[Elvenmonk]

The reason Sony downloads take longer and you need to install them is because of their encryption. They don't want anyone to easily be able to hack PSN games (like you can with the XBL) so they encrypt them to make it harder for people.

And PS3's market place is very easy to use.
Also, I see no point in complaining about XBL VS PSN's connection. This is because both are basically servers that point you to other servers that do nothing but put up local matches. Yes, I've had lag with PSN. I've also had lag with XBL because both put on local hosted. Like SFIV. When you connect, you're connecting to the SF4 connection server then when you're in a fight it's just a local hosted match. You or the other person are hosting and there's no severs. Same goes for when I play BlazBlue. Some games do have actual servers, and then it depends on the server load. Like I've seen some Laggy MAG matches and some no lag what so ever. For XBL, other then Phantasy Star or other MMO's I don't know what uses servers. I think Halo did, and I remember some very laggy Halo matches and some non-laggy ones.

But the point is, with XBL you're paying to have local hosted matches. Yes you do get better connection (in Amurica and some European countries) this is because more people use the Xbox thant he PS3. So you're more then likely to be matched with someone, to a party, with people near you. If the PS3 had just as many users you'd see the same exact ratio of bad connections to good ones. Like my brother in law's Xbox always lagged with his games. I'd go and play the same games on my PS3 and get no lag, he'd ask why and I explained this to him. It all depends on who's playing in your area at the time, basically.

Also as someone who uses the voice chat often I've never had a problem. I'd had some people with shitty mics try to speak, and it sounds bad, or people ruin it with the voice equilizer, but nothing bad. My mic sounds great going through and it's a $20 PS2 mic. I've had conversations with rooms full of people during BB matches, and Resistance. Along with Fat Princess and Lord of the Rings Conquest. Then again, I've had bad mic times with all those games aswell. XBL has the advantage of having a standard for mics. So, everyone has to have the same mic so everyone sounds the same (and Mircrosoft makes more money). Sony lets you choose your mic. Some people cheap out and get what they pay for, some don't. Like my friend just uses his Beatles RB mic to talk online to me with PC games and PS3. Sounds amazing due to it.