Microsoft's Xbox Live Remains Essential

If you're at all interested in online gaming, you need an Xbox 360.

For starters, it's home to the most popular multiplayer games, "Halo" and "Gears of War." And its redesigned interface, the New Xbox Experience, makes it easier than ever to meet your friends (or make new ones) online. Even if you prefer playing solo, the Xbox 360 is the only console that lets you download bonus material for "Fallout 3," "Fable II" and (later this month) "Grand Theft Auto IV."

The results of Microsoft's Community Games project continue to surprise, with such clever amateur productions as "Rumble Massage," which turns the Xbox controller into a neck massager. And Xbox Live Arcade remains the premier source of downloadable original games, most costing $10.

[doG_beLIEfs]

There is no doubt that the 360 has more uniformity and options. But other than cross-game chat and a few other things, there is not much difference in my opinion. Tack on the $50 price tag, and they about even out. BOTH systems allow you to play online, which for ONLINE gaming...is that not the point?

With the state of the World's economy, this generation will last longer than any other. How can MS convince enough people to buy yet another Xbox in 2 years?

Sony and MS will BOTH continue to refine and evolve their online networks. One will remain free, while the other...who knows? One thing I see is that the PSN has drastically improved since launch and until the recent NXE Live changed very little. Live was very good right at launch so MS saw no need.

Yet again the Mainstream Media thinks that the 360 has a 20M console lead instead of a paltry 7M or so.

Let's see where Sony's and MS's networks are by the end of 2009.

[GWAVE]

$50 a year for Xbox LIVE and yet it still uses a p2p network. Forget cross-game chat. Forget Avatars. Those things don't matter to me. Why should I pay a $50 fee for the BASIC ability to play multiplayer when you can get it for free on another console that DOESN'T use a laggy p2p network?

Gripe and moan all you want. Call me a fanboy all you want. $50 a year for p2p servers is a scam, especially when you can get dedicated servers for free on another platform.

[Chris399]

Before MS slips the cheque in.

And seals the deal.

Why did Yahoo refuse a merger again? They're basically free press for MS ("PSP/ PS3 is dead, has no games and generally sucks" articles), might as well get paid for it.

[Maddens Raiders]

LOL @ the pic...

[negative]

Yea let's see where they are by the end of 2009.

Xbox live PWNS PSN.... period. Worth every penny. $50 a year is nothing for a fully featured, reliable gaming network.

[Godmars290]

"reliable?"

You are talking about XBL right?

[Anon1974]

Oh. Wait a minute. No mention of the similarly featured free alternatives to XBL. How odd.

[JsonHenry]

Pfft. I like the 360s online experience a hell of a lot more than the PS3s, but NOTHING about the 360 hasn't been done on PCs (for free) for YEARS and YEARS.

[Parapraxis]

Essential huh?
I think a lot of PC and PS3 gamers would disagree with that claim.

To me, telling consumers "If you're at all interested in online gaming, you need an Xbox 360." sounds very much like part of a marketing campaign.

[GWAVE]

Agreed. According to their logic, you NEED a PC to play World of Warcraft. According to their logic, you NEED a PS3 to play Resistance 2, KZ2, and LBP (and to use Home).

Simply replace any instance of "Fable II", "Halo 3", or "Gears 2" with a PC or PS3 title and the article is just as valid. In other words, ANY platform provides a great online experience.

[Cajun Chicken]

To?...people that don't know where to shop around?

[Chris399]

Or "Pee-Cees".

[Spike47]

FAIL

Side note: The MAW is kinda fun though

[LordDhampire]

MOST COSTING 10 DOLLARS?!?!?!

THIS IS PROPAGANDA THEY DO NOT COST 10 DOLLARS they usually cost 15-20

and they always make it a price which you can't buy they will allow you to buy 1200 microsoft points and charge 1250 for the game forcing you to buy even more!

[ryuzu]

I guess they really want a deal of some kind with MS. These last few months they posted a lot of pro MS stuff that isn't journalism so much as marketing.

Yahoo - you used to be cool man (but that was a long time ago).

r.

[ActionBastard]

Hahaha. Yahoo is trying so hard for Microsoft to buy them.

[crck]

Damn that article read like a advertisement for the xbox 360...

[beavis4play]

how is this remotely news?

[Bathyj]

This isnt news. It should be filed under ADVERTISEMENT.

Funny about the timing too. Feels like the last blow of the horm before your army charges into certain death.

[dukadork2]

it's desperation time for all xb!tches bracing for the imminent merciless killzownage

[rbluetank]

i can not play any dics games only acrade games installed on my hard drive. all the extra DLC for fallout3,GTA4,fable2 and gears2 are grabage NOW!!! WTF!!! MS CSR told me that i am out of waranty. the good news is that my live sub is due in couple of weeks. i am putting that $50 dollars torward my ps3. i am done with MS and their over price XBL and broken down console. i wish everybody the best of luck on their 360. what happen to me might happen to you very soon or not so soon. you can find out what the open disc tray error is at youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[GWAVE]

My condolences. I hope you enjoy the PS3.

[Bladestar]

This may raise the red flag of Sony leg humpers... and will hurt their feelings because not many would say the same about the PS3 and PSN... let alone Home which is just another irrelevant failure... mmmm.... things are quiets about home once the over hyped flopped of a virtual world came out.

Xbox live remains essential and Sony's leg humpers comments is proof of that. This is why they automatically have to mention, "PSN free bla bla.. XBox live is not"... well what do you expect? Who's going to pay for such of $h!tty service? People pay for xbox live because there is value to it.

If Sony would to charge for it no one would pay $1 a year for it. Not to mention that the PS3 would be on 3rd this generation.... ohh wait.. it's already on 3rd! it would probably be dead this generation.

Think about it. What feature does PSN have that would allow Sony to charge?

* No cross game voice chat, which means no voice servers; each developer have to implement this.

* No cross Party system (xbox live have up to 8 people) where I can chat, invite, etc all my friends... Sony does not have any server to make this possible across games.

* No cross game invites; invites within game are set and maintain on developers network.

If anything the only thing that Sony is hosting is Text messages and logins... and that took them a while to add.

You can't complare XBox LIVE with PSN Dead.... PSN is a dead disconnected experience where organizing party games is a nightmare.

But then again... most PS fans were also PS2 fans... with such $h!tty PS2 online experience I can see how PSN is a HUUUUUUGGGEEEE improvement... that fact that "You can play online yeiiiii!" is a huge deal these leg humpers. This is why it's impossible for them to see the importance of the features XBox live have... no wonder most of them do not use mike...

Leave Xbox live alone leg humpers... PSN = Original Xbox live first concept prototype.

[Lord Xire]

XBL community is like a second home for gamers.

PsN doesn't have a LIVE community sorry to say.

Games die on the PsN meaning those people who want to play R6V2 or GTAIV will be playing with a dull room of nothingness.

Resistance2 60player skirmishes are silent 75% of the time....that's if you can even get a full game of 60 people.

XBL's interface, CrossGame Invite, Chatting up to 8players In Game, and the messenger allowing you to chat with PC buddies.

Rewards: Does the PsN have the following...., Gamer Weekends and promotions where you can receive rewards ranging from MSFT points to 40'' TV's just by playing a game...

or
Game with Fame where you can be lucky enough to play with awesome actors like Jack Black in some PGR or Rock Band.

Game With Developers you can beat the creators at the own game.

Cross Platform Clash where you can play against PC gamers on your Xbox360.

With a plethora of so much more that NO other competitor can even fathom of implementing on there system.

Stop the hate.

XBL is essential.

XBL is the center of console online gaming.

Find me 1 single LAN Tournament in your city that was ever sponsored on the Ps3.

Madden Challenge for the past 3years...Xbox360
Orlando and New York CoD4 and 5 LANs....Xbox360

Exclusive content for top selling games....Xbox360

To not see how essential Xbox Live is...is to be blind.

Plain and simple. Haters GDIAF. Please. :D

[GWAVE]

LOL. Setting aside my personal opinions and preferences, so many of the things you said are incorrect from a factual standpoint, it's not even funny. Say goodbye to the few bubbles you have.

To not see how essential Xbox Live is...is to be a perceptive customer. It's not essential. Even Greenburg said it. Remember? "Microsoft doesn't force you to pay for something you don't want", right?

[LordDhampire]

1.Games die on the PsN meaning those people who want to play R6V2 or GTAIV will be playing with a dull room of nothingness.

2.Resistance2 60player skirmishes are silent 75% of the time....that's if you can even get a full game off 60 people.

3.XBL's interface, CrossGame Invite, Chatting up to 8players In Game, and the messenger allowing you to chat with PC buddies.

1a.Games don't die on psn, if anything XBL has less people actually playing because you require gold, also Ps3 GTA is much easier to find a full game than empty xbl servers

2a. Have you even played resistance plenty of people play it

3a.XBL's new interface is way harder to navigate then the blades, and it does get annoying,Messanger is useless on the 360 considering it takes ages to type anything and it can't sent link picture or video's or open them

[INehalemEXI]

SFIV Tournament in San Fransisco. It was PS3. No 360's attended.
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

XBL gold not really worth the money to me , and not essential I play on PC and PS3 mostly and am increasingly playing on XBL less and less. I still support the system by buying exclusives and paying for gold but its really something I could just cancel.

Edit: your the one that asked nooblet , can't sugar coat the meaning or medicate the feeling.

[Lord Xire]

Lolz at all you Ps3 noobs swarming a XBL article with blatant acts of hate because you hate the fact that the PsN really does not have Sh*t on XBL.

But ay.

You have your preferences good sirs. lol

EDIT:@below

Your counter arguements are meaningless Lol why waste the space lol.

What could you possibly tell me that would make me a user of the PsN and XBL think otherwise lol.

I find the PsN rewardless, quiet and empty with features not on par with a system that came out a year before it.

Here is a FACT that the PsN dropped months before XBL last gen so that XBL in development longer crap doesn't apply.

Face it..Sony dropped the ball on one of the biggest features for next gen consoles.

CoD:WAW #'s on the PsN doesn't outnumber CoD4 numbers on XBL...CoD4 on XBL is in 5thplace I'm pretty sure CoD:WAW is number 1 on both platforms that sort of speaks for itself.

to add.

Capcom through many of exhibitions....using the 360, Ps3, and arcade for promotions.

[GWAVE]

Er, riiight. Lord Xire. Thanks for addressing our counter-arguments...

:^/

[hippo24]

Your first point is a little to biased for my opinion.
You make a few good comments, but these are blown way out of proportion.

The xbox is a slightly better online service and has a few extras to add on, its not miles ahead of the rest but it is still ahead.

Saying that, however, Its still not as impressive as it should be and its most certainly not the best thing to ever happen to gaming.

[Warbletot]

LOL at the pic...

"Dad, what did he call me?"

"I beleive he call you a 'G@! C@c! su$%#$ F@gqt b!t7#' son, don't worry it's probably one bad egg on the network. Just don't tell yer mum about this O.K."

[Marie]

Cool

[BBAM]

What was the point of this article? besides fanboyism...
There's no denying that the Xbox has a vast marketplace and that xbox live is good for playing online, but so is PlaystationNetwork?
The very first sentence screams a fanboy statement.

[MGRogue2017]

Microsoft have done well, Very well in fact.

[InMyOpinion]

As you may have noticed this thread has been overrun by rabid PS3 fanboys and is now out of order.

We thank you for understanding, and welcome you back when the problem has been resolved.

[GWAVE]

You should complain more about your favored console. It's healthy.

[Lord Xire]

I find it kinda funny.

It's like the fat girl in denial whose boyfriend cheats on her but she doesn't accept the fact and clings on full of shame and lifelessness...fighting for a lost cause.

It's just EPIC lmao!!

Edit:@below

It doesn't take much to defend a crappy online service.

But to steadily defend something as tedious and horrid as your entire system breaking takes something special. Haha.

[Anon1974]

Think about it. N4G is a site populated by gamers of all stripes. This one-sided article might be good enough for the uninformed masses happen across it, but on a site like this I'd expect the same response from 360 and Wii fans if an article titled "PS3 is essential for gamers" were posted that didn't even bother to mention the other choices available. Don't make it out like PS3 fans are somehow at bad guys for simply pointing out there are other options.

Personally, I used XBL for years on the original Xbox and the 360 before the day came when I asked "OK, that was fun at the start but why am I paying $60 a year now to have 12 year olds scream racist slurs at me. For cross game chat I've never used once?" I very much prefer the PSN gaming community in the year I've been using it, but that's just me.

Edit: @ Lord Xire. That's funny! I've used almost the exact same reference to describe 360 fans who defend the 360 even after multiple hardware failures.

[InMyOpinion]

I never knew I had a tail until I met you.

This Killzone 2 review is brought to you by Kleenex.

[BLUR111]

I love when PS3 fanboys say Xbox owners cant afford the ps3 yet they complain about us paying for live

...

[I_am_rushin]

And I love it when the Xbox fanboys complain that the PS3 is too expensive, yet they continue to pay for LIVE.

[dazzalfc]

First and foremost, i think its only fair to point out to the rather over defensive 360 fans in here that the Xbox Live service is far from perfect, and that anyone who thinks so isn't automatically a 'PS3 fanboi'.

There are genuine reasons why people do not like, and refuse to pay, for Xbox Live. While i agree its the better online service, there really isnt that much difference between, say, the Live service and the Playstation Network to require £40 a year to play online. The Live service has just as many pros as it does cons. As someone mentioned earlier, its a peer-to-peer service, which from my experience of general play, doesnt bring as many advantages as dedicated servers. I still stand by my statement that the likes of Warhawk, Resistance 1 & 2, and even the Killzone 2 beta have been amongst the smoothest online gaming experiences i have ever had.

Microsoft have done a very good job with Live, and so they should have given they have spent over a decade fine tuning it and pumping millions into it. They flood it with content, every game thats Live enabled will always be able to play online, which you won't get with the current Playstation Network, and MS implemented features that focused on creating a community. But again, its not that different from any other service, only your paying the privalige for that peer-to-peer system.

In regards to the article, its abit over the top to be honest. Its clearly a marketing stunt by Yahoo/MS, as it isnt a news article in the slightest form. Where is the news exactly? Does this honestly constitute news? I wouldn;t mind if there had of been an announcement of something major to do with Live, but there clearly hasn't been, and this just looks more like an advertisement the more times you read it.

And again, it goes to show that the media aren't providing the facts, merely acting as a puppet for whatever corporation pays the biggest. I agree with a quote i once read, where someone stated that if a large amount of people on the internet would tell you that 2+2 = 5, you would soon believe it would (bit of an over the top statement, but one which has alot of foundation)

[Hercules]

but my friend does, so i play his..but to break it down..it is the same, basically, you connect to the internet and play others online..now some may have more features, but those are a "want" not a "need" in my eyes XBL and PSN are the same..and to the guy who said psn is dead...why is home packed every hour of everyday?!?! i liked the closed beta better, cause at least i could bowl..lol, but psn is not dead, and when i play madden 09 or gta4, there are always people online..and maybe they dont have mic, but i dont feel like hearig "ooh, you just got pwned!" i hate that word.. but back to what i was saying psn and the xbl are the same..its just xbl has a bit more features(maybe like 8 or 10) but psn has their socially service too..now can we just play the games?

happy gaming!!!

psn: datmaddendude

[Guardian Hope]

Actually, the stupidity among many on N4G never ceases to amaze me. Has anyone of you ever stop to consider that if Microsoft didn't come a long and develop Xbox LIVE that the Playstation Network may have never existed?

It is clear that the Playstation Network was a direct response by Sony to the Xbox LIVE service that Microsoft created. If it weren't for Microsoft, the 'beloved free' service would probably have never existed, or not exist the way it does now.

Even Nintendo's online service came out after Microsoft's. It is blatantly stupid to think that Sony made Playstation Network out of the blue, it was a direct response to Xbox LIVE and a stab at its 50 dollar price tag.

Of course, you can bring up Dreamcast which tried online, but due to the lack of wide-spread broadband adoption at the time, it failed. If you look at the history of LIVE, you will find that Microsoft got the idea from the Dreamcast's and Sega's attempt, hoping that with Broadband's now rapid adoption, they would succeed where Sega failed.

Eight years later, we have the answer. They did succeed, and with that success, the competitors follow, like in any good market.

Yes, it is possible that Sony may have someday mastered the online service if it wasn't for LIVE, but it is clear that if LIVE didn't come around, Playstation Network would probably have existed as that PS2 online thingy.

So, what does this mean? It means that Xbox LIVE was essential to online gaming, it started the revolution of online gaming on consoles. If it didn't succeed, it would have been likely that PSN and the Nintedno Wi-Fi connection may never have existed.

I will not speak about the multiplayer experience between the two services, it has been a long time since I have played on PSN, but from what I read, it has a long way to go (Cross Game chat, invites, etc.), but you have Xbox LIVE to thank for its existence.

And finally, 50 dollars a year is not a lot of money. You pay more for many other things and if you can't afford 50 bucks a year and use that as an argument against LIVE, I have nothing to do but laugh because you bought a 400-500 dollar console. The irony.

Users of Playstation Network have Xbox LIVE to thank for its existence, users of Xbox LIVE have Dreamcast to thank for its existence. Amazing, how with all these fanboys, at the very base of our great capitalist society, competition gives us advances.

[Hercules]

i gotta agree with that..but like i said in my other post..those XBL features are a "want" and the main focus in online MP is to bring gamers together to play a game..and both XBL and PSN deliver that, its just XBL has a few goodies (for a price), but PSN has Home which continues to grow everyday, and dont say no one is in home, because it is packed everyday, and many companies are starting to use to market themsevles..but this article should be taken down, not because i dont own a 360, but its saying "if you want to play games online, get a 360" like the ps3 cannot play games online...it should say "to get the most out of online gaming with many features, get a 360" now that is a better line, and if you disagree with that, then you are just as retarded as this article

[Guardian Hope]

Agreed Hercules, Xbox LIVE is more of a luxury or premium online service, it's price tag is indeed for the extra features and further development. For example, what I understand about Primetime, a feature due out in Spring, is not a need but a want. Personally, I play games as a recreational entertainment, so things like Primetime and other casual games.

PSN, however, is more of an entry level type of service, providing most of the basic features (still needs a few) and some 'luxury' or 'premium' features like Home.

I agree fully with what you have said.

[hippo24]

While I do prefer the xbox interface to the PS3, Live is most certainly not essential.

The xbox offers a bit more and has some extra things here and there but the majority of the features are present on the PS3,

so while xbox live is worth its price tag, the PSN is not far behind.

[I_am_rushin]

I hate online gaming. Even though I do play online.

It killed split-screen. What if I have real friends? Have Sony and Msoft ever thought of that?

[gnothe1]

the 360 just don't feel right without XBL. one of my former co-workers had a 360 but not XBL an I use to tell him that he's not fully utilizing the system. so I convinced him to get XBL an now I kinda feel I ruined his life. he lost his job well before the economy went bad, an he got a divorce. all he wanted to do was play online. I came home about 2.a.m one morning checked N4G, an got on xbox.com an he was online playing, so I went to bed. went i got up for work the next morning he was STILL PLAYING. so XBL was essential for his gaming!! I play on XBL a lot also, the PSN just don't draw me into the online like XBL does!! I've tried to get some of you guys to add me on your PSN friends list so we can play buy many of you wont, its like you guys DONT WANNA play online with people!! I tried to get into the N4G club on PlayStation home an the club is full. maybe if I played with some of you guys I would play my PS3 more, all my friends are on XBL.

[STIKUP ARTIST]

yo gno, im a hit you up on both systems.

[Ausbo]

85% ps3 fanboys
14.99% xbox fanboys
.01% wii fanboys