To the many people in Ireland, who either have not yet introduced an internet connection into their home, or pay for every minute spent on a connection that is slow and unreliable, and who still have no idea what the web can really offer – listen up. The speed of broadband and the slow but steady increase in its availability is revolutionising the day to day lives of consumers; no longer is broadband only about a faster internet connection and an always on, constant data and information source, it is about access to all the rewards of modern technology, digital radio, internet television, web logging, VoIP and instant messaging. Bur with all the above finding their place into the hearts and homes of broadband connectors one thing in particular is proving to be the hottest broadband application, made possible and continually enhanced by increased bandwidth and interconnectivity. That application is online gaming, where quite literally the need for speed can be a matter of life and death.
Online PC and console gaming is today one of the fastest growing forms of entertainment, its popularity lying in the fact it is social, gamers can play online anonymously if they wish against players all over the world, anywhere a broadband connection allows.
Introducing an Xbox gamer
Talk to someone who spends a lot of time logged-in to one or more of Ireland’s gaming communities and the aspects that make this kind of techno-entertainment so attractive come to life.
Gamer tag: Copernicus 1. Where you’ll find him; WorldGamerlive.com.
“Since the creation of the X-Box and now the X-Box 360, console gaming has been added to the online game play through the Xbox Live service. The Live-enabled machines allow the gamer to extend beyond their homes and ‘Jump – In’ to a larger gaming world with each console or PC connected together via a high speed broad band network.”
Copernicus 1 says the X-Box consoles have the added advantage of voice-enabled games, which allow the gamers via the Internet to talk to each other during game play, in-game lobbies and even while gamers are at home watching a movie on their Xbox 360, again, enriching the gaming experience.
He says PC gaming has been live for quite some time in Ireland and there is a hardcore dedicated gaming group with their bespoke souped up machines who compete online in all types of tournaments.
The great thing about gaming online he says is that almost everyone has a PC and this pulls in a large pool of gamers. The down size is compatibility, system speeds and independent servers that you have to connect through to get live. He says on the less desirable servers, “modders” are able to manipulate the software for a competitive advantage and go unregulated but connecting via an Xbox eliminates this problem.
“Microsoft has created a fantastic live Experience through X-Box Live, a unique set of Microsoft servers that 95% of X-Box and X-Box 360 gamers connect through, removing the majority of the “Modders” and providing a really exciting gaming experience.”
Sony steps up the plate
Playstation 2 consoles and the PSP have an internet option to connect gamers anywhere, with PSP having a wireless option that allows the gamer interactive game play on the move. Nintendo plan to bring the Wii out towards the end of this year and like the X-Box and Playstation this will have online game play capabilities.
Accelerate to get ahead
Technology every year fosters newer, more exciting applications as the gaming evolution rolls on at supersonic speed, and to enter this gaming reality at entry level, and to connect with the millions of potential game participants globally also looking for techno entertainment, gamers need a good fast internet connection to have any chance of staying alive long enough for street cred.
Our gamer, Copernicus 1, at the leading edge of gaming on Irish shores, recommends a connection speed of a minimum of 512Kbit/sec to 1Mbit/sec upload to have a fighting chance of getting going. Many gamers in Asia and beyond play on connections averaging 8x this speed and when playing something like a first person combat game, a faster connection enables a smoother streaming game with all graphics updated in real time.
Contentious issues
The Contention Ratio of a connection needs to be as low as possible – typically 24-48. The higher the contention ratio, the lower the probability there is that your going to have a strong connection all of the time and signal strength is key also, our gamer says.
“It needs to be strong and consistent. Some wireless applications when checked have an alternating signal strength, which is ok for the non gamer using broadband but the gamers without the consistent signal tend to lose out.”
Come on down to the download ball
He says another issue is the download speeds, which are at this stage smaller in Ireland than is available elsewhere and he looks forward to the pipe widening here to match those in the UK and Europe.
His final word of advice is to sign up with a broadband supplier that has a 24hour help desk/tech support facility. When you’re gaming and things go wrong you don’t want to miss the action, he says
Irish gamers online and in action
The online gaming community in Ireland is growing fast. Broadband availability is facilitating its burgeoning popularity. We have come far in a short time and this is demonstrated big time by the fact that the first ever Irish leg of the World Cyber Games, was held at the Digital Hub, Dublin on September 23rd and 24th.
The Cyber Games Festival is aimed at building a healthy cyber culture with the Grand Finals of the comp being held in five countries across the world.
The Irish event was BYOC – bring your own computer and a flock of Irish PC and console gamers did not need a second invitation. The gamers warmed up and prepared for the competition on their own computers in a free LAN area, before going hard at it in PC games like FIFA Soccer 06 and Warcraft III, and Xbox’s Dead or Alive 4. The 24 hour free heat was to sort the good from the great with the winners now set for the next level of play in Monza, Italy.
Ever increasing in popularity Irish gamer community sites such as www.celticsniperclan.com and www.wildrovers.net offer forums, chats, games and tournaments. Wildrovers.net is welcoming new members at present to join in Xbox and Xbox 360 games like Halo2, Forza Motorsport, Project Gotham 3. Perfect Dark Zero and more so all interested gamers should check out the site.
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