--Been thinking about this for the best part of two years and finally put something together tonight. What follows is observation, opinion and speculation. Nothing more.--
The highlight of Microsoft's XBox is probably it's XBox Live service. Somewhat limited in the current generation as a glorified multiplayer & player matching service, but looks to be a much deeper set of services with the advent of the XBox 360.
For a long time Microsoft's talking point has been the fact that they've built this online infrastructure and Sony didn't. Sony's approach with the PS2 being a piece meal release of the Sony Network Adaptor bolt on, followed by building in ethernet capability into the slim line revision of the PS2 and letting game publishers just get on with it. No subscription service, no portal style front end. Arguably Sony's UI front end seen on the install disc is vastly superior to the terribly ugly acid green XBox Live interface, but in Sony's case it's only part of the setup which slim line PS2 owners probably never see.
And so Microsoft presses it's advantage into the next generation, or that's what they'd like you to think, but I've been thinking for a few years now that Sony have been playing a long game, and Microsoft could find themselves staring down the barrel of a very powerful gun.
Back in 2002 Sony founded a "Broadband Network Company" under the direction of Ken Kuratagi, the Playstation godhead. What they've been doing has been kept under wraps, but we're slowly starting to see the fruits of their labours in such things as Sony's Portable TV site where Sony plan to make PSP optimised content such as TV shows and films available as part of a pay download service. This, along with their under performing Connect music service, and the multitude of Sony Online Entertainment games hosted over on The Station gives them great coverage. Movies, music and games. What more would a console gamer need?
All of this infrastructure is built and run by a division inside Sony called Sony Broadband Services. SBS was founded in 2002 to eliminate duplication of effort by developing a common web services architecture which could be provided to, and interoperate with, online ventures from other divisions inside Sony.
Effectively Sony have spent the past generation not sitting on their online thumbs as some people have claimed, but putting a modular architecture in place which any online service for the PS3 could draw from, and any business unit inside Sony which provides a service to a customer through this PS3 front end can easily be compensated any time that service is used or a product is bought.
All the pieces are in place and Sony have alluded to the fact that there are more in the pipeline, the online services gap has been closed, it's now a case of if Sony want the PS3 interface to do more than manage memory cards, and play games & movies.
I'd guess that they do want to do more, and when they move into this space Microsoft are going to think that the world is ending.
The highlight of Microsoft's XBox is probably it's XBox Live service. Somewhat limited in the current generation as a glorified multiplayer & player matching service, but looks to be a much deeper set of services with the advent of the XBox 360.
For a long time Microsoft's talking point has been the fact that they've built this online infrastructure and Sony didn't. Sony's approach with the PS2 being a piece meal release of the Sony Network Adaptor bolt on, followed by building in ethernet capability into the slim line revision of the PS2 and letting game publishers just get on with it. No subscription service, no portal style front end. Arguably Sony's UI front end seen on the install disc is vastly superior to the terribly ugly acid green XBox Live interface, but in Sony's case it's only part of the setup which slim line PS2 owners probably never see.
And so Microsoft presses it's advantage into the next generation, or that's what they'd like you to think, but I've been thinking for a few years now that Sony have been playing a long game, and Microsoft could find themselves staring down the barrel of a very powerful gun.
Back in 2002 Sony founded a "Broadband Network Company" under the direction of Ken Kuratagi, the Playstation godhead. What they've been doing has been kept under wraps, but we're slowly starting to see the fruits of their labours in such things as Sony's Portable TV site where Sony plan to make PSP optimised content such as TV shows and films available as part of a pay download service. This, along with their under performing Connect music service, and the multitude of Sony Online Entertainment games hosted over on The Station gives them great coverage. Movies, music and games. What more would a console gamer need?
All of this infrastructure is built and run by a division inside Sony called Sony Broadband Services. SBS was founded in 2002 to eliminate duplication of effort by developing a common web services architecture which could be provided to, and interoperate with, online ventures from other divisions inside Sony.
Effectively Sony have spent the past generation not sitting on their online thumbs as some people have claimed, but putting a modular architecture in place which any online service for the PS3 could draw from, and any business unit inside Sony which provides a service to a customer through this PS3 front end can easily be compensated any time that service is used or a product is bought.
All the pieces are in place and Sony have alluded to the fact that there are more in the pipeline, the online services gap has been closed, it's now a case of if Sony want the PS3 interface to do more than manage memory cards, and play games & movies.
I'd guess that they do want to do more, and when they move into this space Microsoft are going to think that the world is ending.
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