Is Xbox really better than Playstion Network?

For the past two years now, the gaming media has had this assumption that Xbox Live (XBL) is better than the PLAYSTATION Network (PSN).   But they seem to make this assumption even with out looking at PSN as a whole.  XBL is a great service, there is no denying that, but so is PSN.  Firstly, they both offer the gamer the ability to jump online and play/communicate with friends, if the game supports it.  Secondly, they both offer games, DLC, and movies from their respective stores. And thirdly, they both have a rewards system in place, Microsoft’s Achievements and Sony’s Trophies.  Now that I’ve got the basic features out of the way, now I’m going to break down their differences.

XBL:

·         Reputation rating which is voted on by other players who decide to either prefer or avoid another player. The reputation defaults to 100%(Five stars) over time after one player has preferred you. Bad reputation affects reputation positively, hence less than three stars(default) is unachievable.

·         Complaint filing system, which allows a user to report another user that has broken the Xbox Live Terms of Use

·         Windows Live messenger integration

·         Voice Chat (wireless or wired headset required)

·         Video Chat (Live Vision camera required, with headset optional for chatting)

·         Multiplayer gameplay, where a user can link up 4 Xbox's to play together (known as system link), or connect online (Online requires Xbox Live Gold)

·         Enhanced matchmaking using cumulative gamerscore, reputation, location/language profile, and gamer zone

·         Bio section in which one can list personal interests, URLs, etc.

·         Parental controls, limiting children's exposure to other users ("Family Settings")

·         Inside Xbox is a newsletter about Xbox Live news, events, products, interviews and games that is integrated in the Xbox 360 Dashboard. Content for Inside Xbox is created by the Xbox global marketing team and features streaming video segments "Pick Up and Play", "Major’s Minute" with Larry Hryb and "Game with Fame".

As one new feature is the ability to watch streaming movies and TV shows from Netflix, some of which will be HD, onto the Xbox 360. This feature will be free to Xbox Live Gold members with Netflix accounts in North America, and once enabled, users will be able to watch with their friends in a party with up to 8 players. Xbox Live members will have the ability to pick from over 10,000 movies and episodes, as if they were to choose on the website.^[23] But, when a player parties up with a group, they would also have the ability to join games together or view a slideshow of photos.

Another feature will give players an option to create Avatars. Players would be able to customize from changing body shape, facial features, hair and clothes, as being able to download more clothing from the Xbox Live Marketplace.^[24] Xbox Live requires that users make an avatar.^[22] Another feature is the ability to install an entire game disc onto the Xbox 360's hard drive, which will decrease loading times for older games. The disc for the installed game must still be present in the drive for verification.^[25]

The Xbox Guide has also been redesigned. Players will not only be able to view their friends and messages, but will be able to access their game library. If a user has installed any game onto their Xbox 360 Hard drive, they will be able to immediately start the game from the guide, whether they are in a game or in the dashboard.^[27] Major Nelson also announced that the update will also support 16X10 on VGA or HDMI, expanding resolutions.^[28]

While previous system updates have been stored on internal memory, this will be the first update to require a storage device. The update requires at least 128MB free space on either a memory card or a hard drive.^[29] Microsoft has stated that many Core or Arcade users will not have sufficient space on their limited memory cards for the new update thus providing them with a free 512MB memory card or a discounted 20GB hard drive ($19.99).^[30][31]

Membership for XBL gold is $7.99 a month, $19.99 for 3 months, and $49.99 for a year.  XBL Silver is free,  but you do not get any of the online features, only access to the online Marketplace. ^(Ref. en.wikipedia.org ⁾

PSN:

• Lobbies/Matchmaking for instant online gaming
• Multiplayer gameplay, where a user can link up 2 or more PS3s to play together (known as system link), or connect online(only if the game supports it)
• Parental controls, limiting children's exposure to other users(For games and Movies)
• Virtual presence/Avatars
• Friend List allowing for up to 100 players
• A Block List for blocking unwanted PSN IDs
• Up 6 person Voice/Video Chat (Bluetooth/USB Headset/PlayStation Eye required)
• Instant messaging integration
• PlayStation Home
• Life With PlayStation
• adhoc Party for PlayStation Portable (Japan only)

Commerce/Entertainment

• Qore (North America only)
• PlayStation Official Magazine HD (Europe only)
• VidZone (Europe only)

PlayStation Home is a 3D virtual community-based service for the PlayStation Network. It is currently in its closed beta stage, with an open beta scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2008.. Home allows users to create their own 3D avatar for their PlayStation 3 console. This avatar will get their own home space, which can be decorated with items players can either purchase via micropayments or receive through games. There is also a virtual world that players can explore and interact with other users, play games, invite friends to their home spaces, and much more. In the future Home will also expand, allowing players to have access to items such as clothing, luxury housing and household items which can be purchased from the PlayStation Store.

On 18 September 2008 the PlayStation 3's Folding@home application became Life with PlayStation. Along with the existing Folding@home functionality, the application also provides the user with access to information "channels", the first of which being the Live Channel which offers news headlines and weather through a 3D globe. The user can rotate and zoom in to any part of the world to access information provided by Google News, The Weather Channel, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center, among other sources.^[14]

At E3 2008, Jack Tretton announced a new partnership between Sony and Google which will allow users to upload video content to YouTube from within games (such as Mainichi Issho). This is also part of the Life with PlayStation service. ^(Ref. en.wikipedia.org ⁾

PSP integration allows anyone with a psp to connect wirelessly to there ps3 and stream any music, movies, or photos stored (or streaming from a pc) on the ps3’s hard drive.

Integrated media server allows PS3 owners to stream movies, music, and photos from their PCs and instantly copy it to the PS3’s hard drive.

The Integrated Web Browser supports flash 9 and allows for content to be downloaded from the internet right to PS3’s hard drive.  It also supports the basic functions of normal PC browsers.

Membership is free for all USERS. 

Now after we have compared the differences between XBL and PSN, “Is XBL really better than PSN?”