Console online gaming services and equipment

Console online gaming services
and equipment
In this section, we conjoin our discussion of the first two requirements listed
previously: the networking kit and the online gaming service. For the Xbox,
these two items are one and the same. Conversely, for PlayStation and
GameCube, they’re separate steps, as we discuss shortly.
Can your games get online?
As you get into online gaming with your game console, keep this one
common requirement in mind: You need to have games that are online capable.
As we write this book, online gaming services have been available for
only a few months, and the number of games that can be played online is relatively
limited. Most of the games that you already own (if you have one of
these consoles now) probably don’t have online gaming capabilities.
Fortunately, all the gaming software companies that we know are bringing out
a ton of online-capable games, so this won’t be a major limiting factor if
you’re just now getting into online gaming.
Online capable games cost about the same as regular games for these
consoles — about $20–$50, and the price of the service depends upon the
game and console you’re using. Microsoft, for example, charges $50/year
for its gaming service, which covers all the games available.
The cost of getting into online gaming will be higher than just the price of the
kit or service. You also need to account for the cost of new, online-ready
games. Plus, none of the gaming services that we discuss here includes the
broadband Internet access that you need to make them work. You’ve got to
have a broadband Internet service, and then you need to buy the equipment
and get the online gaming service set up.
Living large with Xbox
In many ways, Microsoft’s Xbox is the most online-ready of the gaming consoles
that we discuss. Xbox is the only console to come with a built-in networking
port (an RJ-45, or Ethernet, jack). And Microsoft’s online gaming
service, Xbox Live (www.xboxlive.com) is (in our opinion) the furthest
along so far in terms of games available and number of participants.
Remember that all these services are quite new.
To get online with Xbox Live, you need to buy a $50 kit (available at www.
xbox.com/live), which is a combination of hardware and service. In other
words, you get the components that you need to get online as well as a year
of gaming service. As of this writing, 14 Xbox Live-enabled games are on the
market.
Microsoft doesn’t provide the broadband service for Xbox Live (none of the
gaming companies do) — just the gaming service itself. Thus, you need to
already have a cable or DSL modem set up in your home. What Microsoft
does do — and this is a bit different from what Sony and Nintendo do with
their online gaming — is host its own online service that you connect to
when you sign on to Xbox Live. You need to sign up for only one service to
play online games with your Xbox. Sony and Nintendo rely on game software
vendors to set up their own online gaming services, so you might need to
subscribe to one service for Game A and another for Game B.
Xbox Live includes a software disc to get things set up on your console as
well as a headset that plugs into one of the Xbox’s controller ports. This
headset enables a really cool feature of Xbox Live — voice chat during game
play. With this, you can add your own running commentary to the game while
you blow past your opponent on the racecourse or blow up her tank.
Because the Xbox comes out of the box with a built-in Ethernet port, the
Xbox Live kit doesn’t contain any other networking hardware. You just need
to connect your Xbox to the wireless network (using a wireless Ethernet
bridge as we discuss in the upcoming section “Console wireless networking
equipment”), insert the Xbox Live disc into your Xbox, and follow the onscreen
instructions. You’ll be prompted to enter a Gamertag — your online
“handle” or screen name — as well as your actual name, address info, credit
card number, and a subscription code (you’ll usually find this inside the disc
case that your Xbox Live disc came in). After you do all this, your account is
registered, and you’re ready to game.
Microsoft doesn’t let you change your Gamertag after the fact, so pick one
you like — you’re stuck with it.
Playing online with PlayStation 2 (PS2)
Although the Xbox, with its Xbox Live service, is probably the most advanced
online gaming console, it has one big disadvantage when compared with
Sony’s PS2 console — a lot less users. The PlayStation is the numero uno,
most popular gaming console these days, with tens and tens of millions of
users. This popularity led to a greater number of game software companies
creating a greater number and variety of games for the PS2 console.
As we discuss in the earlier section “Can your games get online?,” most existing
games will not work online. As we write this, 15 PS2 games allow online
gaming. So even though there are a lot more PS2 games than Xbox or
GameCube games on the market, you won’t find a lot more online-capable
PS2 games.
Because the PS2 does not come from the factory with an Ethernet port, you
need to spend 40 bucks for the Sony PlayStation 2 Network Adaptor to get
into online gaming. The adaptor plugs into a port on the back of the PS2 and
has an Ethernet port (like the port that’s already on the back of an Xbox) for
connecting to your wireless home network using a wireless Ethernet bridge.
The network adaptor also has a dialup modem built in, so even if you don’t
have broadband, you can still get into online gaming (unlike Xbox Live, which
is broadband only).
We think that you really need broadband to do online gaming right . . .
otherwise, the play is just too choppy and lagging. If you don’t have broadband,
we also recommend that you don’t bother connecting your PS2 to your
wireless LAN. Just plug the network adapter in the nearest phone jack. If you
don’t have a phone jack near your PS2, consider getting one of RCA’s wireless
phone jacks (search for this term on www.rca.com to find more information).
Although these aren’t wireless LAN equipment, they are a cheap way (about
$50) to put a phone jack where one isn’t.
You can find more information about PS2 online gaming at Sony’s site (www.
us.playstation.com/onlinegaming). As we mention in the previous section,
the big difference between PS2 and Xbox Live online gaming relates to
who provides the online gaming service itself. With the Xbox, you sign up for
your account with Microsoft, and you can then play any Xbox Live game
using that account. With the PS2, you need to sign up for accounts with the
individual game developers — so if you want to be the Duke Blue Devils in
Sega’s NCAA 2K3 Hoops game, you need to sign up for Sega’s online game
hosting service. Luckily, the game manufacturers are not currently charging
for this service, but you might end up having to remember account names
and passwords for multiple services when your game collection grows.
GameCube
Without a doubt, the Nintendo GameCube is the cutest of the three major
game console systems. Although it’s positively tiny compared with the PS2 —
and especially when compared with the huge Xbox — it’s still loaded with
powerful computer chips that give you some big gaming fun. And like the
other two consoles, the GameCube can be a part of your wireless LAN, with
just a few additions.
Like the PS2, the GameCube doesn’t have a built-in Ethernet port with which
you can connect the console directly to a wireless Ethernet bridge. So (like
the PS2), you need to buy an adapter — a Broadband Network Adapter, to be
precise, which costs about $39 — that plugs into the back of the GameCube
and contains an Ethernet port that you can use for hooking the console into
your wireless home network. You can find more details about this network
adapter — as well as lots of info about the GameCube itself — at Nintendo’s
Web site (www.gamecube.com).
As of this writing, you can play only one GameCube game online — Phantasy
Star Online — that requires an $8.95 per month subscription and works with
most online services (but not, unfortunately, with the biggest one — AOL).
We expect more GameCube online games to become available, but so far,
that’s it.
Like the PS2, the GameCube also has a dialup modem adapter for online
gaming. As we discuss in the “Playing online with PlayStation 2 (PS2)” section
of this chapter, we think that the best way to deal with dialup modem gaming
is to just plug this adapter into a nearby phone jack and not to try to connect
the console to your wireless LAN.