Improving the PSN Network
In the always online era of gaming, it’s vital that the network that is the central hub of that online activity is up to par. Of all of the networks available, PSN has the most problems. Simple things like slow download speeds and the lack of being able to change your Gamertag have been brought up by fans ever since the PlayStation 3 area. No improvements have been made though.
Navigating the network can also be a nightmare. A convoluted store and the devices overall interface make surfing the PlayStation Network a chore. An example of these basic issues can be found when trying to find a new indie title on the network. Instead of being to pick and choose between a list of possible diamonds in the rough, PSN is over-saturated with unvetted games, either made for a cash grab or as a joke.
The biggest issue with the network is how often it is down. Multiple times a year, throughout the world, PSN can go down for hours at a time. Earlier this year, Kotaku reported that thousands of outages that occurred over an entire week for the network. This can’t happen in the always online era of gaming, especially when Microsoft and Xbox Live rarely ever face these issues on such a broad scale.
It’s going to be hard to attract new users and keep the loyalty of older ones when Sony fails to address these ongoing issues.
