I'll admit that the incessant gloating of the virtues of paid services drove me to see just what, exactly, is so great about the Xbox Live. My 'investigation,' for lack of better words, was eye opening. Not to the axiomatic, but to the things the XBL fanboy cannot see.
Before I continue, let me point out that this is not a discussion about Xbox 360 vs. PlayStation 3, as similar comparisons have been done ad nauseam. This is simply the examination of Xbox Live, through eyes of a PSN user. In other words, this is a discussion of network features only.
In reality, for the average gamer, both networks have a lot of resemblance. The difference is unremarkable. Both have instant access, lots of media outlets, friends lists, multiplayer and various things that does not exactly set them apart from one another. Even Call of Duty: Black Ops, a game ever fabled to be better on XBL, shows almost no difference at all. The only difference was that one required payment, and the other required nothing.
"So, what does PlayStation Network have that Xbox Live does not?"
In the age-old debates of XBL and PSN, what is often discussed is how the XBL is superior to PSN, but rarely is the comparison made the other way around. In actuality, these are not comparisons, but contrasts, where XBL features are listed that the PSN lack. I decided to do it the other way around. Here is a few:
- Trophies vs. Achievements:
While Achievements, in truth, were introduced long before Trophies debuted for the PlayStation 3, it is the PS3 itself that truly honed this award system to perfection. For starters, Achievement points are disorganized. In addition to yielding an alert sound that resembles an unpleasant sound heard in washrooms, Achievements lack uniformity and structure. There is no equivalent to a platinum whereby a person can surmise how many retail games the person has completed without looking at the Achievements. Even then, the Achievements may include downloadable content achievements, which, in return, reduce the completion percentage to a lower rate, giving the illusion of a lack of completion. Trophies, by comparison, show the Platinum icon, which, in turn, shows the completion of the game proper, even with the less-than-100% completion rate. In addition, the total number of Platinums also show how many retail games were actually completed (this is not including PSN games that lack platinum trophies). That, in itself, gives a much higher simplicity for Trophy structure over Achievements'. Even simpler is the fact that the value of Trophies are limited and universal. You get, in increasing order, bronze, silver, gold and platinum. The Achievement system has every number ("points") from 1-200, some even prime numbers, and some Achievements don't even include a number (The 15th Prestige Achievement from Call of Duty: World at War). This results in a very messy and disorganized Achievement list that truly vary from game to game.
- PlayStation Home:
While XBL users often boast about how their network is more 'social,' in reality it's quite hard to meet other gamers on XBL; this is where PSN has an advantage - PlayStation Home. PS Home a virtual hub for gamers (of various degrees), rendered in Sims-like avatars, to meet, socialise and chat in virtual spaces. It is a place where a newcomer can make new friends on PSN, and where veteran members can 'hang out' with other friends. PlayStation Home has 'virtual' spaces dedicated to various games, and while it is contingent of the users themselves, you can guarantee meeting fans of that particular franchise. Further, it is a place where you can not only tailor your avatar to your appearance, but also that of your favourite video game character.
But make no mistake: an anonymous social hub is not without its neanderthals and trolls. Every so often you will run into the occasional buffoons who thrives off the discord he causes, or the random G.I.R.L. (Guy In Real Life) who will be 'hitting' on you, it is after a short period of time that you can learn how to avoid these. The former, especially, are multitudinous even in multiplayer, so it's nothing new, exactly.
But in the greater scheme of things, it is inarguably one of the better places to meet other PSN users. It's social gaming made easy.
- Free Access:
It's free, that alone is a selling point for many. On XBL, not only do you have to pay for basic functions like gaming online, chatting or even private messaging, but you also have to pay that to access other services that require payment, namely Netflix (which, by the way, is also available on PSN).
"So, what is so great about Xbox Live?"
In reality, nothing apart from Party Chat. But I will concede that this is a pretty darn awesome feature.
Live Parties, a 'lobby system' for people to group together, allows not only for parties to join games, but also for party members to voice chat while playing two different games. This is the most demanded feature for the PlayStation 3 --Cross-Game Voice Chat-- and it is the only that, while only one, can truly put PSN even further ahead. If you want a closed group of friends to chat across games, this is the way to do it. On PSN, the furthest you could go is a text chat room, though audio/video communication is available while outside the game.
There are other gimmicks such as listing friends playing the game when you launch it, but that, at best, can be done in a few clicks more on the PSN.
There is also a Twitter integration, along with Facebook, but those are simply applications that work outside the game (a few games integrate them, just like on PS3, but the PS3 also has Facebook status updates showing recently earned trophies), and are, for all intents and purposes, just simple apps which functions that can be doable on any portable devices with similar apps (in addition to your computer/laptop).
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"So, what's your verdict?"
Both are great, but if you have a PS3 and a PSN account, Xbox Live is not really worth it. Sure, both have their pluses and minuses, but while XBL's party chat system may really be that awesome, XBL lacks quite a few features that leave PSN, at least in my eyes, a far better choice and network platform.
(Though I sincerely hope this never happens to anyone on any platform, for the XBL fanboys who gloat over recent PSN outage, saying that "you get what you paid for" (i.e. nothing), just remember that Karma is a bitch and that one day, you might be in the same exact situation, except this time people will say "you don't get what you paid for.)
