# [PPOTW] Which company has the best online infrastructure?



## T-hug (Aug 11, 2013)

So this week's poll asks: Which company has the best online infrastructure?

 Previous Week - Which is better android or ios? 
Week 7 - Which August game release are you most looking forward to? 
 Week 6 - Will you be buying GTA V?
 Week 5 - Will you buy a Gateway 3DS Flashcard?
 Week 4 - Which system has the best controller? 
 Week 3 - Have you preordered a nextgen console yet? 
 Week 2 - Now MS has backtracked, will you? 
Week 1 - Who will sell the most hardware next gen? 

If you have an idea for a poll you would like to see on the portal just send me a PM with PPOTW in the title and your questions and answers for the poll.


----------



## nukeboy95 (Aug 11, 2013)

weird steam is not on the list


----------



## T-hug (Aug 11, 2013)

Added thanks!


----------



## FAST6191 (Aug 11, 2013)

PC in general. I have not really used steam enough to say I have but
Largely free/free by default
Best online libraries
Easy mods for games.
Quite often free official addon content where others might have to pay.
Arguably better prices in general.
In the modern world still mostly point and shoot unless you do not want it to be.
Easily able to be flanked by any number of chat protocols
Easily able to be flanked by in game guides and whatever else
Easily able to be made into groups/guilds/teams (no limits, no friend codes, as arbitrary as you like)
Assuming the developers did their job easily able to be made into private servers ensuring a lack of downtime and a lack of end of support. 
The payment/credit issue being able to be purchased in the real world that consoles had has also happened too.
About the only real downside is a lack of banning being able to made stick though a few seem to be adopting the console model (much to my chagrin) and maybe the occasional console exclusive/time locked expansion pack/extra content.

The consoles are pretty functional but I can not see them winning hands down any time soon, doubly so as the companies seem to be wanting more and more control.


----------



## emigre (Aug 11, 2013)

Nintendo Network of course. Who needs shit like an account system.


----------



## McHaggis (Aug 11, 2013)

I voted PSN.  

In fairness, Nintendo Network is getting better on the shop side, especially considering I have downloaded 5 full retail games for free in the past 6 months, but I do worry that the couple of hundred quid worth of software tied to my 3DS will be gone forever if my 3DS XL is ever lost or stolen.  That still makes the eShop a non-viable platform to spend money on, in my opinion.


----------



## The Real Jdbye (Aug 11, 2013)

Without doubt Steam. They're the example everyone else should be copying.


----------



## Taleweaver (Aug 11, 2013)

Is there even a competition? The PC uses online features for YEARS (and I'd almost say decades). While the consoles sure have come a long way since the first modem-included models, I still feel as if they're really lagging behind. And I could very well be totally wrong as I barely tried the console services*, but I cannot see a single advantage of paying for services that are free on the PC.

And while steam is probably very hard to compete with price-wise, there's no denial that their sales pay off (though PSN kinda looks promising at this point).




*tried xbox360 gold for a month. Suddenly my console was filled with product placement and I had to put a gun to its CPU to prevent it from renewing the one-month trial.


----------



## Hells Malice (Aug 11, 2013)

PC is kinda unfair to have on their. Obviously its better.
Otherwise Microsoft blows the other two away.


----------



## Nah3DS (Aug 11, 2013)

NINTENDO


----------



## FAST6191 (Aug 11, 2013)

Hells Malice said:


> Otherwise Microsoft blows the other two away.



Care to elaborate? PSN no longer seems the shambles it once was and "blows the other two away" is a pretty strong phrase.


----------



## T-hug (Aug 11, 2013)

A year or 2 ago I probably would have gone for XBL but as I don't game on PC I voted PSN purely based on what you get from the service compared to XBL.


----------



## Jax (Aug 11, 2013)

EA's Origin, of course!


loljk, Steam is da best!


----------



## EyeZ (Aug 11, 2013)

The Real Jdbye said:


> Without doubt Steam. They're the example everyone else should be copying.


 
Can't argue with that, Steam offers an amazing service.


----------



## Gahars (Aug 11, 2013)

With Steam on the list, there's really no contest. A bit unfair to compare consoles and PCs, since the PC infrastructure is always going to have the advantage in this field.

Just focusing on consoles, I'd say that Microsoft has had the superior online service for quite a while. You had to pay in to Xbox Live, but you get what you pay for. PSN was an absolute joke at the beginning, and Nintendo's online... well, I'll be kind and just say it was absolute shit. If you wanted the best online experience with the most features, you had to go Xbox.

Microsoft's really pissed away their lead, though. Sony has pretty quickly made up for lost ground, and they've even pushed ahead in a lot of areas (PS+ says hello) while offering a better deal (not hiding stuff like Netflix behind an arbitrary pay wall). Hell, even Nintendo is taking baby steps towards a modern online infrastructure now. Microsoft is losing the advantage, and they don't seem to have any idea on how to reclaim it. Hell, even video recording requires Gold on the Xbone.

I think the next generation is where we're going to see Microsoft fall far behind the competition. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.


----------



## Satangel (Aug 11, 2013)

Steam is just a WHOLE other level. The amount of games you buy with 50 USD on 360 or on PC, is just astonishing. With sales included, it's just amazing.
I'm not exaggerating when I say you can get 4 topgames on PC for the price of 1 360 topgame. 

It is a real shame IMHO that in the past 2-3 years more and more publishers made their own, crappy, online PC platform, for their own games. 
Horrible cases of DRM mainly, just dreadful and really should all stay on Steam.


----------



## wrettcaughn (Aug 11, 2013)

Gahars said:


> With Steam on the list, there's really no contest. A bit unfair to compare consoles and PCs, since the PC infrastructure is always going to have the advantage in this field.
> 
> Just focusing on consoles, I'd say that Microsoft has had the superior online service for quite a while. You had to pay in to Xbox Live, but you get what you pay for. PSN was an absolute joke at the beginning, and Nintendo's online... well, I'll be kind and just say it was absolute shit. If you wanted the best online experience with the most features, you had to go Xbox.
> 
> ...


While I agree with you on most of this, the poll is concerning "infrastructure", not who offers better sales. When you look at pure performance and connectivity Live is certainly superior to PSN+. One would have to assume most of the funds going into arranging the sales and free games rentals to entice new members are funds that are not going into infrastucture. Giving Lending shit away for free isn't cheap.


It's not even fair to include Steam in this poll though...


----------



## FAST6191 (Aug 11, 2013)

Satangel said:


> It is a real shame IMHO that in the past 2-3 years more and more publishers made their own, crappy, online PC platform, for their own games.
> Horrible cases of DRM mainly, just dreadful and really should all stay on Steam.



Though I am none too great a fan of a lot of the alternatives to have steam as a monopoly does not seem like the best move.


----------



## Armadillo (Aug 11, 2013)

PC.


----------



## EvilMakiPR (Aug 11, 2013)

I have NEVER found a difference between PSN an Xbox Live

Nintendo Network is just starting and Nintendo with all the money they have should invest a lil more on it.


----------



## ThatDudeWithTheFood (Aug 11, 2013)

Steam has been #1 since it released years ago. I remember it used to be somewhat buggy but all they do is keep improving it and there is no stopping the train now. _Full steam ahead_,get it?
Nintendo Network is just shit though.


----------



## wrettcaughn (Aug 11, 2013)

EvilMakiPR said:


> I have NEVER found a difference between PSN an Xbox Live


 
So you and your friends all play the exact same games at the exact same time then?
My friends and I are all into different types of games so we appreciate being able to chat without having to dial each other up on the phone.

Aside from that:
- uptime
- latency
- customer support

Gaming vs content


----------



## FAST6191 (Aug 11, 2013)

EvilMakiPR said:


> I have NEVER found a difference between PSN an Xbox Live



You must have been somewhat late to this gig then. I agree today there is not an awful lot in it but in the PS2 era it was worlds apart (primarily as the xbox was actually a service where the PS2 was a disparate collection of varying infrastructures), the early 360 era once PSN got started in earnest was still streets ahead and give or take PSN+ (something the others should have done years before) many would still argue XBL has the slight edge though the "playing games, messages and matchmaking" stuff, which is the backbone of the whole enterprise, for now at least, is all there. Where it goes from here is the subject of massive speculation however; MS is doing some interesting stuff whether the gaming types that made it what it is today agree with that statement of not, Sony is walking an odd path and there are even interesting things happening in the PC world.



EvilMakiPR said:


> Nintendo Network is just starting and Nintendo with all the money they have should invest a lil more on it.



The gamecube had a few fumblings here when the others were building up, the Wii had proper online play, the DS had online play -- Nintendo's online efforts are not new. Beyond that when looking at the world at large, something it usually wise to consider from time to time, online games on consoles goes back many years; even sticking with mainline stuff the genesis/megadrive had stuff in Japan, big franchises like Phantasy Star no less, and online play on PCs has massive history, online emulation of old console games (see Kaillera) happened for years and

A best Nintendo have been caught with the pants down and have been awkwardly fumbling ever since while the others make a pale imitation of greatness. At worst Nintendo were wilfully negligent.
Also proper world class online infrastructure at the levels Nintendo wants takes a tad more than "a lil more".


----------



## EvilMakiPR (Aug 11, 2013)

FAST6191 said:


> You must have been somewhat late to this gig then. I agree today there is not an awful lot in it but in the PS2 era it was worlds apart (primarily as the xbox was actually a service where the PS2 was a disparate collection of varying infrastructures), the early 360 era once PSN got started in earnest was still streets ahead and give or take PSN+ (something the others should have done years before) many would still argue XBL has the slight edge though the "playing games, messages and matchmaking" stuff, which is the backbone of the whole enterprise, for now at least, is all there. Where it goes from here is the subject of massive speculation however; MS is doing some interesting stuff whether the gaming types that made it what it is today agree with that statement of not, Sony is walking an odd path and there are even interesting things happening in the PC world.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

Nintendo Network just started with the Wii U. Ninetndo Network didn't exist on the Wii, GC, DS, 3DS(Will though).

PSN wasn't on the PS2. Xbox Live though started on the Original Xbox. Yeah in the first 2 years(I have had a PS3 & Xbox 360 since Launch) Xbox Live had a lil advantage. But just with the features you could do. I have never found and diference in the speed and if one lag the other also lag. Thats why I said I've not found a difference between the 2.


----------



## ßleck (Aug 11, 2013)

Never knew PC was a company. But of course we've all heard of Other inc. and it's amazing online network: ''pleease specify''.


----------



## FAST6191 (Aug 11, 2013)

EvilMakiPR said:


> Nintendo Network just started with the Wii U. Ninetndo Network didn't exist on the Wii, GC, DS, 3DS(Will though).
> 
> PSN wasn't on the PS2. Xbox Live though started on the Original Xbox. Yeah in the first 2 years(I have had a PS3 & Xbox 360 since Launch) Xbox Live had a lil advantage. But just with the features you could do. I have never found and diference in the speed and if one lag the other also lag. Thats why I said I've not found a difference between the 2.



So the key to disguising your failed efforts at performing a task is to rebrand it or to possibly avoid branding it until the last possible moment (and maybe a moment more after that). More seriously though I would not believe for a second that all of them did not draw upon their previous efforts when designing the new stuff and thusly I am even less inclined to forgive sloppiness.

For the rest though you were both late to the gig and lucky once you got in, others, in enough numbers to be significant, were less fortunate.


----------



## Tom Bombadildo (Aug 11, 2013)

If PC weren't there, I'd probably go with PSN just because of PS+. Dem features, yo.


----------



## GameWinner (Aug 11, 2013)

Steam of course. Nintendo Network needs a lot more work before it can compare to the others.


----------



## wrettcaughn (Aug 11, 2013)

Tom Bombadildo said:


> If PC weren't there, I'd probably go with PSN just because of PS+. Dem features, yo.


free rentals =/= infrastructure


----------



## mkdms14 (Aug 11, 2013)

Nintendo has an online infrastructure?!?!?!?


----------



## wrettcaughn (Aug 11, 2013)

The results so far:
- 72 respondents do not have a gaming PC
- 22 respondents think "best infrastructure" = "gives the most shit away for free"
- 20 respondents are delusional
- 27 respondents are paying for something that should be free
- 3 respondents are pretending they don't regret their ouya purchase and/or onlive subscription


----------



## Jaems (Aug 12, 2013)

How does Nintendo have 25 votes?


----------



## CompassNorth (Aug 12, 2013)

Steam really? Steam servers as buggy, they require maintenance about every week, and can go offline at random times which can take anywhere from 1 minute to half an hour. It's the worst next to PSN.


----------



## ShadowSoldier (Aug 12, 2013)

wrettcaughn said:


> So you and your friends all play the exact same games at the exact same time then?
> My friends and I are all into different types of games so we appreciate being able to chat without having to dial each other up on the phone.
> 
> Aside from that:
> ...


 
Xbox customer support is worse than a brick wall.


----------



## wrettcaughn (Aug 12, 2013)

ShadowSoldier said:


> Xbox customer support is worse than a brick wall.


How so and compared to what?


----------



## KingVamp (Aug 12, 2013)

Jaems said:


> How does Nintendo have 25 votes?


It's the only console left with free online and there is miiverse. With an account sydtem, I probably wouldn't hesitate to choose it. That said, I was thinking Xbox, but with PC and Steam in there idk.
Should we throw in the android market too?


----------



## Hells Malice (Aug 12, 2013)

CompassNorth said:


> Steam really? Steam servers as buggy, they require maintenance about every week, and can go offline at random times which can take anywhere from 1 minute to half an hour. It's the worst next to PSN.


 
Because Steam is so overwhelmingly popular. Also seems to be regional, because I hardly ever have problems with steam like that. Its up basically all the time, the only thing I notice sometimes is the steam client going a little slowly when loading things. Still doesn't happen too often.


----------



## wrettcaughn (Aug 12, 2013)

Of the 250+ respondents so far, I'm going to estimate that at least 200 don't know what the word "_*infrastructure*_" means...

Looks more like a "who has the best sales and/or gives the most shit away for free" contest


----------



## Satangel (Aug 12, 2013)

FAST6191 said:


> Though I am none too great a fan of a lot of the alternatives to have steam as a monopoly does not seem like the best move.


Yeah, I must agree. More choice is usually better for the customer, competition between the developers/publishers is positive for the consumer. 

But it's just so sad if you can't play the game you just paid 50 GBP for because it's on uPlay, and for some reason that DRM doesn't work. Origin is alright to be honest, although it's still another application you HAVE to keep and keep updated, on your gaming PC.
Steam is just so much better, and I wouldn't mind having them a monopoly. They are just great, but maybe, that's because there's also a little bit of competition now  Keeps them on the top of their game!


----------



## Jaems (Aug 12, 2013)

CompassNorth said:


> Steam really? Steam servers as buggy, they require maintenance about every week, and can go offline at random times which can take anywhere from 1 minute to half an hour. It's the worst next to PSN.


 
Are you living in the year 2005? Honestly, I'd like to know what "servers" you are talking about. Steam indeed updates frequently but it's been a long time since the random disconnects have been a common issue. Like a poster said above, this could be regional or related to your ISP.



KingVamp said:


> It's the only console left with free online and there is miiverse. With an account sydtem, I probably wouldn't hesitate to choose it. That said, I was thinking Xbox, but with PC and Steam in there idk.
> Should we throw in the android market too?


 
I think you need to read the question being asked more carefully.


----------



## Bobbybangin (Aug 13, 2013)

Nintendo, while it's free. I have a gaming PC and Steam account, but never use steam. I actually have online accounts all across the board. I don't think any of them are worth paying for, especially since I don't use them enough to make it worth it. I pay for the internet, my consoles, and games. That should pretty much be all I have to pay for. I don't and never have had any issues or problems using Nintendo Network or Xbox Live. The only issues I've ever had was with PSN. There was the anonymous attack, account hack, and server issues with Black Ops II(which wasn't really a PSn issue as far as I know), as well as various other games. Until Sony can guarantee that those problems will never happen again, I can't see voting for them. To make matters worse, you will now have to pay for a vulnerable PSN.


----------



## FAST6191 (Aug 13, 2013)

Bobbybangin said:


> Until Sony can guarantee that those problems will never happen again, I can't see voting for them. To make matters worse, you will now have to pay for a vulnerable PSN.



100% uptime and security for a worldwide, public facing, complex yet has to be easy to use, money handling, third party supporting, embedded system supporting, latency aware, bandwidth hungry online network delivered largely for free or a tiny sum..... you might be waiting a while. Granted from what we heard during various incidents they were likely staffed/built by a bunch of cowboys but that is a slightly different discussion.


----------



## tbgtbg (Aug 13, 2013)

emigre said:


> Nintendo Network of course. Who needs shit like an account system.



I hate having to make accounts on my systems. I don't even play online and they still make me make accounts. I'll see you in hell, accounts!





FAST6191 said:


> The gamecube had a few fumblings here when the others were building up, the Wii had proper online play, the DS had online play -- Nintendo's online efforts are not new. Beyond that when looking at the world at large, something it usually wise to consider from time to time, online games on consoles goes back many years; *even sticking with mainline stuff the genesis/megadrive had stuff in Japan, big franchises like Phantasy Star no less, *and online play on PCs has massive history, online emulation of old console games (see Kaillera) happened for years and
> 
> A best Nintendo have been caught with the pants down and have been awkwardly fumbling ever since while the others make a pale imitation of greatness. At worst Nintendo were wilfully negligent.
> Also proper world class online infrastructure at the levels Nintendo wants takes a tad more than "a lil more".



Phantasy Star didn't get turned into that online crap until the Dreamcast. Yes, they had some stupid interactive novel garbage you could download over a modem on the MD in Japan, but if you count that you might as well count the SFC because you could play Zelda over a satellite in Japan.


----------



## Foxi4 (Aug 13, 2013)

Laughing my ass off as I watch Nintendo Network consistently getting votes. Sorry guys, but it doesn't have any account system to speak of, it still uses Friend Codes which is unacceptable in this day and age and it doesn't do nearly as much as the other mentioned services. It's a terrible service and the fact that it's free doesn't necessarily help - all it means is that you're not paying for a _bad_ service.

As for my vote, it went to PlayStation Network and here's why:

I don't treat _"Cheap Prices"_ as a _"feature"_ of an Online service - a sale is a sale and all the services mentioned support them, so I can't exactly give Steam a thumbs up just because it's the cheapest one
Instant Game Collection. Yes, you do need a PSPlus subscription, but I don't remember any other service ever giving me any freebies for paying a subscription. Sure, XBox Live caught on the same bandwagon now, but the freebies are nowhere near the quality of those offered on PSPlus
Availability across all Sony platforms under one account, and this is an incredibly important thing. Again, this is an area where Nintendo dun goofed. I'm not sure if I should count it as a fault when it comes to XBox Live or Steam since those services only work on their respective platforms simply because there are no portable varieties of _"XBox"_ or _"PC"_ but it's still a nice feature when it comes to PSN
SEN Store is a big thing - this is mostly because I can do my shopping even when I'm nowhere near my consoles. Nintendo and Microsoft don't have an equivalent store and Steam still requires the client, so a big thumbs up to Sony for thinking of all the users who like to do their shopping in this fashion
Obviously were I a huge PC gamer, I would probably say _"Steam"_... but I'm not. Moreover, I just don't use Steam unless it's absolutely necessary - for PC games I have cheaper alternatives like SKIDROW and Razor1911. _(  )_


----------



## emigre (Aug 13, 2013)

Interesting to hear Foxi4(Sony) is quite complimentary about Sony.


----------



## Foxi4 (Aug 13, 2013)

emigre said:


> Interesting to hear Foxi4(Sony) is quite complimentary about Sony.


 
Let's be fair for 5 seconds - Nintendo Network is just two points behind XBox Live, XBox Live being the currently leading Online service as far as consoles are concerned _(mostly because of Cross-Game Chat which is awesome)_ - don't you think that's a little bit sketchy? I know this is _GBA_Temp, but c'mon... really?


----------



## Flame (Aug 13, 2013)

Foxi4 said:


> Laughing my ass off as I watch Nintendo Network consistently getting votes. Sorry guys, but it doesn't have any account system to speak of, it still uses Friend Codes which is unacceptable in this day and age and it doesn't do nearly as much as the other mentioned services. It's a terrible service and the fact that it's free doesn't necessarily help - all it means is that you're not paying for a _bad_ service.
> 
> As for my vote, it went to PlayStation Network and here's why:
> 
> ...


 

foxi i think Its a psychology for you... where you need to pirate. you seem to pirate everything. stahp. do you even have the time to play all this stuff.

but i do agree, Sony network is great tho compared to other. but not better than steam tho.


----------



## Foxi4 (Aug 13, 2013)

Flame said:


> foxi i think Its a psychology for you... where you need to pirate. you seem to pirate everything. stahp. do you even have the time to play all this stuff.
> 
> but i do agree, Sony network is great tho compared to other. but not better than steam tho.


 
I only ever pirate PC games when there is no console equivalent to be found, last time I played a game on PC was when _"Brave New World"_ came out. To be perfectly honest, since I got my PS3 and PSVita, I practically don't pirate at all whereas I used to have a constant queue going on with at least 2-3 games a week. I blame PSPlus - it already gives me way too many games than I could finish in a month...


----------



## KingVamp (Aug 14, 2013)

Jaems said:


> I think you need to read the question being asked more carefully.


I did the first time. Unless you mean your question, they don't. They have 48. 

I mean the Android Market have an online infrastructure as well.


For me, Microsoft and Steam is off hearsay and quite frankly, I think Sony got Microsoft beat anyway.


Nintendo's is cool, except they don't have an account system yet.

Even though you have to pay online ( which I wouldn't ) I had to choose Sony.


----------

