Xbox Live? Moar liek Xbox Jive.
(Before reading ahead I would like to inform you, the reader, that I am EXTREMELY biased. Some of my information may be false and I welcome anyone to correct me.)
Online gaming pretty much encompasses all multiplayer gaming I do these days. If it isn’t Unreal then it’s Team Fortress 2 or Left 4 Dead. All of this multiplayer action only takes place on my computer because console online gaming really isn’t my thing. If I’m playing a game where I’m required to out-skill another player you know for damn sure I’ll be using my keyboard and mouse. Even then, that’s not my biggest beef with console online gaming. No, the part that takes the cake is paying money to play a game online. I’m looking at you, Xbox Live.
Yes, the service that almost every console gamer blows their load over. A gold subscription will cost you $50 bucks for the whole year (less if you find a card on sale) and will allow you to play games online and access content when it becomes available. A silver subscription is free, and thus is absolute shit. With a silver account one cannot play games online and typically has to wait two weeks before having access to any downloadable content, even if said content is free. Want to download that new free Guitar Hero track? Sorry, wait two weeks. Essentially, you have to pay money to get free content and to have the ability to pay for content before people. Awesome, yes?
So since the player has to pay a subscription free to play the game they just bought with their friends, you’d at least think Microsoft could put out for some dedicated servers, right? Nope. AS FAR AS I KNOW (read: to the best of my knowledge), a player creates a lobby; other players join lobby; server is run off of lobby creator’s system. Are you kidding me? I can’t speak for anyone else, but in my experience doing this with any PC game results in HORRIBLE gameplay. Horrible memories of trying to play Counter Strike with my middle school buddies dance in my head…
So how is Microsoft able to wrangle these console fools into paying for their horrible service? These people don’t know any better. They hold on to their controllers and talk into 25 cent microphones thinking this is the greatest invention since powdered milk. The even worse thing about it is these Xbox fanboys will defend Xbox Live to the death. Mention PC gaming near a fanboy and you’ll hear comments like, “YAH WELL A GUD PC COST LIKE $5,000 AND I CANT SODDER.” These children are sadly mistaken as a decent gaming computer can be built for under $600. Say that and they usually retort with some grumbling and about how that still costs more than an Xbox. Ok, I’ll give you that. You get what you pay for, though. Most of the games I’ve played on my 360 recently have absurd frame rate issues, many times to the point of being unplayable. Grand Theft Auto IV comes to mind.
With all this complaining, I must know of some service that greatly surpasses what Xbox Live offers, right? A combination of things absolutely demolish Xbox Live in every way possible:
The first ingredient in my awesome soup starts off with Steam. Universally despised when originally released, Steam has grown to be a huge staple of PC gaming. Many people these days refuse to buy games from anything other than Steam because of its ability to automatically update games without any input from the user. Steam has an extremely large library of games it offers, even including many retro games from the likes of iD Software and LucasArts. It also gives a user a single name across multiple games, something Xbox Live touted as an amazing feature. Players can access the Steam Overlay mid-game, allowing them to communicate through text or voice with friends online, even if they’re in completely different games. Like srsly, Steam has become an amazing giant in the gaming community. I’m sorry, I’ll get off of Valve’s dick.
After Steam, throw in a little VoIP service (your choice of either Ventrilo or Teamspeak). A dedicated server for either one of these programs can cost as little as $5 a month and every penny is worth it. These programs allow multiple people to connect to a server and talk as if you’re all in the same room, and being in a game isn’t a requirement.
Lastly, toss in a dedicated game server to complete this recipe. While these can get a bit pricey, it is completely worth it if you enjoy gaming online. I’ve played on horrible servers and the experience is not an enjoyable one.
I’ll admit, the PC route is definitely more complicated and will cost a player more money, but the experience is a far better one. You get what you pay for in the gaming world. The console kiddies can enjoy their games blissfully ignorant; I’ll be gaming on smooth servers and talking to my friends, not 13 year-old children.
At least Sony made the PSN free.
You should edit the fact that Xbox Live does have a VoIP like system and you can create chatrooms and talk to your friends who are not in the same game or not even in a game. It’s nice actually I talk to my friend from Tampa while I play Forza and he plays Halo. I think that feature is free too (as in you don’t need to buy the Gold subscriprion), but I’m not sure about that. Also, Xbox Live has a system of buying games straight from the OS much like Steam, granted they aren’t full length games that you would go buy in the store, but some of them are actually spectacular and later grew to be made into full length games, such as Geometry Wars and I’m sure the critically aclaimed Castle Crashers will end up as a store bought game.
Don’t forget also that not all people have to means to buy and build the extremely expensive parts that go into a gaming computer, let alone the know how. To some people $50 a year and $250 for a core system is a pretty simple and welcomed price for a pretty good online experience.
The point I’m trying to make is that, yes maybe computer games are superior, but the sad thing is that they just aren’t as accessible as a plug and play console. Also, Console games have essentially been the main source of games for people since the NES. Yes, there have always been hardcore computer gamers, but even though play console games and have since they were kids, because you just couldn’t play Mario or Zelda on your computer.
My last note would be that Sony made PSN free because it is horrible and shoddy. I may be biased against the PS3, but seriously, I’ve never had a worse online experience as PSN… and my family used to have AOL.
I did not know you could create a chatroom within Live. That’s pretty interesting. My big beef with VoIP on Live is the horrible excuse of a microphone they expect you to use. I’d prefer to use my USB headset and set up Ventrilo to go solely through my headset. That way my game sounds are left untouched going through my speakers. Better quality does come at a price though.
I understand not everybody has a grand to purchase a relatively top-of-the-line PC. That excuse is starting to fade away with how cheap technology is getting. Like I said, someone could easily build a budget-gaming PC on the cheap. Being ignorant to building a PC should never be an excuse with how simple it is.
I understand PC gaming is less accessible, but I kind of like that part of it. It keeps out the idiots that just want to scream on a microphone because they think it’s cool.
I’m not bashing console gaming – I still enjoy a good video game on my 360. But when it comes to online gaming, I’ll pick my PC over a console any day of the week.
The PSN mention was a bit more of a joke. I’ve never experienced it, I just enjoy poking fun at the 360 fanboys.
I have heard that PSN is getting progressively better though.
Cool story bro.
I pretty much agree with everything you responded with and that the problem of building a computer is non-existent, anybody could read a website on how to do it. The real problem is that a lot of people just don’t understand how to buy the right parts and stuff. It’s sad yes, but even when I was building my first rig, I was pretty overwhelmed to be honest. I didn’t know what any of the specs meant on the PSU, there are so many different types of RAM now its easy to fuck that up if you are inexperienced and picking things that are compatible with a specific motherboard can be a bitch even for some of the more experienced buildings. But seriously, everybody needs to learn all of that shit considering technology and computers pretty much runs our life, but a lot of people I guess just accept that it works and when it doesn’t they can always call people lol. It’s a pretty lazy and stupid society we live in.
I’ve had my PS3 for a little over a year now and I have to say, PSN is probably the worst online experience I have ever had and though I haven’t had my PS3 for as long as a lot of people, I haven’t really seen any signs of improvement or even change. I’m sure it’s it much better than when it came out though.
Well, I’m pretty much done defending Live and technology ignorant people now… see you Steam lol.
Those counter-strike games in middle school were the best! xD.
Until we are unable to obtain any and all PC games for free developers will pay much less attention to that market.