Flay

This will be an updated breakdown of an exciting feature that will become a reality for console gamers this year: Online gaming.

Playstation 2

Launch Date:August 27th, 2002
Online adaptor: Broadband/56K for $39.99
Number of online games at Launch: 5
Cost to play online: Currently free for 1st party games. Possible charge for 3rd party games.

Basic Description: "The Decentralized Approach"

Sony will offer online play of 1st party games on their network for free. A strong lineup of 1st party titles include:

ATV Offroad Fury 2
Socom: Navy Seals (Broadband only)
Twisted Metal Online
Frequency 2
NFL Gameday 2003
My Street
GT4 Online (Spring 2004)

The Network Adaptor package includes a Start-Up disc and introductions to several online carriers, including AOL, Earthlink, AT&T SBC, and Sympatico, although several other service carriers can be used. On the Start-Up disc, players can watch four online game demos, including Madden NFL 2003, Frequency 2 (which was casually announced at the event), TimeSplitters 2, and Tribes: Aerial Assault. An enclosed coupon enables players to send it in for a free copy of Twisted Metal Black: Online.

Sony is leaving the development of online features completely up to 3rd parties. 3rd party game developers will have to create, deploy, and manage their own servers. They also are allowed to charge whatever fee they deem neccesary for the upkeep.

Notable 3rd party games include:

Auto Modellista
FFXI (HD required, $10 a month in Japan)
EverQuest (No pricing yet, Expect in Spring 2003)
Madden 2003 (currently free, possible charge after more EA online games are released.)
NFL 2K3, NBA 2K3, NCAA College Basketball 2K3: (E3 rumor of $10 a month for the Sega 2K3 package.)
Nobunaga's Ambition
Resident Evil Online
Sierra's Tribes: Aerial Assault (free to play)
Star Wars: Galaxies: (No Price yet, Winter 2003)
Timesplitters 2
Tony Hawk 3 (free)

A keyboard and mouse will be available, along with a voice communicator.

Source

Gamecube

Launch Date: September 17th, 2002
Online Adaptor: Seperate Broadband and 56K for $34.95 each.
Number of online games at Launch: 1
Cost to play online: Unknown for 1st party games. Possible charge for 3rd party games.

Basic Description: "Let's Wait and See"

Nintendo is waiting to see how the online market will play out. If it does become popular, they will have the hardware in place to take advantage of it. If not, they can bow out easily.

No 1st party games have been announced. 1 3rd Party game will launch online play:

Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II (rumored $5 a month)

Similar to Sony, Nintendo is letting 3rd parties do all the work if they want online play. It will be completely up to them to run their own networks for their games. They also have free reign over charging consumers.

A K/M/Controller combo will be available. Picture seen here

Source

XBox

Launch Date: Beta testing through Spring and Summer, Launches November 15th, 2002.
Online Adaptor: Built In, Broadband only
Number of online games at Launch: 7
Cost to play online: 1 year subscription for $49.99. That includes the XBox communicator and a free game, Revolt by Acclaim. Cost may move to a monthly basis after that.

Basic Description: "The Centralized Approach"

Microsoft will manage all servers for all companies that include online play in their games. All fees will be routed through MS. It will create a community in which everyone is in the same spot.

The Xbox Live Starter Kit disc will come with software that will activate all of those high tech innards of the Xbox in addition to taking user information such as credit card info, demographic data and the all important user ID.

Once your credit card info has been transmitted and charged and your account is activated, your user ID is locked onto the Xbox that created it and it can only be activated by the user and his or her unique password combo. The only way you can go on Xbox Live from another Xbox is by way of the memory unit. The 8MB memory unit can save your Xbox Live user ID so that you can transport it to a friend's house for a little online double teaming.

There will be no keyboard and every single Xbox Live game, every title mentioned above, will have voice communication capabilities by definition. The Voice Communicator fits in the top slot on the Xbox controller, and in the top slot only. The sound processing is clear enough to compare favorably to the sound you might hear on mobile phone using a hands free set. Only voices of other players can be heard over the headset, all in-game music and sound effects will still come from whatever speakers you happen to be using.

Matchmaking comes in two varieties:

Opti-Match helps you find people of your same skill level, playing the same game as you and on a connection that's suitable for steady game play. The concept of gamers balancing ping and pushing the limits of fluidity is supposed to go out the window with Xbox Live. In theory, when gamers are looking for new opponents online, they won't even see, and hence won't have to be bothered with, gamers who have too much lag for a smooth gaming experience.

Quick Match is the opposite, it simply brings up the first online gaming server with an available opening as soon as you've finished selecting your character, team or car and if you say "yes" away you go.

Your user ID also tracks your stats in your games and can be expanded to include your gaming profile so that your favorite team or car or character will automatically be selected when you power up an Xbox Live game and logon. The stat tracking should be implemented at launch and will be a key factor in matchmaking. If you're a veteran Ghost Recon player with hundreds of kills under your belt, you simply won't be able to invade a game with a bunch of newbies with the idea of slaughtering at will to boost your stats even more.

Friend tracking is the other half of creating that online community. This will function more or less like an instant messenger buddy list so that you'll instantly be able to see that your friends are online and what game they're playing. You'll be able to send them an instant message for the purposes of inviting them to play a game. Your friend then has the option of replying positively to your message in which case he or she has to pop out whatever disc he or she is playing and put in the disc of the game that you're playing. Or you can simply tell your buddy to buzz off.

Content downloading is another significant advantage of Xbox Live. The ever mercurial dream of downloadable content will in fact become a reality with XBL. The tentative plan for ToeJam & Earl 3 is to introduce new content to the game over time. In theory this increases the value of the game and more or less gets new content to gamers much quicker rather than relying on the established cycle of sequels. Of course this also opens up all kinds of potential pricing options for publishers. Not only can they sell downloadable stuff for, say, $9.95 a pop, but what about sponsorship deals that will give you that new Taco Bell sponsored skate park Tony Hawk was skating through on the X Games last week? The possiblities are endless.

With Microsoft assuming all of the responsibilities and costs for online gaming, game publishers are supposed to free to focus on the creative side of online gaming. Big companies still reserve the right to charge for access fees, on whatever kind of plan they want, for their games which would be in addition to the cost of signing up for Xbox Live.

Known 1st Party Games include:

Halo 2
NFL Fever 2003
Mech Assault
Midtown Madness 3
Whacked!

Known 3rd party games include:

Armada 2
Half Life: Counter Strike
Lamborghini
MX Superfly
NFL 2K3
NBA 2K3
NCAA College Basketball 2K3
Phantasy Star Online
Rainbow Six: Raven Shield
Rayman Arena
Sega GT 2002 Online
Shayde: Monsters Vs. Humans
Star Wars: Galaxies
ToeJam & Earl 3
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Unreal Championship

All communication will be done through the XBox Headset Communicator. No K/M combo will be supported. Finally, here is a link to the corny video show at CES that gives you an idea of Microsoft's vision of online play: Link


More info will be known after E3 and I will update this thread accordingly. So who will come out on top?

spankyj

Very good video Flay.

So whereabouts can I find the specs on GT4?

Flay

They haven't been released. And I got the date wrong. It's actually set for Spring 2004.

Here is a short article about it: http://ps2.ign.com/articles/355/355246p1.html

belboz

Here's a mildly disappointing tidbit from EA:

EA to Support PS2 Online Launch, Not Xbox
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ts_online_dc_2

No mention of exactly why. I wonder if MS is insisting on unfavorable licensing terms for online games?

Flay

Added Madden for the Ps2.

Sega sports announced that they will also be going online this year.

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/359/359600p1.html

Added the sports games for the PS2 and XBox. Also added PSO for the XBox.

Gromit

No EA online games for the XBox. EA claims 'bullying' by Microsoft: http://slashdot.org/articles/02/05/1....shtml?tid=127

Here's what I don't get: Didn't EA know that Microsoft wanted to be the central point for all XBox online gaming? Why is this just now an issue?

AgtFox

You can go 1 of 3 routes on this news:

1. EA does not want people paying MS to be able to play their games. They are the largest 3rd party publisher around. This would be the "Dreamcast Effect" with an added fee and EA's actual support of the X-Box as a gaming system (EA never made a DC game).

2. EA wants to set up their own payment system. This is doubtful as many EA published PC games have no payment system in order to play over the Internet (such as Medal of Honor: AA). EA is most likely to allow PS2 players to play for free (my opinion)

3. EA wants to control what their games do in the on-line world and do not want to have to pander to MS' Centralized idea. Basically, MS makes $15 off you a month. Granted, this is a small amount and the fact that the other Internet plans by Sony and Nintendo could easily make you pay over that amount depending on the amount of on-line games you play per month makes it look very viable. However, you are paying MS and not the 3rd party supplier. EA being the biggest 3rd party publisher out there would probably like to control their own On-Line destiny.

Decker

Wow, thanks for the update, Flay. I learned a lot.
I used to think PS2's online plan was inherently fatally flawed because of the additional puchase required. Now that I find that it's only $40 and will accomidate 56K modems as well as broadband for poor saps like me without a high speed server, it's sounding better. In addition the plan calls for a large number with free gaming. That's a HUGE factor to someone like me that would only play online games occasionally. I could never justify paying for a subscription for a game (that's just me, though).
I wonder why MS didn't launch online first. Having the built-in modem should have been a huge advantage, I don't think it was exploited or promoted well. I wonder how well received their pay-to-play plan is going to fly after Sony's.

The biggest loser potentially has got to be Final Fantasy XI though. I know the game cost a fortune to produce, and I don't see how they'll get people to buy into it. $50 for the game, $40 for the modem, $40-$50 (I think) for the HD, $10 a month for the game service, plus broadband service? It sounds like a hefty chunk of change to me...

Groucho

Well, they could do some sort of bundle deal. Buy the adaptor, harddrive, and game for $100 if you sign a one-year play contract. That sort of thing.

I've said it before, but with Nintendo's lackluster entry into the online pool, in one year they are going either look like total fools or complete geniuses.

spankyj

I'd have to favor the side of geniuses. I'm willing to bet that 70-80% of people who own the Xbox don't have broadband. That same holds true for the average american. Seeing the enormous costs of it still, I just don't fathom people tossing their money just to play an online game. I really don't. Broadband has yet to attract the majority of consumers, and I this isn't likely happen for another 4-5 years at best. Now don't get me wrong, I think broadband is the future, and the Xbox was right for going in that direction. However, I believe that they got ahead of themselves, ahead of the mainstream consumer. The Gamecube will be able to suffice those people will either dialup or broadband as will the PS2, which gives the average video game purchaser great flexibility. These 2 companies will go strong in online gaming, where the Xbox may falter. If it can stay around long enough, the Xbox will be the primo machine for everyone, but that will only come with a general adoption of broadband.

AgtFox

Good post spanky. I am one of those 70-80% that you talk about that has narrowband and an X-Box. I would love to get broadband and that will be important when I move on (where I live currently does not have it), but for now I am stuck with narrowband.

I have a feeling Microsoft is going to create a narrowband solution of some sort. They made a bet on broadband and it has not gone through yet, so they may need to make a concession. They would probably leave it up to the developers of whether their games will be broadband only, narrowband only or a combination of the 2. I have to believe MS knows they could make a lot if a narrowband solution is present.

If they stick to broadband only it will take years to see its full potential on a customer volume basis.

s}{ammer

So if all games for the xbox are connected to the microsoft network to play them, does this mean that if you will nto be able to play sports titles like nfl2k3 or whatever with people who have ps2 and cube? Will the cube and ps2 users connect to segas servers and be able to play each other?

Gallant Pig

Who really wants to play using dialup though? Not that many people I imagine. And I imagine there will be tons of people trying, and realizing how lagged it will get and just stop. I played NFL2K2 on dialup and it was lagged as hell.

BTW: Sega charged to play their games online, I don't see why that will be any different in the future.

I also don't think an addon will be very success now, it never has been in the past. Who will buy them? Some people might. Many won't.

Spanky, do you honestly think the GCN is going into the Online game strong? With one game? And no first party games? Even on the horizon?

I think Online will fail bigtime for the GCN, Phantasy Star fan boys aren't going to keep it afloat.

Outlaw

It looks like the trash talking has begun!

From gamespot:
From an online perspective I can see how they say that though, but i got a kick out of it. They ought to be more concerned with sony than nintendo in terms of online games because nintendo never planned a commitment to online with their announcement, unlike Sony. What I expect is that XBox and Sony will have their online games ready this Fall and and Nintendo will probably give a "behind closed doors" peak at some online game perhaps at Space World or even.....next E3 (gulp). With the actually games (aside from PSO) debuting next Spring. Lots of people are waiting for them to release their 1st party titles and thats what it looks like they're working on. But my predictions are usually wrong.

AgtFox

I would want to play through dialup. I did it with the Sega Sports games and although there was lag here and there the overall experience was cool and I was able to play full games with little to no problems. I also play PC games through dialup and the experience is the same.

I would also buy an add-on for the X-Box. Chances are most people who are interested in on-line play and only have narrowband and an X-Box will buy that add-on. I plan on buying the add-on for the PS2 also just for Madden 2003 and NFL2k3 as long as it costs nothing of course (to play the game that is). This is actually sad because I was looking forward to both of those games on X-Box, but I would like the added benefit of being able to play someone else on-line...lagged or not.

Maybe I am in the minority though

Gallant Pig

No offense, but I hope they keep dialups off the regular servers, I don't plan on paying $10 a month to play with someone lagged all to hell (even though I could probably kick their ass if they are the one who is lagged hehe).

I also think you guys are underestimating broadband. Every college kid in a dorm has it, they get hooked on it and end up getting it after that (if it's available). I remember playing Quake 2 when it was a popular game and seeing the occasional DSL player on it. I can only imagine it's grown considerably.

We'll see though.

Sony might be doing good, but then again, will the addon accessory finally take off this time? We'll see. And I wouldn't expect them to stay free forever. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

outer-edge

You are right about the college analogy.
In my dorm almost every computer user payed the small fee for the broadband. Then, as people moved out, that was a prioity where they moved. I known after playing online with my DSL, I can not do dialup, too much of a difference.

Tamrok

The other thing to consider is that the hardcore gamers and the people who were attracted to Xbox because it has the superior hardware are also the people most likely to have broadband. Although the overall market penetration of broadband may be small, among the folks who bought Xbox the broadband penetration is most likely much higher. However, I don't think Microsoft expects their online network to be a big portion of their business for at least several more years.

Gallant Pig

You make a good point, this is also the person willing to spending money monthly to play online. I have no problem giving MS $10 a month to play Halo, Amped, sports games, etc. online if they can give me a lagfree, cheatfree environment. I consider myself somewhat hardcore. A casual gamer won't spend the money to pay every month, but would they spend money to get a modem in the first place?

Flay

Microsoft has constantly said NO narrowband. Why?

1. There will be no K/M. The voice communicator will be used for every game in a seamless fashion. It's going to be incorperated into the network regardless of what game you are playing. Narrowband could never handle it.

Have you ever tried to use Roger Wilco and play online over narrowband at the same time? It's nearly impossible.

2. They want to provide more than just online play. They want to offer game downloads, like the DOA3 add-on pack. Or perhaps they would like to offer new levels for certain games to premium subscribers. Only broadband will make that process quick and painless.

Flay

Same here.

It's all about the product you are getting. For a X amount of dollars a month, you are getting a service vastly easier to use than anything else on the online market, including PC.

You are paying for lag free, broadband-only access to the servers, constant maintenance, customer service, an easy-to-use interface, voice communication, buddy lists, organized competitions possibly for prizes, game updates and downloads, etc.

To quote TeamXBox:

"You pay extra to drive a nicer car. You pay extra to stay in a nicer hotel. You'll have to pay a bit extra to play games online the way you will be able to on the Xbox."

Anyway, if Microsoft can deliver on what's been promised, they have earned my monthly payment.

joltaddict

Thats what people were saying about cell phones a couple of years ago. Now even my grandmom has one.

I like the MS solution myself. They can ban and suspend the whiners and keep out the cheaters. The worst thing about PC gaming is the jackasses that cuss you out when you win and trash talk the whole time.

Kellehair

I have a feeling Nintendo will be having the last laugh in this situation.

DVDKrayzie

they need to just bring back the xband!! seriously though, whatever system has online fighters (especially the Capcom ones), would get my online money no matter the cost...

spankyj

I still disagree with the broadband argument. I lived in the dorms for 4 years, experiencing T1+ connection over my time. It was great. But now since I've graduated, I'm still using dialup. And the same holds true for my friends from the dorms. None of them have gotten broadband as of today, and it isn't really in the foreseeable future. We played Tribes, Warcraft - all the good multiplayer games over our broadband while in college, but we've made due with dialup since. I work fulltime, where I have a broadband connection. The time that I do spend at home, I occasionally use my computer, and am able to spend a few hours a week with my consoles. I'd like to say that I am the average person in this regard. Now what would possess me to spend $50/month on a service that won't get more than 20 hours of use, if that? Now imagine having to pay an additional $10/month to play on the Microsoft Xbox network, bringing the total bill up to $60/month for online gaming. I don't see it happening. My 17year old brother and his friends have all got into the Xbox craze. Do they have the money to afford online gaming?, or couse not. I don't doubt that some of you can afford this luxury. But I don't see the majority of Xbox owners being able to do so. There are people on these boards who are still hooking their Xboxes up through the cable jack. You mean to tell me they are gonna afford broadband? The point is, the Xbox has the right idea. The only problem is that there is a small group of people who will want to take advantage of this now. Will this fever catch on? I hope so. But there is a huge difference between getting a cell phone, and paying $40 more a month to check your email. I don't exactly see anyone's grandmother upgrading to DSL for the speed of downloading the newest summer blockbuster. And addon's have done typically bad in the past, but the offerings now might do the trick. Online gaming is still a novelty, which is why I believe Nintendo and Sony are doing the right thing. I'm not familiar with PSO, but Nintendo is giving the option for people who want to experience it online, whichever way they desire - without having to fork out 25% of the price of their gaming machine per month to do so.