Slashdot Mirror
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?