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"You Vs the world!"

You Vs the world!

We have all heard of the console wars (if you havenít where have you been?) but if we was to concentrate on one of the biggest factors of what may clinch these ëwarsí one would have to be Multiplayer capabilities.

Now to start off Nintendo have arguably done the best multiplayer wise so far with the N64 and itís games, having four controller ports without the need for a multi-link and many games that used this to an advantage instantly more or less clinched the multiplayer crown but what about now? What about the Gamecube, X-Box and Playstation 2? What are Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony going to do to further the multiplayer experience?

Well the answer would have to be the Internet, online play is definitely where multiplayer gaming is going, gone are the days of inviting your friends round for a quick game of Mario Kart, getting drunk and falling asleep on the couch and in comes the Internet age which is soon to set in. Personally getting your friends around to play together is much more fun but playing on the internet has so many advantages. Online you will be able to compare scores with the best in the world, battle the toughest of opponents and play a number of opponents granted the interaction wont be there as such but the possibilities are endless, even downloading new levels, weapons or whatever it may be makes the online experience more important.

So what are these companies doing about this? Well Sega were the first to jump on the band wagon with Online gaming and were quite successful enticing gamers with titles such as Phantasy Star online and classic shoot em ups such as Quake 3 Arena. Sony with their Plasystation 2 are soon set to be the next followers of the pack giving gamers the joy of online gaming

Microsoft with their experience in online gaming under their belts you would expect good things from the man who made the Internet possible with Netscape but with the X-Box, Microsoft seem to be jumping into the online gaming experience with both feet although they are still taking into account the more direct multiplaying experience, at a cost mind you. If you have extra X-box consoles, television sets, controllers, you may network them together and play certain games that support this feature. The maximum number of simultaneous players is built into the game, as an example HALO will support 4 X-box systems and 4 players per X-box for a grand total of 16 players!

The X-Boxís online future will be with the use of the broadband adapter which will allow you to connect for online gaming sessions for multiplayer gaming across the Internet, this capability is scheduled to begin around July/August time of 2002.

What come as a shock though is what Nintendo plan to do with the Internet, the alleged kings of the multiplayer experience Nintendo donít plan on letting gamers play people across the world with their games! Instead they are making it more ëlocalí allowing you only to play people within a certain area, Is this the right decision? What has Shigeru Miyamoto got planned now? Will not being able to play the best of the best at a game discourage potential customers for the Gamecube? We will have to wait and see for what Nintendo plan to do. Nintendo plan to connect to the internet with two accessories being the Broadband Adapter which is a network connection device designed to be compatible with the broadband networks and the 56k modem.

However despite Nintendo not having wide area networks for their Internet Segaís servers will be instantly accessible allowing for Internet gaming, Phantasy Star Online anyone?

Sony have announced they will be using the internet to let PS2 owners download certain features as well as online play, they too will be using broadband and are expected to be ready for online by the end of the year. Sony have promised a PlayStation 2 expansion module as a network adapter (a PC card interface) and establish an e-distribution server to allow users to download data-intensive computer entertainment content to hard-disc drives which too will be provided by Sony.

Will these gambles with the Internet pay off for these companies? Only time will tell.

Who do you think will use the power of the internet the best?
Are Nintendo making the right decision?
Do you prefer playing games online against the best of the best?
Do you find it more convenient?
Do you prefer playing games directly wit your friends, or do you like a mix between the net and directly?
On a bit of an off topic how much do you think these modems will cost?

Thanks
Andy

well done Starlight wildlight for winning GAD what game are you going to get?

We all understood what you mean although it sounded more realistic when you first sid it.

What better use for your PS2 than to use it as a stand for your Dreamcast?

;-D

"Dreamcasts OR PS2s". Not "on". Sorry. I think I'll leave the forums for now, as my English is breaking down pretty badly. No doubt not many of you would have understood that last post.

ALthough I originally bought the N64 because of a Goldeneye marathon party the week before, I have noticed that recently, all the games I've played on the N64 have been one player only games, or the one player part of the game, for instance the story mode on Perfect Dark. This doesn't me I don't have any friends though; it's becasuie they're all swanning off on their Dreamcasts on PS2s. Which, ironically, I play a lot of multiplayer games on, despite not owning the consoles.

I totally agree with you, Strafex, I always do :-D

Nintendon are notorious for being the multiplayer gods, you will never have as much fun than on a Nintendo console - admit it! ;OD

The style of the GameCube and it's controllers will help with mutliplayer enjoyment, I mea, just imagine four of you sitting around a gorgeous looking GameCube all holding different coloured controller - ummmm, ahhhhh......

SHOCKY

I see the Gamecube as the ultimate multiplayer machine.

Nintendo revolutionised multiplayer with the N64 with four player games such as Goldeneye and Mario Kart.

The next step to taking it further is link cables and internet (to allow more than four players).
More players mean more exciting games.
Nintendo know this as they often put computer controlled simulants in their games.

Yet they seem to be refusing to take multiplayer down this better route, prefering to keep it how it is.

Hopefully, they're just playing it down.

Hopefully...

I'm not that interested in online gaming, but I think the Xbox will probably use the net best.
I see the GameCube as a device that is dedicated totally to playing games. This is its strength.
I'm not convinced online gaming is really worth the effort.

I'd change your name back to Wildlight. Starlight sounds like Johavah's Witness Discussion Group.

Starlight's even better than Wildlight.

Keep it no matter what ANYONE says!

Nintendo are known for suprises, remember Diddy Kong Racing on the N64?

I expect what you say is true that Nintendo are just holding back so they can steal the spotlight from the other companies by announcing what they plan to do with the net.

Lets hope so anyway.

I rather assemble a team of 3 friends and go out to wupp some other people across the world.

I think that Nintendo's local network 4 player online policy is wrong though.
I you're going to play online, you might as well make the best of online abilities.

If I wanted to play 3 locals then I'd just invite them round.

I'm not worried though.

I expect that it's Nintendo just playing down the hype again...

You remember when they threatened to axe the Gamecube if t wasn't a sucess at E3?
Attention grabbing swines!