5 reasons why PSN is better than Xbox Live

This is a series (that's right, I'll also do the opposite in favor of Xbox Live) of posts for a while.  After having used both online components for the individual consoles, obviously the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in this case, I've found good and bad things about both.  So then, without wasting much time let's dive in and start the countdown!

 

 

1. User Interface
   I have been a fan of the Playstation 3's cross-media blade interface since I first saw it on the PSP.  It's simple, pretty, and intuitive.  Fortunately, not too long ago this approach was also taken when revamping the Playstation Store.  Before the store was overhauled what you saw when you tried to browse or purchase content was what amounted to a pretty, if cluttered, website.  That's right.  You interacted with the Playstation Store via the PS3's web browser.  After a lot of complaining from gamers Sony finally realized that perhaps that wasn't the best route to go (especially for a store that has a lot of potential to make money for them) and so they transformed the store into more of a software-based solution.           

   The new store is absolutely awesome.  Not only is it pretty to look at (I find myself going in there even when I know there's nothing I want, just to make sure I haven't missed anything) but it is, at least in my opinion, much easier to use than the Xbox Live Marketplace.  With the Playstation Store you won't find lists of text denoting what you want to try out.  You get image-based icons in various categories that you can drill down into to find what you want.  You can also search through the content alphabetically so, unlike the Xbox Live Marketplace, you won't have to scroll through a giant list past the A's and B's to finally get to the first letter of your download.  Add to that the simple touches like placing a shopping bag icon next to any content you've already downloaded (saving you the time you may have lost redownloading something you didn't know you already had) and the experience is just plain better.  I'm happy to say that the same system was carried over to their Video Store as well.

    

2. Trophies
   When I first heard that Sony was taking a crack at the beloved achievements system I assumed the worst.  How can an idea so simple be elaborated on?  You do things in games, you're rewarded with points.  Can't go very far past that, right?  As it turns out, I was wrong.  Getting trophies is way more fun than getting achievements, for a couple reasons.  One problem with achievements is they can be easily gamed.  For instance, I can go out and rent a game that has a bunch of extremely easy achievements and pad my score by 1,000 points in a weekend.  Sony, by breaking up their trophies into 3 separate difficulty levels, have found a way around that problem.             

   Throughout a game with trophies in it you'll be presented with opportunities to win Bronze, Silver and Gold trophies plus a Platinum trophy for earning all other trophies available for that game.  Your trophy count for each of these separate levels (Bronze being the easiest to obtain, Platinum being the most difficult) is displayed on your PSN card which is easily accessible from the XMB's friends list so, if someone has been padding their trophy count with easy-to-get bronze trophies you'll be able to tell right off the bat.  Another cool feature of the trophy system is that, in order to progress your gamer level you need a certain number of trophies, including certain types of trophies.  So, for instance, say I have a thousand bronze trophies but I need at least 3 gold trophies to progress to the next gamer level rank - I'll be stuck at my current level until I go out and grab those golds.  Pretty cool stuff.

    

3. PSP integration
   One huge advantage that the PS3 has over the Xbox 360 is that it already has the PSP, a handheld multimedia powerhouse, ready to be integrated with your PS3 experience.  Through remote play you can interact with your PS3 from your PSP (remember how I mentioned they both had the same interface?) and do things like watch videos, listen to music, access the Playstation Store, and even play games.  This gives me a whole bunch of opportunities to interact with PSN from my PSP.  Say, for instance, I just heard that a new game has been added to the Playstation Store.  Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to get to my PS3 anytime soon but I do have my PSP with me.  As long as I have a wifi connection (built into the PSP) I can use remote play to turn on my PS3 and start the download so it will be waiting for me when I get home.           

   As another example of how cool remote play is, imagine you're totally addicted to PixelJunk Eden on the PS3.  As with before, you're away from your PS3 but you want to get your fix and even earn some trophies, so you use remote play to play PixelJunk Eden on your PSP (despite it being a PS3 game) and, since trophies are available even over remote play, you get to add to your trophy count!  Pretty cool stuff.  Just the idea of the established functionality plus potential further integration in the future has been enough for me to add the PSP to my must-own gadgets list.

    

4. Real Currency
   One of my biggest complaints about the Xbox Live Marketplace (and most online gaming-related stores these days) is that they shy away from using actual monetary values for things you purchase.  For example, why say a certain game costs $10.00 when you can instead say it costs 800 Microsoft points?  To avoid confusion, that's why - and Sony understands this.  Of course equating the money your users spend to funny money does have its financial benefits (users will be much quicker to spend "fake" points instead of actual dollar amounts) but it still seems a little deceitful, doesn't it?  That also adds another step in the content-purchasing process.  On Xbox Live if I want to purchase something I must first purchase points, then use those points to buy whatever game I'm interested in.  Fortunately, the same is not true for PSN, and as long as I have my account information tied to a credit/debit card, I can quickly make purchases just like on iTunes and guess what!  On the Playstation Store if something costs $10.00, it says $10.00.  Not 800 Space Bucks.           

    

5. PSN IS FREE
   This is a huge feature.  Microsoft charges $50 a year for their Xbox Live service while PSN is 100% free.  You can play your games online without spending a single cent.  This is my biggest response to anyone who gets down on PSN because it doesn't have a particular feature that is available on Xbox Live - PSN is free.  They're allowed to lag a little behind despite making a ton of progress of late, just because they aren't billing me yearly.  I accept that.  With PSN there's absolutely no barrier to entry because they're banking on your liking the content that's available and maybe purchasing a game or two.  I have to say, spending $20 on the PSN store for a couple games is much easier when you know you aren't being billed to use the service.  Just sayin'.           

   Runners Up: 
   These are just a couple features I like about PSN over Xbox Live, but didn't get their own specific bullet points.  First off, content.  Sony has made an effort to bring original and unique content to PSN over the same old arcade game rehashes that we see all-to-often on Xbox Live.  Games like Fl0w, PixelJunk Monsters, PixelJunk Eden, Super Stardust HD as well as future titles such as Fat Princess and Flower prove that Sony is committed to bringing the goods.

   Another huge feature of PSN is the ability to download full games, not just arcade games.  I've already spoken highly about the power of releasing Siren, a somewhat-niche title, as a download but this has worked for other titles too.  Games like Warhawk and Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty have offered full-game experiences without having to go to the store and purchase a physical copy.  The main reason this is only possible on PSN is the Playstation 3's hard drive capacity.  It generally doubles the Xbox 360's in most cases, plus you can upgrade your own hard drive rather than spending ridiculous amounts of money for a proprietary solution as Microsoft has done.  Being able to deliver full content experiences via digital distribution is the next big thing in gaming and I'm happy Sony is on-board.