congrats for purchasing ps3,
i like the psn also, i like Dynamic Theme that they added in patch 3.00
and it is free instead of paying 50 bucks or 40 bucks for playing online i use the money towards any game i want

i know a lot of people prefer xboxlive but i really like psn

Even if I too observed kowenicki's general lack of enthusiasm for anything related to the PS3, some of you guys are like the inquisition. :)

Jim, a moderator on gaf, made this mockup of what that added space in the fugly grey boxes in your friends list could be used for:



Hopefully this is what they had in mind when initially adding those boxes, and they just weren't ready yet due to lag issues or whatever. I can't see any other reason for them being there, tbh.

Btw, did anybody notice how much faster your friends list and the icons on the PS Store load with 3.0? The icons on the store specifically load damn near instantaneously now.

I'm of course also going to pay my $50 for live when my subscription ends, but I agree that PSN is basically equal besides the cross game chatting.

Good article/read

Yes!!!! Yess, oh God Yess!!!!
Oh threads like this make me think that there is hope for humanity.
Congrats on "waking up"

cross game Voice chat/ party system is the only difference what so ever in my opinion. Netflix is nice, but you can stream netflix to any laptop or PC, and run it to your tv. You can stream netflix through windows media center, through new tv's that have it built in, and through playon directly to your PS3.
If a PS3 only owner wants to watch netflix streaming, it isnt a problem. I understand why the PSN wants to not have it included, and I would be surprised if they ever included it because it would detract financially from the PSN video store. It is for this same reason that I am surprised that Xbox added it.

Keep in mind, there is voice chat on the PS3, you just have to be in a lobby or on the xmb to use it.. or it has to be 2 people in the same game. I did have a very nice 6-way video chat on the PS3 last month. I had no idea it could do that either!

The last time i tried 2-way video chat (over a year ago) I kept getting kicked off because the bandwidth or something could not handle it. But like I said, NOW the PSN is capable of a pretty impressive video chat service. But it, like the voice chat, is only possible in a chat lobby.

Long live PSN!, The PS3 really does do everything, doesn't it?

I wish they put your tophy lvl near ur avatar like the gamerscore on live. Easier to see your friends progress. Pathetic how US have a dynamic theme and EU bugger all. Whats New is decent too.

@makingmusic - Cool. Theres sooo much talent when it comes to concept design out there. But who ever made the choice of how the 3.0 design would look like seriously needs to be fired.

Its not that its "bad", its just not better than the previous one.. so why even change it? And if its anything like you said that they intended the grey boxes to fill some purpose, why even release it half assed like that.

This update didn't cater to what the community wanted besides that clock/battery and message notification. Everything else just made it look less polished. I want that exclusive touch, not this kiddy stuff.

they need to like... release themes to fix the fugly friends list.

Oh lord, another one of these threads?.....Sony fans justifying their console choice, though, most people really don't care unless they own a PS3.

You can't even compare the 2 services. The main reason why is BECAUSE PSN is free so noone knows if people would think it has enough value to pay for it. While we DO know that 20 million gamers buy the 360 Gold membership every year because they DO think it's worth it. Bottom line.....Xbox Live is better service because people actually PAY to use it for its exclusive features.

So would you pay for PSN with the features it now has? I doubt it since Sony fans complain about the 360 Gold membership cost even though it has more features than PSN.

yawn

Oh lord, another one of these comments?

seriously, what a stupid post... Live is better because they charge for it? Terrible logic. All you do is spout FUD.