SCEA's Lempel says Sony isn't playing "catch up" with Xbox Live
By Donald Melanson 
posted Jul 8th 2009 4:49PM
posted Jul 8th 2009 4:49PM
Sony's been out there touting its PlayStation Network user numbers for some time now, but it looks like it's now ratcheting up the rhetoric when it comes to the actual user experience as well. Taking the lead on that front is Sony Computer Entertainment America's director of PlayStation Network Operations, Eric Lempel, who recently told Industry Gamers that Sony doesn't think "there's a lot of 'catch up' [with XBL] anymore," adding that, "in some cases, I think we've got more, and we've got some other things they don't have." Of course, he further goes on to point out that PSN is and has always been free, and he cites PlayStation Home as just one thing that distinguishes PSN from Xbox Live, adding that he doesn't "see a lot of things they're doing that we're not.". Your move, Microsoft.
[Via Edge Online]
[Via Edge Online]
FIRST... *runs and hides*
LOL
I don't know about the, the XBL experience is pretty seamless and the achievements aspect adds a really nice element to gameplay. I personally like the ps3 better as a system, but i'm really stuck on the achievements/gamerscore aspect of XBL.
I don't know about that*
Yeah, because trophies are so different.
WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT ACHIEVEMENTS?! are you 13 and still need an e-peen?
Yeah, I never understood why people would give a damn about achievement points and trophies. In most cases, it's not even a good indication of how good you are in a particular game, but rather how much time you wasted on it.
@WickedEast
Try and get the sitting ducks trophy in Hawx and see if you don't need skill. Just sayin' man.
I actually really enjoy having achievements, despite the fact that they really do mean absolutely nothing. It's not the achievement that's the real reward, it's the task in general. They just add goals to a game that wouldn't be there ordinarily, adding replayability and play time. I know that this artificially increases the game time and doesn't actually add anything to the game, but it's still better than not having them. Games have had these achievements for years, it's just nice to have them add together for all of the games you've played.
the one thing i like about ps3 community, is if enough people voice wants/needs for a particular feature to be added to the platform, or to the xmb (as long as its within reason) they generally listen. i know they've said many times in their firmware update videos that a lot of guys that work on the ps3 firmware development actually read the posts that are on the official playstation blog/forum/thingy
well i personally look at achievements and trophies as a way to extend games that don't have alot of replay value. i mean i never get all the achievements/trophies in games with good multiplayer, but in solo player games it's something i generally pay attention to. at the same time, i couldn't tell you my Gamer Score or Trophy Level off the top of my head.
dan2600 = sony fanboy loser. jump off a bridge and take your playstation and all your crappy games with you.
Annoying Poster calling out fanboys. lol @ the irony
Trophies are much better tha some single gamerscore that Xbox offers.
You get to see how good a person REALLY is. Any moron with enough spare cash can buy every game released and collect the easy achievements on Xbox, and get a high gamerscore.
On PSN, you see how many Plats/Gold/Silver/Bronze they have. In addition the level up is FAR more meaningful that a stupid number.
"WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT ACHIEVEMENTS?! are you 13 and still need an e-peen?" - dan2600
...and subsequently, why do you care if someone else cares about achievements? Why be a dick?
@Monkey with glasses: That's why I wrote: "In most cases", not all cases.
hahahahahahaha
phew.
hah
There' re only playing catch up with xbox 360 sells which they should be close by now, me thinks.
They are falling behind actually, just not as fast. The 360 still sells more units every month than the PS3, which means that the gap is (slowly) widening. PS3 needs a price drop before they can catch up.
True, but let see in long run, maybe, but you're still right. But still think that they are not doing so bad. I'm buying my third system soon just waiting to see what these rumor brings.
@Josh. Stop listening to NPD numbers or faked Neilson polls. Look at the GLOBAL picture. PS3 is closing on the 360 pretty quickly. That 18month headstart where Microsoft racked up 13m sales has shrunk to 5m gap between the 2 consoles. Many of those 360s are gonna be RROD casualties too, and not actually in active servce (many regular consumers don't even know about the extended warranty)
@trew: Actually in every major region other than Japan not only are Microsoft selling more consoles but their sales are actually increasing whereas Sony's are decreasing. This was shown with the recent release of not only NPD stats, but European and Australian stats as well.
Commence fanboy poo-slinging in 3... 2... 1...
But seriously, I think both services have stuff to offer for gamers of all types. Not every single gamer out there thinks that the features LIVE offers are necessary, like party chat, etc. However, I do think that to remain competitive, whatever Sony's frame of mind, that they have to implement at least SOME of the current features that LIVE has. I think that once they get cross-game voice chat that works IN-GAME, that a lot of people will stop complaining as much. That seems to be the most sought-after feature for PSN at the moment.
I've read that they're trying to implement SKYPE for the PS3 sometime down the road. That would actually be a great feature, as you would be able to not only talk with other PS3 SKYPE users, but SKYPE users on the PC as well. That would be the ultimate cross-platform chat solution.
Goddamnit, I see in the time it took me to type that, we already have the mongoloids coming out from under their bridges...
:(
Sorry for the consecutive posting, but Engadget has no way of editing comments.
One thing Sony really needs to do in their next console release is bundle a goddamn bluetooth or USB headset with every system. Even if they re-release the PS3 as a slim model, PACKAGE A DAMN HEASET IN. It's one of the biggest things that is holding the PSN back, as not every gamer has the means to communicate with one another.
"mongoloids", how Politically Incorrect, yet so tasty
TIMMEH!
There's only 3 things XBL has that PSN doesn't.
1. Cross Game Invites
2. Sending Voice Messages
3. In-game Party Chat
And by the 3.0 update most of those should be there. Are these 3 features really worth $50?
Yes, and who still pays $50?
on paper, the comparison seems like apples to apples. however, XBL is a much better experience, and that is not due to these additional 3 functions. unless you're 12 years old, $50/year isn't a lot of money...i mean, $4.17/month. the whole free argument is stupid. yay, you pay nothing to settle for an online system rather than pay a little more to get something more enjoyable.
so it will take sony a 3.0 to get to something that live has had since the 360 launched a year ahead of sony. you would think sony could have had these from the beginning...
Any half-wit can go online or to a Target and get a 13 month card for 28-35 US dollars. I have all three consoles and a gaming PC and without a doubt Xbox Live is the best online experience to be had. If you can't see why then you're either an idiot or a fanboy.
@teej
More enjoyable?
Just love when fanbois take their opinion as fact. Very funny.
Me personally, i've seen both but used only the psn, i have alot of fun with it and even more since is fre. I don't know about you but anything free sounds good to my ears.
Now just before you say something like "you know what else ifs free, syphilis", i was not talking about what you have. :)
Do you know why on the PS3 you can't play music and play a game at the same time? Because Microsoft patented it, I worry that many of these "catch-up" situations are caused because someone holds the rights to what should be a basic service.
I mean, it's almost as if MS patented word processors and forced all the other companies to pay to use a common-sense idea...
"There's only 3 things XBL has that PSN doesn't."
PSN has Netflix streaming now? Because that is the feature I use most on my Xbox. If PSN had Netflix, that would be cool because I use my PS3 as a DVD/BR Player so it would be simpler to have all my movie watching on one device.
I have both systems, but feel that the benefits of Xbox live come from the fact that all of these services are network goods. The more users you have, the more value there is in using the online features. They really aren't that different, but xbox live is kind of dominant in my experience since most of my friends play it. GTA on xbox 360 has more users than PS3's, etc.
I wish they would allow cross platform (PC, XBOX, PS, .... uh ... Wii?) playing between services. Thoughts?
Sort of off topic, but anyone who argues that any dollar cost is irrelevant might not be thinking of the people who are trying to save money or prefer to pay less. If you could get what you needed done with OpenOffice would you use that or MS Office?
@badison
I understand your point of view but same goes for me all my peeps have ps3 consoles so for me to get an xbox360 would be pointless. I use my ps3 to watch anime and shows online, no problem, and my other usage is to play with homebois, so really don't see a point to saying ps3 is better than the xbox360 or vice versa. Since there is nothing i would need that the xbox360 has to offer and i could do all i need on ps3, those argument on xbox360 being a better machine is funny. Could not even get me to keep one for free since i do not need. Now as for price you pay what you can afford, I'm sure most people would like to live in a mansion, feasible for everyone? I think not, and banks won't lower the price of property just to sell it.
$50/year is certainly important considering how much people bash the PS3s price. If people actually looked LONG-TERM, and see the true cost of owning a XBOX360 for 3-4 years, they'd see that the PS3 has better value. My 2 cents. *I play PC games on a PC that I upgrade every 4 years for $100.
XBL users are a buch of jerkish teenagers that spend more time insulting each other then playing.
PSN users never talk, never team work, they just kinda of boorishly play the game together.
I'll stick with steam...ya, you find servers of the jerks, but its one of the only online gaming communities were you will find SOME games where people just wanna play and have some fun. (mostly team fortress 2)
granted this is with playing "random" users online...with friends these arguments are not valid.
Yeah, thank GOD for the xbox live party! Just listen/talk to your friends and don't have to put up with the morons out there :-D
I totally agree with dan2600.
I agree with the PC part of your comment but XBL Party system is where its at to silence all those little kids who spend to much time trash talking and not enough winning, but if you're good enough at the game and high enough level then you filter out those kids and get people who will talk strategy with you.
I hate playing online games on PSN... no one has mics... its aweful. PC games are by far teh best I will agree. But id much rather deal with the handful of jerks than playing on PSN.
What is your point in quoting Kaz Hirai? Are you trying to say something by quoting some else's opinion? No, I guess not.
One more thing that XBL has that PSN doesn't:
Good, lag-free servers.
LOL, living Bizzarro world, I see...
PSN is much more "lag free" than XBL. Sony has dedicated servers for PSN, which is why were soon going to be able to play 128vs128 with MAG. There is no lag on PSN, I don't even think you own a PS3.
correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't XBL only let you play with US based servers and PSN is worldwide?
PS3 servers have less lag because of the sparse population.
Both have worldwide servers. Both have certain games/services that limit regions.
I regularly play CoD4 with Japanese friends on XBL, and while the lag's definitely there it's nothing you can't adjust to (sort of like playing on Quakeworld on a 200ping server). We do keep mostly to private matches though, as the xenophobic teen/preteens on Live can get pretty annoying.
PSN actually has servers for one. ( usually hosted by the publisher/developer)
XBL has none apart form for signing on n matchmaking, the rest is off a local connection.
Steam has privately owned servers.
So downside for all is
PSN- when whoever closes then MAG will be unplayable
XBL - your as fast as the slowest players connection
Steam - sometimes the decent servers are password protected.
Beg to differ sometimes their's lag but i live in Canada. So that might be why.
LOL,, so many brainwashed xbots here.
Microsoft charges you for a P2P system. (laggy)
PS3 is a mix of PSP and dedicated servers (fast).
If anything, the PS3 servers are FAR better, and free..
the PS3 servers cope with far less traffic than XBL has to. It's the truth, plain and simple. And yes, the servers can still lag and drop you. And no, I don't own an Xbox and yes, I do own a PS3.
I understand its a p2p network but 2 of my friends that have both the PSN and XBL have played Soul Cal, SF4, and Virtua Fighter, have either kept or traded for x360 because the amount of lag they encountered on PSN. It's not for the fact it was constantly laggy or the other is lag free its just XBL has been consistently lag-free more so then PSN. My experience would be watching my friend play SF4 and I had to stop playing because half of the matches were laggy and pulling off 1~4 fps dependent button combinations is a major turn-off which is not as evident with XBL.
@deanb
Don't be such a Jackass, dedicated servers have never and will never be hosted by the manufacturer of the console. Sony's software division has published/developed games that they provide dedicated servers for but outside of their own in-house titles dedicated servers are strictly setup by users or the game creators themselves if they indeed feel like they want to. The reason the content is better on the 360 is because the users pay for the bandwidth rather than the publisher and quite frankly if you don't pay for it no one will. Sony charges an outrageous premium for every MB hosted on their servers which is why publishers are weary of putting anything in the store that isn't tiny and halfassed or a 100 percent sure thing. Sony will never have a better system under this model, it is impossible because those publishers sure as hell aren't going to go out of their way just for you. Xbox Live will always offer better content, get more DLC exclusivity and more because we Live members and not the publisher.
In conclusion you get what you pay for, and Live is the best service because of that. Anyone who thinks differently is a moron, has nothing to do with personal preference but cold hard facts.
I just wish that they had netflix streaming like the 360 does.
Because there's SOOOO many quality movies on Netflix streaming. I've only watched Spongebob, The Exorcist, The Skeleton Key, and Wall-e on there. Its all old B movies from the 70's and 80's.
@TX2: your comments of Netflix remind me of those from people's criticisms of the iTunes Store when it first launched. Just wait.
If you want Netflix on the PS3 I highly recommend MediaMall's PlayOn http://www.themediamall.com/playon
I rarely part with my money for things like this but I'm glad I did. I can watch Netflix, HULU, and a boatload of other .com streaming sites. I use it on my XBOX (with XBMC), XBOX 360 (no need for XBL to get Netflix), and my PS3. Sure you have to have a PC running for it to work but if you built a media server PC just throw PlayOn on with the rest of the services already running. It decodes the stream on the PC and formats it to work on the box you are streaming to so HD content can be streamed to my XBOX with XBMC and not choke it.
It's not just the Netflix streaming which is large part of what I would get me to take the plunge, but support for sites like Hulu. I don't pay for cable so all of that type of entertainment comes from online. I'd gladly replace the aging PC with a PS3 if they added those two features. We now have TV's and disc players with that type of support, you would think the PS3 should be able to handle it as well. Oh, and piping it through a PC and then to the PS3 is too redundant.
Tx2, there are plenty of good movies on netflix streaming. check the "starz play" category, lots of great (recent) stuff in there.
I have probably watched 5 movies on netflix streaming in the past week.
just download with your fave torrent client and youre good to go... netflix... heh
It's got a browser, and DLNA streaming which trumps everything, as it means you can get any services you want, if you know how, including Netflix, Hulu (with new hack), YouTube, Facebook, Bebo, Last.fm...
Sure Microsoft might should from the rooftops about these things, but they come as standard on PS3 and always have done.
"Sony isn't playing "catch up" with Xbox Live"
Well maybe they should.
You beat me to it sir, well done.
Where the hell have you been Paul?
Can't say we missed you, but we've been wondering...
Eh I have 360 and I like XBL for the most part. My room mate has a PS3 and PSN isn't that bad I just find it to be laggy but in all fairness I got a wire running to my console while he is just running wireless. Never used PS Home but I can't really understand how it would cater to the "hard core gamer". IMO Microsoft needs to up the number of people that can play in a game at once. That should be their next move.
lol I have A 360*
i think all we need is that 3.o update if we don't get what we want then who cares. i play online 4 free...u kno how convenient that is. if i would of have a 360 from launh that is 150 i could of used for groceries...
So in almost 4 years you could have saved enough money to buy about 1-2 weeks worth of groceries? My god man!
I've had XBL before the 360 and still haven't hit the $150 mark. Why?
Because I get the cards cheap ($20-30) on sale and just stack them.
Or you could have used the $150 for some English classes at the local community college. I have all 3 systems and by far Xbox Live is the best service. Well worth the small annual fee, which as someone above said, you can find for $28-$35 online. My system uses as follows:
Xbox 360 - Online competitive with friends
PS3 - Blu-ray movies, RPGs and games like God of War
Wii - Boom Blox party with friends, nothing else.
Why does dummies keep saying best service? If i'm satisfied and your satisfied, how the fuck can you tell what i'm satisfied is not good and i should pay for something better, wtf. What makes the Xbl service better than psn explain tha to a satisfied customer and tell pay more even tho he/she is o.k. Dummy.
@Monkey With Glasses: I don't know, "why does dummies" do dat? :D
Because you fail to understand that people enjoy almost everything and then bam you're turned on to something better and newer and you start looking at what you had and say $#!^ why didn't I change. It's like whats happening now in the mobile scene.
Never be satisifed with the "best", expect more.
"Ultimately it comes down to taste. It comes down to trying to expose yourself to the best things that humans have done and then try to bring those things in to what you’re doing. I mean Picasso had a saying he said good artists copy great artists steal. And we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas..."
—Steven Paul Jobs, CEO of Apple Company, talking about Apple.
I have both ps3 and xbox 360.. ps3 online is a joke compared to xbox live. Its totally gay.
Mo
"It's totally gay."
You should write for Engadget; your helpful, descriptive comments blow my mind.
You just proved dan2600's point
"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." --to FEMA director Michael Brown, who resigned 10 days later amid criticism over his handling of the Hurricane Katrina debacle, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005
^George Bush said that, my bad :P
ENGADGET: EDIT BUTTON!!!!!!
@tx2
When was the last time you checked the library of instantly available movies? The definitely got more recent ones then the ones you listed.
Also judging by the fact that you watch Sponge bob I'm gonna go ahead and say that you shouldn't diss old movies you probably know nothing about. I hate to break it you little buddy but there were good movies before Finding Nemo. Now go back to your legos. xD
You best not be dissin tha Sponge, boy.
I don't know how anyone else feels about this but I think Sony having the mindset the way they do will only bring negative effects for us consumers. Saying that nothing is wrong is basically saying that Sony doesn't feel like working on improving our user experience. And when this happens then we are left with an unenthused company that sits around scratching their balls making useless patches, when they should be constantly thinking of how to improve our user experience.
Just my 2 cents.
they didn't say the PSN was perfect or better than XBL, but just that the gap is closer than people perceive and never stated that they would stop progressing the experience. anyone who has owned a PS3 for any extended period of time can vouch for the massive amount of improvements made to the PSN and the fact that it's come so far in such a short time is amazing. so you may be worried about them getting to comfortable with what they have already but i'm confident looking at their track record that they are far from finished.
"I just got totally owned."
—Paul a. Chapel, commenter on Engadget, speaking about himself about 5 seconds ago.
Have we forgot about one of the biggest announcements for xbox live subscribers in the uk?? Sky TV on the xbox! Does or will the PS3 offer live stations off sky? I doubt it. This is a killer feature (excuse the crappy phrase) Think of the potential! I am a student and have to pay for sky over the summer (12 month contract) in a house that I dont live in when I am off uni. If sky was on my xbox, presumably, i can take my xbox home and use my sky package there!? Also, say I want to join sky, i normally have to get a sat dish installed and crap loads of coax ran through my house because, inevitably, the best dish location is miles away from where u want your sky box. Problem solved with xbox sky. This single feature whips the ass off PSN for anyone who watches satellite TV in the UK. Please argue against this PSN fanboys, please, I dares ya!
They announced it, don't mean its happening.
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16857
They announced a similar deal with BT early last year, theres no IPTV on 360.
So for now I'll enjoy iPlayer n Vidzone :D
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/27/sony-teams-with-sky-for-psp-video-on-demand-in-europe/
hes right, they arent catching up. psn flat out sucks.
"Corn?" - Elvis's last words.
you cant really compare the two services by specs and features, xbox live has that intensely superior feeling to it.. 20+million users wont pay £35 a year for nothing you know!
Who said all those 20million pay? MS are very tight lipped on how many of them are gold n how many are silver.
I have both consoles and I hate the PSN. It took my friend and I an hour to hook up on killzone 2, and because you can't do voice chat outside of the dashboard and in the game match we had to call each other up trying to find the same server that would cater to both of us. Not even the same rooms showed up so it made it a real pain. I prefer the cross chat and party system of the 360 (not to mention matchmaking in a lot of the games) and am willing to pay for it.
You know there is cross game txt chat on PS3, and ingame voicechat on pretty much all PS3 titles, and even PartyChat with video/audio/txt on PS3 (not ingame yet).
Clearly you don;t, and you don't even own a PS3.
People like you kill me, of course I know the PS3 does that, I even mentioned that it had voice chat in the dashboard, and in game. I mentioned it in my post. So before you accuse me of not owning a PS3 read my post. I also know it has text but that is slow and lame. I would much rather talk, so hence the phone call until we got into a game. I never said I didn't like the system I don't like PSN because it doesn't have those features, and it makes it less enjoyable and user friendly.My PSN ID is futile_alibi by the way.
"I drank what?" ~Socrates
The reason why the PSN experience is inferior to Xbox Live is because Live is an integrated part of the Xbox 360 OS. Features like VOIP, game invitations, achievements, in game custom music etc. are all things that work outside of the gaming environment. These things work seamlessly and add true value to the Xbox 360 experience. Sony has been hacking on some of these features to not only the PS3's XMB but the PSN in an attempt to mimic Xbox Live. IMO Sony will never be able to achieve the Live experience until they scrap what they have now and start from scratch.