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through clans and through general playing in public servers. There is something special about the Internet in that it has the ability to bring people together and this is none more apparent than in the ever expanding online gaming community. The thing that sets online gaming apart from over sports and social activities is that it is anonymous and because of this, everyone with access to a half decent computer and a modem can take part and be accepted no matter their age or race. With broadband access fast becoming the norm, is this the end of modern civilisation as we know it? Or is online gaming to remain just an outlet for bored teenagers with too little friends and too much free time on their hands?
The Internet is a much publicised medium. We are forever hearing about the latest dot com millionaires and how cheap it is to buy online, but how often do you hear the words 'online gaming'? The answer, never. Due to the large market for consoles like the Playstation, the power of PC and its online capabilities has been much over looked by your average console gamer, with the thought of phone line charges and not to mention buying the PC in the first place a bit daunting. However, the new generation of consoles offer online gaming and this truly opens up the flood gates for mass multiplayer games.
Games, like many other forms of entertainment, have the ability to bring like minded people together in the name of fun. People of all ages can take part, in my clan alone the ages range between 13 and 50 years, its this kind of diversity that sets it apart from a lot of other sports.
Gaming still has a long way to go before it can be accepted by everyone, including the media who still perceive computer games as a 'nerds' pastime, this has a lot to do with lack of understanding on their part and also the frustration that online gaming can bring (bugs, lag, cheating, relentless patches and updates etc.) that anyone who has played online has experienced at some time. But, despite all the problems, a community does exist and its no longer a few boffins tapping away at their keyboards in some dark corner of their rooms but hundreds of thousands of gamers from around the world competing in leagues and ladders for the chance of glory. For the first time ever the eyes of the world are opening up to the opportunity of massively multiplayer online games. This new world of opportunity isn't only for the few, not the majority, but for all, and in the future we will begin to see this distant dream of the optimists become a reality.
"Multiplayer Gaming isn't a new genre... it's The Future"
through clans and through general playing in public servers. There is something special about the Internet in that it has the ability to bring people together and this is none more apparent than in the ever expanding online gaming community. The thing that sets online gaming apart from over sports and social activities is that it is anonymous and because of this, everyone with access to a half decent computer and a modem can take part and be accepted no matter their age or race. With broadband access fast becoming the norm, is this the end of modern civilisation as we know it? Or is online gaming to remain just an outlet for bored teenagers with too little friends and too much free time on their hands?
The Internet is a much publicised medium. We are forever hearing about the latest dot com millionaires and how cheap it is to buy online, but how often do you hear the words 'online gaming'? The answer, never. Due to the large market for consoles like the Playstation, the power of PC and its online capabilities has been much over looked by your average console gamer, with the thought of phone line charges and not to mention buying the PC in the first place a bit daunting. However, the new generation of consoles offer online gaming and this truly opens up the flood gates for mass multiplayer games.
Games, like many other forms of entertainment, have the ability to bring like minded people together in the name of fun. People of all ages can take part, in my clan alone the ages range between 13 and 50 years, its this kind of diversity that sets it apart from a lot of other sports.
Gaming still has a long way to go before it can be accepted by everyone, including the media who still perceive computer games as a 'nerds' pastime, this has a lot to do with lack of understanding on their part and also the frustration that online gaming can bring (bugs, lag, cheating, relentless patches and updates etc.) that anyone who has played online has experienced at some time. But, despite all the problems, a community does exist and its no longer a few boffins tapping away at their keyboards in some dark corner of their rooms but hundreds of thousands of gamers from around the world competing in leagues and ladders for the chance of glory. For the first time ever the eyes of the world are opening up to the opportunity of massively multiplayer online games. This new world of opportunity isn't only for the few, not the majority, but for all, and in the future we will begin to see this distant dream of the optimists become a reality.
"Multiplayer Gaming isn't a new genre... it's The Future"