Sony's Online Plans Still in Stone Age

[Red Cloak]

Sony has recently emailed the following survey to people who have registered with their website:

1. Which option would improve your online gaming experience the most? (Please select one.)

Friend locator/Buddy list
Single ID across games
Headset capability for every game
Cheat disabling
Downloadable content
Game tournaments
Online cooperative gaming
Other


2. How important is the following to your overall console online gaming experience?

Web browser
Chat rooms
Buddy list
Hard disk drive
Single identifier across all games
Strict etiquette and rule enforcement
Downloadable content
Updates for sports rosters
Other updates
Voice headsets for some games
Voice headsets for all games
Instant Message capabilites


3. How do you most often arrange an online game with your friends? (Please select one.)

Message boards
Run next door
Call them
Instant messaging
Email them
Text messaging

Why on earth are they asking which of these features do people find the most important? All of these key features are already implemented in Xbox Live. Are they really this clueless? They should have been putting a Live clone into effect 3 years ago, now they are asking what 1 or 2 features are important to gamers?

Hint to Sony executives: ALL OF THEM!

[Taco]

That is rather bizarre. It's like a questionnaire circa 5+ years ago. Wonder if it really has any bearing on what the PS3's service will be. If it does....yikes.

[bapenguin]

You'd think with being a Japanese based company, and with Japan having such a high penetration rate of broadband this would be better prepared for this.

I'm guessing the rumors aren't true we'll hear what the PS3 online stuff will be right before the 360 launch.

[Morratut]

Well if this is true then Sony is shit to be honest. If Sony don't get online properly next gen then i'm not going to buy a PS3.

I'm firmly in the Xbox camp with this generation and can't wait for the 360. However if Sony don't follow suit and bring out a Live clone or better then they are silly.

[Rirath]

Until a console gives me high quality, free online play, it's all a disappointment to me. Dreamcast did it well. PSP has the ability, but not the games. NDS seems to get it right so far, if it's used. Shame the consoles can't.

[KamaItachi]

You'd think with being a Japanese based company, and with Japan having such a high penetration rate of broadband this would be better prepared for this.

I'm guessing the rumors aren't true we'll hear what the PS3 online stuff will be right before the 360 launch.

They have some of the best technology, but don't be fooled. They are some of the most technically un-savy people you'll ever meet. A recent example is my supervisor who was presented with a new company computer because the tech guys had too much trouble trying to configure one computer to run on both the work networks and the internet at his home.

[normyk]

Sony - Striving to be Number Two

[Thenetcase]

"Oh how the mighty are fallen" - Shakestick.

Seems like Sony is struggling for a generous second place this time 'round.

-TNC-

[Vandenh]

Sony doesn't stand a chance in online gaming/media centre features.

But they might have some killer exclusives...

[GunnyMo]

And that is why 360 will dominate this time around. :D

[Cool_guy2000]

Nothing is yet known about the PS3 online...and u guys already think sony is in trouble???? lets just wait and see what they come up with.

Ya never know..could be just as good if not better. i don't really care about online gaming anyhow.. i just want good games..period.

[Kelegacy]

I hate to break it to everyone, but as much as we all like online play, it's not as popular on the consoles as we all think. Millions of users, yes, but the vast majority of people do not play online.

But I do agree this round could/should be different. Who knows. I still enjoy single player games much more than online stuff, so online doesn't matter as much to me. Still, it'd be nice if Sony had SOMETHING up their sleeve. I don't want a blantant display of hubris from them, thinking they can still win a console war without a good online strategy. At least cover all your bases.

[Captain Awesome]

Im sure if the PS3 ever does solidfy. From what I read from early reports. Sony stated that their online plans would be like that found on the PS2. If thats true, the 360 has another good thing on them. Especially with the different online packages that MS is offering.

It took me a long time to give into XBL, while I had to put up with some huge groups of idiots online. The games always played smoothed and I never got lag, I was very impressed. It seems MS will be making it easier for people to enjoy online games without constant racial remarks and spamming.

I hope Sony really takes into account an online system like MS's if they expect to hold up with most of the market now.

[Taco]

I hate to break it to everyone, but as much as we all like online play, it's not as popular on the consoles as we all think. Millions of users, yes, but the vast majority of people do not play online.

Think how far online play has come since the debut of the Xbox. Do you think it's peaked and is not going to grow anymore? What they release now is going to affect things 3 years from now, so they better get it right. Which means support for a quickly growing online user base.

Not to mention the inevitable different content delivery schemes outside of gaming.

[Grave]

How dare they ask their casual gamers if the xbox 360 appeals to them at all? how dare they!

[Taco]

I'll repeat. They should be shooting for what they expect the casual gamers to be into years from now. Not right now. If they build around the present they'll watch the 360 shoot by them in the future. All it takes is the right couple games and some advertising and online gaming hits casual gamers. If the infrastructure isn't laid down early on to compete with that it won't be pretty.

So, Grave, if they are doing what you say and skimp about because they get the results that users don't care about online play they may find their data to be irrelevent in 1-2 years.

[Reanimated]

Hey Sony, welcome to 1999. Jeez.

[Dr.Finger]

The biggest disadvantage Sony has is in the online region. The Japanese just aren't that big into online gaming, they don't play RTS' like Korea, or FPS' like here in the States, so the Japanese companies underestimate the value of online. But, don't be surprised if Sony learns a lesson and copies X-Box Live (v1) for the PS3.

[Major Dan]

Sony - Striving to be Number Two


HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That is funny.

I don't know what Sony is up to, but XBox live is a real easy, reliable and fun service that I don't mind paying $50 a year for at all. If PS3 has something similiar good for them, if they don't I think they will lose customers and I will be one of them.

:confused:

[Grave]

Sony has never shown themselves to be inept in the ways of marketing, I just feel this is more for them to estimate how much competition the online features of the Xbox 360 are going to give them in the upcoming year.

Casual gamers generally aren't going to buy an Xbox 360 when it is released more often than not when someone is interested in buying a system they'll do so when it appeals to them.

So I imagine they want to find out if the Xbox live features will appeal to their casual gamers aka will they eventually be convinced into buying an Xbox 360.

[darkwarrior]

EA. XBox fanboy home, USA.

What exactly does Xbox 360 have over PS3 again? Apart from existing currently?

PS3 will dominate this time, at the very least it will tie.

[Vandenh]

>Apart from existing currently?

Nuff said.

Own goal dude...

[Taco]

1: much easier too develop for
2: it appears to be better online
3: not as ugly :)

I'm not going to get into where my loyalties lie in this thread, suffice too say I'm not a fanboy of any console. I'm not sure what the logic is behind the idea that Sony will dominate. There is simply not a chance in hell that Sony will maintain the same lead it had with the Ps2, for several reasons.

[Deadend]

Has anyone noticed that japanese games that have online play have shitty netcode? Don't forget that the PS2 network adapter was a bitch to setup as well.

[Kefkataran]

Uh... is it just me or is this a survey and *not* Sony's online plans? Does anyone else see a difference between a survey and the plans themselves? What the fuck kind of news post is this?

[midrael]

It should be no surprise that the company is sending out a survey like that. Yes it would be a disappointment if they didn't include most if not all of those options, but even if they were including them, any company would survey their userbase with questions like that. The reason is it allows them to focus their development to improve quality of the features that their survey tells them will be most used. In the online arena, they need to at the very least match X-Box Live if not surpass it somehow. I imagine if they're going to try and bring something new to the table, they want to do so with the most popular features.

Aside from that, only a percentage of the console war will be about online. Too many game players never touch online play. To be honest, we should all hope that Sony comes out with something amazing. Right now, even with the 360 being first to market, the PS3 probably will have a fanbase large enough that it would make tremendous headway in introducing online play to gamers who haven't played online before. If they do it right... which of course remains to be seen. Too early to tell as of now.

[RandomViolence]

Uh... is it just me or is this a survey and *not* Sony's online plans? Does anyone else see a difference between a survey and the plans themselves? What the fuck kind of news post is this?

Exactly, christ. Talk about taking the ball and running with it. I've leaned MS since the Xbox came out, but stick to reality folks. This is Sony probing. Just because they're asking doesn't mean they don't know what the fuck they're doing. Get your heads out of your asses.

[bapenguin]

Uh... is it just me or is this a survey and *not* Sony's online plans? Does anyone else see a difference between a survey and the plans themselves? What the fuck kind of news post is this?

The fact that all this shit should be included standard is the news. They shouldn't need to find out what's important, all this stuff exists and should be in their new online system. Instead it sounds like they are going to pick and choose from this....

[midrael]

The fact that all this shit should be included standard is the news. They shouldn't need to find out what's important, all this stuff exists and should be in their new online system. Instead it sounds like they are going to pick and choose from this....

Well that's the point is that it's just a survey. As stated in previous posts above, they may very well be including all of those standard and are searching to find which ones to improve upon and enhance. There's no real way to know until Sony announces their online plans.

Working in an IT department, we've many times put out surveys regarding software or features we provide that are already standard to our users. The point of those surveys is to find out what the users consider the most important. Then we can fine-tune what we provide to our users. I'd say this is business as usual for any company.

Sony may very well have nothing beyond two cans and some string planned for their online features, but this survey is no indication of what they're truly doing.

[Dracula-X]

Yeah, Sony better not fuck this up, because a whole 2 million xbox live subscribers, a mere fraction of the installed base, really helped put *** on top this generation.

Oh wait, it didn't.

Reality check: Sony could come along with the same shitty online component the PS2 had and they would still be fine, the fact is it's far too early to cry gloom and doom for Sony because they may not match XBL the coming generation. Live has been nothing more than niche this generation, and that is the tangible precedent we can base facts on so far. Whether that changes remains to be seen, but going by this generation, it doesn't yet mean shit. And to call it game over for Sony because they may yet again fuck up online while dismissing the inevitable juggernaut hype machine and 2 successfully monstrous fanbases, is in a word, retarded. Get a grip, seriously.

[UnderHero5]

The fact that all this shit should be included standard is the news. They shouldn't need to find out what's important, all this stuff exists and should be in their new online system. Instead it sounds like they are going to pick and choose from this....

No, it doesn't sound like that. Maybe in your imagination it does. It looks to me like a standard poll to find out what is most important to the end user. A simple poll. We don't KNOW what the collected data will be used for. They may be using it simply to judge what is more important to online players... then build their service around that. Did they say the other features aren't going to be included? No. You people are fabricating this nonsense.

I don't see how getting in touch with your community is a bad thing.

As someone else said, you people need to pull your heads out of your asses.

Besides, what kind of "online gamers" even bother with consoles for their online gaming fix. Blah.

Heh, more people play Counter-Strike alone than are subscribed to Xbox Live.

I believe the last figure I heard was 2 million Live subscribers?
I'm willing to bet they counted myself in those numbers too... along with friends of mine who HAD Live.
I subscribed when it first came out. It did not deliver in my mind. I barely played at all durring the year I had it. Then I canceled. The same thing happened with two friends of mine. I'm willing to bet the same thing has happened with THOUSANDS of people.
You have to take these things into account. Live isn't as popular as you all thing. Online gaming (though I love it on PC) isn't as popular as you all think. It won't be as popular as you all think it is for MANY years.
Most casual gamers simply DO NOT CARE about online gaming. What makes you think that's going to change in the matter of a few years?

Wow, 2 million Xbox Live subscribers... out of... how many Xbox's sold? 45 million? 50 million?

Do you really think those numbers are going to magically shoot through the roof over the next few years?

Oh, not to mention consoles are likely to always be no more than 16 players online. We'll be lucky if someone develops the netcode to support 32 players in any real time games. Another place consoles are limited online. Oh, but as long as you have your friends lists... everything is good.
They should be developing software for PC's to host dedicated servers for console games... Hosting a game on your home internet connection is simply too limited. You do not have the bandwidth to support a 32+ player game (with a few exceptions of people on very fast connections).

Wow, this turned into quite a rant. I'm off to get me some food now.

[Vandenh]

>Oh wait, it didn't.

One word: Netscape

Remember them? Not really....

What did MS do? Better sofware and better integration.... We can see the signs... you cannot.

>Most casual gamers simply DO NOT CARE about online gaming. What makes you think that's going to change in the matter of a few years?

Dude it not about online gaming.. it's about being ONLINE. Streaming, playing songs, seeing DVD info when you insert it, online shops, online gaming, integration, Live Arcade, downloadable content, VoIP,.... Sony is nowhere in any of these areas. Think before you write.

[Kefkataran]

The fact that all this shit should be included standard is the news. They shouldn't need to find out what's important, all this stuff exists and should be in their new online system. Instead it sounds like they are going to pick and choose from this....

It sounds like that based on what? A question in a survey? That makes no sense. It's a survey. All surveys sound like this, especially ones for videogame companies. Hell. This isn't news. At all. It's a joke.

Now obviously it's going to be a disappointment to see Sony cutting corners on any side of their online gaming plan. But they AREN'T FUCKING DOING IT YET. We have no idea what their plan is. Only an intensely anti-Sony fanboy could make up news based on something so trivial as this.

[Kelegacy]

It sounds like that based on what? A question in a survey? That makes no sense. It's a survey. All surveys sound like this, especially ones for videogame companies. Hell. This isn't news. At all. It's a joke.

Now obviously it's going to be a disappointment to see Sony cutting corners on any side of their online gaming plan. But they AREN'T FUCKING DOING IT YET. We have no idea what their plan is. Only an intensely anti-Sony fanboy could make up news based on something so trivial as this.
YIKES!

Is Red Cloak the guy who started the snowball effect with the news post claiming the PS3 was weaker than a current Nvidia card?

[Dracula-X]

>Oh wait, it didn't.
One word: Netscape
Remember them? Not really...
What did MS do? Better sofware and better integration.... We can see the signs... you cannot.
If there's one thing I can see is that you've got *** blinders on. I remember Netscape being fuckloads better than IE for the longest time, and Netscape eventually let themselves slip. This analogy might even backfire on you down the road but either way it's too damn early to tell.

>Most casual gamers simply DO NOT CARE about online gaming. What makes you think that's going to change in the matter of a few years?

Dude it not about online gaming.. it's about being ONLINE. Streaming, playing songs, seeing DVD info when you insert it, online shops, online gaming, integration, Live Arcade, downloadable content, VoIP,.... Sony is nowhere in any of these areas.
Regardless of how you value Live, his point is still valid. In the overall picture, online represents a negligible fraction of ***'s userbase. (yeah it really impacted Sony's place this generation terribly, what a colossal fuckup. oh wait, no it didn't. Yet again I make the point which seems really lost on you.)

Think before you write.
Heed your own advice.

[Dracula-X]

YIKES!

Is Red Cloak the guy who started the snowball effect with the news post claiming the PS3 was weaker than a current Nvidia card?
The very same.

[XenonCJ]

The very same.And God bless him!

[XenonCJ]

The very same......and God bless him!

[Vandenh]

>Regardless of how you value Live, his point is still valid.

No it is not. That is like saying PCs going online is not important.

And FYI... Netscape didn't let themselves slip... at a certain point in time IE became the better browser with more support and more features (and easier to develop HTML for). Does that ring a bell? So Sony better make sure they have something similar to MS.

[midrael]

>Regardless of how you value Live, his point is still valid.

No it is not. That is like saying PCs going online is not important.

And FYI... Netscape didn't let themselves slip... at a certain point in time IE became the better browser with more support and more features (and easier to develop HTML for). Does that ring a bell? So Sony better make sure they have something similar to MS.

MS is notorious for not having the best software, but for having the better marketing department. Netscape was quite thorougly assaulted by MS and intentionally driven into the ground. Right now, IE is definitely not the best browser on the market, but is certainly the most widely used. But that's neither here nor there.

What is being said about Live not being as big a factor as it's being made out to be is indeed true. Right now, the Live market makes up what.. 4 percent of the X-Box userbase? Yes, online components will indeed increase as time goes on, but everything listed regarding VoIP, downloadable content, etc can currently be accomplished just fine with a regular everday PC or laptop. That is what MS and any other console company will have to get past in order to make online content beyond games successful.

Certainly having that functionality is good. The problem is that the average user won't see a reason why they should use it on their game console. Even more than that, why should they pay extra money to use it on their game console when they can do it on their computer already with whatever internet connection they currently have?

In fact, the one thing I'm more frightened about regarding Sony's online offerings is that it will be TOO MUCH downloadable content, music, backgrounds, etc. instead of actual online game capabilities. That just seems more Sony's style. I'm definitely curious about the implementation of Live's online marketplace.

[Dracula-X]

>Regardless of how you value Live, his point is still valid.

No it is not. That is like saying PCs going online is not important.
Yes, yes it is. And yeah, it is like saying PCs going online is not important, if I was talking about PCs. What exactly is it with you? The fact is 2 million subscribers (and that is being generous, that figure being bandied about I'm quite certain doesn't even reflect people that no longer bother with Live, myself included) probably indicates that most of xbox owners either care nothing for Live, or are probably happier doing their online gaming on their PCs, where the experience tends to be better right down to the game itself.

And FYI... Netscape didn't let themselves slip... at a certain point in time IE became the better browser with more support and more features (and easier to develop HTML for). Does that ring a bell?
If by better with more support and more features you mean flouting W3C standards and making PCs more open than a 2 dollar crackwhore from bullshit vulnerability after vulnerability and forcing web developers to make their sites work with IE, then I'd certainly have to agree.

So Sony better make sure they have something similar to MS.
Or what exactly? They'll lose the market like they did this generation? Oh wait. yet again. Wait. wait. You... you work for *** don't you? It's ok, you can admit it. :)

[KDups]

Geez, some of you really want to see Sony go down. Who's to say this survey isn't a marketing poll, so they know which feature to hype the most with the launch of the PS3? Or find out which feature they should spend more time developing?

Let's hold off on the hanging.

[Vandenh]

>you mean flouting W3C standards

Hehehe... that fact alone made sure that HTML code was more stable on IE. Who fucking cares if I forget to close a TD tag... sadly reality of software development means that IE is better at handling not-so-good HTML. Anyway.. I am not getting into this IE vs NS debate... that one was decided a looong time ago.

How big a % of PCs is online? (and I don't mean gaming). Insignificant? The fact is that normal users in the future will not use their PC any more in the future but their home system (be it console or something else). PC will become what they used to be... productivity machines and probably media servers. Sony knows this and MS knows this. We were just saying that MS has a nice lead.... Sony fanboys always use "but only 5% of users blah blah".

And no I don't work for MS.. I bet you have a penguin T-shirt? It's ok.. you can admit it.

>Or what exactly? They'll lose the market like they did this generation? Oh wait. yet again. Wait. wait

Oh.. well I guess MS also doesn't need to do anything any more in the OS business? Reality of business is... if your competitors make better stuff in the end you WILL lose (hey... isn't that why you are running Linux?). You fanboys amuse me.... you always feel attacked... so insecure. Ooohhh... Vandenh said something not so nice about Sony... he MUST be a fanboy and/or work for MS. I should't even take you seriously after you write MS with a $.

[Kefkataran]

Geez, some of you really want to see Sony go down. Who's to say this survey isn't a marketing poll, so they know which feature to hype the most with the launch of the PS3? Or find out which feature they should spend more time developing?

Let's hold off on the hanging.

HE'S ON THEIR SIDE! GET HIM!

*pointing the direction for the angry mob*

[Dracula-X]

We were just saying that MS has a nice lead.... Sony fanboys always use "but only 5% of users blah blah".
Whose we? Some here are giving Sony a tombstone based on a survey. That's retarded. You've now resorted to the fanboy game, something I could have easily accredited you because you've repeatedly ignored (and conveniently leave it out of your replies, like you're trying to repress it for whatever reason) the most compelling fact for which you have no argument for and now you've reduced it to a "5% of users blah blah", but we're the fanboys, are we? Give me a fucking break. Live is nowhere near what the proponents are making it out be, nor does ***'s success or lack thereof depend on it so far, and that's the absolute truth. Accept it or keep living in denial.

And no I don't work for MS.. I bet you have a penguin T-shirt? It's ok.. you can admit it.
No, and I'd have no problem admitting such either way. I've had to in the past use Linux, only peripherally at best, thanks to the workplace. I certainly don't prefer it.

>Or what exactly? They'll lose the market like they did this generation? Oh wait. yet again. Wait. wait

Oh.. well I guess MS also doesn't need to do anything any more in the OS business? Reality of business is... if your competitors make better stuff in the end you WILL lose (hey... isn't that why you are running Linux?). You fanboys amuse me.... you always feel attacked... so insecure. Ooohhh... Vandenh said something not so nice about Sony... he MUST be a fanboy and/or work for MS. I should't even take you seriously after you write MS with a $.
I really want whatever you're smoking, seriously. Let me refresh your memory. We're talking about XBL and it's place in the gaming arena. Not OS's, not browsers, so drop the nonsensical half-assed analogies, please. I don't run Linux, don't wear a penguin t-shirt. Feel attacked, insecure about what exactly? Your inability to accept the fact that XBL is not as big a deal as you would have us believe by your lack of addressing just how many XBL subscribers there are? Nice going! (and I STILL didn't resort to calling you a fanboy, fanboy!)

I'll make it easy for you. Sony's got nothing on ***'s XBL, that is as plain as day. Sony might not even get something comparable for the PS3, but this remains to be seen (and I honestly don't care if they do manage), and using this survey as some sort as some midieval portent of doom for them is profoundly fucking stupid, about as stupid as those who think Nintendo is gonna tank with the Rev and its controller. A 4% online base is nothing to ***'s bottom line as it stands now, and it certainly has not helped *** beat Sony, no sir, 2 million ppl aren't gonna do it: fact. Sony completely fucking up their online component hasn't affected them in the least and they still maintained an indomitable lead this gen: fact. I own a PS2, Cube, Xbox and WILL own a PS3, Rev, and 360, and I don't use Linux and will continue to refer to Microsoft as ***: fact. Your tongue surgically affixed to Gate's balls: fact.

[Mephistopheles]

Reality of business is... if your competitors make better stuff in the end you WILL lose (hey... isn't that why you are running Linux?).

This statement alone makes it clear that you have no idea about what the reality of business is. Commercial success most definitely does not always go to the best product.

[midrael]

This statement alone makes it clear that you have no idea about what the reality of business is. Commercial success most definitely does not always go to the best product.

How so very, very true.