Playstation Plus vs. XBOX Live

Most blog posts are pure opinion. I like opinion much better than fact slanted journalism. So before I delve too deep into the battle between Microsoft and Sony for my video gaming dollars let me be absolutely frank in saying I am probably not unbiased in my opinion

I have had a PS3 since Christmas of 2008 where I have only had my 360 since my birthday of this year. In another embodiment of my blog I had posted how impressed I was with the 360. Knowing some of the things I know now I am not certain I would have requested a 360. That isn’t to say I don’t love my Xbox. It is simply a challenge to be fully invested in both systems.

I am laboring in this blog under the delusion that I am an average gamer. I am middle class (ish) and have finite dollars to spend on gaming. I like most games with the exception of sports games like Madden. RPGs, shooters, fighting games, and pure platformers like Mario are my meat and potatoes in the gaming world. I used to be a Final Fantasy purist, following that series from one platform to the next. I have drawn that line since I have had a mild disappointment with the last few entries in the series.

I have found myself down graded from hardcore gamer to simply a gamer. If my opinion in this blog is put out there to do anything it is simply to weigh in on a realistic consumer dollar driven perspective of the two “online” services out by the big two.

I will quickly note that I do have a Wii. I am so disenchanted with the Wii at this point that it has become something of a novelty that is only used when me and the kiddo really want to smack each other around with swords in Wii Sports Resorts or when I want to teach school in Wii Bowling!

This is my basic setup. The Xbox takes the left side because I am rocking 1 HDMI connection and the PS3 is running on the longer (and much cheaper) component cables. Lots of folks will dog me for not having the PS3 on HDMI as well. Quite frankly as blind as I am I don’t really see a big difference. The PS3 still rocks amazing graphics as it is set up now. I love my plasma screen

This shot is a basically to give a bit of an idea of my gaming library. I used to have a much bigger selection of PS3 games that I traded in once I got the 360. I was very caught up in getting my gamerscore all buffed up with achievement points until I realized it was a bit like bragging like bragging about wang size

As far as system exclusive content goes Xbox gives me Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2. Those games alone were worth getting the 360. My wife and I have spent countless hours killing zombies and loving it. My PS3 library is greatly reduced from its former glory. An interesting side note though, I still am running a ps2 in the living room with my Wii. My Ps2 library is almost as formidable as all the games shown put together! I just wish the Ps3 had been backwards compatible, but that it is a disappointment to bitch about for another day. My PS3 exclusive title is summed up in three words: GOD OF WAR! Kratos makes it all worth while on the disc based side.

Down to the real subject of the blog: Xbox Live Gold vs. Playstation Plus I have both accounts which means in addition to all the cash I pony out each year on disc based fun I am spilling about $100.00 a year in network memberships. You can still get on the Playstation Network for free, as I have done up and to this point. You can play in network games multiplayer ( I mostly played Warhawk) for free on PSN. Xbox Live does have an amazing matchmaking service. Most everything I have played lets you voice chat with your friends while you are playing. Still to connect to XBL in any form or fashion you have to pay a fee. Otherwise you can be content to sit at home and play your games without your achievements going towards your gamerscore, which as far as I can tell is the video game equivalent of who has the biggest penis. Just like in real life that isn’t really a game I want to get into, win or lose you have to deal with a bunch of dicks.

I have bought a few games online via Xbox Live. I broke down and bought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtles in Time (available on PSN too), Magic the Gathering, and Fable. I paid full price for the games, and for the most part I got what I paid for. I loved the first two but hated Fable

Without too much research I signed up for Playstation Plus. I am a sucker that way.In a similar theme I am a Netflix member. I love Netflix. I get a DVD at a time in the mail.I stream netflix on all my gaming systems plus my wife and I both watch a lot on our netbooks. Still loving Netflix, I gave Hulu Plus a try. I was much less impressed. There are way too many ads and not nearly enough content. So unless you really need to stream all the episodes of Family Guy (which you can do on Netflix as well) don’t waste your $9.95 per month

Anyway, I signed up for Playstation Plus without any forethought or expectation. I have bought several games on the PSN ( Rtypes, Wild Arms, Medievil, Castlevania : Symphony  of the Night, Syphon Filter, Tekken 2, Crash Bandicoot, Castlevania Chronicles, Warhawk Psone, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Final Fantasy VII, VII & IX, Tomb Raider, Silent Hill, Tetris Darkstaler Chronicle,Dracula Undead Awakening, The Terminator, Super Stardust HD, Mortal Kombat II, Rampage, Warhawk, Joust, Qbert, Lemmings, Street Fighter II HD Remix, Rag Doll Kung Fu, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Zombie Apocalypse, Burn Zombie Burn Frogger Returns, Final Fight Double Impact, and Echochrome). I am happy with the price points as can be seen by the size of my digital library.

Since I got my Playstation Plus account though I have gotten several free games:Rally Cross, 2 Xtreme, Rampart, Mushroom wars, Vempire, Critter Cruncher, Aero Racer, Kahoots, Fieldrunners, and Age of Zombies. That is 9 games included in the price of my membership in only the past 2 months! At this rate the membership more than pays for itself. Even if the above games were only 5 bucks  each I only lack one more game of having my $50 back.

I am playing a lot of games I wouldn’t ordinarily touch. My PSP has gotten so much playtime on the miniS games like Fieldrunners and Age of Zombies I am starting to really see it as a worthwhile investment again.I say Playstation Plus walks all over Xbox Live Gold. I would love to hear other opinions though.

Just think, I do all this gaming and I am still married to a beautiful, sexy woman! Life is so good. That is double true when I think that she games with me sometimes too!