What Microsoft Got Right

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Submitted by Bill Tangeman on March 11, 2008 – 1:53 am6 Comments

While the reliability of the Xbox 360 hardware is sub par, Microsoft should be applauded for the general stability of their online service when compared to the PS3 and the Wii. Upon reading the previous statement, Sony and Nintendo fanboys will instinctively reach for their, “yeah but at least the PS3/Wii online experience is free” argument. True enough, but in my experience with all three consoles, I’ve gotten what I’ve paid for.

Most recently with the Wii, I’ve been trying to play Super Smash Brothers Brawl online with strangers. This experience has been painful. More often than not, I’m left lingering in the lobby beating up a punching bag for several minutes only to get the following message:

As for the PS3, often times I’m signed in for no more than a minute or so before the service dumps me with the following error message:

And this happens almost every time I’m online. Thankfully, once I get into an online game on the PS3 it is usually pretty stable.

So is fifty dollars a year worth it to me to just be able to play games online without these headaches? Absolutely yes.

Tags: error message, super smash bros brawl, xbox live

SP420

I’ve had XBL since Nov 15, 2002: the day it came out. Fell in love with it with the rudimentary menus and Unreal Championship, and I’m still loving it with the myriad of games and XBLA and the Marketplace. I really can’t recall when there was a serious network failure for XBL (other than past Christmas, but even then, for me personally, I was playing Halo 3 fine). $50 a year has been well worth it. I am a little upset I never got my 500 anniversary points though…
http://www.farbot.com/ Paul Munn

Except for that month or so around the holidays when lots of people couldn’t get online with it, right?

WiFi can be tricky especially with lots of devices on your network, and my own WiFi Access Point is pretty unreliable, occasionally refusing to take new connections for no good reason and requiring a cold reboot. If your Wii is relying on WiFi that could be a problem right there.

I had problems with the PSN myself and cleared things up by doing a few things. First up I changed my network so that my PS3 is plugged directly into the router by ethernet cable instead of being on a switch between the router and the PS3. Second, I forwarded all of the PSN ports from the router directly to the PS3. Both of these things along with a coax splitter replacement (which helped my whole network actually) got me running very smoothly with my PS3. Also depending on the type of router you have even a direct hard-line connection can only get you NAT Type 3, which is very bad for gaming compared to NAT Type 2. Check the network settings test in the XMB to see what you’re getting there. I had a Netgear router I tried that wouldn’t let me get anything but NAT Type 3 with my PS3. Needless to say I don’t use that anymore.
Bill Tangeman

I gave up on wifi Wii early on because it was so unreliable. I messed with router settings, but nothing ever worked except hard wire. As for the PS3, I may have seen that Nat Type 3 message at some point, so I’m going to try to change it to Nat Type 2. Still though, I think it’s telling that through it all the 360 just connects and works via wireless (stupid dongle cost me $99).
huffpuff

Dude, the fact that YOU’RE getting signed out every 2 minutes. IS YOUR PROBLEM. Not Sony’s, Not PSN’s.

Fix your own network problems. I’ve stayed signed in to PSN for almost 3 days straight AND I can keep my PS3 on for 3 days without it getting owned by heat.

Get a better router, bridge your wifi connection, whatever. Either that, or just run a network cable directly to the PS3.
Bill Tangeman

Of course you’re right to infer that I am no tech wizard when it comes to networks and wireless routers. I have no idea what NAT type means. Getting mine changed to type 2 was a challenge (and it did fix my issue).

The underlying point remains though, that Xbox Live has, at least for me, been a lot more forgiving than the other two consoles. It has simply worked for me no matter what my router setting are.

As bad as I am at figuring out these router setting, there are tons of people out there who wouldn’t even know how to try to fix it. And these are consoles…they’re supposed to be easy. They’re supposed to work out of the box. You’re not supposed to have to be a tech geek to make it work. The 360 is the only one that lived up to that idea for me.
Chrisburdick31

omg that is blurry but i recognize that error message because i've ran into it several times PSN Error Message 8002AD23 only occurs when the PS3 can't connect to the server & to prevent this error message from popping up, i would suggest checking your IS (Internet Security) & see what kind you're using because if its WPA2, i'd suggest getting it changed to a WEP because WEP is safer & easier to connect with