In a hit-and-run interview with MCV at the Game
Developers Conference, Chris Lewis of Microsoft Europe spoke candidly about their feelings for Sony's online platform.
"It’s certainly flattering to see that our competition rates aspects of Xbox 360 and Xbox Live so highly
that they’re integrating these features into their own product."Ouch! Pithy comment alert up there. Since they've been around the block a few times, that gives them a little freedom to say what they want about their competition. But he didn't stop there. He also spoke about having been involved in the games biz for long enough to know that initial declarations don't always hold up in the end. So behind the belittling, do you think Microsoft is just stirring up the pot or are they getting worried? Not sure if we can detect any fear behind those comments, but gamers are starting to express their interest in free online gaming (just look at our poll).
Naysayers might conclude that nothing in life is free, and PNP will be no different. Microsoft would probably love to see that too. But now that Sony has our attention, they can't afford to lose it by deciding to change up the formula. This is one initial claim that Sony fans are taking to the bank.













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
3-31-2006 @ 11:43AM
Microdot said...
funny... they find an isolated area where they have a current lead, but fail to realize the irony of their own statement. as i seem to remember it, didnt the sony (as well as nintendo, sega, atari, and countless others) beat m$ LONG to the punch in building game consoles? wouldnt m$ just be "copying" others ideas on that front? and i love what you did with usb on the 360... i wonder wherever did you get that idea? could it have been from the ps2 maybe? ankle biters.
give it a rest m$. your 360 (speaking from experience... i owned one for a month before getting tired of it, and selling it on ebay) is a steamy pile of crap, and the only decent thing going for it, is the online service. i dont like online gaming anyway... so it matters not to me.
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3-31-2006 @ 12:18PM
poopnoodle said...
your argument of using the $ sign to spell microsoft makes me want to sell my 360 and buy a ps3. why "dont" you like online gaming? maybe 'cause the playstation online service eats my shit? hmmmm maybe. furthermore wouldn't it be a good idea to wait for the ps3 to come out before comparing it to the 360?
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3-31-2006 @ 1:01PM
Microdot said...
because when i get the free moment to myself to do anything, i like to enjoy MY free time. the experiences i've had online for the most part are somewhat aggravating. listening to some punk 10 year old tell me to 'f%$# my mother', or another great one when you get a team built up, are storming into the enemy stronghold... and you look back and half of them have bailed leaving you all alone to have your ass handed to you. hahaha
when i sit down to play.. i dont want to deal with anyone else... i dont want to wait around for a team to get ready to do something (just using that as an example... im actually not too much into fps games, although i do play some) etc. i just want to kick back and play at my own whim.
ive actually owned an xbox longer than i have a ps2. i was one of the first to get a 360. i love the xbox... its a great system, and i think a bit over what the ps2 is, although the ps2 has the games i really want to play. the 360 though is a pile of crap. in one month, i went through two of them. the first completely crapped out (would not boot at all), and the place i purchased (that i typically spend insane amounts with) saved me the time and swapped it out. a couple of weeks after that problem... the new one continually locked up, and at the end... wouldnt recognize its own discs (put it in, and it instructs you to put it in a 360 if you want to play... even though it was in a 360). m$ gave me a bs line about the discs being scratched, and not to move the system with a disc in, etc. the system was never touched, on or off. i got tired of it, sold it, and wont be touching another. graphics are great, online service is great, and the games are decent (although somewhat lacking... but its new. its to be expected) but the hardware and OS were quite crap. out of three personal friends that went out to purchase them already... only one hasnt had an issue... and he's the last one with a 360.
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3-31-2006 @ 1:07PM
Jim N said...
I love how everybody is talking up Sony's free PNP service. Was I the only one that got the memo about the Silver Xbox Live package? You buy the console and you get the silver xbox live at no additional cost just like PNP and Nintendo WiFi. Sony has never said that they will be giving away all their online service only basic online gaming service.
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3-31-2006 @ 1:16PM
Microdot said...
and i believe you just explained yourself into proving everyone elses point. i agree... its a bit premature to be arguing which is better, as right now, xbox wins for the simple fact that THERES EXISTS.... however, m$ has NO online gaming for free. (i think maybe the arcade games might be... i cant remember) im sure sonys will probably be structured the same as microsoft with that exception... and for the most part, thats all anyone wants to do. play online. who cares about buying avatars and themes?
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3-31-2006 @ 1:31PM
George G said...
it's funny that microsoft thinks there the best in the online biz, when there are more people currently playing soccom online on ps2 than all online users on xbox and 360. everquest anyone? huge online game, made by who? sony, thats right. gee i wonder if their online thing will work. it's sad when microsoft fans clammor about the online service and halo 3.......what else do they have to back themselves up? atleast if the ps3 is only "as good" as the 360, they still have some of the most solid franchises in gaming period.
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3-31-2006 @ 1:59PM
reklesgemini said...
same way sega was flattered when they heard everyone was going online with their consoles.
It's the business, copy and make better
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3-31-2006 @ 2:02PM
reklesgemini said...
same way sega was flattered when they heard everyone was going online with their consoles.
It's the business, copy and make better.
And tell me who actually enjoys the limitations on the "silver" version?
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3-31-2006 @ 2:27PM
Cage said...
Can you at least post this since you dont want to post anything else?
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3-31-2006 @ 2:40PM
Cage said...
Thank you. Appreciate the post. You guys are special. PS3 sucks. Thanks again. Love the site. Wish you well. PS3 sucks. Enjoy the weekend. Love your show.
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3-31-2006 @ 2:53PM
SuicideNinja said...
"wouldnt m$ just be "copying" others ideas on that front? and i love what you did with usb on the 360... i wonder wherever did you get that idea? could it have been from the ps2 maybe? ankle biters."
I don't think it's just that the PS3 will be online that they are flattered about. It's that Sony is obviously trying to match all features of Xbox live (friends, chat, downloads, etc). Personally, I don't think Sony will do it well. But anything should be an improvement over taking the PS2 online. So we do have reason to be excited.
As far as USB ports, the PS2 may have them, but they are pretty useless unless you play FFXI, or SOCOM with a headset. They had no reason to even upgrade to USB 2.0 with the slimline PS2 because of their limited use. For me, all the PS2's USB ports will be good for is powering the 2.5" drive I HAVE TO SOLDER IN because they decided to stop supporting it in the slimlines. Anyway, USB is essentially a requirement for most media devices now, so saying that Microsoft "copied" it is just naive. What else are we going to connect our USB thumbdrives, mice and keyboards to?
I especially love how everyone that comments pretends they have had three or more Xbox 360s that failed. Um, I could go on for a while about PS2s, including the brand new ones. The PS2 is the lowest quality of console I've ever owned and ever worked with. Lucky for me, I can fix them and make a buck because people keep buying them (check ebay for "broken PS2"). Gamestop gives $20 for a broken PS2 and $60 for working one.
Hopefully the PS3 is more like the PSX in terms of quality. But since they are cramming too much in there, its hard not to be skeptical.
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3-31-2006 @ 2:54PM
boots said...
And it's flattering how Microsoft copied everything else. It doesn't matter though, it is confirmed already that games will be free to play online, and that there will be a hard drive included in every PS3 (and used in every game). PS3 will be better in almost everything, and you'll get more for your money.
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3-31-2006 @ 3:24PM
Cage said...
Please...oh please keep hyping up a free online service so Sony can fall on their face. At least then it will be interesting to see what Sony fanboys will put on the pedestal next...
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3-31-2006 @ 3:38PM
Microdot said...
please... oh please keep whining about it. it would be so great if you could just cry for us all a little bit more. i know you can do it cage!
while you're at it, you might want to tend to that drool before it shorts your keyboard.
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3-31-2006 @ 4:04PM
reklesgemini said...
Dan Choi, was I right? or was I right?
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3-31-2006 @ 5:36PM
Geof said...
George G-
"when there are more people currently playing soccom online on ps2 than all online users on xbox and 360. "
Not picking sides here because I think this argument is useless, but just to let you know this isn't true at all. There are more players on halo 2 then all of Playstion Online.
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3-31-2006 @ 5:51PM
Cage said...
No whine here buddy. What the hell would Sony get out of a free service? They would need a whole team to work on this everyday once its up and running. This is extra resources wasted. = more expense and no revenue to offset that expense. For the slow ones (Microdot), this would mean that they would lose more money on top of the money they are losing from each console. Keep bringing it up though fanboys...you keep giving Microsoft, I mean M$ (cause they are the only corporation out to make money), the better console.
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3-31-2006 @ 7:35PM
Microdot said...
what would sony get out of a free service? you cant be serious. are you fucking retarded? a downs syndrome patient? (thats a serious question. do your parents know that you are on the internet with your condition?)
free = publicity.
free = interest.
free = more sales of the console.
let me ask you, since you seem to be so immensely knowledgeable, and i guess.. i only do this for a living.... you think that $50 per year covers the throughput, support, hardware, and salaries of those running the live service for m$?? i'll give you a guess... it rhymes with no. that amount barely covers bandwidth and access lines required to push the frames needed to promote a halfway stable existance.
its a losing business. however, they lose to gain. what they lose in services and hardware that entice customers to purchase, they gain back well over that cost, in sales of games and extras.
ps - if you feel like playing the e-tard online, feel free to hit my forums to discuss it further.. but you're just making yourself look like an idiot here (as well as most other places im guessing). if you dont like the ps3... dont fucking buy one. its as simple as that. all your problems are solved. unless you have invested an enormous amount of money (which down syndrome patients rarely have) into m$... the conversations here shouldnt affect you in the least, much less to a point that you have to actively run around drooling on everything like a freaking moron screaming about how much "the 360 pwns!"
give it a rest man.
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3-31-2006 @ 7:53PM
Microdot said...
didnt mean to overlook you suicideninja. i agree... probably for the first year or so, sonys online service wont be up to snuff, and probably quite crappy. they are new to this, and m$ has experience in the area already, not to mention the know how (or some would say lack of) in large scale server environments.
regardless of what the usb is there for... its there. i could plug in a usb keyboard, and away i went. its a similar comparison to what this article was originally talking about... as m$ doesnt have a clue, just like non of us really do either, exactly WHAT sonys online service will be.
here is my ebay auction for the 360 that was traded out yet AGAIN. i worded it nicely, so as to not scare off a buyer... but thats it. feel free to contact me through ebay... i'll be happy to respond.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62054&item=8269398823
i personally.. have never had an issue with the ps2. also never had an issue with the original xbox. i think both are great systems, and as i said... i think the xbox has a little more to it. the 360 though... i just couldnt take it. too many issues. im sure there are people out there that have zero problems with theirs... i know one personally, and there are a few dozen on my board. but i know just as many that DO have issues. if you are one of the lucky ones that is having a good experience with it... good for you. i wasnt. and i tried. several times.
i, just like the rest, can only hope sony doesnt screw everyone, and this system is good. if its not... im going to be stuck to my mac, and the ps2 and xbox... cause i will not repurchase either the ps3 or 360 just to play. i had actually hoped that nintendo was going to turn the revolution into something great... but theyve already lost me. the lack of processor speed, the lack of hd ability... that all lost it for me. its a game cube in a shiny new box.
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3-31-2006 @ 8:51PM
Fan said...
Microsoft should just say they got owned.
Paying for an peer to peer online service that only uses your own bandwith is an insult. You pay Microsoft to use your own internett connection. What a rip off.
Im glad there are some sain companies out there that understands that there is absolutly no reason to charge for such a service. Maybe Microsoft will come with a free version too. They should.
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