TeamXbox.com has a fairly studied feature on Sony's possible Xbox Live killer, and the thing's got potential, if they choose to link it to some of the parent company's other products and services:

• Connectivity with the PSP
• Sony Pictures Entertainment and their new MGM aquisition content (Xbox Live has a trickle of content; Sony will likely open the floodgates)
• The Connect.com music store
• Sony mobile phones
• The PS3 could be the media center (whereas the Xbox 360 is a Windows Media Center Extender, requiring a Media Center PC)
• Web Surfing (they do it on the PSP; why not extend it to the PS3?)
• Integration the Sony www.imagestation.com photo services
• Location Free technology (kinda like Microsoft's Extender idea, but with a much lighter-weight hub)
• Streaming or downloadable UMD-quality movies
• Online gaming (which at a minimum should have all of the features of Xbox Live and Sony's current stable of titles -- mostly MMOs).

As if that isn't enough, Sony arguably built the DVD user base with the PS2, and they look to do it again with Blu-Ray and the PS3. Want to pay $1,500 for a Blu-Ray player, or the alleged $500 for a PS3 monster gaming machine that also plays Blu-Ray? Hmmm ...

The article is fairly objective, but despite phrases like, "Xbox fanboys, stop reading now, because we don’t have good news", I'm not overly concerned.

I have an Xbox 360, because I could get an Xbox 360. I'm going to go where the games (and the services) are. Sony's service may rock, and that could spur Microsoft to do more with Xbox Live (because, let's face it -- Xbox Live and its integrated services may be the bet part of the Xbox 360, but they've got a long way to go).

The reality is a Sony vs. Microsoft dual could be a very good thing for gamers -- even Number Two in the Online Services arena could more than adequately service its members.

Competition is good.

Also, I'm waiting to see if Sony converts on their technologes. Microsoft did stumbling entries (Xbox Extender, Xbox Live Arcade, etc.), but spun on a time (corporate comparitively) and turned those things into robust, top-notch services.

Sony, on the other hand, has had Extender-like devices for their Vaio line for ages, and they suck hardcore. And their Location Free technology, while a compelling concept, regularly strikes out on the review and usage front.

Read the full article at TeamXbox.com:

• "PlayStation Network: An Xbox Live Killer?"

Let the games continue.