Next-gen warfare: The network battle
The launch day may be nearing, but while this holds a lot of celebrating (or crying, if you didn’t get your preorder) for us gamers, it’s just going to be the beginning of a running battle between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo as they pool their resources for the long haul post-launch.
We’ve already covered their prices: PS3 $599, Xbox 360 $299, Wii $249; we’ve also covered their varying degrees of computing power where the PS3’s apparently holding its own against an already well-established Xbox 360 and an innovative Wii. For now, the focus centers on The PS3’s online system, and how it’s reported to give it an edge against the 360’s XBLA.
According to Giancarlo Varanini of Playstation magazine, the Sony-based online capability was actually two networks: One for multiplayer gaming, and one for commerce, like buying music or DL’ing games (he probably meant the PlayStation Store feature).
Aside from this, Sony is offering a liberal setup for game developers, allowing them to set up their own servers for multiplayer contests, the players not having to connect directly to Sony’s central server to play online. Secondly, Sony was allowing said developers to advertise directly to the players via this connection rather than having to post the ads in Sony’s online store.
It’s uber-old news that the Xbox 360’s already had a year’s head start in the market, and that the Wii’s built up momentum with its non-game related feature like the Wii channels or its online capability, but with the PS3 now featuring a more open market for its internet package, Sony’s console juggernaut will be holding ground in this aspect of things to come.
The launch day may be nearing, but while this holds a lot of celebrating (or crying, if you didn’t get your preorder) for us gamers, it’s just going to be the beginning of a running battle between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo as they pool their resources for the long haul post-launch.
We’ve already covered their prices: PS3 $599, Xbox 360 $299, Wii $249; we’ve also covered their varying degrees of computing power where the PS3’s apparently holding its own against an already well-established Xbox 360 and an innovative Wii. For now, the focus centers on The PS3’s online system, and how it’s reported to give it an edge against the 360’s XBLA.
According to Giancarlo Varanini of Playstation magazine, the Sony-based online capability was actually two networks: One for multiplayer gaming, and one for commerce, like buying music or DL’ing games (he probably meant the PlayStation Store feature).
Aside from this, Sony is offering a liberal setup for game developers, allowing them to set up their own servers for multiplayer contests, the players not having to connect directly to Sony’s central server to play online. Secondly, Sony was allowing said developers to advertise directly to the players via this connection rather than having to post the ads in Sony’s online store.
It’s uber-old news that the Xbox 360’s already had a year’s head start in the market, and that the Wii’s built up momentum with its non-game related feature like the Wii channels or its online capability, but with the PS3 now featuring a more open market for its internet package, Sony’s console juggernaut will be holding ground in this aspect of things to come.