PSN and XBOX Live: ecosystems in terms of user experience?


I have heard the term “ecosystem” in some podcasts regarding video gaming and must say that found pretty interesting the way they approach it. Sony and Microsoft have indeed raised the concept of an ecosystem within the video games community.

Maybe is important to make a slight reference to the first generation of Playstation which was said to have first introduced video gaming into a new level of social recognition and raise it into culture. Previously, Nintendo and Sega’s competition indeed made video games popular but in a more cult manner. Playstation addressed older ages and managed to gain recognition and introduce video games as a cultural aspect. Further evolution has developed the notion of the culture and addressed a broadened field of ages and social groups as gamers, and brought them together by grounding active communities per game title and console. This evolution has contributed into the current status of Playstation Network and XBox Live with millions of active gamers and which are supposed to be the future of video gaming.

By the term “ecosystem” in a marketing oriented way it is described the part of the universe which is involved in each of the aforementioned networks. Console maker, video games publishers, developers, gamers, third party business and market, shops, etc.

While listening to those podcasts and getting introduced to the term of “ecosystem”, I read the article “Design for a Thriving UX Ecosystem” by Dave Jones regarding ecosystem in terms of User Experience. At that point a wonderful question appeared on my mind and wondered, how about studying a bit the the whole concept and further approaching and interpreting successful networks and communities such as PSN, XBox Live or World Of Warcraft as User Experience Ecosystems?

[Update] In the meantime Sony introduced the PlayStation Now in the CES. A very interesting fact…

The two options which are offered as products from Sony and Microsoft respectively could be considered as two totally different directions, according to which the concept of ecosystem can be implemented.

On the one hand Sony offers many different mediums which share the same online infrastructure and each of them constitutes a terminal that allows the user to access his/her content and experience the games and the services he/she pays for. PS3, PS4, PS Vita, PS Vita TV and PlayStation Mobile compatible mobile phones are all mediums. The PSN is the current network that offers the online experience and services, while PlayStation Now would probably be the advanced version of the PSN which will support the interoperability between these different mediums.

On the other hand, Microsoft offers a platform in terms of hardware that could or maybe should be placed in the living room. The Xbox One is a unique access point with a common User Interface leading to a broad environment of services, that will perform centrally all the operations. Therefore it is designed to be placed centrally in the living room, with potentially enough space for the use of the Kinect.

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