While most - ok, 90% - of the PlayStation 3 online functionality is basic compared to Xbox Live - having to quit out of games to receive friend messages, most games lacking basic online multiplayer etc - the PlayStation Store totally outclasses the Live equivalent. I spent some time yesterday playing around with the Store and was hugely impressed. Where Live Marketplace leaves you stranded in menu hell, struggling to discover what's new and why it matters, the PlayStation Store has a date driven release list as well as a far more appealing interface (reminiscent of traditional online stores). It was easy to search between movie trailers, casual games and the rest and you get the impression that, unlike a lot of the online stuff, Sony really had a clear vision for what they wanted with the Store. Ironically, considering the PS3 backwards compatibility farce, the most appealing products on sale were the PSOne games which were cheap (around a fiver) and easy to transfer onto PSP for playback.
Elsewhere I had another quick go on the browser. While hardly a deal breaker when it comes to potential purchase - unless browsing on your telly really matters to you - it does the job and could become one of those unsung features that becomes more useful than initially anticipated.
Overall yesterday's online testing confirms the difficulty in pining the PS3 down. The gaming side is relatively lacklustre and lacks most of Live's features - though Motorstorm is a glitzy demonstration of future intent - but all the other functions - Blu-ray, browser, build-quality, photo display, store etc - are well designed and easy to use. Hopefully things will become clearer when the final retail machines arrive in the next few weeks.
