Does the average gamer understand how online gaming works?

[BENZOOKA]

I understand, quite exactly, how (PC) online gaming works.

Dedicated servers. Server-side configurations affecting the client. Packets sent to server at a rate of *, the limit of those packets, the amount of packets requested/sent, the amount of choke), loss, predicted positioning, lagging, warping... You name it.

I know it all!
If I knew how to do an evil over-the-top laugh, I'd do that now...

 

[EinTheCorgi]

online gaming is simple guy A shoots at guy B. Guy B trys to shoot back at guy A but guy A has a lag switch and so guy A wins. Then guy B files a complaint on guy A and gets him banned :3

 

[Nexus4]

Am I the only one who still misses the server lists on consoles? Like on rainbow six on the Xbox360, you can scroll through the games and pick one with a low ping, on a map you want, with people you want. At least my friends and I could start a game on our conditions, but allow it to be public so others could join in; none of this private match only BS! I am not dissing matchmaking, it usually works quite well but I just prefer the server list.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

99.999999999+% uptime.

I would point out that your given uptime equates to .03 seconds per year. The actual uptime is far, far lower than that. If they get 99.99% uptime in a given year (less than one hour), it would be an incredible feat.

True, I exaggerated a touch for dramatic effect... but their track record is really, really good. Aside from scheduled maintenance (I think <1hr/yr, in off-peak times) I know of only one outage in multiplayer, I think it was the Christmas Day after Halo 3 came out and demand spiked far higher than they'd anticipated.* I'll note that as a result of that one day everyone on the service at that time got a free Arcade game as an apology gift.

XBL isn't perfect, but it's easily worth the buck-and-a-quarter a week.

-- Steve

* Irony of ironies; my Xbox had chosen that holiday week to get the Red Rings so I didn't experience that outage. Indeed, my console was in a FedEx depot waiting for me to pick it up at the time. Still got my free copy of Undertow, though.

 

[Meggiepants]

the only thing you are really paying for with Xbox Gold is the ability to cross-game chat

And I am totally fine with that...Because I have spent hundreds of hours in party chat. PSN still doesn't have 2 person cross-game yet, which the 360 had at launch, ages before party chat. And the interface for getting into a match is so much nicer. PSN's invite system is horrid in comparison.

Hell, I've used Xbox Live Party Chat while playing PS3 games online.

That said, if you don't play too much online, the differences in the services are negligible, and in that case, XBL is indeed a rip-off.

inb4 PC gamers mention free cross-platform chat services

This basically.

Chat besides, No, you aren't paying for the game to be served up from Microsoft but you are paying for the ability to play multiplayer games without having to shell out the big bucks of a PC gaming rig.

Yes, it is nice to be able to play my RTS games online without paying a fee, but I spent twice as much on my PC than my Xbox for the privilege to do that, and if I have to buy a 360 today, I'd probably spend a third of what I'd spend on a new PC.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Am I the only one who still misses the server lists on consoles? Like on rainbow six on the Xbox360, you can scroll through the games and pick one with a low ping, on a map you want, with people you want. At least my friends and I could start a game on our conditions, but allow it to be public so others could join in; none of this private match only BS! I am not dissing matchmaking, it usually works quite well but I just prefer the server list.

I hate online games that don't have game rooms. I mainly play Metal Gear Online and pretty much everyone plays in rooms. I can then choose to play with players of my skill. Warhawk also uses game rooms as well.

 

[Terminate421]

Somebodys mad at microsoft over pricing, big deal, its either 50$ a year or 8$ a month

 

[Zer_]

Quake Live uses id Software hosted Dedicated Servers, and the game is largely funded by advertisements. Now Carmack has even admitted that they couldn't rely on ads alone to make a steady income.

Now they do have things like Premium and Pro services. They offer bonus maps, which are often times re-tooled classic maps. Having Pro service allows you to host your own private games using their dedicated servers. They added this on top of the base game which is still completely free. There is no matchmaking in QLive, it's purely dedicated servers.

So yes, Microsoft are being dicks for charging the players a fee for basic multiplayer. And I don't care about all the added extras that come with Gold. They don't interest me. You're charged a monthly fee, and you need to buy Microsoft points to buy more of their games?! Yeah buzz off.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Somebodys mad at microsoft over pricing, big deal, its either 50$ a year or 8$ a month

I don't own a 360. The only thing I want to play that's only on 360 is Tales of Vesperia and N+ since Mass Effect is coming over to the PS3 so I wouldn't get Gold even if I had a 360.

Quake Live uses id Software hosted Dedicated Servers, and the game is largely funded by advertisements. Now Carmack has even admitted that they couldn't rely on ads alone to make a steady income.

Almost all console games don't use dedicated servers so the costs of online gaming are a lot less. Plus, Microsoft incurs no cost when you play CoD or Bad Company on Live, they are charging you for a service they don't provide.