBL rarely uses P2P anymore, as its much more problematic networking wise because it relies on everyone's uploading speed more than normal host/client networking...

I can't think of any current, or at least popular, 360 titles using true P2P networking for gaming...As in a situation where everyone's broadband connection shares hosting duties...its an IT protocol that looks great on paper, but just one limited connection can cause the entire game to fail for everyone, not just the person with the bad connection...

XBL now mostly uses a network wide heartbeat server, that every user connects to...but that server (well technically its 1000's of servers) is limited to stat tracking and 'location' services that is used for user awareness (i.e. it tells other users what game you are playing or what you are doing, etc.)...and its opened for voip, so that you can chat with any user anywhere at anytime...

but thats all it does...actual game hosting is done by 1 person's connection...The game's are usually coded with some form of a matchmaker that tests every persons connection on the fly before a match, and the 'best' one is used for hosting...anyone familiar with broadband internet connections knows the rest...the game plays great for the host, and several others with great connections, but the majority of residential broadband connections aren't nearly as fast as needed to connect to another dinky connection...which is handling uploading information to as many as 24 other players...

So what do you get?...Host advantages, as they don't have to worry about upload speed to their own connection, and constant dropped games when the host's connection times out to multiple users...Or worse, a game ender just because the host quit, and didn't know he was the host...some newer games now use host migration, in which the heartbeat server gets enough information to 'pause' a game and quickly find a new host...but it can take enough time that multiple users will simply quit, rather than wait for the game to start again...

The PSN does this too on some multiplatform games...but any first party online enabled game ships with 100's of activated high speed servers for hosting...so then its just like PC gaming used to be...everyone playing is a client...and a beast of a server with a commercial connection is dealing out the info faster than any home connection could dream of...THAT is no lag for users...period...

Thats why when people say 'you get what you pay for with xbl'...they almost never know what they are talking about...when the dedicated server issue is brought up, they reply with 'well, i don't have any lag because i have a great connection'...good for you, but its not even close to what a real host server can do...

[number47]

all of my 'friends' on PSN have mics, else I couldn't have made friends with them.

[erathaol]

I made a few friends online who don't have Mics and some on Home too when I was bored. Just MP's are way better when you interact with friends who have mics, cause you lend your personality to your actions.

A neat PS3 feature is the voice changer to me, can go in sounding like a chipmunk or the killer of a horror movie. LOL

[wsoutlaw87]

@erathaol no offence but that is the worlds most annoying feature

[GoldPS3]

Believe me not everyone on XBL use mics.

[HDgamer]

That is completely true.

[aquamala]

true but on XBL if I'm in a game of 10 people, on average at least 2-3 would be on mics. on PSN I have played hours of medal of honor or CoD and never heard anyone talk.

[shoddy]

Sometime just wanna communicate for the team to win, some sucka just wanna be the king of the room and put people down. Then I have to call thier mom a c0ck sucking ho for not teaching thier kids manner.

[wsoutlaw87]

i agree on moh because people stopped talking cuz the chat sucks on moh but, on cod, no way have you played hours and never heard anyone talk.

[lazysey]

They are using their mics, just not publicly.

[seinfan]

I'm usually in a private chat or party when I play online. People in the game may very well think I don't have a mic, much like yourself.

[wlchrbandit]

Yeah, I recently bought an xbox, and most of my friends who play 360 said that everyone has a mic so everyone talks. BULL! I played Reach for hours, came across about 3 people using mics, same with COD4, I VERY rarely come across people that are talking. I'm also kinda shocked that more people actually talk on PSN, and the people that do tend to care more about the game as they went and spent money on a mic. Also, in the past week of playing on 360, all the 6 people I have ran into have been no older than 13, and bloody annoying..

They may have mics but they're all in party chats so that argument is completely invalid.

[DJnal05]

cuz it died!! 2 years ps3 headset... rock sold...

[elmaton98]

You know is true that people get a free Mic when you buy a xbox 360 but I rather not talk than used a piece crap Mic and audio quality on PS3 is far more superior than that of the 360

[No Way]

I call BULL on you!!!!!!! lol.
PSn is soo lonely to me. =(

[RazRei]

the assholes are in party chat. In a team oriented game you get NOTHING done because they're in party chat/doesn't have their mic connected. It gets annoying when I'm playing BFBC2 and my team is running around like a bunch of chicken with their heads cut off.

PSN is a mixed bag. You either have everyone with mics or none at all. But the barrier of entry is pretty cheap seeing how almost all blue tooth headsets will work with the PS3.

And if you're too dumb to pair a headset to your PS3, good. You probably didn't have anything of interest to say.

[frostypants]

So random nobody posts uninteresting thoughts to his blog, and it's N4G worthy?

Awesome.

[Condemnedman]

yep so f@nboys can vent their pointless anger .

[No Way]

Welcome to N4G......

[skyblue14213]

From my experience I rather play without mics because most of the time the people that have them are so annoying that I have to mute(the single best online feature imo) them so I can enjoy the game and not be annoyed by their blabbing. I could see mics as useful in coordinated strategic war combat type games like mag or something like that, but the people that have them better use them properly in game related situations and maybe some "congratulations" or "good job" type comments. Otherwise I don't want to hear anything else because it ruins the game imo. I mean small talk is ok once in a while but that is it and it should not go beyond that unless the game battle session is over. I am there to play the game, not to hear useless nonsense while playing "said" game.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

I hope that, if Sony does do cross-game chat, they limit it to single-player modes for that reason. I want to concentrate on the game I'm playing and have people communicating with their team. Also because of the potential of cheating by using cross-game chat to communicate when the game would prohibit you from doing so.

[foss3]

voice chat volume should be able to be turned off in settings on all games. i hate games where you have to individually mute each player every time i'm thinking modern warfare, but could be wrong.

it's either some suburban white kid who thinks he's a ghetto inner-city gang banger or some high pitched 10 year old kid screaming come on guys let's attack!

[wsoutlaw87]

yes mute is the best. On games that dont have it I end up having to turn on my mic and toss it on the floor so i dont have to hear it.

[CimmerianDrake]

"As someone who is unbiased to this..."

Just because you own both doesn't mean you are unbiased. An unbiased individual would state the positives and negatives of BOTH services, not sit there and drool over one while shunning another. But let's go over your points.

Point 1: If the devs decide to give the 360 content first, it's not PSN's fault it's the devs choice. Devs don't get any part of the annual subscription fee that Live members pay, so it's not like that is an enticement. It's more likely Microsoft buys exclusive content.

Point 2: Did you conveniently forget the 2 weeks of downtime when Halo 3 released? Or how about the downtime virtually every year that there is a Fall update on Live? PSN has never randomly gone down for me except the one time where everyone had the clock issue, and that was for all of 2 days. Sony tells everyone that PSN will be down for maintenance, and it's never for very long. Small moments of downtime to keep up PSN is preferred to having 2 weeks without it.

Point 3: Those "extra features" are free elsewhere, and could potentially ruin a gaming experience. I don't know about you, but when I'm playing a specific game, I don't want someone who is playing a different game coming online and sampling some of his awful freestyling, or talking about what he's had for dinner, etc. I want to concentrate on the game. Cross game chat is not a feature worth paying for, nor is party chat. A feature that IS worth paying for would be something like dedicated servers for EVERY game. Something that enhances the actual games themselves, not areas for people to get their ego fest on. In truth, voice chat is only marginally necessary for shooter games really. You can't really justify it for other genres.

Point 4: Irrelevant. That is all. Mics have nothing to do with the price of Live.

Point 5: First, you didn't talk about cheaters at all. Second, the jerks are more prevalent on Live still to this day. So tell me how that $60 a year has prevented it? Truth is, jerks are a part of life and always will be. And you're forgetting that you don't need to pay for Live to have a Silver (now known as a Free) account and still be a jerk.

Point 6: This is hardly a universal issue. I have never had an update on PSN take longer than 10 minutes. It all depends on when you choose to update, and the stability and quality of your connection. I would bet that you exaggerate that 60+ min example, and this is still nothing that makes Live worth paying for. Downloads are almost ALWAYS a user issue, as everyone has different connection speeds.

Point 7: And if you're naive enough to believe that people pay for Live because they actually want these features, and it has little to nothing to do with the fact that THEY HAVE NO CHOICE if they want to game online, then you deserve being ripped off for free features. The minute amount of extra features that Live has over PSN are NOT worth paying for, and the fact remains that you are paying Microsoft to allow you to access your already paid for internet connection. You are paying to play. The fact you get ESPN, Facebook, etc. which are free elsewhere is just a smoke screen designed to make you think you're paying for something substantial, when you're not. That $60 a year that PSN users DO NOT pay can be used for one more game a year.

For what PSN offers for free, it's value is much greater than Live. That's just a fact.

[DXM1]

bubbles for actually bothering to respond to that amateur of a writer.

[iHEARTboobs]

Well said.

[Undeadwolfy]

Win of EPIC Proportions

[Oxymoron28]

I made a some what similar post down below somewhere, but yeah as for point 7, they get ESPN, I get BBC iPlayer, for free.

There's not been a price boost for that feature, nothing like that. It's completely free. And something I will ACTUALLY use more then once...

[No Way]

On your point 6, I just have one question.. serious question. -.-
Why does it take 3290532 hours to download a demo on PSn.
But, only about 45 minutes to download same demo on Live?

User issue, possibly. But, it makes no sense to me.

[Anon1974]

Something's wrong with your connection. Plain and simple. I've never, ever had anything take that long. I download episodes of Qore usually at 1 1-5 Gigs, demos, beta's - you name it and I've never had anything take longer than 20-minutes, half an hour...tops.

Comparative downloads have been done in the past and found, downloading the same demos on the same connections that there is virtually no difference between PS3 and 360 load times. Google it. Same goes, I understand, with Netflix on each console.

Something is wrong with your connection.

[MUNKYPOO]

just because someone owns both consoles does not make the person unbiased. As i own both and im biased

[GamingGamer]

he said. "PSN lags while XBL dont"

ok first of all, PSN and XBL have SAME servers for games..

and if you compare download speed, PSN is faster.

it just shows that you are desperately making this up to justify paying for XBL.

its kinda pathetic when you have to lie to make an argument.

[ssj2gohan83]

Wow, what a biased article. Why am I not surprised.

[skagrerrrr]

what a D*CK of an article...

[coolbeans]

1. Just having both consoles and using both online services doesn't mean you're not predisposed to a certain bias. I'm not trying to claim he/she is, but starting off your article like that only draws more attention as to whether you could be biased or not, let your reasoning on the subject matter "do the talking".

2. Not all people on the internet who don't think XBL is worth paying are fanboys. I'm aware he/she never stated that up front, but some people legitimately think Xbox Live shouldn't cost money, they're not all fanboy comments.

[Fishy Fingers]

Good post.

[coolbeans]

I agree :P. Srsly, thank you :D.

[gigaware]

He's probably talking about the armies of PS3 fanboys that regurgitated the same O'l bull day in and day out. I don't think 360 fans not happy with the fee make bit*hing about a few bucks a month when they spend hundreds every few months a life long goal. Seems a bit naive you thinking 360 fans have a belligerent attitude towards the fee when it's clear as day the people complaining don't even own the 360.

[xAlmostPro]

@gigaware im sorry but you talk about armies of PS3 fanboys, and probably have said before (like most 360 fanboys) that PS3 fanboys are worse..

Yet you get articles like this, completely biased..

Read 90% of the comments against XBL, most likely by in your eyes "PS3 fanboy" and their arguements will consist of facts..

where as most of the comments for XBL, consist of "psn lags more, xbl is better i can talk to my friends more"..

just saying, you contradict yourselfs alot

[OSU_Gamer]

@xAlmost

"Read 90% of the comments against XBL, most likely by in your eyes "PS3 fanboy" and their arguements will consist of facts.. "

Where are the facts?
PS3 and 360 fanboys or not, its all opinion. Its people arguing that the extra features of XBL are worth $60 a year and people who argue the opposite.

You can state facts about each service, but that doesn't mean that one service is necessarily better.

"where as most of the comments for XBL, consist of "psn lags more, xbl is better i can talk to my friends more".. "

and how is that different when most of the comments for PSN are about how PSN is less laggy because a small ammount of games have dedicated servers? ITs funny to see people assuming that dedicated servers automatically means less lag. My online experience with KZ2 says differently.

Add to that the OPINION of many xbl haters that PSN is better because a a few games allow for 30+ players, as if that automatically makes PSN better.

Bottomline:
You are discrediting his response (whether his response is right or wrong) by calling opinions facts.

[Areeb11]

It epitomizes your username coolbeans
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Nitrowolf2]

" Let’s not forget that most multi-platform games get exclusive content only for the Xbox 360"

please name a game that has exclusive content for 360, in most cases it's timed. Dante Inferno, MoH, Tales of Vesparia, Dead Space 2,Bioshock, Mafia 2,and more on PS3 get more contents. I would love to see other games other then MW2 (and wow they are just map packs). I know fallout new vegas for 360 is getting dlc, most likely timed though sicne on PS3 version there are option to access dlc.

And most patches for games for multiplat take around the same time, i think only a few games where the patch was month later and that has happened only a few times.

SO he has been a member for SIX years and hasn't experience one downtime other then from his provider, yeah utter BS, Live has had it share of random downtime, at least Sony notify you when they are going down. Also how can he say six years? I mean he is trying to compare it to PSN, 360 came out near the end of 05 which now is roughly 5 years. I know live existed on xbox but he is comparing it to PSn which didn't exist at the time and other features that it didn't have then (xbox 1)

Also aren't there more cheaters on XBL then PS3? I mean they certainly have more people with Jtags and had mor modded lobby for MW2 and other games then the PS3 has had. Oh and we can report users now on PSN

Not saying Live is worth or not the price it is, just these reasons (how they are written) don't justify it.

[codyodiodi]

Grand Theft Auto 4 had chapters which were exclusive. They may not be anymore, not too sure wasn't a fan of GTA 4. None the less when an old Sony exclusive not only loses GTA as an exclusive but then the console it lost the exclusive to then gets it's own exclusive content that is kind of sad.

[Nitrowolf2]

Mostly likely cause Sony doesn't cash out for only times DLC, they pay for True Exclusive DLC

Batman
Dead Space 2
Mafia 2
Dante inferno
Bioshock
Tales of V.
UFC 2010
Read Dead
Toy Story 3
Assassin Creed Brotherhood
there is more

also wasn't Bioshock and Mass effect series suppose o be exclusive to 360?

[Nathaniel_Drake]

It's real sad when xbox fanboys need multiplat timed exclusive dlc to make their purchase justified

It's real sad that MS did it's job and made it's owners think that muliplat games are actually exclusive games

[ZombieAssassin]

Yo cody...you know GTA games where on the original xbox and pc right??? Unless you were too young to be playing them then....

[Achemki]

@Cody
BioShock says hi. And that DLC wasn't timed exclusive either.

Added to what RisingDragon said, Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories remain Sony exclusives. Research is fun! ;)

[jukins]

too bad gta was really never exclusive i think all of them have been at least pc and playstation even since gta1. whats really sad is fanboys grasping at straws to justify paying to play online. its obvious you're envious of other platforms being free to play get over it

[xAlmostPro]

@codyodiodi dude.. to put it simply, you need to grow up man

[irepbtown]

Mr Cody

How can you say 'No updates'?
PSN Store is updated every week.

[gman_moose]

Why is it sad? Microsoft paid $50 million for it. Sony wisely said ok, we'll get it later. And they did, by the way. Nice knowledge of the industry there pal.

And you're right... I can't see your bias at all...

/s

[jizzyjones]

You can tell whoever wrote this article hasn't been on PSN since 2007

[codyodiodi]

Haven't been on since May when I decided to by an Xbox 360 again, after I got tired of the lack of games on the PS3.

[Fishy Fingers]

Your comments on your own article are starting to diminish your initial article claims of "As someone who is unbiased".

[Simon_Brezhnev]

lol i know you full of it now and trying to be an undercover fanboy "lack of games on the PS3." PS3 had more exclusives than 360 this year.

[BeOneWithTheGun]

Lack of games on the PS3? Wow.

[Nathaniel_Drake]

"Haven't been on since May when I decided to be brainwashed to buy an Xbox 360 again, after I got tired of the lack of games on the 360"

Fixed for your pleasure :p

[Monkey521]

lack of games? I think that's quite a farfetched statement. There have been plenty of games to come out, maybe they aren't your cup of tea.

Btw, by posting this comment, you aren't helping your fight against fanboys, by using such an obvious biased comment.

[Imperator]

LMFAO, lack of games on the PS3? Yea man, now I'm definitely sure you never even owned a PS3. If you think the PS3 lacks games, I'd like to know what you think of the 360 which is getting a grand total of ONE good exclusive next year (Gears 3).

[ZombieAssassin]

Yea nice one cody way to destroy all credibility you could of had...now we know you're just a mad fanboy on N4G, don't worry you'll fit in nice.

[truegame]

@codyodiodi

You lost your cred with a statement like that "No Games", both system have games.

I hate fanboys (PS3,XBOX, etc). This is just pure flame, take a middle finger from us true gamers, who enjoy games no matter what system. N4G will approve any crap!

Tired Tired Tired of this crap. News for Gamers, not New for Bait or crying like a Bitch!

[Silly gameAr]

"Haven't been on since May when I decided to by an Xbox 360 again, after I got tired of the lack of games on the PS3."

Your opinion now means 0 to anyone who actually plays on their PS3's. With this article of misinfo, it didn't mean much to begin with.

[Achemki]

With that comment Cody you just lost all credibility as far as being 'unbiased' and you flushed your blog down the toilet.

Even if you hadn't..."waiting a week, month or never getting updates on PSN"? Huh? Forget the 360 MOH beta patch fiasco this summer? I distinctly remember Burnout Paradise getting the bike patch on PSN first.

You just couldn't keep up the charade, eh? Freaking F-A-I-L!

[kagon01]

"I got tired of the lack of games on the PS3"

That is so 2006/2007 fanboy...

If you have "both consoles", but you you take one side then you're a Closet Fanboy just like I was during the previous gen when I had the PS2 and GC, but I was badmouthing the PS2 and horribly regret it later...

At least I'm honest you know, unlike those who claim are "neutral/unbiased/true gamer" you name it, but take one side.

[kneon]

That's right, no games to play, I've only bought 16 so far this year with 3 more on pre-order, I'm bored silly for the lack of games /s

[JUDALATION]

Heavy rain, MAG, modd naction, Gow 3, Demons souls, Uncharted 3, are all games that came out when you bought your 360.... halo reach was not out so what the hell did you get for 360? Hell LBP2 is a game that can still be played due to over 3 million levels.... what game on 360 CAN SAY THAT??? hope you kept your recipt cuz next year for xbox... not so good!

[visualb]

you're another fanboy with a blog.

"after I got tired of the lack of games on the PS3."

you disgust me, with such immature statements and you are here defending a BLOG POST on a VIDEOGAMES WEBSITE in which you state "As someone who is unbiased"

pathetic.

you ARE biased, and this is just another self-imposing ego trip for your fanboysim
stay out of my NEWS for gamers you useless hack.

@ truegame - hell yeah take two middle fingers from us gamers, one into each eye

[gaden_malak]

" after I got tired of the lack of games on the PS3."

So what have you been playing? Halo 3 and Gears of War and Halo Reach and Gears of War 2?

[functioningbadly]

Hmmmm lack of games? Not sure if you struck your head or something. Better have it checked.

[Tito08]

U said you have a PS3 and you showed a picture on the comment section of that site for proof, I don't see it anywhere, unless you're lying O_o obviously, it wouldn't hurt to take another picture, because all I see is the 360!!!!

[nskrishna2]

Dude you just lost the last remaining piece of credibility we could have given you. Unbiased...lol

[Areeb11]

You bought a x360 around the time god of war 3 came out.. was that game not enough of a reason to justify your purchase of a ps3?

[Jazz4108]

I agree that there ar positive 360 articles on this site but when they do happen they are full of ps3 fans. You say anything positive about the 360 you get 100s of disagrees. Look arlund at the comments if you don't believe me. I don't care onw way or the other but this site would be a lotbetter if people would stay more open mined and give the ps3 or the 360 crdit when its due.

[gman_moose]

You just got reported for trolling on your own article.

[RedDead]

I still think Live is better than Psn, but not fot the price since it's now onlya bit better, i've said this before and i'm saying it again, when i'm finished with Reach i'm finished with Live. It's not worth the pennies anymore that Psn is just a bit behind it.

[Paradise Lost]

These are very poor points..

Cheaters begone? Huh, i've seen soo many boosters and mods on live more than on psn..Im guessing the mods are way too focused on banning people for their bio.

[Raoh]

someone hand this guy a mirror

[tatotiburon]

because PSN lacks features that xbox live have so charging for psn will be stupid...even the paid service of psn is behind xbox live

[thebudgetgamer]

the only thing xbl has that i want onpsn is the party system and i am not willing to pay for it. i also like the fact that i dont have to subsribe to get my netflix on.

also psn+ doesn't have anything to do with playing online. it's content.

[HDgamer]

The sad fact you can't even name these features is pathetic without logic or reasoning. If you really dig deep and down it's pretty much clear only two features are just missing. A unified party feature and the cross game chat. Pretty much only cross game chat is useless.

[Jazz4108]

the big diffrence i see between xbox live and psn is how quick xbox live is with updates and installs. this feature to me is worth paying for as its a major diffrence in time to me. Psn has one feature that trumps the 360 and its big. Its called freen online play.

[ComboBreaker]

"...the paid service of psn is behind xbox live."

To compare the paid service of PSN to Xbox Live is proof that you don't even know what you are talking about. And you don't even know what the paid service of PSN is actually about.

Hint:
PSN+ and Xbox Live are too totally different things. PSN+ is about all about getting discounts and free contents. Unlike Xbox Live, PSN+ has nothing to do with playing games online.

[irepbtown]

Agree.
I am definitely going to buy PSN+ simply for all those discounts AND free ps1 games.

XBL is more like normal PSN but with 2 more features.

[cyborg6971]

Tato you've been a douche on this site for years. Keep it up.

[saumer]

I have a PS3 and an XBox and the only difference I really see is that XBox has some better group chat functions. That is it. In the end, I use Ventrillo to talk to friends when I play anyway. Why is this such a big deal?

[ZombieAssassin]

The only thing that upsets me about paying for live (besides i'm paying for a service i get for free every where else) is the fact that I have stupid advertisements all of the dashboard. I've never noticed a difference in online play on either console and anyone who says they have they were prolly playing call of duty (a P2P type connection) and the host had a crappy internet connection.

There really isn't down time on PSN but maybe a couple of hours when they do maintenance which is rare, I remember when LIVE was down for a few days and I think it has been down more than once also.

From reading the article it just seems like he is bias...remember owning both consoles doesn't make you some how not bias.

[KILLERAPP]

If you like it pay if not then don’t pay as simple as that, am fine with the PSN I have a headsets so do all my friends, Xbox live might have two or three features more than PSN but I have great fun with PSN and best of all is free… Also the comment he made about people been racist in the PSN and just creating an account for that is sad back when I did pay for xbox live I could not play a game without some little kid kicking British people out of games just for the way the talk is sad…

[MetalFreakMike]

I'm getting sick and tired of fanboys making blogs and posting them on N4G bashing other fanboys and acting like their console/service of choice is the best. I play on the PSN more than LIVE and I do not get any lag that he claims. Also, the PSN has gotten a lot better since it first launched and is only getting better. I refuse to renew my LIVE membership because I get lag free game play on PSN and do not need to be chatting with friends in a party chat 24/7.

[Draicus]

Idiocy like this article is why the term "fanboy" exists.

[Omega Zues]

Why is this posted on a news site?

...

oh wait, its now called "opinion piece". Oh joy.

- _ -

[GoldPS3]

Stupid article. Cody you an idiot.

[blasian]

I see no real problems with PSN, maybe just some small facts as to many steps to check some unread messages. I wish I could just open menu and and click messages instead of scrolling. No big issues I really have though.

[Neko_Mega]

That is how good my inernet and it works well with my 360 and ps3.

Problem is when it drops lower then 1mbs, which I can't even run my pc very well online.

[soundslike]

this isn't even worth N4G's pointless comment "debates"...move along people nothing to see here.

[Imallvol7]

I happen to own both as well and am considering letting my Xbox Live run out. Its ridiculous for people to have to pay for that. May be you use something that I don't on live but PSN and Xbox Live deliver the same experience FOR ME AND PROBABLY 99% OF GAMERS, and PSN doesn't make me subscribe to PSN plus just to access a BETTER Netflix streaming. There is NOTHING fanboyish about this comment. It is a fact that Xbox Live doesn't offer ME anything more that PSN does.

True, it does now offer ESPN3.com. I will give it that. I hardly call that worth 60$ a year though.

[DRIIV]

... Am I just unlucky when playing XBL at my friends or does the part jerks be gone sound like a joke. Anytime when you play online there are going to be jerks and cheaters.

[drdre74]

Just another xbot posting crap that makes no sense. I have a UK account and a US account and I've been getting alot of stuff before 360 does as of late. I could care less about whats on either first or last all i know is I'll be playing it sooner or later. I can wait. I dont have to be the first person in line and say hey i played that demo a week before you did. Thats stupid.

[Blade66]

all good points except the mic bit lol

[SilverSlug]

and its a better service.

Makes no sense.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

You do realize a majority of people responding to the article here plays on consoles.

[RevXM]

Yes but he is right isn he?
Steam is one hell of a service, and it is free.
Psn is free and it is capable to do so much more than XBL though PS3 lacks certain social features and has a bad STORE in terms of navigation and design, but the psn is a much better service in terms of that Sony allow the developers to do what they want.
XBL is quite restricted in that way.

PSN has no limits, but as for now it is a little under XBL overall.
I dont think easier store/marketplace navigation and a very few features
justifies the price of 50-60$ a year. Imo.

[irepbtown]

Disagree Assassyn

The Menu on PS3 is alot simpler and easier to use than ps3.
I actually played XBOX before PS3, didnt have a clue where things were. Even after a week i struggled.

PS3 however, i found it very easy, just push left analog stick or directional buttons what part you want (Friends, Videos etc).

The other points you made are pretty much spot on.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

WTF are you talking about irepbtown. I made one sentence and you form this huge response to it! What other points. The point and only point was I this is a console oriented article that has nothing to do with pc gaming on steam. Read and respond to the correct people next time.

[Shazz]

@ author cody , does xbox live have bbciplayer , mubi , lovefilm , vidzone , home , browser , ability to store movies on actual hdd ????? just a thought rather than jibbering shite maybe ask yourselgf when it was you were brainwashed coz all live has that ps3 owners dont get is 3 things , party chat , universal invites and voice messages and bare in mind nearly all ps3 games have invite system now

[asphogears]

I am fine with paying for xbox live.

[Shield]

Same here!

Having an XBL gold membership is worth it to ME and I couldn't care less what anyone else thinks or has to say about it.

[irepbtown]

I'm fine with PSN being free.

[8thnightvolley]

i am fine with paying for xbox live.. at least i get to demand something if that service does go down which is hardly does... xbox live is just better for me coz i have alot of friends and want to have a big group talk without having to leave our families and house especially this winter, i am not a big fan of typing messages on phone or on gaming console either.. so xboxlive all the way buddy ... nuthing like hearing killer jokes with 8 ppl chat and doing my own thing.. .JOY!.

[cmrbe]

because x360 fans are idiots?.

[SpitFireAce85]

As soon as XBlive gets dedicated servers on all the games
ill pay for it until the no thanks.Because that is the
only reason that might justify the $60 a year price tag.
But then again most if not all PS3 exclusives have
dedicated servers and that's on the free PSN service.So
say what you want but until you play on dedicated servers
and notice/see the difference.PC gamers know ask them
how important dedicated servers are..

[blackburn5]

Sorry to interrupt but how was my statement trolling and why did i lose a bubble? I thought we were taking about Xbox Live and PSN here and I was just saying that what codyodiodi said was a lie and that my experiences where different to what he claimed. How in the hell was that trolling? If I am wrong, okay but if you think I was wronged bubble me up please.

[kagon01]

I got a warning for bubbling a troll while other fanboys are allowed to troll. What does this mean? It means the mods here are not neutral at all...

[metsgaming]

The fact is you get hackers on the 360 just like pc while the ps3 doesnt. Why anyone would be willing to pay for a service full of hackers is astonishing. The free service doesnt have hackers yet the thing you pay for does. Just think about that for a second. If i had a choice between one service with hackers and one with none than i would choose the one with none even if it meant paying 60+ a year for. But guess what you can get on the service without hackers for free, that alone makes it a hell of a lot more worth it than usless cross game chat and other feature useless to playing the game.

[ApocalypseShadow]

360 gamers are actually **PAYING** for their own RROD.

have you asked yourselves why gamers on PC,ps3,psp,wii,ds,MAC,etc, play for **free?**but on microsoft's system they justify $50-$60 dollars.

do you really think microsoft set aside money to fix RROD?or do you think microsoft is making it's own gamers pay for their own broken consoles through nickel and diming and price gouging them on accessories.?

if i go online in COD on ps3 or 360,if both have dedicated servers,how are they any DIFFERENT?not just that,but why do 360 gamers pay to play multiplatform games on 360,but ps3 gamers play those same games online for free?

microsoft has created a generation of gamers bending over for nothing.and gamers not willing to voice their concern to get better pricing.

pay through the nose on HDDs,wifi adapters,flash drives,fooled by microsoft points...seriously,they have done a splendid job on these folks.but does it end?nope....

why doe a 360 at $299 sell for the same price as a $299 ps3 if it has less features built in?see....they have bamboozled these gamers for so long,they can't even see the truth right in front of their faces.

THEY ARE PAYING FOR THEIR OWN BROKEN SYSTEMS BEING FIXED.

BELIEVE IT.

[Fatal Blow]

I have all 3 consoles and i must say xbox live should be free like psn

you might say why do i pay well i don't pay i get gold xbox live for free

[duplissi]

wow... this guy is soo full of crap...

"I Like Me Some Uptime

I don’t know if you have noticed, but PSN tends to go down randomly. Whether it’s because your consoles clock is screwed up, or because there is a problem with the network, more than likely you won’t be able to sign into PSN once a month."

wow thats news to me... i can count on one had the times psn has been down, and it was SCHEDULED AND ANNOUNCED BEFOREHAND. also last i check psn hasnt been down for a whole week yet.

[codyodiodi]

A whole week? No way!

[strickers]

Live was down for lots of people for 2 weeks once.Look it up.When Halo 3 arrived,that xmas.

[raWfodog]

Here's the link:

http://www.engadget.com/200...

[BYAAHHH]

I don't mind if 360 users pay for Live, I'm just sick and tired of those who whine when others poke fun of them for paying for something that others get for free. In this economy, every penny counts. So, I think it's safe to say that the owner is not paying for Live, but their parents. Get a job people.

[The_Nameless_One]

I love how he starts his ranting by saying that he owns both consoles thereby giving his argument a valid point and he then continues to go on a fanboy induced rage. it's like watching those politicians that argue on the TV about racism and even before saying anything of use (like they ever do) they say that have many friends who happen to be (insert race here).

All in all just another fanboy going on about his fanboy hiss fit. I really thought he would have offered a logical argument points. Ohh boy was I wrong. Case and point, he used the "no one has mics on PSN" excuse has to justify why he is paying for XBL. Personally while I wish more people had mics on PSN, the number is growing as the user base grows, I also wish less people would use their mics on XBL.

[hatemyneighbors]

Gender Genie say this was written by a girl.
http://bookblog.net/gender/...

[WildArmed]

The funny thing is, people think to be unbiased you have to be an multi-console owner..
That's hardly true.
You can be a biased towards an console every though you own multiple -.-

The author claims to be 'unbaised' just because he owns a 360 n ps3 =/
I definitely see no flaw in that logic /s

[saoco]

i really dont see the author's point... first of all is a flame article written by a fanboy. those statements are far from the truth. lag? any p2p game will lag at some time. i only mention that because the guy was smoking some shit when he wrote the rest. mag 128v128 no lag... that's an example..... wow i just paused for a second to review the article again... im done writing this guy is a fanboy. by no means am i trying to bash the 360 hell i had 2, PSN is well worth it and the best thing is that instead of paying to play online, i can use that money to buy another game. this guy doesnt even mention the things psn offer for free. sloppy article.

[oldfriend86]

I lean more towards PS3, but I do enjoy XBOX 360 and XBOX Live (mainly because I paid for it in order to play online). I haven't had a subscription to Live in a few years and thus my 360 collected dust. Just for kicks, I got internet access on that thing and saw the updated interface (which is terrible btw) and the Mii-like avatars.

In regards to the article, for the most part I agree and/or don't even notice some of the problems. I don't care about party chat. It's nice to talk to people online, but I see it as only a novelty. I'm not THAT bored that I need to talk to 1-4 other people while playing a game on my own. That's personal preference though, I see the benefits of it and won't judge someone for using it. And it's probably mentioned by now, but seeing a contradiction on the article; it should be a blessing that the majority of the PSN players don't have mics, if there are so many jerks. So long as "I" have a PS3 mic, then things should be fine. If they're good players, they'll heed my warnings or hear about an vacant vehicle or weapons nearby. If they don't, they don't have to listen to me OR they might just be crappy players. However, this CAN happen on 360 too. I actually meet a lot of people who have mics on PSN. I've also met a lot of jerks on Live. PS3 should have a reputation thing; that's amazing that 360 has it. But you can still report abuse on PS3.

Now for the Cons of XBOX Live, but could be seen as "personal preference" too:

- I should NOT need XBL to watch Netflix. It does not make sense that I need an XBOX Live account so that I can make a Netflix account. XBOX Live Party mode on Netflix doesn't count and should've be a reason to disable you completely from watching, if you don't have Live.

- I'm seeing a lack of games exclusive for the 360 that I'm interested in. I hated Gears of War and only the Halo series and Left 4 Dead games come to mind for needing live. But that's the only exclusives I care about. Knowing that I could play the same "cross-platform" games online for free on PSN whenever I want, makes me feel better than paying for XBL. Many people suck on PSN? I can deal with it. That shouldn't influence me that much that I'd pay for XBL where I could very well get the same "bad players" experience. XBL simply gives you the security that you're less likely to meet up with some punk, not a complete block. The abuse has already happened, meaning that I've been offended.

- If you're like me and you don't have the XBOX 360 Elite Slim that has the built in Wi-fi, then you already know where this argument is going to go and will spark another debate; so I'll end with that. Just to point out, you need a connection, before subscribing to Live.

For the most part, XBL "IS" better than PSN. However, I feel the reasons expressed in the article have been amplified too much and fail to justify the price. I'm not saying XBL should be free by all means, but we also shouldn't have to pay that much for Live. Microsoft is smart and knows people WILL pay that much or possibly higher. Look at the price increase they did for XBL subscriptions. Microsoft doesn't care and neither does the subscribers. I may seem like a cheap ass hole, but I don't feel a huge difference in experience between PSN and XBL; that I'd pay for an online service.

[Braxton5]

How much did microsoft pay you to put this up I'm so
Angry at this post that I joined just to say somthing

[Braxton5]

When I think of xbox I think of a greasy car sales man

[BabeOnPSN]

LoL, So I Have to Pay extra Money for patches an fixes^^ looking on PC Steam i get more then XBL or PSN an have nothink to do just buy the game in here store^^ on PC i go on the Game page an Donwload the patches if i want, on PSN an XBL it have all to go over XBL an PSN.

I don´t Like Xbox Live on the 360, why Microsoft lay his Hands on to make Money and Control her Traffic an Control Evry think, but the Xbox360 is hacket years ago and so i can´t understand ist.

For me the Konsols have mouch mor open for Partners and new Produkts or financing with advertising, anybody know How mouch Money XBL earn and you get some Fixes more an Extra Conten for extra Money?

Evrybody can Pay XBL an evrybody Pay it, Look how mouch Money they get in the Month with 500.000.0 Gold Mebmers and how mouch you get back from this mouney....

The Single Person think it´s not mouch in the month but in the mass it is AMAZING and we are all gamers some are Casual an some are Hardcores but see it realistic they earn 300.000.00 in the month by 500.000.0 Golds, and what get the Communuty back, in one Month they can give us Single Person evry think we tream about ;)

Steam, Skype, TS3, Battlenet FTW!!!!!

Greetz

[strickers]

Xbox Live is reliable.While PSN has been down a couple of times unscheduled,it lasts a few hours tops.I love the fact that in their blind fanboyism they forget that MS had to give away a load of free Live games(poor ones)when Halo 3 came out because lots of people including 2 of my friends could not get on Live for 2WEEKS!During Xmas too.Halo3 was a bit broken,Gears 2 launched with broken online.So the 2 biggest games launched not working.Most games are only 16 player too.This article seems like it was written by someone whose owned a 360 for a few months.The one thing Live excels at vs PSN is communication which I wish was better on PSN but not much else is better.

[xXxSeTTriPxXx]

after gears2, it was so horrible online, with lag switching and racist BS.it's not worth paying for at all.and why would i want to pay for adverts and the like, because at the end of the day thats all you are paying for is a flashy looking dashboard..i've never had a problem signing into psn and if you did then drop the $10.99 a month internet lol.i'm from chicago every cable company uses fiber optics and broadband.my average dl speed is 3mb a sec.once you get over your friends list in xbl the rest is ez.i will never pay for xbl again.psn is just fine.

[Trroy]

Everyone has a mic on XBL.... ha ha?

Sure... I suppose they *have* the one that came with the 360 live kit. The one with the 3 foot cord? Oh yeah, That one is a winner.

Why do people always assume that *that* mic is a workable solution for most people? It's junk.

What a ridiculous article. Its largely a collection of fanboy rumors. The "no cheaters" comment especially makes me LoL. Its as if this person has never played a game on the peer-to-peer architectures of the 360, and compared them to the dedicated server games of PSN. That difference alone steps all over XBL -- sorry if you love yourself some XBL Gold, but its true.

You owe it to yourself, as an online gamer, to play a dedicated server game on PSN, like MAG or Warhawk, and compare it to XBL. Since PSN and XBL are primarily game services, I don't think any serious gamer could honestly claim XBL was "worth it" after experiencing dedicated server gaming, relative to peer-to-peer. It's just not. Peer-to-peer is a cheat-fest and a laggy joke by comparison.

[Crackadopolis]

This dudes a clown lol - nice way to promote your little giveaway for the 3 month subscription of xbox live, if its so great why not give away a whole year? Oh wait $60 is too much for you ,you had to pool together 45-46 2 day trials passes huh =x

[Jazz4108]

I pay for xbox live and I don't ever game online. The othere features are that good. Especially there downloading sysytem.

[kasasensei]

This article is a joke.

[Corrwin]

There's not a lot of difference between the two, PS gets you a lot more, for a lot less. And Live gets you some things for $60 a year.

If you think you are getting special game patches, or extra content because you pay that $60, you are a moron, and MS have earned their money.

Cross Game chat. That's about all that separates them. If you think that's worth $60 a year, then all the power to you.

[PS3pwnz]

You are hopelessly down-right WRONG on some issues. I cannot attest certain facts and/or experiences relating to Xbox Live, but I can to PSN:

1. New Content Please
Do you even have an idea of how much content is released exclusively to the PlayStation Store? The games, themes, trailers, and DLC is quite overwhelming. And your statement,"Let’s not forget that most multi-platform games get exclusive content only for the Xbox 360" is absolute rubbish. Very few games only get DLC for Xbox. And it's not as if DLC is a good thing!

2. I Like Me Some Uptime
Also bull. I cannot remember the last time PSN did not let me sign in. The console clock issue was only for Fat PS3s. I find your remarks ignorant and untruthful. There are certain "downtime" for the PSN, but they last less that 4 hours and only appear infrequently.

3. Extra Features Sure Why Not!
I just don't care about this feature. Never have and never will, even though the PS3 is currently working on cross-game voice chat.
Oh, didn't you know? The PS3 can also party chat. The PS3 has recently incorporated Netflix. The PS3 will most likely have Goggle TV in January. If this is the only extra feature of Xbox Live, then I am sorry for that extra $50. You really can't compare the extra features of FREE PSN and $50 dollars Live. That money is the price of 2 games I can buy here in my store.

4.Everyone Has a Mic
This is the weakest argument I have ever encountered. The first thing I do when playing multiplayer is mute all players. It is no secret that the Halo franchise has formed a huge pre-teen community destined to irritate gamers for life. Extra microphones...nah.

5.Cheaters and Jerks Be Gone!
It is really incredible that I have never, ever, not ONCE encountered a hacker or cheater on PSN. When they say the PS3 is unhackable, they really mean it. I remember that just when Halo:Reach was launched, there were already complaints about the cheaters. There are often N4G articles about Microsoft now banning 10,000 gamertags or something. I think this argument is just straw.

6. You Get What You Pay For
"Xbox Live offers me many great features and enhancements that PSN does not." Please explain to me exactly what? Your article mostly contains opinions (as seen in 3.4.and 5.) and not facts.

"If I got the same features and benefits on PSN do you think I’d pay for Xbox Live?" But you can't NOT pay Live, can you? That is why you are treading on PSN. There is NO justifying that $50. Even if you imagine Live is better, multiplayer is something that PC and PS3 gamers enjoy for free, as was intended by Chuck Norris. Instead of bashing PSN, why don't you bash Microsoft for milking money?
(Remember the DLC-exclusives for Xbox? Ouch. )

I tried to give you honest answers in a civil matter. Since the definition of fanboy is basically someone who owns the other console, I will say I am a fanboy for the PS3. BUT, my dear author, I am so proudly and with good reason. : )

EDIT: Oh my goodness, it's $60 dollars?! UN-FOR-GIVE-ABLE! *faints*

[ngecenk]

boy this kind of article again. way to up your visit rating uh.

xbl paid because ms put the games on their server. psn did not do that. dropped game on ps3 multiplayer is caused by dev server. not sony server. yes xbl is a good way to maintain good network, but i'll bet one day ms will sense the unprofitable of owning their own server and make the devs have their own server.

there will be one day where xbl will be free, and thats the day the servers moved to devs. sony is good at this card, they exploit xbl weakness by adding weird feature in multiplayer such as play create share and mmo games. the problem is they dont play this card hard enough *sigh sony* but we'll see with lbp, dcuo, ff14 coming to ps3, hope they can show the real strength of dev server.

[outwar6010]

i have both and the content is received only like a day earlier(does not justify cost). In cross game chat people still sound like robots albeit clearer robots (does not justify cost) i still get lag and match making issues in gears of war 2 after how long was it released(still does not justify cost). Sony first party games have ZERO lag or matchmaking issues(justifies purchase of console and games) i get invited into beta because of my high usage; Ive been in virtually every beta since launch.I didn't even have to subscribe to PS+ for it and i was in before any of them(justifies purchase of console and games) Im allowed to import all my amassed video, pictures and music to my console via any usb as its quicker(justifies purchase of console and games) seriously if you dont see that M$ are raising the prices because they know that they'll always have fanboys like you on blogs. You guys are worse than the apple cult.

[redsquad]

Oh wah, bleat, whinge....
And I'm 'downright sick' of people totally missing the point that paying for online play should, regardless of services, be free no matter what your system.

[Maisay]

2 things to ALWAYS keep in mind:

1- PSN has dedicated servers. LIVE has NONE.
2- multiplayer is FREE everywhere on the planet on any system. LIVE is the ONLY place you ave to pay for it.

talk about other features all you want, but NOBODY should pay for multiplayer because that price is included when you bought the game the first time.

[BabyTownFrolics]

is to anyone new to N4G. Leave now while you still have a chance. There is nothing but evil here.

[Knightofelemia]

I think its funny between the two I pay $50 a year for XBL and I still don't have Netflix on it in Canada. But my PS3 allows me to access Netflix whenever I want and that Xbox radio thing is not avalible in Canada either. Funny how I turn on my PSP and I get Skype and an Internet radio on that and an active web broswer on both my PSP and PS3. I say right now PS3 has more to offer me than my Xbox besides Party Chat.

[Tito08]

They already raised the price!!!! I didn't know there's no Netflix in Canada, I know PS3 owners have netflix in Canada, can't wait to tell that to my boy who's and Xbox fanboy!!!!

[skyblue14213]

It sounds like a wolf(xbot fanboy) in sheep's clothing(trying to pass off as unbiased), and trying to spin it by downplaying psn(which does not charge you to play online btw), and one-up xbox live which has recently raised their rates. Psn might have less but they don't force you to pay to play online. With xbox live It is like you are paying extra to play a game that you have already payed for. I don't play online games that much. I mean once in a while I will play online but not often. It is nice knowing that I have the option to play online at my leisure and not have to worry about fees or to force myself to play online to get my moneys worth if I had to pay to play online. My thoughts on the whole situation: If you pay for a game you should not have to pay beyond the initial cost of the game to play the online feature that is already included in the game that you payed for already. Charging extra for access to a feature that is already included in the game that you already payed for is what I call double dipping. If sony and nintendo can do it why cant microsoft do it? It is just that plain and simple.

[AdventShadow01]

reason why microsoft makes people pay for live is because they know people will play for it I'am quite sure if sony could get away with it im pretty sure they would the same. As matter fact the only reason why sony didn't do this in the first place is because psn was unbearable when it first released. No where near xbox live's level. No one would dare pay for it plus the fact the console was 600$ yeah no one would pay for psn. But the real reason why live is better than psn not including cross game chat and other features is because everything is integrated. Nothing feels like an add on everything feels like its a better experience. But psn on the other hand is a different story. from the playstation store to playstation home to mlb tv. Everything is a separate application which makes psn seem like an add on and clunky. XMB sucks too.(MS-DOS with u icons). I was expecting a new gui with ps move but i guess i was wrong. If they get a new gui, integrate all psn's features in it psn would be at the same level

[aquaviva71]

when are the microsoft xbox lovers gonna learn that the 360 is going through a downward spiral hence no more exclusive games and steve balmer is ugly and stupid--when are they gonna learn this - that its OVERRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LONG LIVE THE SONY PLAYSTATION EMPIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ravenor]

The cost of XBL has gotten pretty out of control. 60 dollars a year just for the privilege to play online is craziness. The one real thing the 360 has over the PS3 is just how much quicker it is to read messages or check friends on the in game XMB.

I've watched those spinning refresh symbols for wayyyyy to long.

[badkolo]

""I'd rather pay $0 a year for something thats 80% of XBL than pay $60 a year to get the full XBL experience""

That is the best thing i heard all month.
and its so true, xbl is good, but when you rationalize that your paying 60 a year now just to access mulitplayer and the 15% of other features they have over psn.

[orange-skittle]

They are constantly playing catch up and they don't GIVE the consumer what they ask for. Everyone likes to say MS is all about the money, but so is SONY. For instance, why hasn't SONY come out w/ a cost effective PS3 yet? They are selling a 160GB slim for the same price as a 120GB slim and a 80GB old style for the same as the new.

[zero_gamer]

PS3 is $300 and people still whine about the price, even though the majority of Xbox360 gamers buy a $300 SKU anyway and pay $60 a year no less for online access. <truth>The 360 is cost effectiveness at best.</sarcasm>

[functioningbadly]

I'm not sure what more could a consumer ask for.

While the stand-alone price for both PS3 (160GB) and XBOX (250) are the same. You have to consider what else you get.

On the PS3 it also gives you a BLU-Ray Player. An all-in-one entertainment system and free online service.

On the 360, you have to shell out $60 more to play with your friends online. Mind you that's every year.

Who uses that much harddrive space anyway? You can use that $60 to buy a 250GB drive easy. Or get another game or something. I haven't even touched a quarter of my 120gb.

[orange-skittle]

I totally agree. I have both, but I think SONY should consider selling an economical system especially since the holidays are upon us. A $199.99 system should shake things up a bit. What do you think?

As for the blu-ray player...it doesn't sell systems. Many dont use it(including myself) and it's only useful for game development. I love the fact it has a browser even though that flash player is terrible. I love both for different reasons, but I think they should look at the parents wallet buying for that 10 yr old. especially since MOVE was just released.

[functioningbadly]

I hear ya as well. A $199 value PS3 would certainly be an awesome deal, let's wait this coming holiday, it might go down to at least $250.

As for the blu-ray, the feature certainly nudged me to get a PS3. Each to his own I guess :).

[HDgamer]

Sorry but they gave me what I want, best online service that's next to steam, exclusive games and content, with Promised features of these games. The 360 has done little for me.

[Treyb3yond]

Point 1: No updates for PSN? it's updated weekly, many times BEFORE the content on XBL is released (Enslaved demo as an example). Exclusive content? Arkham Asylum? there are many games with exclusive content for PSN.

Point 2: Uptime? is this a joke? what about the XBL crash around Christmas a few years back? recently XBL was buckling under the strain of Halo Reach, and did anyone try to update their 360's yesterday? what a nightmare!

Point 3: Party chat. Yeah because we all know that what is free elsewhere (MSN) has to be payed for why? because it's on a console? haha! And sure the writer of this stupid article doesn't like sports and will never use the ESPN service....but he mentions it anyway because he's a fanboy. Simple.

Point 4: Everyone has a mic....but he like to use party chat....so everyone else is irrelevant.

Point 5: Jerks and cheaters are less on XBL?? is this some kind of wind up? not even worth answering.

Point 6: Negligible depending on download speed, but granted XBL updates are fast. Still not something worth paying for though.

Point 7: Ignorance is the watch word for this article. Terribly written.

[Paralex]

Agreed.

[Paralex]

An idiot wrote this. There are so many exaggerations it's completely mindblowing. Some of his arguements have nothing to do with why XBL is a paid service and why PSN is free. MW2 DLC had nothing to do with the subscription price, it had to do with Activision's deal with Microsoft. There are more firmware updates on PSN, and they all come out in a timely fashion (has nothing to do with subscription). PSN goes down because of regular maintenance aka changes to your FREE service. It's also because both XBL and PSN have different infrastructures. Basically, most of the things he said were wrong. You pay for XBL because of the features they offer. Want cross-game chat? You're paying for that bandwidth on Microsoft's network. Games on-demand? You're paying for that bandwidth because of massive file sizes. ESPN and Netflix? Again, bandwidth. Online gameplay? Going through Microsoft-monitored servers -- that supervision you get for catching cheaters and achievement boosters.

[functioningbadly]

I understand some of your points but the price you pay really isn't justifiable.

1. Game updates? PS3 owners could really wait.
2. PSN going down? not as often as you say.
3. Slow updates? blame your connection speed.
4. Cheaters/Hackers, more on PSN? Really? Please think this one through again.
5. Not everyone uses their mics.
6. Level of assholes in LIVE is unbelievable, on PSN it's minimal.

So what's left? X Game Chatting? that one PS3 people can live with, if it comes in an update then Hooray.

I don't think that justifies Live. I'd rather keep that in my pocket in case I need it for munchies.

[mistajeff]

i keep seeing this argument popping up all over the internet recently. why are we so focused on a pointless fanboy war when there's literally a case in the supreme court right now that might declare that video games aren't covered by the first amendment? we're so good at raising our voices and making a big stink out of petty stuff like this, why can't we stop this fanboy war for at least a few hours and focus this energy toward something that has the potential to affect and oppress the entire medium for decades?

[functioningbadly]

I'm with you on this one mistajeff.

Still you can't blame people to also have their say on this matter.

Hope all goes well at the US Supreme Court.

LET'S GO GAMERS!

[mistajeff]

oh don't get me wrong, everyone has plenty to say on topics such as this, including myself. but this arnie vs free speech case is extremely important and has recently been thrown into the foreground, and if the supreme court makes a ruling, it's not likely to be overturned for a loooong time.

my point is, look at any corner of the gaming section of the internet and you'll see droves of passionate people expressing themselves in one way or another in the comment section of every article. as gamers, we have a god-given talent for running our mouths, so let's put it to good use and make sure that the medium we love so much doesn't get under-trodden by the governator's massive combat boot. fanboys should unite against this, the same way we do when michael pachter makes any prediction about anything, ever. like you said, go gamers!

[stragomccloud]

Soooo.... I guess you pay extra to get things faster?
Also, since when is Xbox live known for being a non hostile environment? I remember nothing but racism, sexism, homophobic comments, and 13 year olds trash talking.

[ballsofsteel]

why is it the whenever i see claim their "unbiased" they are more often that not extremely biased. from this article it's clear that he doesn't spend much time useing PSN. PSN goingdown randomly? the article he links to talks about a scheduled maintenance which doesn't happen often. considering the ammount racist things said in online games is everyone having a mic really a good thing? also there is an easy way to report someone on PSN all you have to do is highlight their name and report an incident. Also PSN updates are extremely fast me once I forwarded a few ports firmware updates no longer than 10-15 minutest top to download and install. and game updates take a few minutes. I'm no staying XBL is bad or better than PSN or anything just that the guy who wrote this article claiming to be unbiased is both clearly biased and uninformed

[ChickeyCantor]

What is that?
Some backlash from PS3 owners....THE HORRORS

[TheRealist2102]

I have both consoles as well but only play the ps3 because it has better games. I gave the 360 to my stepson because all of his little friends have one.

Since I have both consoles and prefer the ps3 I should write an opinion piece about how much better psn is over live and for the cost of nothing. I know it will get approved because hey..it's n4g they'll approve anything. Sound Good???

Look for my opinion piece next!!!

/sarcasm

[Cyb3r]

Greed is the only reason Xbox Live is a paid service I blind man would see that

[Scottyabanks]

I agree, on Live, you pay for all that extra content, most of which, you have to dish out more cash for. Let's see, with Live you pay 60 bucks for the opportunity to pay more cash for the available content, and with PS Plus, you pay 50 bucks for extra free content.

[Scottyabanks]

My question is, why does just about every game lag, often to the point of unplayable on Live, and is almost non existent of the PSN? And that's why I believe Live is not worth the price tag.

[Tzuno]

Because this is the only way that Sony can compete with Microsoft and i am not trying to start something here but this is a real fact if you analyze the situation.

[Whackedorange]

Is XBL worth paying for ?

A: It depends on the person

Is PS plus worth paying for?

A: That also depend on the person

End of discussion

[Jacobite]

Xbox live" I used to have a gold membership, just my 2 boys now. I was never that bothered with cross game chat at the time, rather just play, and when they started with the cartoonish avatars then it just lost its appeal. Now thats doesn't mean that I dislike Xbox live, why pay for something I don't bother with.
PSN on the other hand does a fine service for what I need, I can play online I do not need to talk or listen to anyone just play and for racism thats mostly kids on Xbox live believe me years Of PC Gaming and launch of the PS3 its mostly Xbox/USA/Kids thing, not saying its not on other platforms, just a lot more (away more)on Xbox Live.
Comment on fanboys on the internet bashing Xbox live "so what" fanboys bash anything your bashing PSN "same crap"

[HardcoreHDGamer]

A fanboy trying to make a point about something pointless while trying to act like he/she does not care about which platform it is on.

Really is funny.

[joeorc]

while XBLIVE is a good service.
an PSN is a great service also

it's mainly about the Game's the extras the service offer's is whatyou get a a bonus. both offer Netflix, movie download's one offer's a WEB browser. but those are extras. nice but still it's about the game's

both can play great game's on line.example: xbox live arcade, for Sony PSN home "getting more indie developer's to make game's for Playstation gamer's. both offer games for online play for quick gaming.

so it mainl comes down to your personal preference. One is pretty much as good as the other an yes i have tryed both services.

for me i think they are both good services..i just wish Nintendo would increase their's.

[Tito08]

All I wanna do is play games online, so I'm good with PSN, don't have time to talk BS!!!!

[Perkel]

ON PSN YOU HAVE POWER OF INTERNET !!! ;) FIGHT WITH THAT !! ;)

Realy paying online is just wrong NO MATHER WHAT DEAL THERE IS.

Why wouldn't they add online for silver ? Just cut that ESPN CRAP ETC party chat, voice messages and 90 % people would not pay for GOLD

[swishersweets20031]

gotta love the xbox fanboy articles.

[v0rt3x]

The article itself is nothing more than a fanboy article - and it starts with the sentence "I'm getting sick of fanboy comments..."

[Sikct9a]

Same sh*t, different day.

[Gamer Muzz]

Posting stuff like this is like begging for fanboy rants. Both 360 and PS3 fanboys running to defend their online service as if they created it themselves.

Guess what? PSN is OK for a free service and Live is just fine for a pay service.
you can all argue all day long but it is what it is. you DO get what you pay for
PSN+ as an example. pay $50 a year and get cool content, DLC, ETC. Cool bet for Playstation owners.

I'm sure I'll get flamed and disagreed with over saying it. But It's just how I see things. I'm so sick and tired of fanboys crying over their preferred service and giving every reason under the sun as to why it's soooooo superior. Guess what! They both have flaws and they both have positives.
Live with it.

[artsaber]

At what point did gamers allow Microsoft to hijack the value of gaming? Less features for the same cost. Accessories that are marked up 200-300%. Paying for your minutes to access online features in games you pay full price for, just like the "unscratchable" Bluray counterparts on PS3, which are played for free online. Haven't you had enough?

Gamers, when did you let Microsoft start charging you for the oxygen you breathe? Wake up brothers, wake up, you've been asleep far too long. Take your GAMING back.

*** A Message from the Gaming Tea Party Association ***

"I am Artsaber, and I approve this message."

Happy Voting.

[SpinalRemains138]

You can not justify paying for your internet twice. I'm sorry, but you lose.

[Oxymoron28]

@codyodiodi;

Your "unbiased" article is entirely biased...Stating you aren't biased doesn't make you non biased. You may have used both but that means jack shit.

1) As to why your article is biased, instead of actually doing any sort of in depth work to determine strong points and weak points, you've used the same old rehashed fanboy drivel. Your article is one sided; instead of comparing both services, you just listed a few things that are completely irrelevant to the question you imposed in the title "Why Xbox Live is paid and PSN Isn't".

2) The "points";
i)New Content Please. It doesn't matter when you get the content, either service will get the content, if people are happy playing on the Play Station 3 and happy with the PS3 exclusives, then why should they give a fuck who get's DLC first and who doesn't. Needless to say, this only happens on a select few games, GTA 4 and Fallout 3/NV are three that instantly spring to mind, pretty sure they're the only games with timed exclusive DLC as well. Also, timed exclusive DLC is a massive waste of money, those who have the game on the PS3 aren't going to sell them just to get an Xbox 360, and then pay extra for online. So that's one reason why the Xbox Live fee is useless.

ii) I Like Me Some Uptime; You say "psn randomly goes down" then link to an article on your site about how theres routine maintenance. Not so random if you already know about it, I'll get you a dictionary for Christmas.

I've had my PS3 more or less since launch, and it's been online that amount of time as well, and only once have I ever had the PSN go down without warning, that was the whole Leap Year problem (and if you want to try and call Sony out on that, Zune, nuff said). I think you're confusing the PSN going down with your PSN logging you out. That did happen to me when I got it but I realised it was my Laptop battling with my PS3 for the connection (despite the fact there was enough for all). So again, you are wrong.

iii) Extra Features Sure Why Not.
Cross game chat is a good feature, and one that we may or may not get on the PSN, the fact that the PSN doesn't have it though, is not a reason for Xbox Live being better. It's still easy enough to communicate with your friends over the PSN, and a lot of the time I find myself using skype anyway (even when I used live).

As for ESPN and other such features, you'd be happy to pay for something you wont use? in that case I'll send my car insurance bill to you then. Cheers.

[Oxymoron28]

iv) Everyone has a mic; Yup, and that also includes the annoying prepubescent gobshite's. Also from my experience with Live I noticed that although everyone had them, not everyone was using them. And sometimes those who were using them, were using them to breath heavily towards you.

I have myself a mic for the PS3, I only ever use it on Battlefield Bad Company 2. That's because most FPS' on the console do not require the use of mics. I think only Dragon Rising would ever require it and maybe Borderlands. Mics on Xbox Live are mostly used for harrsment, racism, sexism and homophobia. They are also usually used to up the status of some 11 year old who thinks he's being cool.

v) Cheaters and Jerks be gone.
Microsoft rarely do anything about cheaters... Hence all the J-tagging and what not in games, usually these would lead to account suspension for x amount of months. Where as with the PSN they don't ban your account, they ban your console. And usually with no suspensions. So yeah, get banned, make yourself a new account, you still wont be able to log on.

vi) Faster Updates. Check your NAT type? I rarely have to wait longer then 5 minutes for an update...

vii) You get what you pay for. Well considering PSN and Xbox Live are more or less equal, that would suggest you don't get what you pay for. You can carry on with your fanboyish drivel but that does not detract from the fact that the PSN and Live are now on the same level.

All in all, Do some research before making an article and it wont get ripped to shreds so easily, yes there are a lot of retarded Sony Fanboys on this site who are going to make complete twats of themselves, but at the end of the day your article is an easy target because it's so poorly researched and written. Your "unbiased" approach was completely biased from the out set, so really if you want to have a stab at an article like this, actually try being unbiased.

[SpinalRemains138]

Um....yeah.

Very well said. I have no idea where some guys get this whole "10-20 minutes for an update", thing. I've had my PS3 since launch and it has never taken more than 7 minutes to do a firmware update. Don't believe the BS, guys.

[n64dude]

Aren't Xbox Live game updates faster because they are limited to 8 megabites and PSN is slower because it can be a bigger update file?

[mattiebo123]

That made me laugh. i have never seen as many abusive 5-year-olds, racist idiots or absolute dickholes as i have seen on Xbox Live. And i've rarely come across these types of people on PSN. Of course you're going to find these people if you play games like MW2, but if you play a... umm... good game online, like one of the online PS3 exclusives, then people like this are usually hard to come by.

You also say that PSN randomly goes down, but it doesn't. Suggestion that it randomly goes down would mean that it goes down without reason, but every downtime is notified at least 12 hours before it actually happens.

You're an idiot and this article is a piece of flamebait crap.

[Soldierone]

Thank you, glad im not the only one that noted this.....

[Lannient]

I'm suprised 360 fanboys still want to be associated with MS after the whole RROD fiasco. I'm pretty sure every 360 owner is AT LEAST on their second xbox lol.

Yet they were dumb enough to keep going back to the same broken system. And then they talk about ps3 fans "worshipping sony" because they are butthurt about continuing to support a console that had the highest failure rate in gamming history, so they attack ps3 fans for supporting something that doesn't fail to make themselves feel better. Then when a 10 dollar price increase for xbox live arrived, these fools actually starting making excuses for MS and their random price increase! Half of these fools didn't even question it, they just started making excuses for it because they didn't want ps3 fans to start joking on them for being so stupid.

On top of the 360 rroding it would put rings arround disks making them unusable, and on another news article I read, one of the old models exploded and burnt down someones house... I mean honestly, if most 360 fanboys actually read about all the problems that system has had, I doubt they would still be supporting it......then again, most of them don't care about MS increasing the price to 60 dollars a year, or the fact that the system failed 60 percent of the time. I don't even see how you fools can even begin to say anything about ps3 fans with all the Bullshit you retards have supported.

Anyways, on topic lol, their is no justification for a console to have a subscription fee when every other console this gen is free, or at least gives us the OPTION to pay for extra features. But with MS its, Pay or no online play. MS Fanboys=retards. That is all.

[never_waste_a_bullet]

all of these arguments have errors in them
ex: "No one has mics on psn"-- over generalization(like saying all black have. ____ or mexicans don't ___)

[tenmohican]

specially when you contrast it with other successful free to play online stores, such as steam and psn.

[jwk94]

What's this downtime I keep hearing about on PSN? I've always been able to sign in, there's never been any down time except for once during the summer, after that, it was nonexistant. Even a few days ago when they were doing maintenance I was still able to sign in and play online.

[ohdavey]

even though live is paid .. that's not stopping me

[ironmonkey]

noone hates games, they hate the system its being played on especially when you have to pay to play with friends. you idiots plan on paying 60+$ forever go ahead i plan on buying groceries with mine thank you. people can barely afford games right now how the fuk are they gonna pay for live?. no wonder piracy is killing the game industry.

[Pledius]

"I’m getting downright sick and tired of reading so many fan boy comments on the internet about how Xbox Live shouldn’t cost any money. As someone who is unbiased to this, as I own both an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and have used both of their online services..."

you tried both so you can't be unbiased? what a biased comment. So I have both consoles and tried both and I say Xbox LIVE gold membership should be free. And I'm automatically unbaised right? because I have both and tried both.

having both console doesn't automatically make you unbiased.

you're getting sick and tire of fanboy comments who say live should be free? you should realize some of these fanboy comments also have both consoles and tried both; for example, ME. I have both and I say LIVE gold should be free. so I'm suppose to be unbiased according to your logic but then I'm also fanboy according to your comment.

so that makes YOU fanboy too right cody?

[PimpHandHappy]

but let me guess

Party chat

Funny i have a couple buddys that play XBL and they tell me they rarely used party chat...

Free>paid

[Dogswithguns]

PC online and PSN both free, Im staying with them... thanks anyway.

[CYBERHATER]

Because they are greedy! Ask Valve and STEAM :)

[BlmThug]

Live Is Fun

[SpinalRemains138]

So we can all agree then now that SONY is better in every regard. Better console, better games, better manufacturer support, better online because it's free (like it should be). It's friggin ridiculous how superior the PS3 is. It's a giant elephant in the room at this point and yet we still not only have fanboys clinging to the 360 BS, but we have articles like this popping up. The article is actually trying to convince us that paying to play online games is somehow ok.

COD - 360.... 60 a year
COD - PS3.... Free

Same game, except one is free and one is not. If x game chat is the "go-to" in this argument, then some of you need therapy. Only 13 year old girls need x game chat. Hell.... I dont even want to chat with my friends and I like them. Talk to gaming friends on a different game? Um, no thanks. This is why I dont like Facespace either. Why in 2010 is it so important to let everyone know what we're doing all the dam time? Because we can? Screw that. I want silence and quiet time. Im gaming. Go away.

[smithdown]

... are they really worth spending $60 a year for? No. Fact is most of us pay only because we want to play some basic no frills multiplayer, which Sony let you do for free. MS can piss off with their lame excuses. Why not make features like facebook and cross party chat optional extras that u pay for and cut the cost for gamers like me who just wanna play? I'm sick of subsidising this stuff for other people!

[cheameup]

cant believe the tools on here who complain about $1 a week for XBL.yes PS3 is free and so is PC but its $1 a week and you cant deny MS puts alot more effort into their online service than sony does

I agree on the updates. everytime I turn on my ps3 either the firmware or the game I'm playing has to update.Thats fine but patch's on the xbox are done in seconds while ps3 takes 10 minutes to download then install the freakin thing

[SpinalRemains138]

See you're flat out lying. No firmware has ever taken 10 minutes. Ever. Are you using DSL? Firmware updates are monthly. If you sign in once a month then yes, you have to do it everytime you sign in.

How exactly does Microsoft put more effort into their service?

Why dont you pay a buck a week for your toilet too? Or your fridge? Or your lights? You already pay for those. That's the point. No one is saying that PSN is better because it's free. We're saying that Live is a rip because it isn't free.

[cheameup]

I'm lying ? I'm agreeing wih the author of this artice who I'm guessing is lying too right ? I play my 360 way more at the moment apart from some MAG or KZ2 here and there cause theres not much else on PS3 right now .and gauranteed when I put it on either the firmware or a game will update and take 10 minutes on cable.

When using live and psn regularly it seems very obvious to me live is better laid out, runs better , looks better ,better friends lists .it just looks like more thought and time and yes money is spent on it . Game performance wise i think they are pretty same for same . though i do also find content downloads quicker from XBLA as opposed to PSN store

At the end of the day would I rather not pay for XBL ? of course but inreality I dont mind paying a small amout same as if I liked WoW I wouldnt mind paying for that when I can pay anyother free MMORPG . to me $60 a year is nothing . I can spend that on beer in a night sometimes. who cares ?

[Arminies]

By FAR one of the best Examples of Fanboy EVER

[Muffins1223]

the only people who are dissigreing are people who dont have xbl.......and this guy has both!Go ahead give me thumbs down,YOU KNOW ITS TRUE

[P_Bomb]

Dear lord. I don't even know where to begin with this! I'll just pick one point and terrorize the guy with it.

Right in his first paragraph he says most multi-plat games get exclusive content for the 360. Nevermind the fact that this year alone Medal of Honor, Red Dead Redemption, Mafia 2, Dante's Inferno, Just Cause 2 etc have all had exclusive features/content or even FULL GAMES on the PS3 (Dead Space 2 in January continues the trend with Extraction).

But...less than 24 hours after he posts that claim we get this press release http://www.computerandvideo... .

Free exclusive Assassin's Creed 2 DLC for PS3 on day one, following up on the heels of the exclusive beta.

Thank you and goodnight!

[JackBNimble]

Did the idiot auther of this lame non-artical get on the front page of N4G?

This is nothing more then an opinionated blog by a 360 Fanboy.... how is it that this piece didn't fail?

@Cody, auther of this blog: Cody, you have NO credibility what so ever. You have a right to your opinion and that's fine, but what ticks me off about this blog is...
1) your arguments are weak at best

2) you wrote this blog on another site and submitted it on N4G as if it was even news worthy.

3) you were not smart enought to put in the blog section of N4G.

I am still wondering how and why this shit was ever approved.

[XeroTrinity]

Are you a child? You sure write like one, for a game blogger.

1. New Content Please

The update part is something I dont agree with at all. We'll use MW2 as my example (You on the otherhand, Mr. Blogger, should feel obligated to find more then 1 example to support your "360 owners get updates before PS3"). Oh, PS3 didnt get 10 updates like Xbox? How about we didnt have the modded rooms and all the ridiculous amounts of glitches and exploits XBL did with Modern Warfare.
Microsoft pays off a developed to only release additional content on their system. More power to ya man, thats great. I was happy to see MW2's DLC delayed. I was one of those people protesting Dickky Kodick. Dont try telling me I'm not one who'd buy the content either, 7 days, 30,000 kills, 2.04 frag rate and 25% accuracy says otherwise. Ya, shameless bragging, I know =p

2. I Like Me Some Uptime

Dont you remember when they had to give away Undertow (What a great game!) for free because XBL was down a fews days during christmas holidays? +1 for reliability, riiiiight? Ya, no. More downtime:
Apr 1, 08 http://xboxlive.ign.com/art...
Jun 16, 09 http://blog.seattlepi.com/d...
Sep 24, 08 http://www.shacknews.com/on...

3. Extra Features Sure Why Not!

Extra Features! YAY! Wait, just party chat? Nevermind...

You have so little extra features in mind you included ESPN just for the sake of it. Man, you really dodged a bullet by not mentioning Twitter and Facebook because I know how quickly you would have added it had it even slightly scratched your mind. PSN has had that since day 1 btw, oh, along with a WEB BROWSER.

4. Everyone Has a Mic

Also a HUGE downfall for your camp. That means every 6, 8 and 12 year old who gets an Xbox for Christmas will be in your ear with "Eat my penis you poo head!", and "What does a vagina look like"? Sound intriguing? Yes? Well aren't you in luck!

Listen, don't try to ignore the crazy bad reputation XBL has with human beings and microphones. Its extremely notorious for douchebags, children and assholes.
Douchebags: http://www.youtube.com/resu...
Children: http://www.youtube.com/resu...
Assholes: http://www.youtube.com/resu...

Speaking of books, why don't you go buy yourself one. It'd do ya some good.

[XeroTrinity]

5. Cheaters and Jerks Be Gone!

Just an observation here, but it's becoming more and more obvious how little you've actually played online on PSN, if at all.
That sound's like a bad thing, being able to make unlimited amount of accounts, but really it's never been a problem for me, and I've never heard of it being a problem for anyone in any case at all. Any account can be blocked veryvery easily. Also, you have the option of accepting or declining a random friend request. Not to mention that you can delete anybody you choose from your friends list.
If someone isnt your friend then they really cant be a complication to you. Hell they wont have any clue whatsoever about what you're even doing.

Global Reporting of a player is an enviable feature at least. Though it isnt completely out of PSN's options. Home and Little Big Planet, just off the top of my head, have that same feature.

CHEATERS be gone? When's the last time you heard of someone hacking a PS3 game? I'm not denying any possibility but I just can't think of any "cheaters". Exploiters, yes.

6. Faster Updates

Some people whined and left you bad comments so you tossed this one in? What's that tell you about the integrity of this argument?
Actually, it does hold a bit of ground, but adding that comment kind of degraded it from your mouth specifically.
From what I've experienced and heard Live does indeed update and download faster than PSN. Viva Live!

7. You Get What You Pay For

So, you'd happily pay $60 for Party Chat?
Enjoy your should-be-free Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer, while I enjoy my actually-is-free Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer along with a brand spanking new game to play on my system of choice.

Picture this if you will
Customer A, a PS3 owner buys a game with his buddy, Buddy A, and they both go home and put the disc in. Customer A goes into the Multiplayer lobby and invited Buddy A to join him. Customer A and Buddy A chat via voice while in the lobby and continue while loading up their match. Customer A and Buddy A have a great time enjoying their game and no problem arises.

Now,
Customer B, an Xbox owner buys a game with his buddy, Buddy B, and they both go home and put the disc in. Customer B invites Buddy B to join his party. Customer B and Buddy B chat via voice while the game loads and they both go into a multiplayer lobby and load up their match. Customer B and Buddy B have a great time enjoying their game and no problem arises. Customer B and Buddy B are short $60. HOWEVER, they did enjoy talking to each other while at the dashboad, and while the game loaded.

Face it, PSN has jumped enormous strides since 2007 and the question of, "why the fuck am I paying for this?!" has increased with each stride. Live has only taken a few steps. Despite all of this, Microsoft has very recently increased the price of Live. Explain to me why every is so eager to lay down and take a punch to the back of the throat with a huge stiff one, please.
PSN: Xero_Trinity

[J_Cob]

You can't do that, Sony blocks offensive stuff. Just like Microsoft. Also, if someone created that one grief report will take it down ASAP. This guy is retarded

[larrym]

Lol, the only people complaining about the price are people that don't even own a 360. I have both services for both consoles, and XBL is simply better. Yes, it's ok to own both consoles. Over 10 million people pay 15 bucks a month to play Warcraft, the only people bitching are either broke or have no jobs.

If the product is there, people will pay for it. You can't buy a Hyundai and expect it to run like a Ferrari. No matter which service you play on, there's always going to be some idiot, racist, homophobic POS playing. Why? Because they're human beings.

And to whoever said Microsoft were ripoff artists, you don't think Sony is?? All my buddies who do computer repair hate Sony laptops/computer because of the proprietary nature.

http://www.urbandictionary....
Read it and weep.