I choose Xbox Live over PSN for reasons that you don't necesarily find on a feature list powerpoint presentation. I like it for reasons that most people take for granted.
Overall, what I like isn't something that can be experienced after playing a few games. I started to notice the difference over time. The little conveniences add up, showing just how well it's all put together.
As I played both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network more and more, I noticed a noticeable divide between the ways both systems are set up. Xbox Live is just more conducive to forming a community than PSN is. There are more opportunities to communicate, more opportunities to play with each other and more attention given to community members on Xbox Live.
MS recognizes that subscribers are more than just a group of people that play online. XBL is the means by which those members stay cohesive and active. XBL is how that random group of folks becomes a community, by allowing them to meet up with other people in ways that make sense. The end result is a much less random experience if you take advantage of what's there:
- Cross-game invites - In my eyes, more important than cross-game chat. This isn't a simple text message either. No matter what you and your friends are doing on the console (playing different games, watching a movie, listening to music, whatever), I can send an invite. All a friend needs to do is open my message and click accept and he'll be pulled right into my session.
- Party system - Up to 8 friends can party up and launch into games together, again, no matter whateveryone is doing. Or you can stay in separate games and just chat. Much like the Halo 3 party system, but at the OS level.
- Community staff - They are both visible and accessible. From Major Nelson's news and shows, Trixie's organization of girl gamers, StepTo's policy enforcement to the community developer and ambassador programs. Their response to the MW2 javelin glitch is a prime example. Although the onus of the responsiblity was solely on the shoulders of Infinity Ward, MS went above and beyond by actively seeking out the exploiters and suspending them. StepTo made public statement almost immediately. Sony's response was from a nameless rep with flat statement that they don't plan on doing anything. One is an example of service. The other is the absence of service.
- Community events - This isn't just the themed game nights on the Community Calendar. It's the Game With Fame, gaming with devs and my personal fave, Community PlayDate where I can game with people from a featured fan site. These events are easily seen, even if I'm not looking for it. Which brings me to....
- Better integration of features - Each feature is fleshed out and thought was it put into how one part affects another. This isn't the scattershot, half implemented approach we see from Sony. We need only look at achievements/trophies, integration with Xbox.com and Playstation.com, and the difference in their chatpad designs as good examples of this.
Granted, MS really screwed up with the hardware and they're stuggling with the pricing of content like Games on Demand, but Xbox Live... they totally got right. PS3 graphics and disc storage be damned. If I had to choose all over again, I'd still pick the Xbox 360 mostly because of their implementation of Xbox Live.
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