Sony Admits "We Were Late" With PS3 Online

[level250geek]

Bah, everyone was late to the party, PCs have had online for ages after all. I will fully admit, though, that Microsoft were the first to initialize online play for consoles. Either way, I like PSN, I personally think it easily compares to LIVE and it's free to boot.

You're certainly right about PCs having online play back when consoles were just figuring out decent offline multiplayer for more than two people, but there still lacked a single, easily-navigable centralized platform for all PC games. XBL provided that for X-Box gamers--a one-stop shop for all your online multiplayer needs.

and Steam was before that and Gamespy before that

i do think that the PS2 had some online games and so did the Gamecube but there wasn't many of them

But the keyword in what I said was a SINGLE multiplayer platform. If I wanted to play a PC game online, I had to visit several services and build community relationships there. I could play Diablo II or Warcraft III over Battle.net, but Quake 3. What Microsoft did with Live was take all of the games available for that console and give us one place to visit so that we could play with our friends, and by extension see what games they were playing right from the start.

True, there was social networking within games long before Live, but Live lumped all of that together into one package.

 

[AceDiamond]

At least they admit it. And PSN isn't a bad network at all, just doesn't have the brand recognition that LIVE does.

It's not like it's just missing the brand name. The features on LIVE far outdo PSN.

I'm surprised we call the Wii an online service though-Barely any games utilise it. However, it has to be said-It's not like Nintendo even need the online service with the amount of sales they get.

Not really, Every feature on Live (except cross game chat) can be done with the PS3's internet browser. You got Twitter? I got Twitter, I had Netflix years before you had to pay for it.

Everything related to websites is worthless when you count the fact PSN has a Net Browser.

So Cross Game Chat.

By that logic the Wii could do that before the PS3.

 

[hypothetical fact]

At least they admit it. And PSN isn't a bad network at all, just doesn't have the brand recognition that LIVE does.

It's not like it's just missing the brand name. The features on LIVE far outdo PSN.

I'm surprised we call the Wii an online service though-Barely any games utilise it. However, it has to be said-It's not like Nintendo even need the online service with the amount of sales they get.

Not really, Every feature on Live (except cross game chat) can be done with the PS3's internet browser. You got Twitter? I got Twitter, I had Netflix years before you had to pay for it.

Everything related to websites is worthless when you count the fact PSN has a Net Browser.

So Cross Game Chat.

How does that work anyway? Do you need to plug in a keyboard or just spend a really long time typing in a web address?

 

[AceDiamond]

Indeed, but don't you have to pay for the Wii browser?

Oh no a whole $5 dollars however shall I survive without a 12-pack of soda this week? Also it's free now. Granted you're right, one had to pay for it. But again. $5. Or if you had downloaded the free trial while it was in open Beta, it was a free upgrade.

And I'll admit my counterpoint for this is really weak but the thing about Xbox Live is that it is not trying to supply the whole Internet, nor does it need to. It's just offering a few more choice services out of convenience.

 

[oppp7]

I kinda thought that the newest generation was all about online play. I mean, even the Wii has it.

 

[Megacherv]

Indeed, but don't you have to pay for the Wii browser?

Oh no a whole $5 dollars however shall I survive without a 12-pack of soda this week? Also it's free now. Granted you're right, one had to pay for it. But again. $5. Or if you had downloaded the free trial while it was in open Beta, it was a free upgrade.

I just wasn't sure man, but yeah $5 isn't a big deal at all, still as the eternal freeloader saying goes "Free is always better!"

Right now Web browsers are the last think on my mind, Banpresto is going to (Possibly) announce there new PS3 SRW at TGS! Region Free so I don't have to mod shit!

What the hell's an SRW?

 

[Jumplion]

it's funny cos i just watched a commercial that literally stated the PS3 is a god sent down from heaven to bless those who get one.

Keyword there, commercial or advertisement.

 

[Silva]

The amazing thing about this article is that Sony admitting they were late was the headline, not that they were considering merging or partnering with Facebook. That's the real news in this story. Good grief.

A partnership between Sony and Facebook is huge. 300 million people, many of which wasting time on Mafia Wars when they could go out and buy a PS3, could show off their PS3 trophies and invite their friends to get a PS3 through the system. If this works as well as Barack Obama's Facebook page (which in many ways won the election for him), the PS3 would have a chance of catching up to the Microsoft Xbox juggernaut.

It's a scary thought, in its own way. Sony's popularity might have ruined their chances of good third generation IPs, but it also killed off the arrogant customer service they had during their popular generation. If this leads to something so big as a partnership, economically we're talking about a major shift back to the old ways.

One can only hope that Sony won't take things for granted the next time that they are successful.

 

[sneak_copter]

Hmm... Another company makes bold promises about connecting with social networks that will no doubt never be seen through.

Facebook doesn't need affiliates. It dominates regardless.

 

[Treblaine]

I hope this article is not indicating Firmware 3.0 is the solution, that seems to add nothing but some already long familiar Xbox 360 features and, err, sparkles?

Though one feature that I don't really like personally though have appreciated is now the BBC iPlayer is available directly from the XMB, which is great as my mum can now easily access it (I don't have my own HDTV, my PS3 stay plugged into my Parent's HDTV most of the time) and ma Mum hates watching programs on her laptop though is always wanting to catch up on programmes she missed. So this is perfect for her to watch in her living room but hardly works for me as much.

BBC iPlayer is a browser based catchup service (like hulu) only for BBC programs. It is free and has no ads. Don't ask how it is funded, it's complicated. Sony seems to also use a custom User Interface for the iPlayer, improving resolution and scaling over how it was initially displayed in the terrible Sony Browser. It is now indistinguishable in quality from Digital broadcast TV and even my mum can navigate it.

It should be interesting to see what Sony will actually offer in terms of movie download services come November (for Europe) but they will have to compete in price with BT vision for Rental costs and I have been using the Xbox Live Marketplace service for a while now which seems solid. But come October (a month before Sony's belated arrival into movie download/rental service) Xbox Live Sky Player will be available for the 360 which in the UK which seems hard for Sony to compete with as Sky that has secured the broadcast right to so many big name shows, channels and sports events.

PS3's media features are hardly bankable for Sony, both the prominent iPlayer and also PlayTV peripheral (turns PS3 into a DVR, to schedule and record TV like TiVo) as good as they are generate no income flow and don't seem like the strongest or boldest business strategies. We already see this floundering in how PSN games are about 25% more expensive than their XBLA equivalent (Bionic commando rearmed: PSN = £7.99, XBLA = 800MSP = £6.40).

The problem with Sony and their online service seems to be a case of too little too late.

They just seem to be a hardware company struggling in an age when media and software rule.

 

[SMOKEMNHALO2001]

so Microsoft gets Twitter and Sony gets Facebook, jeesus when will the Flame War end.

Microsoft is getting Facebook as well, I for one just don't care about Facebook.
It's nice to see Sony admit something like this, now Kaz and Shin needs to start doing the same thing! Seriously Microsoft, I love the 360 but please, shut up!

 

[Susan Arendt]

I just wish PSN ran better for me, especially as its video service has content on it that Xbox Live doesn't get. Everything takes ages and ages to download, to the point that it makes me not want to use the service. (And it's not just me--other PS3 owners here at The Escapist have the same experience.) We all have the same ISP, though, so it's quite possible it's a problem on that end.

 

[Treblaine]

While we are at it, when will there be a PS3 firmware update that integrates true ipod support?

I mean to spite Microsoft and Apple being in such close competition with iPod and Zune, you can still plug any ipod or iphone into a 360 and play the songs off it, even in game. Plug an ipod into a PS3 and it can only access files if stored on the ipod as like an external drive and cannot access the music at all.

Again, this is a simple software solution and Sony has just shown zero effort or rigour in seemingly even noticing the problem.