#BetterPSN Campaign

[Ten Foot Bunny]

I just heard about this campaign a few minutes ago and thought I'd share it with you all. As someone who has an Xbox, a 360, a One, and hasn't owned a Playstation since the PS1, I'm appalled at the list of features missing from PSN. So many of them have been standard on XBL for years now, and XBL is getting better as backward-compatibility rolls out. I think it's abhorrent that people have to pay a subscription to PSN when it's missing what seems like such basic, customer-friendly functionality.

Hopefully it's obvious that I'm not Xbox fangirl-ing here. I believe that PSN subscribers really deserve better than what they're getting, which is what this campaign is all about.

Someone created a website as a campaign hub:

http://www.betterpsn.com/

AlphaOmegaSin posted a good video about this movement an hour ago:


Let your voices be heard!

 

[tippy2k2]

Maybe there's way more to this (I've got a 360 and while I also have a PS3, I do not use it online) but the "Top Improvements" is a pretty weak list of complaints in my opinion...

No ability to "ghost" (set yourself to show offline when you are actually on)? More clutter to throw into your profile? Continuous trophy syncing (What the hell does that even mean since it gives no more info when I click on it)?

All of those seem kind of lame to me considering Sony gives you a bunch of ever changing free games with your subscription while Microsoft gives you two killer games a month...if it was three years ago.

Nothing personal but I'm not going to watch a 9 minute video to find out if there's more to this so can you TLDR a list of the complaints on PSN? Those "top wants" can't be it, can it?

Maybe ghosting is a big deal to people who hate their friends on their friends list or maybe I'm the only one who hasn't visited someone's profile in ever outside of friend requesting (so I don't care if screenshots and wishlists and game stats and whatnot are missing) but these all seem like minor complains. Especially since Ghosting is really the only one the 360 let's you do and the other two are missing there as well (granted, I do not have a Xbox One so maybe all that stuff is on there?).

 

[Fappy]

I'm still utterly shocked that there are no avatars in the PS4 version of the PSN Store. You can get them on PS3 and Vita, but they still haven't been implemented for the PS4. Such a basic functionality... it's fucking baffling.

Also, why the fuck doesn't the PS4 have a Twitch App?!??!

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I looked at the list and none of that even remotely interests me. Not even gonna watch the 9 minute video of the guy complaining about it either. I know, I'm being fickle.

Look, I get that a lot of those things mean a lot to people, but I don't get the complaints given the list.

If anything, I would like to see a refund system in place that isn't a pain in the ass, but that's about it.

 

[Saetha]

These all sound like things that people with friends need.

So it's absolutely useless to me!

 

[Andy Shandy]

That list is hot garbage because numbers 1 through 10 aren't "Make the fucking thing stable" and "Make downloads take less than 10 hours".

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

LMAO, PSN is already the best console service. Everything on the list is nothing but nitpicks. Some shit doesn't even make sense like NAT stability, setup your own fucking network properly. And streaming from PS3 to PS4, what? If you have a PS3 and want to play a PS3 game why wouldn't you play it on the PS3 instead of having the PS3 on playing the game streaming to the PS4? How many places whether Xbox live, Steam, or websites like the Escapist let you change your username? Very few if any allow you to change your username. Automatic trophy syncing, why? It takes like 2 seconds on PS4 already.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

PSN is fucking awesome? I get it for free on the PS3.

 

[layne]

I pay for PS+ for playing online and for the free games for my PS3 and PS4. I get that many people think they should get more since they are paying money (if they choose to do so for PS4) but the majority of the points in that list did not interest me in the slightest. The security improvements are the exception, though. It'll be interesting to see if this goes anywhere.

 

[Yopaz]

Up until quite recently you had to pay for Xbox live gold to use services such as Netflix on your console. This has always been free on both PS3 and the Wii.
On PS3 online multiplayer was free. On Xbox 360 you had to pay for Xbox live gold. If you want to enter the discussion by comparing Xbox online and Playstation online then you should at least acknowledge that XBox is far from perfect itself. Both need to step up their game to touch PC gaming.

Status change, deleting stuff from library and achievements all seem to be about showing people that you play games and presenting yourself in a certain way. Wouldn't it be nice if improvements focused on things that made playing games more enjoyable rather than making PSN into a social network?

Honestly, I know little about the online features of either console. I like the PSN+ deals because it has introduced me to some games I wouldn't have bought myself better than XBox Live's gold deals (although I haven't used that for a while so it might be better now), but all I care about is the marketplace and the download speed. So far I haven't had an issue with either. The games I want are for the most part available, the speed is decent.

 

[Something Amyss]

I looked at the list and none of that even remotely interests me. Not even gonna watch the 9 minute video of the guy complaining about it either. I know, I'm being fickle.

I don't know, I don't think I could take 9 minutes of him on any subject.

The list of complaints look mostly minor/stupid to me.

Speaking of, the one thing I really want is better party functions. The one thing I truly miss from the Xbox 360?

"Invite party to game."

 

[ThreeName]

I just heard about this campaign a few minutes ago and thought I'd share it with you all. As someone who has an Xbox, a 360, a One, and hasn't owned a Playstation since the PS1, I'm appalled at the list of features missing from PSN. So many of them have been standard on XBL for years now, and XBL is getting better as backward-compatibility rolls out. I think it's abhorrent that people have to pay a subscription to PSN when it's missing what seems like such basic, customer-friendly functionality.

See the first panel. Sure, some services can be not as good as other services, and it's good when consumers try to enact positive change in their preferred products. But abhorrent and appalling? Good Lord. Y'all need some perspective on things that may deserve serious "movements" and things that don't.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Maybe there's way more to this (I've got a 360 and while I also have a PS3, I do not use it online) but the "Top Improvements" is a pretty weak list of complaints in my opinion...

No ability to "ghost" (set yourself to show offline when you are actually on)? More clutter to throw into your profile? Continuous trophy syncing (What the hell does that even mean since it gives no more info when I click on it)?

All of those seem kind of lame to me considering Sony gives you a bunch of ever changing free games with your subscription while Microsoft gives you two killer games a month...if it was three years ago.

Nothing personal but I'm not going to watch a 9 minute video to find out if there's more to this so can you TLDR a list of the complaints on PSN? Those "top wants" can't be it, can it?

Maybe ghosting is a big deal to people who hate their friends on their friends list or maybe I'm the only one who hasn't visited someone's profile in ever outside of friend requesting (so I don't care if screenshots and wishlists and game stats and whatnot are missing) but these all seem like minor complains. Especially since Ghosting is really the only one the 360 let's you do and the other two are missing there as well (granted, I do not have a Xbox One so maybe all that stuff is on there?).

1. Sometimes it'd be nice to not have friends inundate me with messages or other things when I log onto playstation. Its not about hating on my friends or anything, but there are times I'd like to be online and appear offline. I'm sure many folks agree with that.

2. Sony does give out about 2 games per platform a month, which is equivalent to the XBL Gold offers. Sometimes its more, sometimes less on PSN, and generally about 1 of those games are great titles (last part is personal opinion). More titles when they're games I don't want or care about does not mean better than the competition.

3. Trophies you gain have to be uploaded to the Network or they won't show up as earned except on your PS3/PS4 (I might be wrong about PS4) and that is kind of annoying.

While some of these complaints are minor, if PSN wants to be a better service overall they need to at least have the same or comparable features as their competition. I'm of the mind that XBL shouldn't be charging for multiplayer service though, and should update their 360 gold titles to more recent games. XB1 got ACIV though, which I can't complain about because its an awesome game anyway and the only XB1 game I don't own in my collection, digital or otherwise.

Small things are important too.

EDIT: Got a couple more things I'd add. In regards to streaming PS3 games, the PS4 has Playstation Now which streams content from the PS3 library to the PS4. Why can't they do this by way of you inserting a PS3 title you have into the drive and being allowed to stream the game you already fucking own for free?

 

[Casual Shinji]

The only improvements I'd welcome or the ones on the Playstation Store. Better search functionality and whatnot (as well as not running like shit on the PS3). Searching for certain games or add-ons can still be a pain. The rest is just the most minor of window dressing, like the ability to wear a hat or put your Trophies in a frame or something. Even if I liked some of those functions, I'd use them maybe three times before ignoring them forever.

And honestly seeing as what PSS got turned into compared to what it was, I'd rather Sony not "improve" anything.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Points 1 and 4 would be nice but really I just think it should be free like it was on PS3 and just pay if you want the PS+ membership. Xbox Gold should also be free and offer a similar membership fee if you want free games a month.

There should also be an option to disable trophies/Achievements and delete them from your profile imo. The stores are also a complete mess and so are ones on PC most prominently Steam.

There are lots of complaints against it but really it should not be charged for I am saddened that MS has pulled this con for long enough that other companies can get away with such bad practices. At least Nintendos is still free.

 

[Lufia Erim]

I'm still utterly shocked that there are no avatars in the PS4 version of the PSN Store. You can get them on PS3 and Vita, but they still haven't been implemented for the PS4. Such a basic functionality... it's fucking baffling.

Also, why the fuck doesn't the PS4 have a Twitch App?!??!

"Live from playstation" would like a word with you.

OT: From what i gathered, that list is BS. As someone who had xbl once upon a time, the service on PSN is a lot better. Those complains are nothing more than Nitpicks.

 

[viranimus]

So... if there is a movement to get a better PSN.. how about we get rid of the bogus abdication of legal rights clause from the terms of service.

Im not going to go too deep into it today, but I will say this. People say "Why should I care, I dont intend to sue Sony" please remember the inverse is true and actually more important. Sony has no reason to make this demand and consequent holding accounts/content hostage until voluntary compliance, unless they intend to do things that would give their customers a reason to pursue legal action against them.

 

[tippy2k2]

1. Sometimes it'd be nice to not have friends inundate me with messages or other things when I log onto playstation. Its not about hating on my friends or anything, but there are times I'd like to be online and appear offline. I'm sure many folks agree with that.

2. Sony does give out about 2 games per platform a month, which is equivalent to the XBL Gold offers. Sometimes its more, sometimes less on PSN, and generally about 1 of those games are great titles (last part is personal opinion). More titles when they're games I don't want or care about does not mean better than the competition.

3. Trophies you gain have to be uploaded to the Network or they won't show up as earned except on your PS3/PS4 (I might be wrong about PS4) and that is kind of annoying.

While some of these complaints are minor, if PSN wants to be a better service overall they need to at least have the same or comparable features as their competition. I'm of the mind that XBL shouldn't be charging for multiplayer service though, and should update their 360 gold titles to more recent games. XB1 got ACIV though, which I can't complain about because its an awesome game anyway and the only XB1 game I don't own in my collection, digital or otherwise.

Small things are important too.

EDIT: Got a couple more things I'd add. In regards to streaming PS3 games, the PS4 has Playstation Now which streams content from the PS3 library to the PS4. Why can't they do this by way of you inserting a PS3 title you have into the drive and being allowed to stream the game you already fucking own for free?

Ghosting certainly has its place but calling the service bad because it's missing it (as well as all the other complaints I touched on) seems strong. They would be nice to have but campaigning for this stuff seems weird to me. People are certainly free to do it of course but it looks like a bunch of nitpicks rather than true problems.

The streaming thing (when you say streaming, you mean playing the older games, right? Not just a LETS PLAY or whatever) is the only one I could really see myself kicking a fuss over but even then, I wouldn't care all that much. I don't have the PS4 so maybe it's a bigger deal then I'm giving it credit for...

Although I thought Sony gave eight games with the PS+ thingy? Again, I don't have PS+ so please excuse my ignorance on this.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Yes.

Point 4 I have to absolutely agree with. Bought a few stinkers in the past (including a really awfull Serious Sam BFE port) and I want them out of my library.

However, I cannot agree with the rest on the list.

 

[omega 616]

Not going to watch the vid 'cos from past experience he uses "fuck" as a comma.

As for stuff missing, I want a reliable fast connection. NOTHING MORE. I don't give a fuck about avatars or ghosting or trophy syncing ... then again I don't care about gamer score and I've never gamed with a "friend" online.

It all just seems rather secondary ... I want to game. No lag or down time etc all that stuff seems insignificant to me, I'm probably just the out laying ass hole though