Sony's Answer to Xbox Live Revealed

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Sony's Answer to Xbox Live Revealed
How does Sony intend to compete with Xbox Live? Here's how.
by Luke Smith, 09/12/2006 1 of 1 users recommend this story.
Microsoft's Xbox Live has existed since 2002. How will Sony, who has never had a dedicated and successful online program in the console space -- the PS2's online was a total free for all -- compete with Microsoft's nearly four-year lead in the online console gaming service sphere?
They'll use Xfire, that's how (the image to the right is a mock-up).


read the rest at 1up.COM
 
Meh, it still isn't unified and Sony is forcing developers to manage their own servers. To top if off, billing for any games that charge to play online will have to be done individually through said developer instead of one unified Play Online account (ala Xbox Live).

While a nice upgrade, it will pale in comparison to XBL. MS has a full generational leap ahead of both Sony and Nintendo, its unified, and Live Anywhere is going to shame anything the competition showcases.

I applaud Sony's effects, but gamers should get all giddy about a sub par service.
 
Its going to be great if PC and PS3 gamers are able to play together.

One little question though, where does it leaves gamespy? i thought that Sony announced during GDC or E3 that they were developing the PnP with gamespy.
 
When you say 'unified'..you do know they've already confirmed a unified login on the PS3 network?

Anyway, this is excellent news I think. Xfire has a great product and an awful lot of experience, and it could open some interesting doors for Sony as far as cross platform gaming is concerned.
 
Ok, so it's confirmed ? :D
I'm really glad they went with a partner.

Angelcurio said:
Its going to be great if PC and PS3 gamers are able to play together.

One little question though, where does it leaves gamespy? i thought that Sony announced during GDC or E3 that they were developing the PnP with gamespy.
Click to expand...

I'm interested to find out what happened here too.
 
This could just be an answer to Live Anywhere and integrated to PNP. The PNP itself has to be atleast in beta by now and Xfire-coup seems pretty recent.
 
Gamespy and Xfire are different tools for different jobs. Gamespy is being used for middleware for actual network play and so forth, while Xfire is a end-user system for interacting with the network. I think Gamespy has their own client that gamers can use to track servers and such, but it's only one of the products they offer, and evidently Sony has gone with someone else for that side of things (and someone much better IMO).
 
superNoid said:
Meh, it still isn't unified and Sony is forcing developers to manage their own servers. To top if off, billing for any games that charge to play online will have to be done individually through said developer instead of one unified Play Online account (ala Xbox Live).
Click to expand...
Where does it mention that in the article? AFAICS this is the messenger/friends component, but it doesn't sound to me like the enitirety of the solution. Having XFire on bouard doesn't mean the service they provide will be exactly like their PC service, no more and no less, either. It wouldn't be counter to this story for Sony to provide a unified account for registered gamers. Heck, Sony have they're own bank, so they could create a proper bank account and have all funds transferred to game-services from there!
 
patsu said:
Ok, so it's confirmed ? :D
Click to expand...

Well, it should be noted that it's not confirmed... it's just not denied either. ;)

I think this supposition made on the basis of the conference call is pretty solid, but we shouldn't go as far as to give it the weight of an official announcement yet. How the XFire implementation will be handled is still a question mark, though the indications are that at least the back-end will be the same for all intents and purposes.
 
I think this could work out well If they play their cards right and integrate it into the PS3 interface in a good fashion. If they were to partner with anyone at all, I think xfire would be the best choice as it's already an established tool on the pc gaming side of things.
 
expletive said:
I'm not sure what this adds exactly, is this just a way for people on PnP via a PS3 to chat with people on a PC?
Click to expand...

The article lists some of the features that Xfire offers that could be migrated to a PS3 service (like friends tracking, one-click to join friends in the games they're playing, server browsing, chat and in-game chat, stats tracking, profiles etc.). The technology could be used to help with the communication and community side of things.

It could also be used perhaps to allow cross-platform PS3/PC communication and communities, which in conjunction with other middleware could maybe also allow cross platform gaming. But I think that'd be something for some way down the road. I think more immediately Sony has their eyes on the tools mentioned above.
 
Titanio said:
The article lists some of the features that Xfire offers that could be migrated to a PS3 service (like friends tracking, one-click to join friends in the games they're playing, server browsing, chat and in-game chat, stats tracking, profiles etc.). The technology could be used to help with the communication and community side of things.
Click to expand...

Oh ok, i had figured those features were a given on the new network, I didnt realize they hadnt been nailed down yet. This certainly should help Sony catch up a little on the software side.
 
expletive said:
Oh ok, i had figured those features were a given on the new network
Click to expand...

Have you seen PS2 Online? ;)

Obviously everyone expects an improvement over that, but to what degree hasn't been clear and certainly has been a point of debate in the past. A partnership like this at least suggests they're in a position to deliver a very competent and competitive online service (sooner or later), so it's very good news. I've been fairly optimistic/hopeful about what Sony might bring to PS3's online service, but stuff like tracking what your friends are playing and seeing what they're playing and joining them there and then - I wouldn't have been expecting that (and it may still not be there day one, but at least we know it should be in the pipe one way or another).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I dont care about a unified service, heck PC is'nt unfied and PC online gaming kicks XBL in the ball's. 60 man Counter strike Source :)
 
Yes... if true... this should be a good start for a basic and free online gaming platform.

What other PS3 online info do we know so far ?

* Each user has his/her personal area in XMB.

* Users can access "friends" features from XMB. I assume (some of) X-Fire will be accessible from this tab.

* Sony also demoed some online features (e.g., downloadable content, shopping, forum [?], ...) accessible from within each game and have game-specific looks

Others we have heard:

* PSP-to-PS3 connectivity will be available (probably also accessible from XMB like LocationFree today), but may not be ready at launch.

* XBLA-like service is planned (Sony "Beyond" program) but no sightings yet.

* Private multiplayer game, individual titles only [?] (Is it still true that Resistance:Fall of Men allow private game hosting ?).

* Cure@Home (Where do people launch this from ?).
 
Warhawk was the one that will allow you to use a ps3 as a dedicated server. I don't think anything has been said regarding Resistance.

You're correct in that shops are game-specific.

We know that the login is unified.

We also know that shortly after the PS3 launch, the platform is supposed to be extended to PSP, so there'll be a common community between them.
 
Unless something drastic has changed in the last little while, this news is being vastly misinterpreted. Is XFire working as a middleware partner with Sony? Yes. Is Gamespy still a middleware partner with Sony? Yup. Quazal (that's me!) and Demonware? Indeed. They're all providing solutions for the platform, and piggybacking on the solution Sony themselves are providing with Network Platform.
 
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