MSFT, Sony Release XBL and PSN Usage Numbers

[Maxor127]

Bottom line, PSN is free. I could care less which is more popular or which has the most users. I'll never pay to play a game online, and Xbox Live is a joke. It would be like the equivalent of paying to use Steam on a PC. It offers nothing of value. And the worst thing is, the quality of the service sucks. Lag, disconnections, and long waits connecting to a game are way too common for a paid service and would be bad enough for a free service. PSN seems better or at least on par with Xbox Live, and it's free. So it's a no brainer.

 

[TheDuke]

they are both about equal in terms of features I want on both platforms and they both play online very well but in terms of accounts.

On the 360, I only have 1 xbox live account
On the PS3 among me and other people that have used and made online accounts on my ps3 and the various region accounts I've made, there has probably been over 12 psn accounts on my ps3

 

[Guest]

you cant do nothing with silver membership why would you add those numbers too they are not connected like the gold membership

 

[tearlach2]

[citation][nom]Rab1d-BDGR[/nom]The service con PSN is waaaay better... My PS3 connects every time! - XBL service is terrible, no matter what I do my playstation simply will not connect to XBox live! 😛[/citation]
+1

 

[melvis72]

Between the 2 I like my XBL over the PSN, I like the feel of XBL, PSN didn't do much for me.

 

[anonymousdude]

[citation][nom]surfer1337dude[/nom]PS: There is a reason that MS has been using a point system compared to a dollar system. The reason is the same as why casinos use chips instead of dollar money. It is easier for the human mind to just say this many chips/points than it is to say 10 dollars.[/citation]


That is true, but the other reason is that M$ can charge sales tax on the actual purchase of the points card and sony can't as their cards are a cash value. The only downside to Sony cards is that after a purchase it always leaves a penny making you buy another card. That is where M$ and Nintendo have the advantage as I would rather pay an extra dollar in sales tax to not have to spend another $20 to buy another PSN card only to have another penny left.

 

[anamaniac]

I payed $70 for a game, and now I'm told to fork over more just to use the multiplayer?
Hell. No.

 

[Sushi Warrior]

What about XBL Silver accounts? Were those included?

 

[justbrae1]

[citation][nom]anamaniac[/nom]I payed $70 for a game, and now I'm told to fork over more just to use the multiplayer?Hell. No.[/citation]
I certainly hope you never own a car. Oil changes are going to make you go broke.

 

[spaceinvaderx]

Don't forget that PSN numbers may include 3 systems (PS3, PS2, PSP). I own a PS3, a 360, and a Wii. I must admit that as a working adult I don't play as much as I used to, so I have opted for PSN for the simple reason that it is free, so I don't feel like I am wasting an XBL membership. However, I did have an XBL account for a year and enjoyed it very much, I never experienced any major hiccups while playing Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 (I can't say the same for PSN). I have noticed that Sony has been upgrading PSN very regularly and it has gotten much faster and more reliable. The most important thing I take into account whenever I make a game purchase now is the fact that I will have to pay extra to play online if I purchase it for the 360, so I usually go for the PS3 for that reason.

 

[eddieroolz]

Yeah, I think the monthly numbers of actually active users should be counted, not the entire database.

 

[snipe0876]

just wondering all you guys that have like a ps3 and a xbox would it not have been better to spend all that money on a kick ass pc that will do more for you and play games better. I dont wanna start a argument its just how i see it as its alot of money for both of those systems with all the games

 

[anamaniac]

[citation][nom]justbrae1[/nom]I certainly hope you never own a car. Oil changes are going to make you go broke.[/citation]
It's called 'changing your own damned oil'. =)

I've spent ~$2,400 CAD on my rig so far, and I'm not done yet...
And I still REFUSE to pay just to play online games ($50 a month for my DSL is enough thank you).

 

[Acert93]

Jane, this is poor reporting. Puking up PR releases is not the same as NEWS REPORTING. In this case your article should probably mention some "investigative" information, aka facts. For example, Sony's claim: 40M PSN users, yet the console has barely sold 30M units world wide, of which a significant percentage don't have broadband for online connectivity. In which case you, as a journalist, should have questioned the validity of the numbers--and expressed to the reader HOW the numbers are different. Likewise, XBL has 2 tiers, Gold and Silver, so the question would be: How many of the 23M are GOLD users.

Really poor reporting. You might as well stick a big Best Buy sticker on the advert with your affiliate link.

 

[Acert93]

Jane, this is poor reporting. Puking up PR releases is not the same as NEWS REPORTING. In this case your article should probably mention some "investigative" information, aka facts. For example, Sony's claim: 40M PSN users, yet the console has barely sold 30M units world wide, of which a significant percentage don't have broadband for online connectivity. In which case you, as a journalist, should have questioned the validity of the numbers--and expressed to the reader HOW the numbers are different. Likewise, XBL has 2 tiers, Gold and Silver, so the question would be: How many of the 23M are GOLD users.

Really poor reporting. You might as well stick a big Best Buy sticker on the advert with your affiliate link.

 

[smlong]

I only own an Xbox 360 (and Wii), so I haven't tried out the PSN. I will say that forking over $38 for a 12-month XBL subscription seems pretty lame to me. Online gaming on the PC and Wii are free, generally speaking. My experience so far has not been negative, but I really fail to see the value added if PSN offers the same features for free.

 

[zak_mckraken]

There's a big difference between a product and a service (ie: a game is a product, a network is a service). You can enjoy your game without using the PSN/XBL network. However, using the network can make your experience more complete.

Some people seems to take everything in life for granted, but don't fool yourself : if there's money to be made, they'll come and get it sooner or later. I have absolutely no doubt that Sony will soon charge for a premium service while leaving the "regular" service free, like XBL.

 

[jenesuispasbavard]

I have quite a few friends who use Xbox Live Silver, and are not included in the 23 million number. Also, "...while an Xbox Live account requires the user to pay a monthly subscription" is wrong; the Silver accounts are free, and you can still mostly everything but play games online and watch Netflix.

 

[Regulas]

[citation][nom]Smochina[/nom]Guess what, my PC doesn't require any crappy subscription to play, download, or do anything on the net. And it's millennium's ahead of any crappy ass console experience.[/citation]
Right on, I agree. Nothing beats a keyboard/mouse setup for any FPS and playing games at 1920 x 1200 is nice too.
There are some games I think are better on the consoles, sports games and such. Actually the way they made Dragon Age (third person) with auto fight reminds me of FF XII would be good on a console and one day when game of the year comes out for it on the PS3 I may get it for that platform. Going to sell my PC version, beat it twice.

 

[CptTripps]

[citation][nom]Maxor127[/nom]Lag, disconnections, and long waits connecting to a game are way too common for a paid service and would be bad enough for a free service. PSN seems better or at least on par with Xbox Live, and it's free.[/citation]

What are you talking about? I have never had any of those issues on XBL.