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Sony Says No To Central PS3 Online Service
Saige writes "Online gaming fans are going to have to look past the PS3 to get their fix - Sony has announced that they are not doing a central service for PS3 online gaming. Instead, it will be done in the same manner as the PS2, where each company decides what effort to put into it. Considering how weak the online support has been for the PS2, this may not bode well for Sony, especially with more and more rumours that they won't be launching until at least the 2006 holidays." With the Live service such a success and Nintendo rolling out its WiFi network, it seems odd that Sony isn't going to try for something similar.
No, basic features like having the ability to buy more content will come standard; playing with your buddies will cost extra.
The fact is that while Microsoft forces people to pay to play their games online the boundries to people adopting online play on the XBox/XBox 360 are too high for average consumers (read: 80% of the market). For geeks the cost of broadband and XBox Live may seem minimal, and the difficulty with setting up your home to play online games may seem trivial, for the average person these are huge. Remember, the average person had difficulty setting their VCR's clock do you think they feel confortable setting up a wireless network or running cable through their house?
Here's the full version of the article.
It doesn't actually have much more as the bulk of the article talks about the possibility of multiple SKUs for the PS3.
God, what a stupid argument. How crap like this gets +5 insightful is beyond me. Maybe it is just because you say you won't buy an xbox.
If you don't like multiplayer over XBL, then don't play it. Buy games that are single player. It's like saying "Personall, the Internet is one reason I'm waiting on buying a PC. Iam actually adverse to it, and I don't think I am alone. It's one of the things that's given the PC its reputation as a system for hardcore gamers; it's almost as if you have to have a little community of fellow geeks willing to play online to really get much out of system". It's not like the system won't boot unless it is hooked up to a broadband connection. Of all the reasons not to buy a system, your has to be one of the worst out there. Just because people don't want to shell out extra money for the current XBL doesn't mean that 90% of XBox owners aren't interested. They might not have broadband, they might not be able to afford it, they might not even know it exists. The PS2 sold well because it was backward compatible and had solid games. XBox was just entering the market and expected to take a loss (though I am sure they hoped it was less of a loss).
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
Microsoft may or may not have a centralized online service for the 360, but I don't see it being mandatory as it is now.
Not only is it mandatory, but microsoft has said that *every* game must be xbox live aware... even single player games. That means single player games will upload stats and high scores to your xbox live account. Friends can find you even if you are playing a single player game.