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Online Console Gaming Primed for Take Off 48

Posted by Zonk from the moreso-than-ever dept.
DarkNemesis618 writes "What started off as a PC-only concept is now spreading; Online gaming is now starting to bloom for consoles too. With the introduction of the 360 and the next generation consoles, online console gaming is primed for takeoff. The original Xbox and Xbox Live started the transition to online gaming on consoles. Xbox Live has slowly but surely allowed the walls between PC and console online gaming to crumble." From the article: "PC game makers still have the advantage of using the keyboard and mouse as a controller, which allows them to give gamers more control and options in game play. But gamers say few, if any, of the community-oriented online PC games are as consumer-friendly as Xbox Live, which has standardized and automated the process of selecting servers and competitors for the best game playing experience."
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Online Console Gaming Primed for Take Off More

Online Console Gaming Primed for Take Off

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  • few if any, of the community-oriented online PC games are as consumer-friendly as Xbox Live, which has standardized and automated the process of selecting servers and competitors for the best game playing experience."

    so because we dont need a computer to judge us and pick out who we should play makes the games on PC "less consumer friendly"??
    • Pretty much.

      When searching for Quake2 servers to play on youd get one of three things.

      a) Id totally decimate the other players barely anyone would be on any more than a frag by the time id hit the 100 frag limit.

      b) Id get totally decimated by the other players. Id spawn, explode, spawn, explode...

      c) Id be in the top 3 or 4 players. We would duke it out and the 10 or so other players would be frag fodder in between our fights.

      Option c is typically what id look for but it still wouldnt remove the problem of o

  • Controllers (Score:2, Interesting)

    by fatius ( 245729 )
    I know I'm in the minority, but am I the only one who dislikes using the mouse/keyboard and actually prefers to use console game controllers? I really like the xbox 360 controller, but I like the gamecube and even the playstation controller more than using the mouse/keyboard.

    I don't play many RPGs of any kind, so that could be a factor.

    • Think RTS (Score:3, Insightful)

      by blueZ3 ( 744446 )
      I really enjoy RTS games (C&C, etc.) and even some turn-based strategy games, and I find a keyboard/mouse much more convenient than a game pad. For one thing, selecting multiple units with drag using a mouse is easy and intuitive. Also, I appreciate the ability to group units and assign them to a key... so for instance I can select all my air units with Ctrl+1 or all my ships with Ctrl+2.

      However, for a lot of other games (FPS, puzzle games) that I play on my GameCube, I do appreciate the game controller
    • I don't play many RPGs of any kind, so that could be a factor.
      What do you mean? RPGs are much better with a control pad... I just can't imagine playing all the way through Albert Odyssey, Panzer Dragoon Saga, or Skies of Arcadia with a keyboard.

      Or do you mean PC-style RPGs, Baldur's Gate, Diablo, or those MMORPGs... eww.

      • Japanese Rail Playing Games don't need PC controls, true, but that's because they're engineered for controller use. Many of those games suffer from severe limitations as a result, either resorting to turn-based combat (without even a playing field, you just stand there in a line and the enemy does the same) or giving the player very little control over the AI-controlled party members (as opposed to letting the player control all of them with the mouse).

        Take Anachronox, that's like the JRPGs but uses mouse a
    • Well, it really depends on the game type. I CAN play FPS with dual analogue sticks but I'd prefer a mouse and keyboard. Just the same, I CAN play platformer with a keyboard but it's still like trying to run after getting kicked in the nuts.

      Call me crazy but I'd like a system that can use either.
  • "But gamers say few, if any, of the community-oriented online PC games are as consumer-friendly as Xbox Live, which has standardized and automated the process of selecting servers and competitors for the best game playing experience"

    This is where Xbox Live dominates PC online games. Microsoft is able to place Live servers all over the world to 1) minimalize lag between 360/server and 2) easily find opponent matches that will have little lag. Xbox Live still offers the ability to find matches outside y
    • "The only PC games to do this are MMORPG's. Other online games give you a huge list of servers having you do all the work."

      so by 'all the work' you mean clicking 'sort desc' on the PING column? yah what am i thinking, its time to get xbox live...

      BTW I have played many MMORPGs and they work the same way, when you create a new char they give you list of servers and their ping times, and you must manually select a server, just as in an FPS,RTS game.

    • On Valve's Steam engine you can make ping times a server search criteria. No, there is not a way to tell if the players on a given Counter Strike server are way above or below your skill level[1], but this addresses the issue of minimalizing lag.

      1: With me, finding good CS:S competitors is easy: everyone is way above my skill level :-)

    • Oh, and don't forget how Xbox Live can also determine your skill level relative to other players, and use that to match you up with people close to your ability so as to make the games challenging without being too hard. I can't emphasize just how great of a feature that is - knowing that the odds are good when you play a ranked game on the 360 that you're going to have a fair chance to win the game, but without it being too easy.

      You're always pushed just enough that you have to work hard to win, but rarel

  • bleh (Score:2, Insightful)

    by shing0 ( 872693 )
    It's never going to work for me because they want you to subscribe and pay a monthly fee. So not only are you paying for your internet connection, but now the subscription along with it.

    • Re:bleh (Score:3, Insightful)

      by The-Bus ( 138060 )
      What's funny about Xbox Live is that the features that are standard now on most 360 games (Online leaderboards) are the ones where Microsoft needs to pay to keep information. In some games, like Project Gotham Racing 3, you can actually see videos of the top players getting those records, so you know exactly how they got it. However, these are features you get no matter what version of Xbox Live you have (Silver, which is free, or Gold). Microsoft actually charges more for the things that, ideally, could be
      • If there was a choice between a free online game server which is run off of some 19 year old's cable modem for free(which doesn't cut it) compared to a pay server that is fast, relatively closeby and stocked with loads of players, I'll pay.

        I remember the overwhelming nightmare it was on Counterstrike waiting for AGES to refresh a server list, and only being able to connect to 2 or 3 of them. You would get every single excuse handed to you to not be able to join/play. Forget that. If I pay, I want to get on,
    • With most PC online games, you need to pay PER GAME, whereas with the Live service, you pay for the entire console. I don't see how that's cheaper, at all!
    • People used to say the same thing about cable ...
    • So play system-link games online with XLink Kai [teamxlink.co.uk].

      It's a completely free alternative to Live, has many of the same features (friends list, voice comms etc) and supports a wider range of games.

  • "Console" has a different meaning to me, I guess, than Them.

    I was actually excited for a second.
  • "PC game makers still have the advantage of using the keyboard and mouse as a controller"

    Just wait till the Revo comes out... sure to some people it's not the same, but to me, much more natural (roll a mouse around a table vs. point at the screen, and typically a bigger screen at that).

    The biggest obstacle would be getting good PC-style games on the Revolution. It's hardly guaranteed to happen, but hardware-wise it can, and if it does, I just might be playing a whole lot more FPS, RTSs, etc.

    Hell even
  • ...and it has a maximum resolution of 1920x1080. Assuming a console can do HD, that is. My big flat panel can do 1600x1200 -- while hooked up to a very very fast PC that includes a couple GBs of RAM, 5.1 sound, a nice keyboard/mouse combo (not some funky multi-button controller that vibrates or whatever), and an always-on Net connection. No fees are needed to play online, and the PC lives in my home office where I can play a game without disturbing anyone else in the house. As a bonus, I can use this PC
    • All of the next gen consoles, and 2/3 of the LAST gen ones can do High Def, as well as 5.1 surround sound. No online fees are necessary for play on the Ps2, and the Xbox Live online fees boil down to what, $4 a month? Of course you can use the PC for other tasks, because that's what PC's are- general purpose machines designed to do a lot of different things. No PC game will ever be made that will truly take advantage of that ultrafast video card and couple gigs of ram. On the flipside, Consoles are dedicat
      • First, one small note...Only 1/3 current/last-generation consoles can do HD resolutions (and only in a few games): Xbox. The other two can, in theory, output 480p but both require a particular console revision (for Gamecube the oldest units and for PS2 the newest) to do so, and 480p isn't defined as an HDTV resolution.

        That said, I think you're absolutely right. PC folks talk a lot about how they've been playing in HD resolution for years but the real truth is that they can do so only a) by having an ex

        • First, one small note...Only 1/3 current/last-generation consoles can do HD resolutions (and only in a few games): Xbox. The other two can, in theory, output 480p but both require a particular console revision (for Gamecube the oldest units and for PS2 the newest) to do so, and 480p isn't defined as an HDTV resolution.

          I don't know where you got your info but all PS2's can do 1080i.for games, notably Gran Turismo 4. Now if it's progressive scan for DVD playback that's different, 50001 series and later. PS2'

          • I'll plead "unwillful" ignorance on the PS2. I bought the component adapter but have never seen instructions as to enabling 480p output - any hints sent to my e-mail address would be much appreciated! I paid no attention to GT4 (went with Forza, partially because that was my grandparents' last name) so on the "no HD" score I was just out to lunch.

            As for the Gamecube, I've never seen any indications of a 720p mode for any games. I'm well aware that the earlier versions of the Gamecube have a digital out
            • I'm well aware that the earlier versions of the Gamecube have a digital output (mine does) that permits 480p but, again, that's not an HD resolution and new Gamecube consoles don't even have that option.
              I noticed that on my GameCubes the other day. I had my broken one out of the box for some reason, and there was an extra port on the back that wasn't on the new one.

              I wonder why they took it out.
              • They took it out because they believed few people cared about 480p, and removing it saved them some money on the units. Me, I never saw component cables at any B&M or Internet retailer - and I looked every time I found myself in a place selling Gamecubes. I couldn't even order them through my local game stores. Nintendo was willing to sell them to me via their online store but by the time I found that I was too irritated to want to give them the whole profit on the product. I can be a bit stiff-neck
    • For me the choice is simple. I can spend upwards of $1,000 for a tricked out PC that won't be able to play the latest and greatest in a couple years or spend $400 for an Xbox 360. I don't have a lot of time for games, so it's all about the savings.

      As for WASD+mouse or controller...I'm proficient with both. Neither is better than the other, it's just a matter of what you're used to.
    • Is that what you were trying to say?
    • There's no experience on the PC like getting some friends around and playing pro evo, guitar hero, etc. That's a social experience, and you want to do it on your biggest screen, with the largest speakers, and with lots of room for people to sit comfortably.

      There are also experiences you can't replicate on consoles, but I clearly don't need to convince you of that. I'm just saying that you shouldn't write off either.

      PS. the way you describe a gamepad makes it sound like it's somehow more strange than
  • David Cole, president of DFC Intelligence, a video game market research firm, estimates that less than 5 percent of console owners now connect for online play on a regular basis. He said that number could hit 10 percent in the next two years as next-generation units debut.
    Anyone know the percentage of PC gamers who play online regularly, for reference? Or howabout the age-demographics? I have a Live account, but I never use it anymore. Maybe I just found bad servers, but it seems like the range of ages
  • With the introduction of the 360 and the next generation consoles, online console gaming is primed for takeoff.

    This has nothing to do with the 360, the PS3, or the Revolution. This has to do with 1) the increasing uptake of "always-on" broadband, and 2) console game developers finally realizing that console gamers want more online gaming.

    All the current generation systems have broadband adapters, though the Dreamcast died before its BBA could become readily available. But three years ago, most console g

  • PC gaming's online systems are pretty rockey right now, for a while with HL1, Q3 etc it was possible to use third party server browsers that were INCREADIBLY powerful, All Seeing Eye is probably the best example, it did complex scripting to find you exactly the right server, it detected and screened for every publicly available aspect of the server down to which country/area the server was likely located in.

    Then Gamespy attacked the publishers, I'm sure they talked to the publishers because their product

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