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[b]Playstation Live [i]vs.[/i] Xbox Live?[/b]

[font=\"Arial\"]According to the Official Playstation magazine, Sony is preparing for a "full-assault" on Xbox Live. Either Sony has realized that their online "plan" for the PS3 was a little lax, or they have finally acknowledged Xbox Live's immense popularity, but either way, they have been reported to be developing their own service to give Microsoft a run for their money.

For those who aren't terribly familiar with either companies' current online systems, let's have a short run down. Microsoft's Xbox Live system is a centralized system run by Microsoft itself on their servers for the vast majority of games on the Xbox. Live offers other great aspects such as voice chat, buddy lists, friend notifications, downloadable content, and their new Marketplace service. Think of Live as both a community of gamers as well as a instant messenger service which connects gamers across various games. Oh, did I forget to mention that these games are run on stable Microsoft services and that all Live games can be played by paying a singular monthly charge for the Live service? I didn't? Well, you can, and it's a totally sweet system.

On the flip-side, Sony's approach to online was very much a "do-it-yourself" affair. It was up to the individual company that produced the game to come up with a viable online option which usually only involved bare-bones online play. Thus, gamers would have to add friends to every game they bought and the online services offered by 3rd party publishers(if they could even afford it) were spartan at best. So, online for the PS2 didn't really work in the way gamers had hoped. Up until now, PS3's online plan was identical to that of the PS2 (you know, because it worked so well).

Hype or not, this development should surely have Microsoft tightening its Live service in response. Thus, no matter what happens, this announcement should prove positive for both Sony and Microsoft fans.[/font]

Edit: Forgot to Add the Source, Thanks Dren. /SlowBlink.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(wo0t)\' />

Source: [url=\"http://ps3.qj.net/Playstation-Live-vs-Xbox-Live-/pg/49/aid/1052\"]PS3 Updates[/url]

Interesting article... It's good to see Sony and Microsoft finally battling....it's fun to watch the company battles! /happy.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'^_^\' /> Where's your source though? /blum.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':P\' />

Yeh, coz when companies battle, we usually get the benefits /smile.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':)\' />

Exactly! They're constantly wanting bigger and better to draw in more clients... /biggrin.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':D\' />