How does Xbox Live compare to Sonys offerings?
(Last updated: 09/03/2003) Back to top (Official MS answer) It doesn’t. We’re in a different class altogether, because Xbox Live is a unified service meaning one “GamerTag” works for all the games. Imagine online gaming is like making a phone call. On Xbox Live, one telephone lets you call anywhere in the world. With Sony’s approach, you’d need a separate telephone for each number in the phone book! Come to think of it, in Sony’s world you couldn’t even talk once you made the call, since their offering doesn’t support voice. How’s that for a little ‘tude from MS? The major difference between Microsoft’s and Sony’s approach is that Microsoft included 10/100 Ethernet support (and no 56K modem support) right into the console, they built a huge broadband gaming infrastructure, and they said, “Hey developers, use these guidelines and API’s and you can get your game onto XBL, with guaranteed 100% market penetration.” Sony, in contrast, built an add-on modem/network adapter, put it on retail
