Wii Wii Wii all the way home
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
On September 15th Nintendo announced the European launch date and price, a short while after the American and Japanese launch information was unveiled. And so, come December 8th the Great British Wii launch occurred amongst quivers of reduced stocks and pre-orders not being satisfied. The biggest problems seemed to occur at Play.com where their 10,000 orders were met with a paltry 700 units. Many people, friends included, are now not receiving theirs until after Christmas. I also ordered from Play but I was lucky enough to place my order within an hour of the price announcement aforementioned and Play.com putting up the product for pre-order. Indeed, my Wii arrived by post on launch day, although I could not pick it up until Saturday. This also coincided with a Chinese exam and the last day of term, suffice to say my brain didn't know what to do - torn between the trials of revision and nerves and tribulations of a child's Christmas eve syndrome. I have now had the Wii for four days and feel I am versed enough to give out my overall impressions thus far.
First impressions: this thing is tiny. Even the Wii-mote and nunchuck are deceptively small. They also feel surprisingly sturdy and there is a definite air of quality about their production. Holding the device is comfortable and enjoyable, pointing is incredibly easy and as precise as I had expected, even after reading some reports that this was not the case. The inner speaker is also excellent, despite quarrels about its quality, I just love hearing the sound of hitting a tennis ball or the thwack as I hit the ball out of the park. Turning on, the Wii-mote was sync'd correctly and it worked right out of the box, as did the automatic CD feed. The blue light only comes on when inputting a disc or turning the Wii on; I'm not sure if this is meant to be the case, I'm not bothered.
I could be a hand model
I could be a hand model
Connecting the Wii online proved a significant hassle. No Ethernet port lead me to the setup of my old wireless router which I am not currently using in my halls of residence. This itself came with hassles which I wont go into, but suffice to say it took more than an hour to get this PC back up and running. In attempts thereafter to connect the Wii it connected smoothly and downloaded the Wii updates. However when it came to downloading the license agreement for the Shop channel, etc. I received the Wii error code: 220602, associated with DNS propagation issues. Reading discussions online suggested a couple of solutions, my Wii is already next to the router, on channel 11 and had of course been previously connected. Firstly I tried removing encryption from my connection, this did not resolve the problem. Eventually the problem was fixed by some quirky DNS switching solution: opening the manual configuration of DNS addresses for my net connection I swapped the first DNS around with my second (find these out via run CMD > ipconfig/all). This worked and once again I was a happy bunny.
With my order I of course received Wii Sports and I also purchased Zelda: Twilight Princess. To be honest, I haven't played Zelda too much - I have picked up the dog, and fired the eagle at the monkey before catching two fish for the cat to steal but I am still relatively young to the game. My 7 hours clocked up thus far (total play time is shown on the Wii message board along side daily achievements which are interesting to look back on) have mainly been spent playing Wii Sports. I took first to the Tennis, Golf and Bowling which became instant favourites, now I have practiced a little more with Boxing and Baseball I am also enjoying these. My tennis rating is currently sitting pretty at 940, sub-pro whilst my top bowling score is 181. My Fitness age is 28 and I have yet to get that secret 91 pin instant strike.
My expectations for the product were exceptionally high due to hype and all the videos on YouTube, etc. I was positive nothing could live up to them, yet having played for more than 7 hours it most definitely has. Now all I need is a second controller, some Wii shop credit and another multiplayer game or two; it's going to be hard waiting for Mario, Metroid, Trauma Centre and Smash Brothers. Oh how it all costs money and we British are screwed by our 17.5% VAT.
To end this, here's a picture of Sonic enjoying this new toy:
With my order I of course received Wii Sports and I also purchased Zelda: Twilight Princess. To be honest, I haven't played Zelda too much - I have picked up the dog, and fired the eagle at the monkey before catching two fish for the cat to steal but I am still relatively young to the game. My 7 hours clocked up thus far (total play time is shown on the Wii message board along side daily achievements which are interesting to look back on) have mainly been spent playing Wii Sports. I took first to the Tennis, Golf and Bowling which became instant favourites, now I have practiced a little more with Boxing and Baseball I am also enjoying these. My tennis rating is currently sitting pretty at 940, sub-pro whilst my top bowling score is 181. My Fitness age is 28 and I have yet to get that secret 91 pin instant strike.
My expectations for the product were exceptionally high due to hype and all the videos on YouTube, etc. I was positive nothing could live up to them, yet having played for more than 7 hours it most definitely has. Now all I need is a second controller, some Wii shop credit and another multiplayer game or two; it's going to be hard waiting for Mario, Metroid, Trauma Centre and Smash Brothers. Oh how it all costs money and we British are screwed by our 17.5% VAT.
To end this, here's a picture of Sonic enjoying this new toy:
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One month to Wii
Thursday, November 09, 2006
The wait has only just begun, yesterday I had confirmation that the pre-order I made on August 18th (approximately two hours after the announcement of the Wii UK price) would be available at launch, despite "European shortages". My friend who I had hope to play multiplayer with sadly got the opposite letter stating the retailer could not guarantee the console would arrive on time. I also put in an order for Zelda (of course) and I'll likely get a third game before Christmas. Come next week I will be most jealous with the flood of American reviews here there and everywhere whilst I wait another 20 days or so. "It's like Christmas times a thousand".
Labels: Gaming
Video Game Sequels - Let's Remove Features
Saturday, November 04, 2006
This is just a little rant; I and my house/hall-mate enjoy a good multiplayer game-fest, usually on Friday evenings. We've played through Halo, Halo 2, Serious Sam and Time Splitters on co-op modes and have taken turns on Burnout 3 world tour until we have completed all but a few burning laps (which are boring). Having enjoyed these we decided to pick up Burnout Revenge and Serious Sam II from the local Game station (that's the name of the retailer).
We often commented about the replay modes in Burnout 3 and how fun it was to watch spectacular crashes over and over again and we countlessly wished for the opportunity to save these replays. Come Burnout Revenge, a new take on the old series and a version that is just as fun, exhilarating and enjoyable to play - traffic checking and trick-shotting in particular. First thing we decided to do was open up ye-old crash junction and see if they had added the feature we so dearly wanted. No, they hadn't (see:xbox version) - in fact instead of adding save-able replays they removed the replay function altogether much to our continual and utter dismay (EDIT:In reference to the original xbox version).
We were faced with another disappointment when we loaded up Serious Sam II (which states on the back: 2-6 players) - both multiplayer death match and more importantly two player co-op modes had been removed and all multiplayer had been shifted to xbox live and system link. The game was promptly put back on the shelf and has not been touched since. We do have two Xboxes and system link cables but its rare we ever have multiple copies of one game - and why should we buy a second copy when the first has already disappointed us so?
Now all I ask of Halo 3 is up to 8 player team co-op modes on xbox live, system link and locally (for at least 2 players) and the ability to save replays for everything. I still have faith in you Bungie, even after that appalling end to the one player story mode in Halo 2. Having a group of friends storm a flood riddled covenant guarded base on multiple warthogs and ghosts á la death match would be a video-game dream come true.
We often commented about the replay modes in Burnout 3 and how fun it was to watch spectacular crashes over and over again and we countlessly wished for the opportunity to save these replays. Come Burnout Revenge, a new take on the old series and a version that is just as fun, exhilarating and enjoyable to play - traffic checking and trick-shotting in particular. First thing we decided to do was open up ye-old crash junction and see if they had added the feature we so dearly wanted. No, they hadn't (see:xbox version) - in fact instead of adding save-able replays they removed the replay function altogether much to our continual and utter dismay (EDIT:In reference to the original xbox version).
We were faced with another disappointment when we loaded up Serious Sam II (which states on the back: 2-6 players) - both multiplayer death match and more importantly two player co-op modes had been removed and all multiplayer had been shifted to xbox live and system link. The game was promptly put back on the shelf and has not been touched since. We do have two Xboxes and system link cables but its rare we ever have multiple copies of one game - and why should we buy a second copy when the first has already disappointed us so?
Now all I ask of Halo 3 is up to 8 player team co-op modes on xbox live, system link and locally (for at least 2 players) and the ability to save replays for everything. I still have faith in you Bungie, even after that appalling end to the one player story mode in Halo 2. Having a group of friends storm a flood riddled covenant guarded base on multiple warthogs and ghosts á la death match would be a video-game dream come true.
Veronica Mars, a PSP, a Pirate and some Robots
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Wow it's a hot July day here in Bristol, England. Chances are today will be the hottest July day we have seen for thirty years or so. I have just completed my previously postponed phone interview (which went well) and cut the garden's grass. It's now time to chill out at the PC with a cold beer; time to write something for this blog!
Let's see, I have a few topics to discuss. Firstly my Veronica Mars Season 1 DVD box set arrived in the post, hoorah. I decided to import it from America rather than wait for a toned down featureless region 2 release ("America, America…" – Styx are singing, as if it's some sort of holy land). Well it arrived today, via Germany. My dilemma came in the fact that the DVDs are region 1, NTSC; generally incompatible with all region 2 DVD players, such is my understanding. Well I decided to test them out, planning to rip some region free backups to use with my PC. Upon PC insertion the DVD loaded and played, no region blocking problems. That's odd, so I tried it on the region 2 PAL but NTSC compatible DVD player downstairs, this also worked beautifully. The final and most important test, does it play on the overly secure *will not play copied DVDs* Playstation 2. And yes it did, admittedly it failed on picture quality because it is not NTSC compatible but overall my experiments were a success. So is this Veronica Mars box set meant to be region free? Did they kindly realize that a LOT of Europeans will be importing this after downloading it on the internet? Is it a perfect looking pirate copy? I think and hope not. Such revelations make me a happier boy.
Lot number 2 is a Sony Playstation Portable (PSP). Joystiq is running an article on the PSP and how the DS is seriously killing it. It seems there are no solid PSP titles I really want, potentials yes, but nothing solid. And I hate playing the ones I do have, mainly because I get so impatient waiting for them to load (e.g. GTA, Burnout). The one game I do play and often is Pro Evolution Soccer 2005. The PSP has the potential to be brilliant but Sony has stifled it. These days I only use my PSP for watching movies and TV episodes on the train. Long ago are the days I dreamt of owning a PSP so I could play GTA on the move anywhere anytime, play Sonic 2 emulated on the bus, listen to radio streams using the WiFi on campus et al. Yes I can do all of these things but it takes so long to start them up it's just not worth it, most of the time I can't be bothered. A quick 5 minute game turns into 2 minutes of waiting and then it's pointless. I'd rather read my book or listen to my iPod.
Some complaints of mine:
1. VERY few games support online play! What's the point in Bomberman PSP if it won't play online? I only know one other person with a PSP so the chances of me playing its brilliantly sublime multiplayer are slim.
2. Where are the simple fun games? I want to play Crash Bandicoot on the move (not a shit racer), I want a new 2D sonic game (not a shit 3D racing one), where are the original titles? What's with all the shit racing games?
3. Why does the screen stay on when playing Music!? (Seriously that's just dumb... and they make the album art tiny also). Why can't I play my music during my games? Custom soundtracks are not a new thing - the games that do support them don't even allow mp3s... you have to rip them from your owned CDs. The headphones that Sony provide you with are also shit.
4. Open up some sort of development APIs so that we can use the PSP with the applications we want! Why all this Gestapo crap when it comes to firmware security? What's the big deal? Tighten UMD security and open up the firmware a little for us. Provide some sort of official line which developers can take to provide their own legit PSP applications, for free.
5. The screen is so reflective and shiny I can never see anything on it, even on the highest brightness setting. Only when in the dark does playing become comfortable. When speeding along in a train on a sunny day all I can see is the reflection of my green T-shirt.
Maybe downloadable PS1 games will be its redeemer, yet I am sure they will be coupled with crazy load times. I'd give anything for a cheap opportunity to play FFVII on the move… but I'm sure I will be let down once more. Maybe I should purchase a DS Lite. My main gripe with the DS was its ugliness, size, inability to play videos and the touch screen stylus; thusly I bought a PSP. However the Lite has addressed many of these issues and now I find myself envying those that have the new Mario, Mario Kart, Sonic DS and all the other great and fun portable games which do not suffer appalling load times. PSP = Potential, that is all. Rant Over.
Lot number 3 concerns Hollywood action movies. ("Woo" – Devin Townsend's Idom roars). Two fantastical disappointments I have watched in the past few days. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the ill fated poorly thought out over the top sequel" and "I, Robot". Admittedly it is impossible for Depp and co. to live up to the phenomenal amount of hype surrounding this inevitable blockbuster but this sequel just doesn't cut it as a good movie, yet alone a great one. The plot is messy; the scenes attempt to court a slapstick aura with witty dialogue in a fantastical action packed supernatural pirate world, a la the original. But it fails, at least in my opinion. The stories are uninteresting; Jack Sparrow is criminally underused; there is no sense of voyage – we can go from a to b just like this which in essence defies the point (it's very much all over the place); the great musician yet underappreciated genius of anthem producer extraordinaire Klaus Badelt has been sacrificed for the big name orchestral star Hans Zimmer. Admittedly Hans is great in most of his films but he really didn't suit the Pirates subject, he pillaged the original theme and overly orchestrated the entire movie to generate some sort of pseudo-epic. I doubt the third film will be a threat to the original either, though of course, it will make millions.
Alex Proyas' "I,Robot" is a tiny little gold nugget surrounded by multiple layers of crap. The gold nugget lies in the miniature philosophical elements that make up the film, clearly lifted from the novel, these tidbits are brilliant though of course should not be accredited to the filmmakers. Two films run side by side in I, Robot. The well thought out, philosophical and interesting world of Asimov and the poorly conceived, dreary computer graphics fest that is Proyas' vision. It's almost as if the film alternated between scenes from a butchered Asimov script and scenes from an unbelievable Proyas action plot; at times you can almost see the physical divide between the two conflicting thought processes. Like oil and water; oil is power and action, water is refreshing and invigorating, upon mixing you yield an unmixable mess that is no use to anyone. The only redeeming feature for I, Robot is Will Smith who somehow makes the film a watch-able and enjoyable experience. He makes Proyas' mess look good, I loved him, he was great – without Smith this would just be one giant waste of time.
Now all I have to watch is Superman Returns!
Over and out.
Let's see, I have a few topics to discuss. Firstly my Veronica Mars Season 1 DVD box set arrived in the post, hoorah. I decided to import it from America rather than wait for a toned down featureless region 2 release ("America, America…" – Styx are singing, as if it's some sort of holy land). Well it arrived today, via Germany. My dilemma came in the fact that the DVDs are region 1, NTSC; generally incompatible with all region 2 DVD players, such is my understanding. Well I decided to test them out, planning to rip some region free backups to use with my PC. Upon PC insertion the DVD loaded and played, no region blocking problems. That's odd, so I tried it on the region 2 PAL but NTSC compatible DVD player downstairs, this also worked beautifully. The final and most important test, does it play on the overly secure *will not play copied DVDs* Playstation 2. And yes it did, admittedly it failed on picture quality because it is not NTSC compatible but overall my experiments were a success. So is this Veronica Mars box set meant to be region free? Did they kindly realize that a LOT of Europeans will be importing this after downloading it on the internet? Is it a perfect looking pirate copy? I think and hope not. Such revelations make me a happier boy.
Lot number 2 is a Sony Playstation Portable (PSP). Joystiq is running an article on the PSP and how the DS is seriously killing it. It seems there are no solid PSP titles I really want, potentials yes, but nothing solid. And I hate playing the ones I do have, mainly because I get so impatient waiting for them to load (e.g. GTA, Burnout). The one game I do play and often is Pro Evolution Soccer 2005. The PSP has the potential to be brilliant but Sony has stifled it. These days I only use my PSP for watching movies and TV episodes on the train. Long ago are the days I dreamt of owning a PSP so I could play GTA on the move anywhere anytime, play Sonic 2 emulated on the bus, listen to radio streams using the WiFi on campus et al. Yes I can do all of these things but it takes so long to start them up it's just not worth it, most of the time I can't be bothered. A quick 5 minute game turns into 2 minutes of waiting and then it's pointless. I'd rather read my book or listen to my iPod.
Some complaints of mine:
1. VERY few games support online play! What's the point in Bomberman PSP if it won't play online? I only know one other person with a PSP so the chances of me playing its brilliantly sublime multiplayer are slim.
2. Where are the simple fun games? I want to play Crash Bandicoot on the move (not a shit racer), I want a new 2D sonic game (not a shit 3D racing one), where are the original titles? What's with all the shit racing games?
3. Why does the screen stay on when playing Music!? (Seriously that's just dumb... and they make the album art tiny also). Why can't I play my music during my games? Custom soundtracks are not a new thing - the games that do support them don't even allow mp3s... you have to rip them from your owned CDs. The headphones that Sony provide you with are also shit.
4. Open up some sort of development APIs so that we can use the PSP with the applications we want! Why all this Gestapo crap when it comes to firmware security? What's the big deal? Tighten UMD security and open up the firmware a little for us. Provide some sort of official line which developers can take to provide their own legit PSP applications, for free.
5. The screen is so reflective and shiny I can never see anything on it, even on the highest brightness setting. Only when in the dark does playing become comfortable. When speeding along in a train on a sunny day all I can see is the reflection of my green T-shirt.
Maybe downloadable PS1 games will be its redeemer, yet I am sure they will be coupled with crazy load times. I'd give anything for a cheap opportunity to play FFVII on the move… but I'm sure I will be let down once more. Maybe I should purchase a DS Lite. My main gripe with the DS was its ugliness, size, inability to play videos and the touch screen stylus; thusly I bought a PSP. However the Lite has addressed many of these issues and now I find myself envying those that have the new Mario, Mario Kart, Sonic DS and all the other great and fun portable games which do not suffer appalling load times. PSP = Potential, that is all. Rant Over.
Lot number 3 concerns Hollywood action movies. ("Woo" – Devin Townsend's Idom roars). Two fantastical disappointments I have watched in the past few days. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the ill fated poorly thought out over the top sequel" and "I, Robot". Admittedly it is impossible for Depp and co. to live up to the phenomenal amount of hype surrounding this inevitable blockbuster but this sequel just doesn't cut it as a good movie, yet alone a great one. The plot is messy; the scenes attempt to court a slapstick aura with witty dialogue in a fantastical action packed supernatural pirate world, a la the original. But it fails, at least in my opinion. The stories are uninteresting; Jack Sparrow is criminally underused; there is no sense of voyage – we can go from a to b just like this which in essence defies the point (it's very much all over the place); the great musician yet underappreciated genius of anthem producer extraordinaire Klaus Badelt has been sacrificed for the big name orchestral star Hans Zimmer. Admittedly Hans is great in most of his films but he really didn't suit the Pirates subject, he pillaged the original theme and overly orchestrated the entire movie to generate some sort of pseudo-epic. I doubt the third film will be a threat to the original either, though of course, it will make millions.
Alex Proyas' "I,Robot" is a tiny little gold nugget surrounded by multiple layers of crap. The gold nugget lies in the miniature philosophical elements that make up the film, clearly lifted from the novel, these tidbits are brilliant though of course should not be accredited to the filmmakers. Two films run side by side in I, Robot. The well thought out, philosophical and interesting world of Asimov and the poorly conceived, dreary computer graphics fest that is Proyas' vision. It's almost as if the film alternated between scenes from a butchered Asimov script and scenes from an unbelievable Proyas action plot; at times you can almost see the physical divide between the two conflicting thought processes. Like oil and water; oil is power and action, water is refreshing and invigorating, upon mixing you yield an unmixable mess that is no use to anyone. The only redeeming feature for I, Robot is Will Smith who somehow makes the film a watch-able and enjoyable experience. He makes Proyas' mess look good, I loved him, he was great – without Smith this would just be one giant waste of time.
Now all I have to watch is Superman Returns!
Over and out.
New Website: Halo Movie
Monday, December 05, 2005
I have released a fantastic new website for your delectations, a site dedicated to the live action adaptation of the Halo franchise.
halomovie.trivialbeing.net
halomovie.trivialbeing.net
The irony of banning GTA due to sex
Monday, July 25, 2005
Inside Firefox:
"Gamestop has decided to stop stocking Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Probably because parents might buy this game for their kids, and it has (shock) sex in it now accessible via a difficult to apply mod (on the PS2 at least). I guess using a prostitute, killing her and taking the money back, massacring pedestrians and stealing things is fine family fun, but consensual sex isn't? For shame, Gamestop. You try and act like you're above this, but instead you show how unenlightened you actually are."
I just read this at InsideFirefox linked to above. I agree completely and think this "hot coffee" mod thing is going a little too far. Although I'm sure the british 18 certificate adequately covers this.
"Gamestop has decided to stop stocking Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Probably because parents might buy this game for their kids, and it has (shock) sex in it now accessible via a difficult to apply mod (on the PS2 at least). I guess using a prostitute, killing her and taking the money back, massacring pedestrians and stealing things is fine family fun, but consensual sex isn't? For shame, Gamestop. You try and act like you're above this, but instead you show how unenlightened you actually are."
I just read this at InsideFirefox linked to above. I agree completely and think this "hot coffee" mod thing is going a little too far. Although I'm sure the british 18 certificate adequately covers this.
Labels: Gaming
E3 and the new consoles
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Well, it's E3 this week, and like many other gamers I have been keeping up to date with the buzz of the industry. I'm not going to post facts about new consoles or anything, I mean, who wants to come here for a news source!? Suffice to say, I will post my opinions on the upcoming entertainment mammoths.
Xbox 360 was the first of the three consoles to be revealed, albeit on the shitty MTV extravaganza. The 30min advert packed show provided us with a brief glimpse of the console shell, 10 seconds of game play footage and some happy hobbits talking to professional no life gamers and the invaluable opinions of the all knowing pimp my ride team. Fantastic, luckily I downloaded this monstrosity and could skip all the shit, such as the Killers performance. Of interest was Perfect Dark Zero. Of what I could glimpse I was excited, things looked nice and really I was just happy to see that the game physically existed. Upon reflection, the graphics weren't amazing and at no point did I feel myself saying 'wow'. Moving on to the OurColony.net video, "a flipped and goosed" version of the MTV show that gave a little more information; I began being excited about the prospects of the new live features, the video interactions, the new controllers, the wireless features, the three core processing power and the USB device outlook. However, being a gamer, the principle error in the unveiling of the Xbox 360 system coverage was the distinct lack of GAMES. Nowhere to be seen were game trailers, game footage, game announcements, game development. Aside from the EA developments (tweaks) and PDZ, I've seen nothing. If I am buying a game console, the most important thing to show me are the games, who cares about Xbox live if the only game to support it will be Microsoft Solitaire 3D. So, while in the few days running up to E3 I was excited... the thunder has since been stolen, by Sony.
Playstation 3, welcome chang3. I was awake in the early hours of the British morning to listen to the Sony conference and the unveiling of their new system. I watched the two hour convention with awe. I'm not a particular Playstation fan boy, yes I own a ps2 but my favourite console of the current generation is easily the Xbox. I wasn't too stoked about the ps3, I had subconsciously ignored the hype associated with it. In watching the conference I had no real expectations, I'd heard of the cell processor but nothing of its capabilities. When the 2 teraflop performance power of the cell, the graphics processing of the nvidia RSX, the high bandwidth ram and bus, the 7 wireless controller capability, the 1080p support and the backwards compatibility were announced there was a gleaming grin across my face. Then I saw Vision Gran Turismo, Motorcross and Killzone trailers, I saw the real time Unreal Tournament processing power and I was astounded. This is a console I so dearly want. I have absolutely no care for the Xbox 360, despite their release of the sequel to my favourite game, Perfect Dark. I honestly can't wait to get my hands on the raw power of this machine, whatever the price. And I may just have to get a PSP to complement it.
Nintendo
Revolution. Not much on this yet but I'm hearing
some significant buzz concerning "touch" patents, a revolutionary controller
and backwards compatibility. I have faith in the innovation that is Nintendo
and I look forward to their future announcements (Mario 128? Please).
Poor Sonic
Sunday, March 13, 2005
ARTICLE - Halo 2 heralds traffic explosion
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
BBC NEWS | Technology | Halo 2 heralds traffic explosion: Halo 2 heralds traffic explosion
The growing popularity of online gaming could spell problems for net service firms, warns network monitoring company Sandvine. It issued the warning following analysis which shows that Traffic on the Xbox game network increased fourfold on the launch day of Halo 2. The 9 November traffic explosion has continued into December, said Sandvine. Service providers now need to make sure that their networks can cope with the increasing demands for bandwidth. As well as being a popular single-player title, Halo 2 can be connected to Microsoft's subscription-based broadband network, Xbox Live.
Bandwidth hungry
But the surge in numbers and huge demands for bandwidth should be a wake-up call to the industry which must ensure that their networks can cope with the increases in traffic, said Sandvine's chief technology officer Marc Morin.
Broadband
In a bid to cope and ease congestion, providers are increasingly making their networks intelligent, finding out who is using bandwidth and for what. It could become common to charge people for the amount of bandwidth they use. 'The explosion in Xbox Live traffic attributed to Halo 2 should be seen as a clarion call,' he said. 'ISPs need to enhance the broadband experience for these high-end users by prioritising or reserving bandwidth for games,' he added. Online gamers are bandwidth hungry One of the main factors that spoils online gaming is 'lag' in which there is a noticeable delay between a gamer clicking on a mouse or keyboard and what happens in the online gaming world. Gamers tend to migrate toward networks with the lowest 'lag'. Analysing traffic will become increasingly important for service providers if they "
The growing popularity of online gaming could spell problems for net service firms, warns network monitoring company Sandvine. It issued the warning following analysis which shows that Traffic on the Xbox game network increased fourfold on the launch day of Halo 2. The 9 November traffic explosion has continued into December, said Sandvine. Service providers now need to make sure that their networks can cope with the increasing demands for bandwidth. As well as being a popular single-player title, Halo 2 can be connected to Microsoft's subscription-based broadband network, Xbox Live.
Bandwidth hungry
But the surge in numbers and huge demands for bandwidth should be a wake-up call to the industry which must ensure that their networks can cope with the increases in traffic, said Sandvine's chief technology officer Marc Morin.
Broadband
In a bid to cope and ease congestion, providers are increasingly making their networks intelligent, finding out who is using bandwidth and for what. It could become common to charge people for the amount of bandwidth they use. 'The explosion in Xbox Live traffic attributed to Halo 2 should be seen as a clarion call,' he said. 'ISPs need to enhance the broadband experience for these high-end users by prioritising or reserving bandwidth for games,' he added. Online gamers are bandwidth hungry One of the main factors that spoils online gaming is 'lag' in which there is a noticeable delay between a gamer clicking on a mouse or keyboard and what happens in the online gaming world. Gamers tend to migrate toward networks with the lowest 'lag'. Analysing traffic will become increasingly important for service providers if they "
JOURNAL - Halo 2, Business Plan and a Dalmenguin
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Just a quick note to self to say, "well done you played well today".
I am now up to level 9 on rumble pit. I always start off slow, coming 7th, then I usually finish in the first 4 for the later games. I want to link this post to a game but it hasn't appeared on bungie yet.
I figure I should also mention, that although I have had very little work this term (convenient for Halo 2 and GTA), I have had one mammoth business plan assignment to complete. 5000 words and I was done and quite pleased with the results. I now await the marks.
Here's an image I made
Click
Thumbnail for Large
Currently listening to The Avalanches, "Since I left you" album.
I am now up to level 9 on rumble pit. I always start off slow, coming 7th, then I usually finish in the first 4 for the later games. I want to link this post to a game but it hasn't appeared on bungie yet.
I figure I should also mention, that although I have had very little work this term (convenient for Halo 2 and GTA), I have had one mammoth business plan assignment to complete. 5000 words and I was done and quite pleased with the results. I now await the marks.
Here's an image I made
Currently listening to The Avalanches, "Since I left you" album.
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- A timely electronics rant
- Cursed Week for British Sport
- My New Flat in St Albans
- Amateur Alumni Adventures
- Now for the academics - My marks
- The end of an era
- Music Vision
- My Own Personal Appendectomy
- Improving Google Web History
- Google Channels, Google Recommendations
- 2003, 2004
- November 2004
- December 2004
- January 2005
- March 2005
- April 2005
- May 2005
- June 2005
- July 2005
- August 2005
- September 2005
- October 2005
- November 2005
- December 2005
- January 2006
- March 2006
- April 2006
- May 2006
- June 2006
- July 2006
- August 2006
- October 2006
- November 2006
- December 2006
- January 2007
- February 2007
- March 2007
- April 2007
- May 2007
- June 2007
- July 2007
- September 2007
- October 2007
- February 2008
