Sony declares "full-on assault" on Xbox Live

by Christopher Grant on Jan 31st 2006 2:45PM

According to a scan posted on the PlayStation forums, the March issue of PlayStation Magazine (PSM) reveals Sony's plans to deliver an online gaming experience that not only targets Microsoft's much lauded Live service, but surpasses it. The article reads:

"Cast aside any doubts and start gazing skyward, because that's where Sony is aiming with plans that go far beyond simple leader boards and matchmaking -- or even the PS3, for that matter."

"'It's very real,' one source tells us. 'They (Sony) are dead serious about it. They've declared, and I quote, a 'full-on assault' on the latest version of Xbox Live.'"

"They are committed to matching Xbox Live [on the 360] feature for feature and then some."

This story, together with the recent survey Sony conducted, should remove any doubts about Sony's online ambitions. Is it possible that Sony could create a network the size and scale of Xbox Live in such a short time? It has cost Microsoft, the world's largest software company, billions and taken years just to lay the framework for the current Live service.

Sony is known for their hyperbolic marketing: the PS2's Emotion Engine, the PSP as iPod-killer; it seems unlikely they could take the crown from Microsoft on their first try, but any attempt is a huge relief. It was beginning to look like Sony didn't think the Live service was a valuable addition to console gaming, or a serious competitor to their hegemony.

Read on for some (barely) readable closeups from the image on the right.

[Thanks, apoc06 & Draco]

[Update: corrected some grammatical errors.]

Source

Tags: PS3, PSP, Xbox Live, XboxLive

Reader Comments (136)

Wait, it says that the developers just recieved the developement hardware? Good luck with those first generation games. If they haven't finished the PS3 or the online system, how compatable can there games be. Hype Much?

if PS3 costs more then xbox360, it will not do well. Sony's only attempt at innovation for console gaming is to make it an entertainment hub. What did the PS2 do with firewire? not much since the HD wasn't included.

in reply to #27 comment by worai, Capcom only option to make a game like Steel Battalion online was on the xbox because nothing else could do it. They spent too much time beta testing it in Japan where the internet back-bone throughput is 50 times faster & more reliable then it is in the states. This was not a failure of the xbox live service but an oversight of Capcom's need to work the netcode out better in the states.

SB online is still one of the most ambitious titles yet & the one error (netcode) shows why some developers will pass on risky projects like it. It was an awesome game & you could reliably play with 4 people & maybe 6 if the stars aligned properly, but never 10 unless everyone was in japan.

ne way, good luck PS3, there's a long winding road i'll be watching you go through. let's see what you can do after the hype talk is done & you're ready to play.

i'm sure we can all agree PS3 & xbox360 will lose to Apple on the portable music/video front no matter what's brought to playground.

Uhhh..X-box Live is more then "leader boards and matchmaking." Sony is going down!

What I wanna know is why none of the Joystiq staff has dropped [bd] to -1 star?

Almost all his posts are attacks on others.

You guys forget that Sony is a hardware company, not a software company, unlike Microsoft, that is why Xbox Live rocks, Sony's "Playstation Online" will just be blah....

This is like Napoleon Dynamite telling you he's ninjitsu master...it just ain't true...fanboy or no fanboy....

First off, I think Sony will come out with unified server architecture just like Live. But as you can tell by all of the rhetoric, this is no different than the missile launching, Toy Story graphics pushing PS2 stories we've heard, the Killzone trailer, and countless other hype spun facts Sony has thrown out over the years.

I'll believe it when I see it (just like the currently vaporware PS3). Likely though you'll have to pay for it, considering that these things cost money to keep up, and also the amount of money Sony will probably lose if they want to be price competitive and still keep the Blu-Ray drive.

Also, the Dreamcast WAS underrated. The hardware in that thing overpowered the PS2 and everyone knows that. Next time you should read up on system specs. Though Sega's were legitimate and Sony's "100000000000000 polys per second" are a little bit exaggerated. The Dreamcast had twice the texture/video memory, loaded games in half the time, and could process more sound channels. The only place the PS2 beat it out (besides marketing) was the DVD.

Kizza, you must be a real winner. -5 stars?

Anyway, since you brought up a list of games PS2 owners wouldn't give up I figure I would look through your list and see what games I find important:

Shadow of the Colossus
God of War
Final Fantasy series
+Xenosaga

Most of the best games are not exclusives from my experience, and so far, all of the XBox versions have been the best. Even many of the great games for the PS2, have essentially no replay value. Which is probably why my PS2 selection of games is getting smaller than my Xbox and Gamecube games.

And RE4 was more fun to play on the Gamecube, although the PS2 extras were nice.

IT WILL SUCK JUST AS MUCH AS THE PS3....DUE FOR RELEASE 2011 !! BYE BYE SONY

Quote Snake2k9 "SONY agains XBOX LIVE? LOL!

hm ... does SONY haves HALO 3? no."

I really want to kill you slowly.. and painfully.. Hopefully something involving fire.

Anyways, I don't really know what to make of Sony's online system yet, probably wont start judging it like the rest of the xbox fanboys here until PS3 ACTUALLY COMES OUT... Morons.

Microsoft has had years of experience with how online services are done, ever since their humble beginnings with the "Internet Gaming Zone" (now called "The Zone"). Sony, well, we all know how successful their past online services have(n't) been.

Halo is not the be-all and end-all of Live, but it is a good solid example. If Sony can get some killer FPSes going on their online service (e.g. UT2007, Killzone 2) they'll have a chance.

However no matter what they come out with MS has a huge head-start. They've already got not only a working proof of concept but also a large subscriber base. If Sony wishes to tempt Live players away they're going to have to come up with some really cool stuff. However anything they think of (barring PS3 technology-exclusive things) can be speedily cloned and implemented into their already rock-solid online service.

'full-on assault'?! More like the boy who cried wolf... this whole "we haven't got a console yet, but we're pimpin' it anyway!" mindset reminds me of the Phantom. And that's terrible.

More Sony Lip Service.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Oh goody. More Sony hype-fodder.

ummm how about they let someone play with the system first before they start rolling out online features.

I know Sony fanboys out there are rejoicing on this. Holding on for years on live service that Xbox has been doing excellent. To me, it all boils down to the games. Online feature is a must in next gen consoles, so Sony has a lot of things to catch up to get to the level of Xbox live service.

This statement by Sony pegged my "Whatever Meter" so far that it broke my "Give a damn".

Bah, Sony was never good at keeping promises. I'll bet their online service will suck.

And it can be yours, all only for the low, low price of $9.95 a month!

*whips out Mario Kart DS*
*Connects to Nintendo WI-FI...free*

c'mon sony make it free!!!

Good. I hope they make an awesome online service. I have to be sceptical due to Sony's history with exaggerating its products, but Sony having a good online service inspires competition, which is good for all of us.

At the very least we know Sony plans to make online gaming easier for their fans now. Personally I think they'll do a fine damn job on it. It seems they're putting so many eggs in one basket this generation with PS3 that they have to do everything right if they plan to come out in the top in 5 years.

Does anyone find it odd that Sony is playing catch up to Microsoft? Statements like that seem to indicate that Sony is on the defensive, behind the 8-ball, instead of Microsoft being there.

I have Mario KArt DS Brian and it doesn't come close to Xbox Live. It's an amazing service that I feel does my dollar right. You know how Mario Kart is, you have to wait in that lobby for a good 10-15 minutes and even then people tend to just drop out. Theres no friends list (only numbers that can be exhanged in person) and a laughable match maker. I'm happy Sony is making an effort, but I can't help but be pesimistic as to Sony's actual stragedy.

Peace

Interesting. I'm looking forward to reading that article when it comes in the mail.

Now, If they've been working on this for a while, there's a possibility that it could be done really well, but my experience with Sony software hasn't been all that great.

Microsoft being the software giants that they are obviously have a leg up here not only in technology and time, at least that's my opinion.

I don't think they'll be able to match Live though quite honestly. Maybe post PS3, but by then, Microsoft will have just kept improving on their service as well. Sony has a lot of catching up to do, but seeing as Microsoft is already out with their system, it shouldn't be too hard for them to copy the 360 and use it as a selling point somehow.

I don't care.

I tried XLive, even paid for a full year of it.
I got sick of it after 4 weeks.

If I wanted to suffer through kids swearing obsceneties at me in a robot voice, disconnected games against players who don't like "not" winning, and getting trapped in online games with exploitable flaws that affect player score; I'd sign up again in a second.

But I don't. Xbox Live was a waste of my money. I don't have the time to commit to a MMORPG or patience to endure the above issues with an online gaming service.

I like the demo downloads, trailers, and arcade aspects of live, but it's not enough to get me paying $60 a year for Gauntlet.

Having only one company with an console online service isn't good for the industry btw. It's good that Sony has been developing an online system for the PS3 b/c for all we know there is something that Xbox Live hasn't done that no one has thought of yet.

Notice to all you stupid BIASED Xbox fanboys...Sony didn't just start developing this when they released their poll either. You'd have to be s certifiable moron to really believe that.

Hmmm?

What does that comment at the bottom mean? It says:
"PSP will continue to get plen
of games, but as evidenced by S
demonstrations ..."

Reading between the lines: It almost appears that Sony doesn't recognize the fan concern about lack of PSP games.

Man I see right through this, sony really is arrogant. You don't show up to any shows with actual game play or games, so you just keep releasing hype, after hype on what you INTEND on doing to the 360; and it is a flawless technique. If people say "WAIT you Haven't shown us shit!" sony will just say "WE don't respond to leaks or rumors that wasn't us and we are being quite to protect or secrets." If people says "DAMN THIS IS THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD!" SOny flashes the Victory sign and Laughs while bragging how great they are.

FOr these reasons alone I can't see MS taking down sony. THeir launch wasn't very successfull in being an all out jumpstart, and sony doesn't have to do a damn thing to keep all eyes on them. THis generation System war is dismal and sad, when the top game console company in the world decideds it doesn't need to say or show anything to win we are in a sad state of affairs. I mean this leak doesn't even say what sony's supposed "SUPER TERRIFFIC!" online service does or how much it will cost? Yet here it is pasted all over joystiq, and people will flock to support sony's hype machine. While the 360 is out right now, trying it's damnedest to produce and win.

hahah, total hype.

Current PS2 online SUCKS!

not holding breath for any future iteration, either.

You can clearly see MSFT has this area won.

Sony will counter will better developers....gotta love!

Wow...and to think that the ONLY reason they are even trying to have an online service is because Microsoft is basicly pushing them to with Live!. You think if Live! wasn't around Sony would give online a second look? Nope. Just Sony trying to keep their heads above water. Yeah, Sony is great at innovation when it's FORCED innovation. Same thing goes for features of their consoles/products. WTF?

I don't doubt that Sony will have a really good vision of where they would like to get to, but it won't be all there in version 1. Look for some Xbox Live version 1 parity when Sony launches, but not the functionality that the 360 Live offers.
I think we'll eventually see media downloads from Sony(music, videos, game demos), as well as connectivity with other household devices.
Just not right away.
If they just add global gamertags and friends lists, I'll be pleased.

Seems very doubtful to me that they will pull it off. Microsoft has had live developed since probably before the Xbox was launched, hence the reason for the ethernet port and the first update to the dashboard that brought the Xbox Live option. Sony have never developed a nice piece of PC-end software (anyone ever try that god damn connect software?), this is probably also the reason that the PSP never shipped with any iTunes-like software. It's been said before, Sony are hardware people and MS are software people. They will try, but trying won't be enough.

I'll believe it when I see it. Of course, this probably means even further delays, as getting a service like this up and running takes a long, long time (just from the hardware standpoint).

Sony Needs a Working System First!

XBoxLive is pretty much the only thing the 360 has going for it now.

All Sony has to do is offer a barebones package, ie gamertags, friendslist and do it for free.

For 90% of the gamers this is all they need. And from playing MarioKart DS I can tell you that free online gaming is the way to go, especially to get casual gamers on board...

Yeah Sony shows station.com and connect.com power on Gates And headshot dumb Microsoft!

"...Holding on for years on live service that Xbox has been doing excellent. To me, it all boils down to the games. Online feature is a must in next gen consoles, so Sony has a lot of things to catch up to get to the level of Xbox live service."

I'm calling Xbox live a poor paided service, Steel Battalion online anyone? It saids it can connect up to 10 players... its even hard to just connect with 4 players... you are calling a service like this excellent?
冗談じゃねよ～

does anyone notice that the article doesn't actually say anything that wasn't already known or is more Sony hype?

Imitation is the best form of flattery.

YES! They are finally coming out with AOL for PS3!!!!!

The thing is that Sony can deliver it incrementally, as they do with the PSP firmware updates -- more features every time.

I love it how now there is genuine proof that Sony will have a unified online service, and there are still Xbox and Nintendo fanboys out there who refuse to believe it. It's ok guys, it's not the end of you're gaming world. It won't matter if Live is overtaken in features. You'll still have it, and you'll still enjoy it. This will only bring good things for both Sony and Microsoft gamers.

"hahah, total hype.

Current PS2 online SUCKS!"

I love how people base off their forecasts on the future based solely on the past... worthless.

Am I the only person that remembers the promises before the PS2 launched?

I remember Sony telling us that the PS2 would be the center of our entertainment system, downloading music, movies and games onto the hard drive.

What happened?

The PS2 launched. It didn't have a hard drive. When the hard drive finally came out, none of the promises came true and it was promptly killed with a redesign.

This is Sony lip-service so their fans don't buy an Xbox 360.

I'm no Microsoft fan, but I know a good thing when I see it, and Live is it!

One also has to ask, have you used any Sony online services before? Used their online store? Used their MP3 player music software? If so, you know how downright terrible Sony's software development is.

Sorry Sony. The PS3 is only good for one thing, a Bluray trojan horse.

They've done so well with EQ, PlanetSide and Star Wars Galaxies. I'm sure this will work out just as good. *rolls eyes*

In all seriousness, if it isn't free, it won't be any better than Xbox Live. And I'd be willing to be that if it is free, Sony will include a lot of buyable things. For example, where Xbox provides free demos, Sony will make you pay for demos. Things like that.

"I'm calling Xbox live a poor paided service, Steel Battalion online anyone? It saids it can connect up to 10 players... its even hard to just connect with 4 players... you are calling a service like this excellent?
冗談じゃねよ～"

Hmm...maybe it would be easier to connect 10 people if 10 people actually played the damn game. And Live! service is rather excellent. Fin.

blah blah blah, that's all I'm hearing from sony. Why not focus on getting the ps3 WORKING, than worry about their "live-killer"

It also says in the article, "They [Sony] are dead".

That's the funniest part!

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Sony declares "full-on assault" on Xbox Live

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