Innovation (gasp!) is a little bit overrated if you're talking strictly from a market impact POV.

Many of the most successful games, even the "new hit games" aren't necessarily the most innovative .... Just Dance and Call of Duty weren't neither was Uncharted or Mario Kart Wii or Gears of War.

But it isn't as bad as cynics think either, people do want freshness in their games, but it's the overall design of the game combined with where the audience is appetite wise at any given time that really determines things.

How is xbox live innovative these days? "Pay us 50 bucks a year or else you can't get the same service that the competition offers for free!" Sounds really innovative... /sarcasm

What ultimately is going to matter are the games (assuming a comparable price), plain and simple.

Xbox Live is the best gaming service anywhere, and playstation and wii online is inferior.

What makes it so much better? I honestly dont know, im not a big online gamer.

Also that doesnt necessarily make it innovative just because its better