Sony to launch Xbox Live-killer?

Word is spreading like wildfire around the gaming community about a supposed scan from the upcoming March issue of PlayStation Magazine that seems to indicate Sony is planning to launch a "full-frontal assault" on Microsoft's Xbox Live service. This new "PlayStation Network" is promised by a Sony insider to meet or exceed all of Live's capabilities and incorporate both the PS3 and PSP. Since no further details are available, we're gonna consider this "bigger than Live" talk to be just primping until we actually see some specs and screenshots. It's not a big surprise that Sony is heading in this direction--a recent online questionnaire signaled as much--the only surprise here is why it's taken them so long to get their act together (and the current fragmented online options don't count).

[Via Joystiq]

[JDS @ Feb 7th 2006 5:59PM]

I don't know what is more ridiculous;

1. all the fanboy whining in this post,
2. all the Sony-bashing in this post,
3. or, the fact that I read nearly every post.

Who cares who wins? As long as there are multiple players we all win.

The jar that is full of pennies makes little sound when shaken... The jar with one penny makes a bunch of sound when shaken... Which jar will you believe? I believe Sony. So what if they are a bunch of over-hyping jabronies? They''ll do something about online! And, Microsoft has done such a great job with Live that Sony would be TOOPID to do it half-arsed.

How about a little humility here?

[Jim @ Feb 10th 2006 1:54PM]

Well since everyone else has put in there two cents, I think I will too. First it seems like a person has to list their gaming credentials so I have an Xbox 1, Xbox 360, PS2, DS, and PSP. I started out with a Commodore VIC 20 and have been playing games ever since.

I probably would have gotten much better grades in college if it had not been for Xbox LIVE. I spent countless hours playing Rainbow Six 3 online when I first got my Xbox and still waste countless hours on Halo 2, Call of Duty 2, and Quake 4. Online play has made games allot more fun, gone are the days of buying a game and playing it for two weeks, beating it and then letting it sit on the shelf until the weather sucks and six months later I bring it out for old time sakes. Now you can play a game online against other real life people and get enjoyment out of it for months and countless hours. So when it comes to online play I feel that this is one of the biggest innovations in the console gaming world in quite some time.

Xbox LIVE is unquestionably the best out their right now. And even if Sony has been working on this project for some time, I would doubt that their first time out they are going to top an already established product. That would be similar to Microsoft saying that the original Xbox was going to be the PS2 killer. When you are going up against a product with an established customer base I think that is an unreal expectation. I honestly hope that Sony comes out with a product that is a good solid product, that they can build on and over the course of time compete with Microsoft. Competition is what drives companies to keep improving their products.

Now to address some previous posts:
#22: You obviously are a die hard PS2 fan. Your right the PS2 is out selling the Xbox right now. That is because it is older and cheaper. The life span of the PS2 is done, and it is time to move on. And this rant about 54 gig games, if the game developers charge $50 for a regular DVD based game how much do you think they are going to charge for a game that has more then six times the content. While I am very excited that the games will have that option, I am also very curious what they are going to charge. The 360 games are already $60, and that is an awful lot to spend on a video game.

#32: I agree whole heartily with you. Sony does not have a good track record when it comes to services and software. I am still pissed about the CD spyware thing they did. I think that Sonys idea of two screens is a really neat idea. True right now there are not that many of us that can afford to big screen TVs, but prices will go down. And in four or five years we may be looking back thinking how we ever got along with only one screen. And the PS3 is suppose to be able to support 6 players so two screens might not be a bad idea. Second lets face it there is a market of people who will spend the money. I saw on TV a few weeks ago about some USA rapper that spent $14,000 bling blinging his PSP. So there are people who will pay the money for some novelty.

#38: I love playing the consoles on my HDTV. But I am a Paramedic and it is nice to have a portable gaming solution to help pass the hours between emergency runs. I am sure that there are allot of people who travel for work, or even people who like to kill some time on their lunch hours and daily breaks. The PSP is personally my favorite between the two because it is nice to watch movies and play music on it.

#41: I completely agree with you. I am very excited to see LIVE get some competition. The last thing I want to see is MS decide that they can sit back and relax and not keep up this service that I am paying for.

#45: I like that idea of Sony bring their online option whatever that be for both PS3 and PSP. Right now the PSP online is really not that good at all. The one thing that LIVE does well is that it is one user name one password for all games. The buddy list is really nice also so that my online friends and I can play different games together with ease. I really hope that Sony can put something together that will service the PSP and PS3.

#47: I am very surprised by this comment since the Japanese are known to have tons of tons of disposable income. High end gadgets and electronics always have done well in Japan. I was told that not many Japanese own homes or cars. And unlike their American counter parts they walk allot of places or ride the subway. There by leaving allot of disposable income to fun toys. Anyone please feel free to correct me on this, but from the reading I have done and the things people tell me the Japanese have much more fun money then many other nations. That said I do not think that their loyalty to buying products like Nintendo come from the price but more a sense of national pride, and that Nintendo produces games that market enjoys much more. And no Lag on LIVE, come on. I have been using LIVE for over two years now, and as I said previously I have had my fair share of Lag. But hopefully technology will get better and better and the connection between continents will improve to a point where that will not be a problem for any online service MS or Sony.

#48: The Japanese have made some incredible inventions�.have you ever played a CD or used a CD-ROM? Well that is a Japanese invention that they did not just steal from the USA, and I am sure there are others but that is the big that comes to mind right now. And I have the 360 LIVE services and have found it to lag quite a bit when playing with people in Europe or anywhere else other then North America. I am not knocking the LIVE service, it is a current technology problem that I am sure in time will get better. But LIVE is not with out its problems.

And finally to all of the posters who are obvious die hard Xbox fans. I do not think it is really necessary to make remarks bashing Sony and their systems here. If Xbox is the solution that you find works the best for you great. Offering comparisons between different services and products is always good. But to down play or bash another service is really kind of childish. It reminds me of a comedy bit of Eddie Murphy�s where he tells how the neighborhood kids made fun of one child when the ice cream truck came saying �we got the ice cream�.you didn�t get none because you can�t afford it because you on the welfare.�

[... @ Feb 21st 2006 11:24AM]

#52 You did not disprove anything. I don't know about where you live, but here, everyone buys a controller for themselves. No one buys 4 for friends. In the case of games, i plan on buying SSB revolution (or whattever the name of the new super smash bros is) some sort of a Metriod Prime game, and some sort of a Super Mario game (I personally believe there will be some of these on the rev.) Also, no one knows much details on the "Virtual Console" so I wouldn't have said anything about that. I came up with $190 over a period of years. Now come to think of it... we didn't talk much about the price of PS3 controllers, PS3 games, the cost of Sony's service the whole post is about, or other upcoming accecories. (I do aknowledge there was a little speak of Sony's online service.)

[... @ Feb 21st 2006 11:31AM]

To add to my previous post, the price I came up with was accessories, not including the Rev. because it does not have a final price. Do not forget that the accesories' final price would be paid slowly, which is less of an impact on your wallet.

[happycheese @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:40PM]

#35

1)You forget something.....everyone has a microsoft computer, hardly anyone has a HDTV from sony.

2)the 360's recieved fanboy bashing, the ps3's recieved bashing from facts.

3)seeing this is about 'ps3 live', remember the ps2's online games? sony made a total rim-job of it. ever used any of their programs? ie, everquest, that when updating says 3 hours left, and then 3 hours later it says 9 hours left.

4)the concept designs are useless, and from another source they promised many next gen features such as friend lists and voice comunication......hold on, they had that 10 years ago.......

5)In power, the ps3 is weaker than the 360. the ps3 has a 3.2ghz processor, the 360 has a TRIPLE CORE 3.2ghz processor. the ps3 has 256mb of ram, the 360 has 512mb.

6)the costs, oh the costs. �70 for a game that it probably won't even be able to handle, probably over �1000 for the console and atleast �700 for a good tv.

7)didn't they fire an official when he said "i would expect to see next gen technologies in a next gen console"? i think sony don't like people spilling the beans.


Have fun when you spend �1500 on a george forman grill! seeing how sony is handling this, and how shitty the technology is overall, it's what to expect.

[tylor @ Jun 22nd 2006 5:16PM]

one thing i think people are forgetting is that this is sony's battle to lose. they OWNED the market. microsoft is taking market share that belonged to sony--sony isn't taking anything away from microsoft.

americans are too rich (or too prone to spending money foolishly) to be swayed by price on this. it is going to be about the apps.

[Damien @ Oct 19th 2006 5:50PM]

I have had consoles since the sega master system mate, and im afraid you're talking out of your arse, i have owned a ps1 + ps2 and i'm telling you now that when i got the first xbox i never played on the ps2 again, it was a good console, reason it sold well was cos it was 'cheap'...no other reason, and could you tell me the hiked up overpriced sale price for the ps3, i will get one but only after they knock �150 off the price, alot of people will steer clear just like me because the games look no better than the 360's games in graphics and alot of people have got 360's, as for the online aspect anyone who says sony are just going to come along and have an online system thats as robust as xbox live is should be carted off by the disordelies in a straight jacket, this is sonys first crack at real online gaming, microsoft have been at it for years and have experienced staff, and as for sony having as much money as microsoft to throw at their console....do you realise why bill gates is the richest man in the world, its because microsoft is a huge giant, your pc you wrote your post on is a windows o.s mate, and dont say "uh...its a linux o.s" cos i wont believe you, microsoft is vast and your going to have to swallow that mate, sony is a big company but its nowhere near the giant that microsoft is, 95% of the worlds computers run on microsoft.....thats hell of alot of money in mr gates back pocket to tinker with...think about it

[burakko @ Mar 7th 2007 8:12PM]

First of all my typing sucks so deal whit it.

For all the people that say that sony has no experience whit online networks look
only at how many mmorpgs they are hosting so it is not even a problem for sony to make a online game lobby mmmorpg and host it this service is gona be realy nextgen so xbox will get pushed back in time hehe

[Joey @ Jan 4th 2008 10:05PM]

Xbox 360 is better than PS3, PS2 is a little better than Xbox but I pefer Xbox!

[E-Rock @ Jan 31st 2006 6:26PM]

Yea, and I hear you can play against people on Mars and in other dimensions too! The people that work in Sony's press department are on better drugs than I've ever had.

How about a launch date for that PS3, or a price point, or a look at the acutal controller, or the actual box (is it as big as the blu-ray players?), etc.

[gnome @ Jan 31st 2006 6:27PM]

It will be quite easy for Sony to kill the XBOX methinks... Especially if (dear) Microsoft keeps shooting itself in the foot...


p.s. Aaaah...Nintendo LIVE! Now that would be a service

[Deluxe @ Jan 31st 2006 6:32PM]

Actually, I commend sony for taking their time and not rushing it. Through better developement comes a better product, wouldn't you say?

[mdnetguru @ Jan 31st 2006 6:36PM]

Like everything PS3 related, I'll believe this when I see it.

Which means I don't believe it. It is weird how little Sony has said about the PS3, yet people still believe it's coming out this spring?

[GunForHire @ Jan 31st 2006 6:51PM]

It's going to take Sony a long, long, long time to even match Live, let alone surpass it.

Microsoft have spent years, and billions of $ building the Live infrastructure, with some of the best people in the business at hand. MS live and sleep online software, whereas Sony can't seem to make a good piece of software let alone a full online service to save their lives (SonicStage anyone?).

More Sony meaningless hype. Just like how PS3 is coming out in spring. Yea....

[John @ Jan 31st 2006 7:01PM]

Based on all the bad press that MS has received on the availability of X360's, this is just a good time to take a swipe at the best online service. Time will tell. When is the PS3 coming... I won't hold my breath.

[aleandro @ Jan 31st 2006 7:02PM]

sure its like napster saying they will beat itunes....

[Tim @ Jan 31st 2006 7:04PM]

@ #3. We haven't seen anything for the Rev but the controller and the fact it can play old nintendo games. We have seen no videos or screenshots or even any official announcements of games that are being made for it but people still think it's coming out this year.

I think this PS3 online service is going to own just as much as Live owns for Xbox users. I can't wait to see all the X-bot comments about how this will fail or not even exsist. If Sony delivers with this online service, Xbox fanboys will have nothing to boast about except "ZOMG HALLO 3".

[ucif @ Jan 31st 2006 7:18PM]

I am a spammer: [e-mail]

[mike @ Jan 31st 2006 7:20PM]

s. Aaaah...Nintendo LIVE! Now that would be a service

---

i hope you're joking

http://nintendowifi.com/global/index.jsp

[Zach @ Jan 31st 2006 7:20PM]

I dont believe it, but then again I dont believe anything Sony says.They over hype their products and they break to esey

[jc @ Jan 31st 2006 7:53PM]

Good job, Sony. It's coming out in 2010, right? just after PS3 launch.

[josh @ Jan 31st 2006 8:10PM]

Tim, saying that sony is not going to pull it off does not necessarily go hand and hand with being a MS fan boy. Sony has had very little success at creating viable online services in the past. Sony Connect anyone? They have a reputation for writing bad software, and a well deserved one.

Also stating that online services are a strength in favor of MS is not the result of blind fanatacism. They have years of general corporate experience with online services and existing internet infrastructure to handle it. Moreover the current Xbox live has been long out of its infancy. They have been steadily improving it since the first xbox came out whereas Sony will be releasing a version 1 untried product.

Sony may eventually get something to rival live, but unless they went out and hired a whole lot of existing talent and have been working on this for at least a couple of years it sure isn't going to happen at release. My inclination, based off of Sony's history, is to think that this will be at least a couple steps behind compared to the ORIGINAL roll out of live.

[Sean @ Jan 31st 2006 8:28PM]

If this is true its really no surprise or even registers as a shock since Sony has to compete with the XBox and right now the big reason for buying Microsoft's console is LIVE. Some of the commentaries here seem to view Sony like Nintendo, as a gaming company that can't possibly build a network for their console, but Sony is more than capable of hiring the best in the industry to build such a network and they have as much money as Microsoft to 'throw' at its development.

If this network comes to fruition for the PS3 I doubt it will rival LIVE since Sony will be playing catchup, but given time this is good news for all gamers as competition to Microsoft's LIVE will result in a better product for both formats.

[dfunked @ Jan 31st 2006 8:56PM]

Remember that story on XLink Kai and the PSP.....

[djphatjive @ Jan 31st 2006 9:05PM]

I think sony is getting worried. I mean they have been all talk. They havent shown a single thing to back up everything they have said.

At lease with the 360 it has done exactly what it said it would do. And I believe I heard somewhere that most of the first games are only running off of one core. So think of COD2 times 2.

Sony has nothing. Never really did. All they really have is RPG's. And that is why it does so well in japan. If microsoft wants to get the 360 going good over there, offer up a bad arse rpg that will only be avalable on the 360.

Sony needs to give up. They have always lied about there products. And sence they are in trouble with money, and there playstation line is there only cash cow right now. Of course they are going to say anything they want to keep people from buying a 360. But they will find out that sony is full of crapoa after they reveal that the playstation 3 is $1200 dollars. They will probablt pull a internet thing where you sign up for there live service for 20 years and you can buy it for only $399. lol


djphatjive

P.S. But if it is only $250 or something, I'm getting one. Lol

[RazorElite @ Jan 31st 2006 9:11PM]

Ha, well said Josh. As usual, Sony over-hyping. I would have to see that one to believe it. XBLive has been around for years, and has had the backing of one of the biggest companies in the world with some of the deepest pockets and most knowledgeable (when it comes to online services). XBL has been consistently improved since the beginning and has been taken to new heights with the X360 and I can't name an online gaming service which is comparable...especially Sony's laughable attempt at online connectivity for their PS2. So for them to actually release a service which will surpass XBLive at launch is next to impossible. All this Sony is doing will just make PS3 as good as X360 anyway. It's already being released a year later with very little technologcial improvement, most likely much higher price, difficult to develop for, worst controller ever and more and more exclusives are coming to Xbox. So if they doesn't have an amazing online service, they're just pretty much screwed. So let's hope for their sake they will, that way, they can actually be competition.

[Jed Merrill @ Jan 31st 2006 9:25PM]

Sony is only five years late getting started on this. It will be a while before they catch up to MS, if ever.

Nintendo, on the other hand, seems to be doing better than Live, due to better WiFi games and the price (free!) They have made it to half a million users seven times faster than Microsoft did, and nearly a month ago recorded over 3,000,000 connections. They still won't catch up for a while, but are on track to, with the right games and the Rev's retro Virtual Console.

[joe @ Jan 31st 2006 9:37PM]

@ #14 Sony has lost a bunch of $$ the past 1 or 2 years, and there company isn't as big as Microsofts. I HIGHLY doubt the PS3's live will be as good as the Xbox 360's, #1 Sony has a rep. of hyping things up a bit too much. #2 Yeah, Sony can hire the best in the business, but Microsoft hired the best for the first Xbox and got even better with the Xbox 360, so im guessing the PS3's live will be ok but they need experience. #3 Sony has already lied to us (about the Spring launch) and we only know the specs of the dang thing, so I think this "our live will be better" is just another lie to keep people hyped.

[hussein rawat @ Jan 31st 2006 9:58PM]

for me it is going to be this... if sony do not release a killer live type app, then i am going to the Xbox Live camp. simple as that.

[Jed Merrill @ Jan 31st 2006 10:02PM]

The CD format that made Sony's PS1 number one is going to hurt them badly on the online front. Nintendo will capitalize on the Virtual Console in building its online service.

Meanwhile, MS has a seasoned version of its Xbox Live available on the 360 that Sony may match in features but not likely in value. I 150% agree with whoever said Sony can't make software. Their success to date has been due to third party support that WILL NOT CONTINUE if Sony does not meet sales targets on the PS3...something I think is doubtful at the anticipated $399 to $500 price range. Developers may even lose money with the high development costs. It will be virtually impossible for them to match their current generation success at this price and late stage in the game...

I am certain they will do better than MS and Nintendo did this generation over the next five years, not a small feat for a $400 to $500 system, but so will MS and Nintendo. I anticipate a lot of formerly exclusive PS2 franchise titles will make their way to these other systems due to this loss in Sony market share.

Overall, I predict Nintendo comes in first by a narrow margin, with Sony second due to its relative popularity in Japan over 360, and Xbox 360 beating Sony in America and fighting for first with Nintendo (who will dominate in Japan.) Nintendo will win out overall primarily because they have differentiated themselves into what will be a must-have system whether you own a PS3 or an Xbox 360 or neither. Meanwhile, MS and Sony will fight for the same gamers, and only one system is likely to be sold in this price range to each gamer. Note that there was NOTHING to differentiate the GameCube other than games, other than the fact that it did not have a DVD player built in. This is a new game for a, now more grown up, WiFi enabled Nintendo.

[spencer @ Jan 31st 2006 10:10PM]

Not as Big as MS RIGHT whatever. not as big are you kidding sony is huge you xbox fan bots. 70% market share big so your talking out of your kmmm. Sony has been around for a while now this is no new thing for sony I have had sonys for more than 3 times the life of the xbox so they are not new. and they domonate for a reason. You xbox fan boys can cry all you want about sony not talking but they dont talk until they are ready to wow people. On a side not there is more intrust in SONY's ps3 than there is with the 360. You all will see the ps2 online was not so great but it kills the xbox in sales. PS2 won in sales this christmas and so did the PSP more than the 360 and guess what they made money off of those sales. 360 = rushed product. So keep living in your world but when its out you will want to play in there's. 54gigs worth lol I cant wait till sony kills 360!!!! and its coming and dont act like I am a new to gaming I have a 360 just like some of you.

[frozin @ Jan 31st 2006 10:15PM]

Honestly, nintendos online service is the best, and its always going to bee the best. You buy the console (DS, Rev w/e) and your online, and it works, and that's it. Thats why the service exploded so quickly. Its free. Sony's will cost much more than LIVE to make up for the money they will lose on their ridiculous console. Sony has played their cards horribly regarding the PS3, and it will be quite embarrassing when a weak $200 system like the revolution ends up selling more units than ps3- and for one reason:its fun.

remember fun?

[spencer @ Jan 31st 2006 10:19PM]

According to the article, Sony started work on the online service shortly after the launch of the Playstation 2 Network Adapter. The broadband adapter did not come with a centralized online service to connect to, and game companies were slow to create their own servers to use for online gaming. In addition, each server set up by an individual gaming company did not share data with the others, so buddy lists and online status indicators would only work when a player was in a particular game. Sony realized that their online support was "too little, too late" and hurried to correct it for the next generation Playstation console.


"They are committed to matching Xbox Live (on the Xbox 360) feature for feature, and then some," said an unnamed developer.

[josh @ Jan 31st 2006 10:20PM]

wow, seems like there's nothing but microsoft fanboys on this page. now im not pleased with either company, both seem to like to screw over the customer, but i sure do hope that sony makes the ps3 good (and available soon) along with some kind of online service. it would go far to ease doubts if they would actually make an official statement.
-can't we all just get along?

[spencer @ Jan 31st 2006 10:25PM]

The rumors that Sony has been considering an Xbox Live-type service for the Playstation 3 have now been confirmed. According to the independent print-only magazine PSM, a unified online service run by Sony is definitely a go for the PS3:

Sony has just delivered final development hardware to US game developers. We can confirm that developers have already begun meetings with Sony's support teams to make sure their games are compatible with the as-yet-unnamed PS3 online service. "It's very real," one source tells us. "They are dead serious about it. They've declared, and I quote, a 'full-on-assault' on Xbox Live."

[Toe TagR @ Jan 31st 2006 10:29PM]

I used to love sony products, and they all let me down. I wasted so much money on that friggin Mini-disc player and begged all my friends to buy one with me. How embarasing. Microsoft products never let me down. They do more than expected.
As far as sony's live plans, I WONT BE ANOTHER GUINEA PIG!!! Am I right or wrong?

[Jon Wolfe @ Jan 31st 2006 10:46PM]

The list of consoles I have owned goes as follows (in chronological order): Sega Genesis, Playstation, Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube, (psp if you can even count that) and Xbox 360. I was VERY dissappointed with the PS2. Sure it performed well, but only for a few months before it crapped out. I just don't trust Sony anymore. Period. I say if you are going to get one console buy American and get a 360. You don't think the Japanese buy Japanese? If you are going to get two, get the Revolution. I've always liked underdogs, and Nintendo is a synonym for innovation.

[J @ Jan 31st 2006 10:55PM]

I am continually amazed by people who seem to have this notion that Nintendo will actually come out on top with the Revolution. This after having seen only the controller with no mention of price, definitive specs, features, third-party support, or games. Nintendo has been losing business since the birth of the N64. They have made a smart move in carving out a stable niche for themselves with the GCN and DS, but that is just what it is, a niche. I seriously doubt they will ever manage to dominate the console industry in the next decade.

[Jotenks @ Jan 31st 2006 10:57PM]

Spencer (#21 as of this time), you have made one of the most ignorant and poorly thought out comments i've had the misfortune of ever reading on engadget.

1. The reference of Sony's size was regarding the company as a whole and their current net worth vs. Microsoft's. As to which company is larger, I do not know and therefor make no claims. Yes, they have a larger presence in gaming currently, but that does not translate to being a wealthier company.

2. Sorry, but sony does have a track record of overhyping their products and not delivering the promised results. You only have to look at the supposed power of the emotion engine to realize this. Microsoft also does this, but to a lesser degree and in a lower key manner.

3. The PS2 and PSP won in overall sales simply because the units were cheaper and available to sell! Once technology hits a low enough price point, you see the demographic shift sharply to lower income brackets that could not previously afford it. For example, I work at Best Buy and the "$299" computer is by far the best seller. It sucks and can't provide the experience of more powerful systems, but cheap people and people who can't afford more go crazy over it (there are also morons who think it's just as good as a $1700 system....they just get rude when they find out it can barely handle windows XP, let alone Doom 3).

The main reason ,though, is simple availibility. If there were enough 360's available to consumers, they would have far outsold the older systems. This would be the same with any new console from any of the companies. They just weren't there to be sold!

4. There really aren't any consoles that turn a significant profit. In most cases, they cost more to make than they are sold for. It's the games and accessories that drive the profit margin.

5. I won't even touch the flawed product comment, because that really depends on your point of view and personal bias.

6. Any game for any modern console or pc that requires 54 gb's of space is either the longest game in history or has the sloppiest programmers on the face of the earth.

7. Learn to spell. Syntax errors and occasional misspelled words are ok (I probably made both mistakes in this post), but please at least look over what you wrote to find the glaring errors.

This is not really meant to be an attack on the ps3. I do own and favor the 360, but the ps3 will surely have some merits over it (other than graphics, since I stopped caring about those after the N64). There are pros and cons to any console, and each one is the personal best for different people. This was really just meant to address Spencer's post, as it really annoyed me for some reason(s).

P.S. If it makes you feel any better, I'm writing this on a Vaio pcg-frv37 laptop running XP. See, they CAN coexist!

[mike @ Jan 31st 2006 11:02PM]

I wasted so much money on that friggin Mini-disc player and begged all my friends to buy one with me. How embarasing. Microsoft products never let me down. They do more than expected.

----

LMFAO!!!!!!!!

Wow.. Seriously.. Ever heard of.. ..

no that's just too easy..

[Jason @ Jan 31st 2006 11:13PM]

It just goes to show how out of touch Sony is with the consumer...

1.) Blu-Ray is being designed totally for the industry players and not the consumer... they are more worried about making sure you can't do anything outside of playing a disc you buy from them than what consumers want to get out of a next gen format.

2.) There little mess up with the music CDs that contained software that ONLY allowed you to burn the files using a hack rootkit that installed when you put the disc in.

3.) With PS2 they didn't think people cared about how easy it was to get online and play a game... Microsoft saw that it was one of the major areas of interest for gamers when they released the first xbox...

4.) Why in the world do you put 2 1080p outputs on a game machine when 99% of the people who will buy the machine wont be able to play it on one 1080p tv let alone 2... why... because that way they can sell you more of their TVs!!!

Now they have had several months to sit back and watch all the great things that have come out of LIVE for the 360 and they even sent out a form to their "users" to find out what was important to them... maybe they will finally start looking at what their customers want to get from their products!!!!

I don't doubt that Sony can make a network capable of being like LIVE... they run MMO's like Everquest, etc... why cant they make something like LIVE for the PS... the real question is why haven't they done it yet and why cant they tell anyone anything about a system that is due out in a couple of months!

[Kevin @ Feb 1st 2006 12:26AM]

wow, engadgets' comment system brings out more brand loyalty than i have ever seen. wow. anyhow.

Who is to say Sony hasn't been working on this for some time. I think people forget that when you hear about it is not neccessarily when the project began. Just because you hear about it today doesn't mean they just started writing the code. Read the headline on the picture "Sony's Top Secret..." well that does it for me. Give it more time to develop. It may stomp Xbox Live and it may not nobody knows yet so give the "you are a fanboy" and the obsessive brand loyalty stuff a rest, it gets old after awhile....

[Sean @ Feb 1st 2006 12:44AM]

#19 joe:

I never said Sony's attempt would be better than LIVe, in fact I said I highly doubt it would be close to the 360's version of LIVE since they're playing catchup. Now, considering more information is coming out that points to an ongoing Sony 'live' development since they introduced the network adapter knowing they would have to compete with the XBox my doubts are less, but I still think the experience Microsoft has with LIVE will put them on top... but you can bet Sony isn't going to just lay down and let them have that market.

#30 Jason:

3. this premise that Sony didn't care about the consumer getting online when they introduced the PS2 is the biggest load of revisionist crap I've read thus far in this fanboy war. Only 5.2 million homes had a broadband connection in 2000 when Sony launched the PS2, and even fewer had a decent connection for the years during the PS2's development. In other words, Sony certainly did not predict the coming of the online gaming age for consoles, but considering the broadband penetration at the time of launch they certainly can't be faulted or blamed by not adding a network adapter for the console.

4. This one a hypocritical statement is you consider your comments on point 3 about the lack of network capabilities in the PS2. To come back in your next point and blast Sony for putting 1080p connectors on the PS3 because not everyone has a TV that can run the connectors while in almost the same breath crucifying Sony for not looking forward enough to the online world is ridiculous and shows how little you have to add to this discussion.

Point of this is Sony is not going to let Microsoft grow the XBox as THE online console, they're going to put up a fight, and to be honest I'm glad. Competition is a good thing, even for gaming consoles.

[theburn16 @ Feb 1st 2006 12:57AM]

it's so funny to hear all the microsoft and nintendo fanboys bash sony for not releasing any info on the ps3 but you never hear anybody bash nintendo for not releasing any info on the revolution. heck we dont even know the real name of the revolution and it's supposed to come out this year. but everybody forgets that sony didn't show any videos of the ps2 until 2 weeks before it launched in japan.
and to the idiot that said the only reason sony put 2 1080p outputs on the ps3 was to sell more tv's...well duh. kinda like the only reason microsoft made it where you only have certain capabilities with xp pro and home, but if you have xp media center you can do a lot more....hmm, i wonder why that is...oh yeah to sell their more expensive products and make money like any good business.
who knows if ps3's online service will be as good as xbox live, probably not for the first year or so. yes, it's taken xbox live several years to get to where it is now, but it's always easier to catch up than it is to jump out front and lead. and right now all sony has to do is catch up and they'll once again lead this generation in sales because they're always gonna dominate in japan and will be able to atleast tie microsoft here in the states.

[Tim Quernemoen @ Feb 1st 2006 1:16AM]

I have three sony gaming products and zero microsoft gaming products, that said I love the fact that Xbox has come into the gaming arena. If it wasn't for the Xbox, who knows how long it would take for Sony to come up with a new console or how long it would take to impliment strong online features.

Though, anyone who discounts Sony is out of their mind. Sony is not like Nintendo that will live or die by the sales of their current console. They have the backing to do pretty much whatever they want. With their current market share, they could release a half assed system and still capture the majority of market share with the PS3. It would probably be the last though.

Since I have not played XBox Live, I don't really know how great it is, but I don't think Sony has to beat XBox Live in order to suceed. Even if they come close it would be a drastic improvement over what they have now(which is nothing). With that they can keep those on the fence.

I'm the kind of casual gamer that will not buy more than one system, so it will be good if Sony starts telling people like me why I should wait.

Honestly, I've been thinking of getting a 360 instead of the PS3 so Sony better start and keep the news coming out.

[GamerG @ Feb 1st 2006 3:02AM]

This smacks of desperation to me.

There is no way they can match Microsoft in this area they are a hardware company pure and simple. MS simply are so far ahead in this area in technology and expertise its untrue... how can anyone believe anything Sony say if they can match it "and then some"

[jmm36 @ Feb 1st 2006 3:03AM]

I don't believe Sony can compete--in fact, this may turn the tide of popular opinion to the issue that will most hurt Sony. Meanwhile, Nintendo is in a much better position to capitalize on online with its Virtual Console service. I think this one will be between Nintendo and Microsoft. The best Sony can do is copy Microsoft, which will make them look like a cheap copycat, and they won't be able to copy Nintendo at all.

Honestly there is just no Sony content I can imagine being compelling online. The closest thing I can think of is downloading media onto your PSP. If you already have an HDTV to take advantage of PS3 graphics, why would you want to take anything portable?

This can only make Sony look bad compared to BOTH of its competitors, don't you think?

[David @ Feb 1st 2006 3:08AM]

calling it xbox live killer is just another of Sony's smart marketting plan. Their fanboys believe in whatever Sony claims, and Sony knows that even though, at the end, they never fulfill promises, their dedicated fanboys won't blame them.

[Jed Merrill @ Feb 1st 2006 3:20AM]

Nintendo is the least likely console maker to "live or die" by one console. They have $5 billion in cash reserves, made another half billion this year IN PROFIT (compare to Microsoft's $1.2 billion loss each year for the last five years) and can always rely on the DS, which is killing Sony in week to week sales.

Meanwhile, another Microsoft failure (and $6 billion single generation loss) will not make MS share holders happy or confident in an Xbox 720. No one will call for Bill's head, but they may ask Bill to give up on games.

Sony, meanwhile, has only been the most profitable in the last generation because they sold five times as many consoles as either of the other two companies (many of which were faulty, including the two I bought.) Considering that Nintendo's profit is on average four times that of Sony per game and the fact that Sony will lose money on the first systems out while Nintendo makes money, and chances are very small that Sony will make more money than Nintendo over the next five years. Add in the Gameboy Advance and DS, each of which individually are outselling the PSP, and Nintendo may well have made more money than Sony every one of the last five years!

Is it any surprise that Nintendo's stock has risen 6.9% in the last week?

[boden @ Feb 1st 2006 3:35AM]

Its not 3 months since Sony said the PS3 wouldn't have any online infrastructure. It looks like the popularity of Live has rattled their cage a bit.

That said, a bit of competition for Xbox Live in the online market will be just what the consumer needs. I'm sure those bug fixes and new features will roll out a lot quicker if Microsoft had to fight to keep its customers.