Inside PSN (gamespy)
- gamespy -
It goes without saying that the PlayStation 2 won't go down in history as the greatest console for online gaming. Outside of SCEA's SOCOM franchise, playing games on PS2 usually resulted in lag, games against cheating douchebags, and dropped games. Not to mention annoying tack-ons like EA's forcing of PS2 gamers to either sign up for advertising or pay to play, even if it was a trivial amount. Sony's laissez-faire approach to online gaming cost them dearly once Xbox Live's unified system gained popularity. Ultimately, it became an uphill battle that they couldn't win, and PS2 gamers were effectively screwed if it wasn't a first-party title, for the most part.
Given the way that Xbox Live has evolved with the 360, Sony seems to have followed suit. As demonstrated last month at the PS3 Gamer's Day, the PlayStation Network, or PSN, will finally allow for a unified login, as opposed to the multiple logins required for EA, Ubisoft, THQ and other third-party developers. While we haven't had a chance to try out any third-party titles online, I managed to sneak out of the long line in downtown San Francisco long enough to create a login and password on PSN and see how it works.
It's pretty easy to set up, just like Xbox Live was. Players will enter their country, language, and date of birth to register. They'll then go over the terms and conditions (basically, don't hack it, don't exploit it, and don't be a jackass), which players scroll through to accept the TOS. They'll create their identity, password, then give an e-mail address and name. After that, players will have the option to add funds to their virtual wallet, which can be used, like Microsoft Points, to buy games online.
It goes without saying that the PlayStation 2 won't go down in history as the greatest console for online gaming. Outside of SCEA's SOCOM franchise, playing games on PS2 usually resulted in lag, games against cheating douchebags, and dropped games. Not to mention annoying tack-ons like EA's forcing of PS2 gamers to either sign up for advertising or pay to play, even if it was a trivial amount. Sony's laissez-faire approach to online gaming cost them dearly once Xbox Live's unified system gained popularity. Ultimately, it became an uphill battle that they couldn't win, and PS2 gamers were effectively screwed if it wasn't a first-party title, for the most part.
Given the way that Xbox Live has evolved with the 360, Sony seems to have followed suit. As demonstrated last month at the PS3 Gamer's Day, the PlayStation Network, or PSN, will finally allow for a unified login, as opposed to the multiple logins required for EA, Ubisoft, THQ and other third-party developers. While we haven't had a chance to try out any third-party titles online, I managed to sneak out of the long line in downtown San Francisco long enough to create a login and password on PSN and see how it works.
It's pretty easy to set up, just like Xbox Live was. Players will enter their country, language, and date of birth to register. They'll then go over the terms and conditions (basically, don't hack it, don't exploit it, and don't be a jackass), which players scroll through to accept the TOS. They'll create their identity, password, then give an e-mail address and name. After that, players will have the option to add funds to their virtual wallet, which can be used, like Microsoft Points, to buy games online.
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Afterwards, they can pick an icon to match their character. Many of the pictures are of famous Sony franchise characters old and new, including Kratos (the icon I picked, and many likely will), SOCOM soldiers, Sly Cooper, Clank, Nathan Hale, and LocoRocos. For a company not recognized for its first-party titles the way that Nintendo is recognized, there are a lot of Sony icons that people might overlook. How many people would expect a Gabe Logan icon to pop up? Regardless of what players pick, they'll have over one hundred images to choose from for their login.
Finally, they'll have the option to enter a credit card for the PlayStation Store wallet. Since I was in a rush to relieve one of the guys in line, I didn't enter my information. I came back later on, and added some money to the wallet, which comes in a few different increments. It's nice to have money in real funds, instead of the fuzzy math and sleight of hand that comes with Microsoft Points. Also, unlike MS Points, when players purchase items that are over their shopping limit, the PlayStation Store will prompt the user to buy just enough credit to complete the purchase, rather than buying a set amount and having leftover funds. It's something that's a welcome relief during the current griping about microtransactions.
I downloaded Cash, Guns, Chaos and Blast Factor. Both downloaded at a fairly decent speed, pretty much the same pace as anything I've bought from Xbox Live Arcade. Still, there are small things that I'm not a fan of. 360 owners everywhere have been spoiled by the spring update that allowed players to download content on 360 and continue browsing. Like the 360 at launch, PS3 owners won't be able to multitask just yet. I'm holding out for Sony to fix this soon.
So, that's pretty much what the people waiting in line right now at the Metreon can expect in a few short hours when they take their PS3s home and fire them up. These are just initial impressions; we've barely had time to really dig deeply into the service, since it's only been up and active for less than 24 hours in North America. Still, the wallet system is what leaves the strongest impression so far. Given the track record of PS2 online, we're curious to see how much third-party developers own up to creating the same quality multiplayer experiences on the PlayStation 3 that we've seen on the Xbox 360. However, since we're also online before hundreds of thousands of soon-to-be PS3 owners, we're waiting to see how it pans out.
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