This is how I rate 360's and PS3's overall services, feature set and OS.
PS3 - 4/10
360 - 8/10
Then lets say next gen is
PS4 - 9/10
720 - 10/10
Would people give a fuck if 720 is a bit better, as long as the basic features like multitasking, social features, custom music and cross game chat are in PS4 would people care what else 720 offers.
This post assumes that Sony in 2013 simply catches up to MS and Live circa 2005, and that Live never really advances. Its a common mistake around GAF, to assume that eventually PSN will have to catch Live.. and that Live will simply cease to evolve.
Remember, that MS is right now as we're speaking unifying all of their platforms for the first time.. well ever. Windows Phone 8, Windows 8, Surface.. hell the old XBox 360 from 2005 even connects into some services and it was engineered 7-8 years ago. The new Xbox is most certainly going to tap into these other platforms and offer feature that Sony is very likely unable to even fathom. Beyond unifying platforms, one can certainly expect that MS is going to introduce a number of new key Live features to further evolve the service. They've had guys like Dave Cutler working on the Xbox/cloud team for nearly 2 years. That guy invented Windows NT and other key tech throughout the last 15 years. Top industry brains, working in gaming divisions. Thats a radical change compared to 2005 when this gen started. What I'm getting at is, MS and Xbox Live are not what they were in 2005 when the 360 launched. They have invested tremendous amount of brain power and money into the Xbox division, buliding out an entire Xbox campus in Redmond and filling it with talent up the wazoo.
I'm sure Sony is doing the same too, or what it can. But Sony isn't a software giant, they are a hardware company, developing software in 2013 and trying to keep up with the competition. Catching up with what the competition was doing 8 years earlier isn't really something to brag about. PSN has come a long, long way and hats off to Sony. I hope they have the money, the talent and the vision for PSN to surpass Live this next gen.. but I just don't think its possible.
I may eat crow, and thats fine. I'm ok with being wrong, its healthy I suppose. But I suspect that the biggest differences between the PS4 and next Xbox aren't going to pixel density, texture size, RAM speeds or other things.. its going to be the services provided, the overall features, integration and implementation of it all that will set the two apart. I think the OS's on these 2 consoles are going to be center stage next gen, both of them need to bring it.
I said it in another thread, but these consoles have got to at least match what my smartphone can do already, else they're facing an uphill battle. Live and PSN will probably garner as much if not more attention then actual games, thats how important they have become. We as enthusiasts shouldn't assume we've reached any kind of ceiling with these services. Quite honestly as graphic leaps slow down each gen, its quite the opposite for services. The sky is the limit, these consoles are being setup to do a LOT more than gaming. And despite what many here might say, thats a great thing and the way the market is heading.
Service rating should not be X/10, because 10 indicates some kind of ceiling. It will be interesting to see which, either Sony or Microsoft has the better vision for the console of tomorrow. A vision driven by its services.