Quote:
Originally posted by The Strangler
I think Sony and Nintendo's plans are FAR more stupid. For one reason. No server restrictions.
By allowing developers and publishers to set up their own online gaming systems, they will make it MUCH more complicated and MUCH more expensive.
XBox Live: $50 for a complete start up kit, including head set and one year of online play. $9.95 per year after that, play as much as you want of any XBox online game.
Nintendo and PS2: Game at your own risk. Each developer or publisher will have their own subsciption charges. You may find yourself spending over $50 a month for the right to play a couple great online games. Now for someone that owns 8 DVD players, price may not be an object, but in the real world it is. Cost is prohibitive, especially when you add gaming subscription costs on top of you standard internet connection. What will this mean to Sony's and PS2's online games? It means that their customers will most likely play only one online game at a time to avoid piling up the fees. This is not good for business.
Developers will put up with a slightly more difficult process if they think that thier game will sell better. Bottom line.
As for accessiblity... If the Dreamcast online was so bloody accessible to the public, why did most of the owners not use it and why is it basically dead? Answer: Most console gamers don't want to deal with a keyboard and mouse, thats why controllers were invented. If the keyboard and mouse system were ideal for everyone, they there wouldn't be controllers. Saying that most gamers find keyboards and mice more acceptable that controllers is like saying most wrestling fans would rather see Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada and not Nash vs. Hogan. While keyboards and Misawa/Kawada may be better for the hardcore, console controllers and Nash/Hogan will always rule the masses. (Thats my obscure reference for the day)
Now would I like to see a keyboard and a mouse? Sure, why the hell not? I'd love to play Mechwarrior on the XBox (virtually impossible without a mouse/keyboard setup), but once again... NO ONE HAS PLAYED XBOX LIVE YET. AN OPINION MADE ABOUT HOW GOOD IT IS IS INVALID, NOT APPLICABLE, UNEDUCATED AND IGNORANT.
Could it suck? Of course it could. It could revolutionize online console gaming also, as could Nintendo and PS2 online. We don't know yet because they haven't launched.
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No server restrictions is a damn good thing. It allows developers to make games how they want them, not how Microsoft does. Look at PSO, if Sonic Team hadn't constantly updated the servers throughout the games life, the cheating would get so bad the game becomes unplayable. They haven't been working on them lately due to GC going on beta tests, but trust me, PSO players are quitting left and right until the new games. And guess what? It'll be a major problem with Xbox PSO.
And I might've read it incorrectly, but it was $50 for Xbox starter kit and one year of service, $9.95 per month after that, not year. And for most games, they will likely be free. Sega never imposed a single charge until PSOv2, and that's because MMORPGs require tons of updates and maintenance. Games like NFL 2K2, just setup and leave it.
And Xbox is far from appealing to the casual gamer. $50 just to try playing online? Not to mention the broadband issue. Microsoft had a poll, and 50% of people who visit Xbox.com have Broadband. Now most people who visit there will be fans, not casual gamers, and most will be spending more time online, where broadband is reasonable. But only half of those people actually have broadband, and even less casual gamers will because it's twice the cost each and every month. DC had the hardcore gamers, it didn't help. PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox will all have the hardcore gamers, too bad it doesn't mean anything. They all need to try to get the casual gamers, because that's what will make the difference.
DC died because too many people believed Sony and didn't buy it. It was by far the best console of this generation. And the keyboard/mouse setup isn't for everyone, most people won't take the time to learn it if they are used to a controller. But the fact that MS isn't making it avaliable is the problem. DC fans played with controller all the time, but if they wanted, they could buy a keyboard and mouse.
And no one has played Xbox Live yet, well, none of us. Still, people play Xbox multiplayer so we can comment on that, and people have used headsets before, so we can comment on that. And since I've done both, it is educated, valid, and pllicable to comment on those features.