Green for Gold…Justified? Round Two
Written by LinuxGuru 
The ever-growing struggle for console online dominance
A while back, GamesRadar posted an interesting look into what exactly you get whilst paying for Xbox Live Gold in comparison to a free service such as PlayStation Network. Is the extra cost justified?
For this second round, continuing my previous article, I’ll start with listing the commonalities between the two services, these being features provided at no cost with the most basic subscription level:
PSN Account <—> Xbox Live Silver Account
- A friends list
- Text Messaging
- Voice Chat
- Online store content download (release delay for Xbox Live Silver accounts)
- Recent player list
- Access to downloadable arcade titles (and certain MMOs – Xbox Live)
Next, here’s a list of common features between Xbox Live Gold (paid membership) and a free PlayStation Network account:
PSN Account <—> Xbox Live Gold Account
- A friends list (now 100 on PS3)
- Mass Text Messaging
- Text Messaging (+ In-Game)
- Voice Chat (+ In-Game, PS3 w/supported titles, not cross-game yet)
- Video Chat (In-game possibly coming in future PS3 firmware update?)
- Online store content download
- Recent player list
- Online Multiplayer
- Matchmaking (PS3 – supported titles)
Now that we’ve shown the similarities, let’s see what paying 50 dollars a year will get you, that a free service like the PlayStation Network won’t get you already:
- The ability to voice chat cross-game
- The ability to send voice messages cross-game
- Standard cross-game invite system (the PS3 is capable of this, but it is not forced upon devs currently)
Wait….that’s it? Oh, but there’s more! Apparently, some info-digging a while back turned up this juicy fact:
Developers of 360 games don’t pay for multiplayer hosting…you do. Gamers foot the bill for this, making it more profitable for even the smallest of developers. However, please note that PC game devs have been paying for their own multiplayer hosting for years, and have been more than successful (profit-wise) despite doing so.
So tell me, what do you think about this? Are you going to abandon ship since Firmware 2.40 brought In-Game XMB and then later, more (such as Life with PlayStation and the video store), for the PS3? Is that going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, forcing you to switch from a paid service to a free service that offers (nearly) the same benefits? Or are you loyal and a die-hard fan, believing that the money you give Microsoft is well-spent and going for a good cause? State your case! We welcome your opinions!
For the Doubters
Xbox Live GamerTag – Coeus87
PSN ID – CoeusTitan
LAST NOTE: Once both NXE and PlayStation Home are released, I will run a similar editorial to this, comparing the two and the similarites / differences and pros / cons.
No Responses to “Green for Gold…Justified? Round Two”
I did the right thing and didn’t buy a 360 to begin with.
yea me to, i would rather wait to get it then pay, because sometimes i dont play that often, like a few weeks and i dont have to worry about paying for something if im not doing it. and to tell you the truth sony has done high quality work for the PSN so im very pleased. Even though Home has been delayed so many times, i would rather wait for it longer then get one that has so many bugs in it that it would ruin the fun in it.
I agree with your assessment.I own all the consoles/portables and if I had to say the one advantage that Live has is it’s community features.Gamer nights and Inside Xbox,things like that.Cross game invites would be great though. The quality of the downloadable games on PSN is really a strong point for Sony.Also,the unlimited cap on downloadable games(Warhawk,Burnout,Socom,etc) really gives another advantage.
You are correct about the Xbox side.The connections for the most part are peer to peer while Sony has server farms,Gamespy,etc running it’s titles.That’s the basic setup PC has been using for years.That’s why most PS3 game lobbys are very PC centric.
i just read something that said that the xbox 360s warranty next month will be void so that everyone with a 360 if it so happens to break you have to pay to get it fixed i personally dont have a 360 but if that were true that really is a crappy thing to do.
@alilgamer
Unless Microsoft decides to generously shell out another billion dollars for free warranties for everyone
The warranty is for 3 years from purchase if you get a RROD.It doesn’t end on any timeframe except for the three years.The standard warrantyis one year.
@enewtabie
PS3s always had a 1 year warranty, when I bought my PS3, the 360 was still had a standard 3 month warranty.
The only negative thing I see of the PSN is that it doesn’t acept other countries, I live in Colombia, but lucky for me that I’ve got family in the States. BUt the rest is perfect, I hope it stays free.
On the subject of warranties..
In some countries you can pay to get extended warranties. In Canada, you can buy an additional 4 year warranty for $159… They offer 1, 2, 3, and 4-year extensions. Having only learned this today (my PS3 is in for warranty repair) I will be buying probably a 3-year extension. They call it SonyCare here and your PS3 must still be within the original 1-year warranty to qualify. Not sure if the US has this option.
I Knew It!