XBL vs. PSN vs. Nintendo Wi-Fi

$name XBL vs. PSN vs. Nintendo Wi-Fi

How much are you willing to shell out monthly for a service that should be free?

One of the big reasons any casual, or core, gamer purchases a system is, undoubtedly, for online play. The promise of being able to talk smack while fragging your closest friends online is a main draw for anyone with a competitive nature. It might have not been such a big deal in earlier times, see four player Goldeneye 007, but in today’s console war, online play has become a definitive option for the public.

As a Wii owner, who purchased almost a year ago today, I settled camp with the Big N because of two reasons: Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. While one of those games turned out to be fantastic and the other Mario Kart, in terms of online play – both games operate flawlessly.

Another reason why I hopped on the overrated Wii wagon was because the online play doesn’t cost me a dime. That’s right, I have all the options of battling my peers online without Nintendo charging me for server use.

Can you blame me for being so frugal? The Wii is still the cheapest system and its online component doesn’t gorge more out of my pocket. I’m sure a lot of you have this same sentiment.

While the Wii may not be enough for core gamers, there is still a divide in the PS3 and Xbox 360 online areas. Like the Wii, the PS3 offers unlimited online play without users having to shell out a monthly or yearly fee. Unlike the Wii, 360 owners have to subscribe to Xbox Live which is priced at $59.99 annually.

The real question is: Are you willing to pay that extra fee to play online?

Let’s take the Wii out of the equation for this bit and lets compare the Playstation Network with Xbox Live.

According to GamesRadar, by paying for the Gold membership of Xbox Live, users are able to:

  • Play your Xbox 360 multiplayer games online with the premiere online gaming service.
  • Use the brand new TrueSkill Matchmaking system to play against opponents with similar skills, personalities, and gaming tastes.
  • Give player feedback to rate your teammates and opponents on their sportsmanship, abilities, and conduct to influence matchmaking.
  • Play select original Xbox games online.
  • Get access to exclusive Gold Member content.
  • Engage in video chat.
  • Enjoy all the Xbox Live Silver features.

All that for 60 dollars a year? To be honest, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal. If you do that math, it’s about five to six dollars a month for an elite service which is clearly better than the PSN or the Wii online system.

Here’s the kicker, though. At January’s CES, Sony announced it would be upgrading the PSN to be on par with Xbox Live – and at no additional cost to users. Hopefully, to penny pinching gamers, such as myself, this means the end of online subscription gaming. The thought of paying for a service that should come included with the game originally is an idea I’m not fond of at all. It’s probably the reason why I’ve strayed away from games like World of Warcraft.

It remains to be seen what upgrades the Sony dev team will supplement with the existing PSN to make it shine above the already highly touted XBL system. Hopefully, though, this means Microsoft will smarten up and ditch the XBL service fees. Gamers aren’t made out of money you know.

Source: GamesRadar

June 23, 2008 · Filed Under Gaming News 
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