PS2 or Xbox ?

[Frizz]

It's insane how much money MS have actually lost with the Xbox. Even the money pit of a company is thinking of pulling the plug in the near future, to make way for another huge loss, with Xbox Next.

And tbh, I don't see anything wrong with the PS2's online capabilities. It does the job. And does it well, atleast from where i'm sat.

 

[DaGaffer]

Hello? Dreamcast Online anyone? All MS have done is take Sega's ideas and put a bit more money behind them. *clap clap*

Besides, online gaming isn't the console goldmine you think. If it was, you can bet Sony's efforts wouldn't be so half-assed. You of all people should appreciate the way the online gaming market isn't taking off the way analysts said it would.

Being first isn't important - God knows, Microsoft have always known that! DreamArena was a piece of shit, Live! is thought through and integrated (and works!), but even that's not the point of Live! Online gaming is a stalking horse to get people who aren't used to going online to connect through a device in their living room that happens to be powered my Microsoft - the gaming revenues (or lack of them) aren't important; its getting people used to this stuff in a painless 'non-techie' way so they're ready for download and streaming and all the rest. Xbox is one half of the equation, the other shoe drops with the introduction of Longhorn.

As for Sony's efforts being half-assed, they were flat footed by MS and had to respond with a system that wasn't designed from the outset to be online capable. It also doesn't help that Sony is massively hampered by internal battles between its various divisions because at the top the PlayStation people want one thing, Consumer Electronics want something else and the content divisions want something else again (this is why PSX has had so many twists and turns). Even between the various SCE divisions internationally there have been different strategies and loads of confusion, whereas Microsoft, even if you don't agree with their model, have one strategy, top to bottom, which allows hardware, software and networks to work together. Sony certainly don't want PS Broadband to be half-assed (bear in mind SCE keeps the rest of Sony afloat, so it doesn't want unnecessary losses), but they're stuck with it for now.

And anyway going back to my original point, it doesn't matter that someone else did console online gaming first, XBox plus Live! makes the XBox and a lot of its games, a worthwhile purchase, and as I've already said, there isn't a 'best' console and slagging off one because you've got another one is silly. again.

 

[Bodhi]

It's insane how much money MS have actually lost with the Xbox. Even the money pit of a company is thinking of pulling the plug in the near future, to make way for another huge loss, with Xbox Next.

And tbh, I don't see anything wrong with the PS2's online capabilities. It does the job. And does it well, atleast from where i'm sat.

Leave em alone. Xbox live is their last straw

 

[Cdr]

And tbh, I don't see anything wrong with the PS2's online capabilities. It does the job. And does it well, atleast from where i'm sat.

I've yet to see a decent online PS2 game. This may change with GT4, but, for however long I've had the modem (think I got it around May last year), I've played online about 4 times. SOCOM? Rubbish. Twisted Metal Black? Crap. Midnight Club 2? Okay to start with, gets boring. You can see where I'm going with this

While I dislike the Xbox as much as the next man, I do think they've done the whole online thing much better, and from what I've played on Xbox Live! it does seem much better than the Sony effort.