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Online Games: Are they our future?
Editorial by Trent Dickerson
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For the past 10 years or so, technology has slowly been taking over the world as we know it, with the Internet being one of the most dominant forces. The Internet allows you to shop and even buy groceries and order a pizza. PCs have started the revolution for online gaming, but for the longest time it stayed on PCs. But now, Sony and Microsoft are taking their respective consoles online, with Nintendo following in their shadows.
But is taking video game consoles online truly the right answer to increasing hardware sales? Unfortunately for the time being, yes. Playing games online is the newest trend, a fad if you will. Granted it is popular to consumers because of the idea of a massive multiplayer melee, but why are video game developers becoming so suddenly interested in it? Well despite the popularity factor, developers are being drawn to it because online gaming allows for more creativity and ingenuity.
However, there are several reasons why taking the video game industry online is NOT such a good idea. While Sony and Microsoft are heading full force into this unexplored territory, the older and wiser Nintendo is understandably reluctant. Nintendo believes that onlines games are a small market will little initial profit. In Nintendo's opinion, the online games market hasn't proved itself enough yet, At this year's E3, when asked about their online plans, Nintendo said that they are more focused on price, not cutting-edge graphics and Internet.
So is there a market for online gaming or not? Despite the fear of the unknown, the idea certainly has potential if anything. Taking games online would most certainly boost hardware sales, which is what Nintendo desperately needs right now. This reason alone is probably why Nintendo is getting with the program and working with publishers to add online play to games. While they may not be pushing it on them like Sony and Microsoft are doing, Nintendo is most certainly encouraging publishers and developers alike to experiment a little. So basically in a nutshell, they're letting third paries do whatever.
So what about Nintendo's online plans? While they have been rather vague, little tidbits of information are popping up every week. What is known is that Nintendo is offering a low-band and a broadband adapter, which are sold separately for $35 each. Depending on the game, I think the monthly rate is somewhere between $8 and $12, I'm not sure. As for their servers, the only one right now is Sega.com, which is reserved exclusively for Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II obviously. However, it has recently been revealed that GameSpy will be opening a server for Nintendo. It was also stated a month or two ago that Nintendo themselves will be setting up their own server sometime soon also.
So does Nintendo have ANY online games planned? Right now, no. So far there is only one online game available for GameCube right now, and that is of course Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II which was released on October 25. However, it is now being reported that there is a shortage of PSO AND the broadband adapters. This is due to Nintendo and Sega agreeing to only ship a limited amount of PSO and the broadband modem for the purpose of seeing how well it will sell. Well the limited amount they shipped sold out in a few weeks in stores across the country, so what does that tell you? Games such as TimeSplitters 2 and Star Wars: Bounty Hunter were SUPPOSED to be capable of online play when development started, but somewhere along the line that changed. There are only a couple of online games rumored to be in the works for GameCube, those being that Mario Kart GC(which will be released sometime next year) will supposedly have online multiplayer ability, which Shigeru Miyamoto himself hinted at. There is also a "Pokemon Online" game supposedly being developed. However, it is unknown if this is a 3D adventure or a trading card game or another Pokemon Stadium or what. But if I had to guess, it's probably a trading card game, but I have no proof of that.
In conclusion, Nintendo said at E3 that their networking strategy will be built around the fact that a game will only be successful if the gameplay is extremely compelling and affordable. This philosophy is something Nintendo has followed for years, but with the recent retirement of Hiroshi Yamauchi and Minoru Arakawa, Nintendo's new head hancho may be planning something radically different than anything anyone has every done. This theory would certainly explain Nintendo's presence in the online gaming race(or lack thereof). Perhaps this radical new direction for the company is the big announcement that Nintendo will be making in December. Several rumors have run rampant as to what the Nintendo's self-entitled "big bomb" could be, including a possibly "GBA 2" already in the works. But despite all the rumors, my vast knowledge of Nintendo's history and personality makes my intuition tell me that Nintendo is INDEED planning something major. And something tells me that whatever that major thing is will be the one variable that will decide Nintendo's fate in this generation's console war.
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