When Sony announced the impending release of firmware v2.40 over a week ago, many gamers were excited that the PlayStation 3 would finally gain many of the popular features absent in its current entertainment package. The prospect of an in-game cross media bar (XMB) and a Trophy system tantamount to LIVE’s achievements suggested that the Xbox 360 would lose much of the edge it has had over its competitors in the early years of the console war. After some users reported problems with v2.40 bricking their PS3s, Sony pulled the update and released v2.41 a few days later, which addressed the technical issues and included some minor tweaks to the Trophy system. However, once gamers took the much heralded in-game XMB on a test drive, it became clear the the PlayStation 3 still has some work to do if it hopes to supplant the gamer-friendly features most Xbox 360 owners already take for granted. Join us as we explore some of the most compelling reasons that Microsoft’s console is still the system of choice for discerning hardcore gamers.
Everyone On LIVE Has a Headset
Join most online games on LIVE, and you will hear players chatting about all manner of things. Whether discussing strategy, having quality time with close friends, or just straight trash talking everyone within earshot, Xbox LIVE is certainly a colorful, communicative place. However, if you log on to any given game on PSN, the odds of you finding a room full of chatty players is slim to none. This is mainly because Microsoft opted to bundle a first-party headset with their most popular SKUs, whereas Sony requires new PS3 owners to come up with their own third-party solution in order to communicate verbally. As a result, practically everyone on LIVE has the means to chat, while almost nobody talks to one another when you jump onto the PSN. PlayStation 3 online matches feel like you’re stuck in a ghost-town populated with bots when compared to their LIVE counterparts, and it’s largely because of the absence of a bundled, first-party headset. It would certainly help Sony build upon their burgeoning online community if the soon-to-be released first party wireless headset becomes a standard pack-in with all of their consoles, or at the very least, as a new standard for the high-end 80gb model.
Chat Anytime Functionality
One of the implications of an ‘in-game XMB’ was the ability for PS3 users to chat no matter what either party is doing at the time, as they can with Xbox LIVE. Unfortunately, the in-game XMB is currently a bit borked, only allowing PlayStation users to send text messages to one another. While the texting feature is certainly better than no communication at all, it’s a distant second to being able to call up a friend and converse freely no matter what either of you happen to be doing. Without the ability to do everything you can do from the XMB proper, the so called ‘in-game XMB’ is a bit of a misnomer at present. Now, instead of begging Sony for an ‘in-game XMB’, Sony enthusiasts will now have to specify ‘universal voice chat’ as their most sought after feature for the next firmware update.
Reputation and Complaints
Ask anyone who played Xbox LIVE back in the days of Microsoft’s first console, and they’ll tell you that the service has come a long way since its initial release. Whereas the old LIVE allowed children and trolls to flex their obnoxiousness with reckless abandon and few consequences, the new and improved LIVE allows for a persistent reputation system (which uses a 5 star scale) that allows you to punish people for being dicks, and reward people who like to play nice. Sure, you still run across some psychos from time to time, but LIVE makes it easy for discerning gamers to report any assholes they come across with the press of a button. Although you can block communications with unfriendly types you encounter on the PSN, the current system lacks the air of accountability that permeates LIVE, and there’s never a real way to see what kind of person you are dealing with in advance. So if you are lucky enough to play with someone using a microphone, it’s totally up in the air whether or not they will be abusive or not.
Custom In-Game Soundtracks For All Games
Another feature that Sony enthusiasts were excited to receive with firmware v2.40 was the inclusion of in-game custom soundtracks. While the feature sounded promising on paper, gamers soon realized that only games which are designed to support the feature will allow players to change the in-game music. Right now, Burnout: Paradise and a handful of PSN downloadable games are the only titles that actually offer the support right off the bat, and it’s uncertain what percentage of future PS3 games will incorporate the feature. Conversely, practically all Xbox 360 games allow you to listen to whatever you want, whenever you want. This points out the difference between Sony and Microsoft’s approach toward developers: while Sony has a hands off approach that lets individual game-makers cherry pick which features they want to support, Microsoft insists that all their games adhere to certain standards. The end result of the higher demands Microsoft places on its developers is a more robust feature set that is music to any gamer with a serious music collection’s ears.
Standardized Matchmaking
As mentioned earlier, Sony and Microsoft take different approaches when it comes to standardization. Sony lets developers decide which features they want to implement, and Microsoft requires all their games to incorporate particular standards. One of these standards involves online matchmaking, which is essentially how the games selects the people you play with. This standardization gives Xbox 360 gamers the ability to screen out certain elements of the LIVE community, using a variety of factors like Gamerscore, region, language, Gamerzone. As a result, you can choose your Gamerzone (’Underground’, for example, allows profanity and is the place to be if you encourage trash talk. I’m in ‘Casual’, where such rampant denigration is frowned upon.) If you only want to play with, say a ‘Casual’ Canadian match populated exclusively by French-speaking players, or jump into a Japanese ‘Family’ match, you can do it easily with every single online title. And some games, like Halo 3, have another layer of screening called TrueSkill, which uses complex algorithms designed to place you with players with similar abilities. The bottom line is that LIVE gives the players the power to define their experience, whereas PSN gives developers that power. Sure, some developers working with the PS3 will want to include many of the features listed here, but it’s not something you can depend on. Hell, there are some PlayStation 3 games that don’t even offer voice chat! Now THAT’S leniency.
More Content Than You Can Shake A Toy Lightsaber At
There is so much available downloadable content on Xbox LIVE right now, it would take weeks or months to look at everything Marketplace has to offer. Given the vast assortment of movies, to TV shows, demos, themes, and gamer-pictures, it’s no wonder that Xbox’s Marketplace is the 2nd largest provider of downloadable video content in the world. By comparison, PSN gets mere trickles of content, and their library, while growing, seems totally dwarfed by the lumbering behemoth that is Marketplace. Although Sony will soon announce a similar downloadable movie service that will ostensibly be comparable to Marketplace’s offerings, the head-start Microsoft has enjoyed has given them a definite edge in the DLC department. Sony is going to have to start pumping out dramatically more material than they have thus far if they are to ever catch up to Marketplace. Sony is actually in a great position to one-up Microsoft by offering 1080p HD movie rentals (Marketplace only offers 720p content), but who knows what cards Sony has up their sleeve regarding the PSN’s online video delivery solution.
Low Power Mode for Downloads and Controller Re-Charging
Modern consoles, particularly the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, consume a lot of power. The problem with this is that many of the consoles functions are quite time consuming, with downloads and controller re-charges often taking upwards of several hours. One great feature of the 360 is the ability to run in low-power mode, essentially using just enough power to complete the download, or recharge the controller before the system shuts itself off. On the other hand, if you want to recharge your PS3 controller or download a large file while you sleep, you have to leave the system on. Given the current energy crisis, it just makes sense for Sony to adopt a similar low-power option for players who want to perform ancillary functions without receiving a high energy bill at the end of the month.
We’re not saying that the PlayStation 3 doesn’t offer any advantages over the Xbox 360, just that when the two competing platforms are taken as a whole, Sony must continue to play catch-up if they want to dominate the industry as they once did. The PS3 has a lot going for it: the release of Metal Gear Solid 4 heralds the dawn of truly outstanding PlayStation exclusives, Blu-Ray has become the official high-def standard for physical media, and for all its limitations, PlayStation Network still lets gamers get online with their friends for free.
As Adam Smith asserted with the his notion of the invisible handjob, competition truly benefits everyone in the long run. Hopefully, Sony will eventually match the Xbox 360 feature-for-feature while continuing to offer free online play in the process. Incremental improvements to the PlayStation 3 via firmware updates benefit people on both sides of the fence, since Microsoft will then be forced to respond with their own set of new offerings, and hopefully, free Gold memberships. Should Sony be able to one day provide a service on par with the Xbox 360 for free, the gamers, rather than the hardware manufacturers, will be the real winners in the console war. Sony is listening, but not to the complacent. Let’s bitch our way to a world of better gaming for all!
Why Xbox is Still the King | The Exploding Barrel