Sony Considers LIVE Feature for PS3

[Kraken]

Just a question for ANYONE to answer...What, exactly, is so great about 'LIVE'? I need an honest answer cause from what I hear, it ain't the greatest (unless you love Halo).

I haven't used live before so I can't tell you for sure but I can tell you about my time using xbconnect and why that was crap. It was impossible to find anyone playing a game I wanted to play, so I ended up playing halo even though I hate it in multiplayer. Even though I was on a 3MBPS university line it still lagged like crazy. Everyone else was talking and I couldn't hear them, or talk to them since I have no headset (for xbox). When the game was playable I got owned because everyone was infanitly better than me (on account of me not playing that game since I hate it). Xbox live fixes all of those issues with matchmaking, game specific contests & rooms, less lag since its on their server, and making everyone use the headset with voice masking.

Nonetheless, until M$ allows modded xboxes on live (which isn't going to happen) I don't care how cool they make it, im not giving up my homebrew!

[WOWchamp]

OK, lemme smash this whole thing about paying for online gaming. One, developers are being paid by the company to make updates for games, patches, added content, contests, etc. Two, gaming servers HAVE to be serviced almost daily: old files flushed, news updates, repairs, etc. Three who in theyre right mind is going to do all of this for free? Would you?

I felt the same way when I started the pay to play online games, but as I mentioned, you begin to realize in time that if you pay, you prosper. Look at games that are free to play online for PC. One I know of is Anarchy Online and it blows. Compare that to say World of Wracraft, EQ, and EQII. You can tell the quality in service and dependability.

For now tho, I rest my case and prepare to get slammed for stating how online gaming works.

If there were NO cheating, updated content and were very minimal server issues then maybe JUST maybe a SMALL fee wouldnt be so bad. What you posted is the jist of what a ton of people said to justify paying for WoW. I remember it being so bad that I was over 200 people deep waiting to get into my server. I remember my ping being so bad I couldn't even move and lag in major citys was just horrendous. Sometimes I couldn't even log in due to the server being down. I, my friend, am NOT paying 15$ a month for that crap. The ONLY thing I can say about WoW is that they are keeping up their end of the deal on content updates. But the updates so far arn't worth the money I paid them, that and with the horrible service everywhere else I couldnt even enjoy them.

[Xcali1985]

Paying to play, now let me break it down. There are more ways to cover the cost. First off any decent game can sell what a few million world wide in a matter of days. So heres what I say ingame advertisments if your downloading new levels, music, etc. there making money off of it anyways. Like True Crime ok you can download say Miami with it now what there going to put billboards all over it. you think they do this for free i highly doubt. Microsoft is greedy period point blank. Some people pay damn well for there already good internets and then have to there systems slowed to dial up is crazy. Ok and now with Sony running servers, this is an easy solution charge the companies who make the games that are online. Some of these games are 50-60$ in price, and youll say how can they afford that simple. Don't put out bullcrap and people will buy it. Im not going to be a saint and say that i have 100% retail collection but i did however buy games that i loved. For me to download say extra missions in GTA new boards etc I would pay for it knowing that i was paying say 70$ to buy the game so that i can purchase extra downloads.

Theres also another solution to this sell 2 version games. Some that support online and some that don't that way they can charge you that little extra for the online ones. Because I have games that are online based that i have no intention of playing online and wouldnt be so happy to fork over another 10-20$ for it.

[northernpimp]

I guess I wouldnt mind paying a SMALL fee for a SONY online service that included EVERY game going online, like live. BUT the games better be a max of 50 bucks, 60 is going too high as thats like a 1/4 of the console! ALSO if i pay to play online, there DANG well better be NO cheating as it totally ruins my want to play online (ie. 25 to life) AND there better be updates happing more often. The online service would have to be like live, where you have a friends list and can CHAT with them using the headset as texting is lame and slow. That my friends is the only reason i would pay to play online. I have enough bills being in college, so it better be semi cheap.

[Xcali1985]

Im pretty sure that if some guy/gal really wanted to they could make patches that would allow online cheating after all the disc is the one that knows what signals mean that are transmitted online not the actual online. After all people know how to change encrypted sat signals to get directv and dish network free im sure a game would be pretty easy for others. Now if backup games can go online at all now thats another story.

[Emanual Goldstein]

If sony makes an online server similar to live, you can bet it will be priced comparatively. I never used live until I got my 360, but I have to say I really like it. On one hand it kind of sucks that you have to pay, but you do get pretty good value for your money... besides multiplay, you get a marketplace to download game demos, and HD video trailers. They also have small arcade, puzzle, card games, etc. that can be downloaded for a small fee. The system uses M$ points that you have to buy for now, but eventually you will be able to "sell" content you create to other users for thier points, like new maps or skateparks and such. With intellegent matching you can easilly find opponants of the same reletive skill level as you as well. The pricing is not like paying for a mmorpg, it's like $5 per month at retail. I bought a card on E-bay for live that was a 12+1 month subscription for $35 though. They have leaderboards for every game on on live that lets you know if you truely are the best at a particular game. Video chat will be added this spring as well. I have only been on live for about weeks now and already I can't believe I never checked it out on my XBOX 1... just my 2 cents

[SomeFkinGuy]

i see why sony would charge to use the internet. i mean honetsly i already pay for my interent so why should i pay another fee to use the same internet? thats just my 2 cents

[northernpimp]

i see why sony would charge to use the internet. i mean honetsly i already pay for my interent so why should i pay another fee to use the same internet? thats just my 2 cents

I dont totally understand that. You pay a isp for internet yea, but to use sony's "live" service aka play sony ps3 games online you need to pay them. if its free like ps2 your going to have crappy online experience and lots of cheating because the game maker has to then pay and host their own servers. they dont have time to update and fix things everyday. now if its centralized and a small fee is payed then theres more updates, more features and almost no cheating and game makers will WANT to put online features into games. great idea in my book, id pay if it was like 5 a month, thats just 1 less 6 pack of beer a month.

[mariotrev]

From http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2270&Itemid=2

According to well-placed industry sources, PlayStation HUB will offer PlayStation 3 owners much the same services as Xbox Live, including chat, downloadable demos, independent games and online play. The service is also designed to support PSP online play as well as PS3. It's a departure from PlayStation 2's online strategy, widely regarded as vastly inferior to Microsoft's.

PlayStation HUB is being described to developers as a 'subscriber service' suggesting a monthly charge. We understand the service is being created by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, although this is unconfirmed.

Sony boss Howard Stringer is pushing for all media content to be available for distribution over PlayStation HUB, such as music and movies, thus opening up a powerful iTunes-like distribution network for Sony.

A spokesperson for SCEA said the company does not comment on rumors. However, we understand Sony is preparing to announce HUB some time in the next few weeks.