Suits me fine. I hate online gaming and hope it's never more than a niche thing, as if the majority of games ever become online only I'll quit gaming.

You can't assume that everybody who has dial up has a second line unless you are trying to sway belief in your favor by manipulating the statistics. With that arguement you can say that <i>many</i> people with cable pay for a cable fee as well which can jack up the fee upwards of 100$.

Nintendo does not scramble to compete with anyone. They do things at their own pace with their own philosophy. If Sony and Microsoft do well with their online play then they may consider it in the future. Maybe with the Nintendo Gametrigonalbipyramidal. Now SEGA on the other hand...

As far as the market...I think [emphasis on I, meaning my opinion] that it still is not as ripe as it could be. It could still falter. I agree with the statement that most online gamers are pc gamers, who may or may not look down upon the console games. plus they may or may not want to pay the extra fees that MS or Third party's will charge. If it comes down to it I don't think that most people playing online will want to give up playing through the PC or paying yet another monthly fee.

As far as attracting those who don't play online. I don't think there is enough appeal to convince them to log on.

All of this depends on pricing.

The figures will speak for themselves

Your opinion is flawed (highly). Once you figure out what a broadband typically costs, come back and we'll talk. Until then your speculation is *way* off.

Huh? What if they continue to have a regular mode? So let's take my Super Smash Bros. Melee example. If they put an online mode into that but kept everything else, and did this for most games, you would quit gaming? :confused:

I don't follow you. I don't have cable yet I do have cable Internet. Cable tv adds nothing to the functionality of cable Internet. Yet an additional line is key if you don't want to tie your phone lines up or get disconnected from the Internet evertime someone calls.

$15...IM JEALOUS! I paid $35 and the only extra I had was caller id. I guess I get to save $$$ on Cable internet $45($35 if you already have the modem).

Of course none of this talk even matters if you dont want/need high speed internet. I didnt get it for Online Gaming, but I am glad I will have the option if its not too expensive. I think it will be great to play NFL2k3 online, you dont have to worry about your opponent peaking at your plays...:)

I've had 2 different DSL providers and 2 different Cable providers in 2 different states over the past 2 years. I think that makes me at least slightly qualified to speak of broadband prices.

So tell me what broadband costs more than $50? Mine is $40 since I own the (cheap) cable modem. I have ATT broadband. Am I getting the bargain of the century or something?

Oh, I realized it. That's why I said Sony and Microsoft should have asked your "opinion". And yes, Sony and Microsoft have been wrong in the past. I'm just betting on you being wrong this time. It seems a more likely bet to me.

Well, if you want some prices, here are some Gallant. AT&T costs 49.95 in my area. Add in the taxes and regulatory costs, and I'm looking above $50. You may be getting the bargain of the century in your eyes, but I still see it as paying $40 too much per month. Notice the recent articles on ATTbroadband increasing rates for modem owners? Hope you're not affected, or your bargain may not be so great. I myself have a free ISP through work, and I only have 1 phone line. Do I care about missing calls, nah. Screw em. If it's important they'll call back later. So I see myself $500 richer at the end of the year, enjoying my gaming lag free. Online gaming, not for me!

You're right, and since so many people work for ISPs and get free Internet... hey, broadband is a ripoff!

Emergency phonecall because someone got hurt, f-it!

Rational thought, not for me! ;)

My DSL provider credited my account with $740 last October for some reason. I've been meaning to call and find out why *cough cough* but until then I've had free DSL (and will for a few more months). I think that's the best route for broadband if anyone can figure out how it happened... :)

D'oh! Homer the same thing happened to me. My DSL provider refunded me some money not as much as you though, and then stopped charging me for the service altogether. Since then I've had free DSL.

Enjoy your online gaming Gallant. The charges and gameplay quality are certainly rational.


Also, emergencies happen. People die. Life moves on. Missing a phone call because I don't have a second line is not the end of the world.

FYI, it is over $50 in a lot of areas still. These were my choices, this one is $99 and this one is $53, the cable modem isn't even included plus the service isn't in all the areas yet. I'm going with the $50 one right now, fortunately I was an early applicant of the service so I'm getting it for less than that, its still a lot of money, but I really need it.

But getting back on topic, I think that article tells us pretty much what we already know. Anyone who was expecting SSB:M online or thought Nintendo wanted to go full force into online gaming was only kidding themselves, they've never stated that. I still play SSB:M almost every day with my friends. Going multi-console is the option for people who want to game online. :)

Thanks Spanky :) It's all good. These arguments get heated but in the end it's all about games. Is the console market record to play games online? With high bandwidth no less? Who knows! Nobody on this forum. We all have our opinions. Nothing will be known for a while, that much we can agree upon.

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Also, emergencies happen. People die. Life moves on. Missing a phone call because I don't have a second line is not the end of the world.

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You don't have kids do you? ;)

The Online adaptor will sell poorly regardless of Nintendo support. Nintendo is very wise not to focus on it right now. I'm wondering if even the PS2 online adaptor will make much of an impact.

Online gaming is still a shaky venture even for Microsoft (they have a big advantage with every console having an adaptor and harddrive), so it really makes no sense for a console like the Game Cube that has a much younger target audience (I know adults play it too, but it has a huge share of the young audience) to expect it to sell.

Nintendo is very wise to focus in the areas they are.

I think Nintendo made the right call. Nintendo is about fun, and the best online game experience I ever had was still a little frustrating. Even with broadband, you've got lag, and you or other players can get disconnected from games.

What's more, the "communities" are filled with rude and vulgar people, and Nintendo's audience includes a lot of kids.

I think Nintendo is right. Until online console gaming can be as simple as setting up a SSB:M vs. match, maybe they should just hold off. I don't need the frustrations of PC games spilling over to the consoles.

Yep.

That's fine.

Somehow I doubt it.

When did online play become the sole reason to fathom the cost of broadband?

If I didn't have broadband, it would take several hours to download the single player demo of Jedi Knight 2 or Soldier of Fortune 2. Instead, it takes 15 minutes.

If I didn't have broadband, I wouldn't be watching Triumph the Insult Dog insulting people in line to see Star Wars or watching clips of SNL's celebrity Jeopardy.

If I didn't have broadband, I wouldn't have 6 gig of mp3's on my harddrive.

If I didn't have broadband, I wouldn't be able to snipe the 56Kers on Ebay.

If I didn't have broadband, I would still be waiting for DVDTalk to load up instead of typing this right now.

Online gaming is just one of several reasons to have broadband. Don't assign every dollar of a monthly broadband bill to online gaming. That's just silly.

Exactly!!! I have broadband and thus I will be an Xbox Live subscriber. (At least for one year. That $50 introductory package is just too sweet to pass up on.)

I wasn't being completely serious. You do have a better deal than the vast majority of broadband customers though.

DVDTalk is one of the fastest sites around, with or without broadband. I do see your point though. If a person wants to do all those things then broadband is a great deal for them.

Well, if you use the net for all the things you listed, then broadband is worth the money. I use the net for E-mail, Instant Message, News, Sports News, and Entertainment news. I download very little as I never got into MP3s, and online video content doesn't interest me.

So if I wanted to play the broadband only games online, the gaming would be my only reason to get broadband. Not everyones a tech geek that uses the internet enough to justify spending $40-50 a month on broadband.

If we're only seeing online modes in games, then online gaming will still be a niche market thing.

If online gaming becomes a huge success, I fear that in 3 or 4 generations we'll see more and more online only games like Final Fantasy XI.

I don't see that happening, but if that did, that's when I'd give up gaming.