most of 360 games(if not all) have servers. private lobby or matchmaking, anyone? you have those things on dedicated servers.

parts of multiplayer matches in some games are p2p, but those are the only things that goes that way.

I never game online enough to warrant paying for an additional service. So long as online gaming remain free, I don't give a rat's ass on what they decided to charge,

lol

private lobbies and matchmaking does not make dedicated servers. That can still be p2p. not only that, that's most likely p2p. That's how it usually is. Private lobbies often mean you set up your own server :p

Actualy you pay 50$ for Microsoft so they can use YOUR bandwidth and YOUR x360 console to host a game.

MS makes like 750 million USD / year ONLY with Xbox Live fees. This concept really paid off. I think sooner or later Sony has to do the same thing. You can't let your competitor have this huge advantage.

Think about what could be done with 750 million USD spent on a console...

• $99 Arcade
• Develop like 40 AAA games a year
• get 30 GTA IV DLC exclusive every year
• buy Bioware (700m) and let them creat an AAA game (50m)
• buy Remedy / Mistwalker
• buy VGC, fake numbers and make you no. 1
• make shio buy a console or buy the gaming PC he always talks about
• save for 2 years and buy rockstar
• secure a 125 minute commercial break for the superbowl 2009

@DirtyP

lol but

• Having MikeB admit that MS charging for Gold is good for the company- Priceless

Heh... that was fucking close, first my PS3 YLOD'd then my game gets stuck, THEN we have to pay up $150 THEN they say they will only make sure that 1st party game remain 100% sure to come back to me safely, (took the game out my self), and now this!? (is what i was going to say.)

talk about dodge'n the money bullet, i would have been fid-up with this if it went the way of XBL.

close call, but since they remain'd i guess i can forgive sony some-what now.

I would never pay for the PSN services because in all honesty the service is lacking and stinks in comparison to the features and community of Xbox Live. If Xbox Live was at the level of service and functionality as PSN is currently I would laugh and walk away at the idea of paying anything; you really do get what you pay for.

Anyone with a real job can afford $4.17 a month for Xbox Live (coffee at starbucks is on the verge of that, or a couple of 20oz cokes). I enjoy my cross gaming chat, private chat, voice messages, better more organized achievement system and community. Not to mention multi-user login ability for Xbox Live accounts (greatly lacking on the PS3) so my wife and I can earn our achievements and play online together (yes Sony we like to do that get with the program).

If making PSN a paid service means getting all the great extras and functionality that's missing I say bring it; leave the feature-less freebie to everyone that doesn't want to pay for it simple as that.

I'm pretty sure the PS3 can do private chat, leave voice messages, and the idea that there is a "more organized achievement system" is crazy.  I just dont get why people keep thinking Live is so much better than PSN.  You're right on when you say it doesn't have cross game chat, and if that is important to you (or others), and you deem it to be worth 50-60 dollars a year, then go with Live.  But thats the only difference I see.

Bad wording on my part (at work); I didn't mean just achievements the whole sysme in general is more organized. Primarily the community aspect, on Xbox Live I feel like it's so much easier to interact and socialize with friends whether it's chatting, gaming, watching netflix/movies together in a party, or even local mutliplayer support. PSN feels like it's centered around more of a one man show with no particular socializing or community options except for Playstation Home which doesn't really impress me as a majority of the features that would give you those party type options are just not there yet and by then it may be a paid/subcription based service. It's hard to really get together and join a friend playing a game because most of the games options are built in the game not in the PSN service itself (joining a friend playing another game while your on a different game for example).

As it is now Xbox Live is a much more robust/mature network with focus on community and socialization that some people think is worth the $4+ bucks a month. For free PSN is a great service but if it came down to paying any subcription price there would have to be some big changes to warrant anywhere near the same $4+ a month for it as well.