The real problem with PSN

There have been numerous articles and blogs written about why PSN does not seem to live up to Xbox Live. Sony continues to promise that their service will catch up to Microsofts, and even seemed to imply that Home was the answer. Yet gamers continually are disappointed. PSN users ask where is the private chat option? Or better yet isn't the PS3 capable of some sort of skype type service, including video chat using the worthless (sorry, it's true) Eye camera?

My simple point is that the real reason Sony has not included these services yet is that PSN users seem uninterested. How many PSN users even have a fucking mic? It is quite frustrating after playing a game of Left 4 Dead (no matter how much it is filled with racist rants and 'your mama' jokes) to jump over to my PS3 and play Call of Duty, to only hear the chirping of crickets. How are we gonna team up to destroy the other bastards if I cannot hear you, and you answer if you can hear me by jumping up and down.

I say that if players want Sony to include these coveted options they must invest in buying a mic. For god sakes. Or better yet this is something Sony should of included in the box, even if it was a wired usb mic. Put the pressure on Sony, buy a FUCKING mic and show them you are interested in chatting online. Something the competition as used to 'make' Live feel like it is worth the $50 / year.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by ediddy999 on February 11, 2009 at 6:54pm: Sony and there outdated thinking obviously underestimated the value of communication. It does surprise me that they chose to be on the cutting edge of the tech spectrum with the cell processor, but neglected an obvious need for a mic.

I do think that more people need to mic up when gaming on the PS3, I have found that I rarely mic up on the 360 anymore because of the "Live" mentality that most random gamers have. I usually just do the friends list only or private chat in a party.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by HamsterFist on February 11, 2009 at 11:26pm: This sucks, I placed this article over at N4G and already have 50 comments. I had hoped this would drag traffic over here, where people can check out this site.

http://n4g.com/ps3/News-276518.aspx; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by AustinD on February 12, 2009 at 12:11am: I have a fear, that killzone 2 multi-player is going to be mainly silent with a couple of inaudible mics,thus becoming a somewhat shallow social experience. Also after dealing with the psn for a awhile now, I know I won't be buying the next sony console if it doesn't come with a mic.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Stuart on February 12, 2009 at 2:52am: Why are you telling lies?

I have had my PS3 since launch in Australia and there has ALWAYS been a private chat option on PSN. Also video chat with up to six people in the chat room simultaneously, all on video. Video chat on PSN kicks butt when compared to Xbox Live.

Also the PS eye peripheral is one of the best quality cameras on the market right now. Excellent picture quality, excellent colours, good refresh so no blurring of the image and the mic built in is great for video chat when there is more than one person in the house.

There is no in game private chat or video chat but who wants those anyway. When I'm playing a game I don't want to private chat with someone that isn't in the game with me, I want to play and talk about the game I'm playing. I have friends on my list that have mics and we talk to each other in every game we play.

I agree that alot of players mics are of poor quality and that Sony should put a mic in the box. Maybe one day they will catch on. It took MS over 12 months to include a mic with 360.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by HamsterFist on February 12, 2009 at 9:11am: Stuart said:
Why are you telling lies?

I have had my PS3 since launch in Australia and there has ALWAYS been a private chat option on PSN. Also video chat with up to six people in the chat room simultaneously, all on video. Video chat on PSN kicks butt when compared to Xbox Live.

Also the PS eye peripheral is one of the best quality cameras on the market right now. Excellent picture quality, excellent colours, good refresh so no blurring of the image and the mic built in is great for video chat when there is more than one person in the house.

There is no in game private chat or video chat but who wants those anyway. When I'm playing a game I don't want to private chat with someone that isn't in the game with me, I want to play and talk about the game I'm playing. I have friends on my list that have mics and we talk to each other in every game we play.

I agree that alot of players mics are of poor quality and that Sony should put a mic in the box. Maybe one day they will catch on. It took MS over 12 months to include a mic with 360.

I guess I just assumed that everyone knew I was talking about in game private chat. Sorry I should of been more clear about what I was talking about. Even if it seems like everyone else knew what I was talking about. The PS Eye maybe a nice quality camera, but that doesn't change the fact hardly anyone owns one or even what is the point of owning one. So you can play a card game? Puh leeze; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by TheJoker1988 on February 14, 2009 at 7:07pm: what if you want to watch somebody bate off? cant do that without a camera.

HamsterFist said:
Stuart said:
Why are you telling lies?

I have had my PS3 since launch in Australia and there has ALWAYS been a private chat option on PSN. Also video chat with up to six people in the chat room simultaneously, all on video. Video chat on PSN kicks butt when compared to Xbox Live.

Also the PS eye peripheral is one of the best quality cameras on the market right now. Excellent picture quality, excellent colours, good refresh so no blurring of the image and the mic built in is great for video chat when there is more than one person in the house.

There is no in game private chat or video chat but who wants those anyway. When I'm playing a game I don't want to private chat with someone that isn't in the game with me, I want to play and talk about the game I'm playing. I have friends on my list that have mics and we talk to each other in every game we play.

I agree that alot of players mics are of poor quality and that Sony should put a mic in the box. Maybe one day they will catch on. It took MS over 12 months to include a mic with 360.

I guess I just assumed that everyone knew I was talking about in game private chat. Sorry I should of been more clear about what I was talking about. Even if it seems like everyone else knew what I was talking about. The PS Eye maybe a nice quality camera, but that doesn't change the fact hardly anyone owns one or even what is the point of owning one. So you can play a card game? Puh leeze; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by PrairieGhost on June 23, 2009 at 8:55pm: I hate not hearing anyone but again at least it's not racists screaming into the mic. Sony needs to start packaging their bluetooth headset with the console because it's an amazing mic.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by bsmith3258 on June 23, 2009 at 11:06pm: You got that right Ghost, its a great piece of equipment.

PrairieGhost said:
I hate not hearing anyone but again at least it's not racists screaming into the mic. Sony needs to start packaging their bluetooth headset with the console because it's an amazing mic.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by david stone on July 9, 2009 at 9:09pm: Sony does associate with skype and come on we all know playstation network is better than xbox live

why did u even consider this an argument when we already won; ▶ Reply to This