Microsoft have been very aggressive in marketing their XBox Live service. With Nintendo not yet ready to commit to any online future for their GameCube console and with Sony seeming very confused as to what exactly their service is offering, XBox is as close to having an exclusive feature as it will ever get. The concise and very well controlled nature of the XBox Live service has made it popular with XBox owners and thew features offered, such as voice communication, have been received extremely well by gamers.
It was not surprising then when Microsoft, earlier this week, announced that 350,000 users are now enjoying XBox Live. Even considering that those figures did not clearly state whether European testers were included, they still seemed an impressive total for a service which was, initially, met with doubt and hesitation.
For most of this time when Microsoft have been releasing triumphant press statements about their console success, Sony have kept quiet letting MS and Nintendo battle it out over 2nd place.
All this changed however, with a statement released by Sony, intended to dampen Microsoft enthusiasm on the success of their online gaming venture. The statement claims that no less than 600,000 network adaptors for the PlayStation 2 console have already been sold worldwide. Considering that Sony's adaptor has only been available in North America and in Japan since late February, that would mean that the majority of these units were sold in the U.S. since August, 2002 when the adaptor was introduced. The Japanese market may account for about 200,000 units since that is the approximate number of people playing Square's Final Fantasy XI, online. The adaptors were available in Japan before late February but only as a rental from an ISP.
So the U.S. market must account for about 400,000 PS2 network adaptors. This would seem possible if upon its release, thousands of excited PS2 owners rushed to buy them but that would also mean that most of them may have an adaptor but no use for it.
The confusion over what exactly PS2's online service involves and the hesitancy with which developers have approached the possibility of creating online titles has led to a slow start for Sony's online attempt. There are signs however, that Sony are changing their approach. Testing in Europe is about to begin, with the service expected to launch sometime in 2003 while recent moves by Sony have attempted to warm developers to PS2's online potential. The most important of those moves was Sony's decision to make online game publishers exempt from the Sony license fee.
In any case figures are not the most reliable way to judge a systems success. Considering the installed base that Sony has in the U.S. and Japan the figure of 600,000 adaptors sold is not as impressive. Microsoft have far fewer units sold and therefore their online uptake, or more simply put, their ability to convince XBox owners to go online, is much more efficient than Sony's.
This however may soon change, since Sony do seem very determined to promote the online capabilities of their console and when they do something, Sony tend to do it well.
