Xbox Live vs Playstation Network
Since Xbox Live and the newer Playstation Network are the two best online networks for gaming consoles, comparisons are difficult to avoid. It used to be that the biggest difference between the two is price but that has now changed with the introduction of Playstation Network Plus just a couple of months earlier. Both the premium subscriptions cost $59.99. Now, the most major difference between the two is what you get with free and premium accounts.
Users of Playstation 3s have the better end of the deal as even under the free version, they still have most of the functionalities that you would need for online gaming. Although Xbox Live Silver (the free version) allows the user to connect to Xbox Live, most online features have been disabled. Users need to upgrade to the Gold version to be able to play online.
An edge that Xbox Live has over the Playstation Network is excellent customer support. Bugs in Xbox live are addressed rather quickly while Playstation Network users have nowhere to turn to when it comes to solving problems. Another aspect is the quality of the servers. Xbox Live servers have better uptime and lower latency compared to Playstation Network servers. Both of these things can be easily attributed to the income that Microsoft has from Xbox Live. The money easily translates to more personnel and better servers with higher capacities. Although both still stand true as of the moment, it is interesting to see how the Playstation Network would evolve, given that they are already offering a premium subscription. And if whether they would match up or even exceed the current dominance of Xbox Live.
Lastly, there is a difference between the two services with respect to the devices that can access it. Although they were designed for gaming on the Xbox and Playstation 3 respectively, other products from the same company can access these services. The Playstation Network service can also be used on the PSP for the same reason. With Xbox Live, other Microsoft products like the Zune, Windows, and the soon to be released Windows Phone 7 can all make use of the Xbox Live service.
Summary:
1. The free Playstation Network account has more features than the free version of Xbox Live
2. Xbox Live has excellent support from Microsoft while the Playstation Network has next to none
3. Xbox Live currently has the better servers compared to the Playstation Network
4. Xbox Live has greater integration over many devices compared to the Playstation Network