No. That's not right.

Live has no hang out area, you'll only "meet" people you play against. Whereas Home lets you meet other people hanging out in Home.

In that sense, although people hate you saying it, Home is a game in it's own right whereby you meet other people "playing" Home.

Live and PSN are equivalent. Home is a seperate entity entirely that runs on PSN, so to speak.

It's complicated, innit.

Biggest difference is the take what each of the three have taken on online.

Xbox Lives strength is that everything is standardised (every game works in the same way and basically has the same online features). And apparently PSN is aiming for the same goal. While WFC is kind of a mess, since each game has its own way of doing the online and some 3rd parties (like EA) is using its own servers for online play.

Each of the tree has its own virtual store (Xbox Live Marketplace, PSN Store, Shop Channel), where you can buy and download games. Wii apparently has the biggest selection of games and they are pretty well categorised.

Live and PSN has voice chat in every game(?), while WFC just had its first game that supports VOIP, Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City, and Wii Speak (conference mic peripheral that is needed for voice chat) just got released a while ago. And it's not (atleast yet) compatible with earlier games. With Wii Speak you can download Wii Speak Channel, which allows you to make VOIP calls to your Wii friends that has Wii Speak and the channel.

Live and PSN allows you to view what your friends are doing, while it's not possible in WFC, outside Mario Kart Wii if your friends are playing the game online.

Wiis online service, WiiConnect24, allows you to have your console online 24/7, if the feature is turned on, even when you shut it down. During the console being shut, it updates channels that use the function, such as Forecast Channel, News Channel and Nintendo Channel. And you can also receive messages via Message Board when the power is off.

Live and PSN has accounts that you need to register, which work with all games, while WFC has friendcodes, individual with each game, that is needed for you to be able to make friends with people who play the game. Of course, you can play "with anyone" without knowing the code.

Wii also is designed as an online hub (it basically makes no difference whether you're online or offline), where you just choose the channel to use the specific online function, while 360 and PS3 seems to have more like dedicated online and offline "modes".

You have to pay for Live (playing the games), while PSN and WFC are free.

Live and PSN offer you demos, while Wii has demos only for DS, via the Nintendo Channel.

Wii and PS3 have internet browsers, free for PS3, 500 Wii points (5€) for Wii. 360 doesn't have a browser available.

If don't understand anything about online and don't want to, your choice is Wii, since you just hook it up and your ready to go. No registering, passwords, credit cards or anything.

I still dont get it, you are automatically logged on when you turn on the PS360, and the network is just 1 category in the XMB, it is not like you have to enter an entirely seperate set of menus

@phisheep: Live has no hangout place like Home (yet) and Home is like Habbo Hotel in 3D, but better featured.
The lobby in Live, is where you wait for other players for to game to start.
WFC puts you to a random game theoretically without waiting for players (except for Brawl, which has laggy online and you have to wait a long time).
Mobile phone gives you the best idea about how you "hang out" in WiiConnect.

Thanks for all the responses. Getting there I think.

But now I am confused by lobbies again.

I thought a lobby was a part of the game that it is a lobby for. But bdbdbd says it is a part of Live.

Is this something that is different between games/systems?

I suppose what I mean is, what governs access to a lobby - is it that you have the console, or that you have the game, or that you have signed up to start a game ...

... do you go into a lobby to find people to playwith, or do you only get in there after you have found people to play with?

If this sounds hopelessly confused, it is only because it is!

For example, in Call of Duty World at War, when you search for a game, when you find one, you will be entered in the lobby with the other players in that game, and while there the map will be selected and the game set up. It is not a feature associated with Live or PSN, it is something in a game

@Munkeh: When you want to do something online, what do you have to do with PS3?

No. Wii's online is simpler, I'll give you that, but it's extremely limited compared to other consoles. That and I can count the number of online enabled games available on one hand.

Plus there friend codes and the limited storage, which rules out downloadable content and demos with only a few exceptions.

For store, or looking at my friends or messages you just go to the right of the games section of on the XMB, where you can access all that stuff and PS home. For games, once in the game there will just be a multiplayer option there, it is very simple

Turn on the PS3, go to the PSN section, and you're on.

If you want to play a game, you go to the game, and you're online.

So basically, the same as the wii: You turn on the wii, and you press the internet square.