Opinion post by the way, tin foil hats at the ready!
People are saying that both are identical. No way are they. The online services offered by both is like night and day, sun and moon. There are many clear reasons and points as to why the majority of gamers who own both consoles prefer Xbox Live over the Playstation Network. Granted, the PSN is free, while Xbox 360 users who want to experience online play will have to pay a small fee every month. What people forget (and I think they intentionally do, most of the time) is that the Xbox Live silver service still offers a massive range of game demos and trailers, and Xbox Live Arcade purchases are done on the spot rather than through the subscription (ie, you can buy SOTN with a silver sub). There's also the small factor that the live gold subscription amounts to the same as one packet of cigarettes a month (even less if you live in Britain).
And let's not forget the prices of the consoles - the PS3 (60GB) costs 145 pounds more than the Premium 360. That 145 pound difference could net you 36 months of Xbox Live gold subscription, hypothetically speaking. But this is a silly point anyway, nobody buys a PS3 just so they can get a free online service.
Money aside, the real meat of this debate lies in the actual performance and content of the services themselves. The Xbox Live service is integrated into the games library on the console far more seamlessly than the PS3 games and PSN. For example, even if you play a single player game like Oblivion, you can talk over a voice channel to your friends, even if they are playing on a totally different game altogether. Pressing the center green X button on the controller opens the Live interface, where you can see friend status, send game invites and view downloads and etc (as well as more console features, like music player). For example, I said this in another thread, I could be playing GoW single player, then I get notified that my friend has just come on his 360. He may have just started up Oblivion but that doesn't mean I can't invite him to our private voice channel even if we're on totally different games, on their offline modes. Most of the time, I'm chatting to my friend while I'm trying to beat Act 3 on Insane, and he's trying to liberate Kvash from the nasty Scamps that came out of the Oblivion gate nearby. In fact, I can throw him a GoW invite, which he can join by simply exiting to dashboard and putting the game in. The entire thing has not interupted gaming at all; there's no exiting to title menus to pick 'online mode', or leaving the current level of the person who's sent the invite. You cannot do this on the PS3.
So that's the gaming aspect. Both Live Marketplace and PSN also offer many items to download. Unfortunately, as it is, the PStore is extremely limited; in fact, it runs like a dog. Any browsing results in constant loading of pictures and text, which you have to wait a short time for. Sometimes you even get red 'x's in place of missing browser arrows and game screenshots. Live Marketplace loads near instantly by comparision, and in much better category sorting. The downloads are handled much better by Live in my opinion; for example, you open a game while playing on it, and you can press the center green X to view active downloads and their progress. I've yet to find a way to do this for the PS3 - pressing the center PS button in the games gives you extremely limited options - turn off the console or controller, or quit the game. No friend tracking, or download views. The PS3 also requires you to install downloads as well, and does not even keep track of your download history, or if you have even installed them before. When I tried to get the RR7 demo, it gave a network error but proceeded to download without telling me. So I tried again, and it downloaded two RR7 demos at the same time. On top of this, I could not figure out how to cancel it. It was only through frustrated button mashing that I found you had to press triangle to open up the options on 'Download Management' menu - pressing the x button simply shows the game info with how much MB has been downloaded. Why not include options to cancel or pause download in that same window, instead of assigning to a different button. In fact, why isn't there a little key on the bottom of the screen telling you what the buttons do like in Xbox Live (for example, 'Press X to add Microsoft Points') ?
So that's one other point; the navigation and use of ease of the Xbox Live service is much better. This is partly because the 360 bunches it all together in one package - Xbox Live Marketplace, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox 360 Music Player, Xbox System Tools, etc etc all have the same menu styling and categorizing - you never feel like you're lost. This is in contrast to the PS3, where the slow and bare PStore sits in the corner of the console, doing little else other than offering downloads. Want to stay in touch with your friends across the PS3 platform (voice chat, game invites etc)? Not possible, unless you're playing the very same game. You also need to purchase a headset separately.
In short, I am a bit puzzled by those who say they are identical. They are totally different. There's no unified friend's list for the Sony platform, and this is one of the biggest factors in why people like Live so much more. The social interaction, which I highly value, is much greater on the 360 than on the PS3.
It seems I've forgotten to talk about the updates up to this point, doh. Although a small matter, the PS3's updating isn't automatic, unlike the 360's. You won't know your system needs updating until you try a game online, or you visit the PSN. One day you would go onto the PSN and it says 'you need to update the firmware', in which case you would have to go to 'system update' elsewhere on the OS, instead of the PSN service actually pointing you straight to the link (which is a bit strange). Some may find this attractive, as why bother getting an update for something you may not visit in the first place? But for those who want to make sure their system is at its best, they're going to have to navigate to 'System Update' everytime. This is only a minor gripe, but it should be mandatory. Not everyone keeps up to date on Sony's latest firmware updates, and a lot more people are eager to get their PS2 games working on the console. I'd imagine that not having system updates mandatory could mean that some people will potentially miss out on updates that could render their favourite PS2 games finally playable.
Phew. That was a mouthful, sorry. Remember it's all just my opinion of course, I'm interested in what your views are, of both services - spill the beans
I just felt I needed to get my own view on the table, in a detailed manner (well ok, a 'TLDR post 
)
People are saying that both are identical. No way are they. The online services offered by both is like night and day, sun and moon. There are many clear reasons and points as to why the majority of gamers who own both consoles prefer Xbox Live over the Playstation Network. Granted, the PSN is free, while Xbox 360 users who want to experience online play will have to pay a small fee every month. What people forget (and I think they intentionally do, most of the time) is that the Xbox Live silver service still offers a massive range of game demos and trailers, and Xbox Live Arcade purchases are done on the spot rather than through the subscription (ie, you can buy SOTN with a silver sub). There's also the small factor that the live gold subscription amounts to the same as one packet of cigarettes a month (even less if you live in Britain).
And let's not forget the prices of the consoles - the PS3 (60GB) costs 145 pounds more than the Premium 360. That 145 pound difference could net you 36 months of Xbox Live gold subscription, hypothetically speaking. But this is a silly point anyway, nobody buys a PS3 just so they can get a free online service.
Money aside, the real meat of this debate lies in the actual performance and content of the services themselves. The Xbox Live service is integrated into the games library on the console far more seamlessly than the PS3 games and PSN. For example, even if you play a single player game like Oblivion, you can talk over a voice channel to your friends, even if they are playing on a totally different game altogether. Pressing the center green X button on the controller opens the Live interface, where you can see friend status, send game invites and view downloads and etc (as well as more console features, like music player). For example, I said this in another thread, I could be playing GoW single player, then I get notified that my friend has just come on his 360. He may have just started up Oblivion but that doesn't mean I can't invite him to our private voice channel even if we're on totally different games, on their offline modes. Most of the time, I'm chatting to my friend while I'm trying to beat Act 3 on Insane, and he's trying to liberate Kvash from the nasty Scamps that came out of the Oblivion gate nearby. In fact, I can throw him a GoW invite, which he can join by simply exiting to dashboard and putting the game in. The entire thing has not interupted gaming at all; there's no exiting to title menus to pick 'online mode', or leaving the current level of the person who's sent the invite. You cannot do this on the PS3.
So that's the gaming aspect. Both Live Marketplace and PSN also offer many items to download. Unfortunately, as it is, the PStore is extremely limited; in fact, it runs like a dog. Any browsing results in constant loading of pictures and text, which you have to wait a short time for. Sometimes you even get red 'x's in place of missing browser arrows and game screenshots. Live Marketplace loads near instantly by comparision, and in much better category sorting. The downloads are handled much better by Live in my opinion; for example, you open a game while playing on it, and you can press the center green X to view active downloads and their progress. I've yet to find a way to do this for the PS3 - pressing the center PS button in the games gives you extremely limited options - turn off the console or controller, or quit the game. No friend tracking, or download views. The PS3 also requires you to install downloads as well, and does not even keep track of your download history, or if you have even installed them before. When I tried to get the RR7 demo, it gave a network error but proceeded to download without telling me. So I tried again, and it downloaded two RR7 demos at the same time. On top of this, I could not figure out how to cancel it. It was only through frustrated button mashing that I found you had to press triangle to open up the options on 'Download Management' menu - pressing the x button simply shows the game info with how much MB has been downloaded. Why not include options to cancel or pause download in that same window, instead of assigning to a different button. In fact, why isn't there a little key on the bottom of the screen telling you what the buttons do like in Xbox Live (for example, 'Press X to add Microsoft Points') ?
So that's one other point; the navigation and use of ease of the Xbox Live service is much better. This is partly because the 360 bunches it all together in one package - Xbox Live Marketplace, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox 360 Music Player, Xbox System Tools, etc etc all have the same menu styling and categorizing - you never feel like you're lost. This is in contrast to the PS3, where the slow and bare PStore sits in the corner of the console, doing little else other than offering downloads. Want to stay in touch with your friends across the PS3 platform (voice chat, game invites etc)? Not possible, unless you're playing the very same game. You also need to purchase a headset separately.
In short, I am a bit puzzled by those who say they are identical. They are totally different. There's no unified friend's list for the Sony platform, and this is one of the biggest factors in why people like Live so much more. The social interaction, which I highly value, is much greater on the 360 than on the PS3.
It seems I've forgotten to talk about the updates up to this point, doh. Although a small matter, the PS3's updating isn't automatic, unlike the 360's. You won't know your system needs updating until you try a game online, or you visit the PSN. One day you would go onto the PSN and it says 'you need to update the firmware', in which case you would have to go to 'system update' elsewhere on the OS, instead of the PSN service actually pointing you straight to the link (which is a bit strange). Some may find this attractive, as why bother getting an update for something you may not visit in the first place? But for those who want to make sure their system is at its best, they're going to have to navigate to 'System Update' everytime. This is only a minor gripe, but it should be mandatory. Not everyone keeps up to date on Sony's latest firmware updates, and a lot more people are eager to get their PS2 games working on the console. I'd imagine that not having system updates mandatory could mean that some people will potentially miss out on updates that could render their favourite PS2 games finally playable.
Phew. That was a mouthful, sorry. Remember it's all just my opinion of course, I'm interested in what your views are, of both services - spill the beans
I just felt I needed to get my own view on the table, in a detailed manner (well ok, a 'TLDR post )
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