Muni WiFi/WiMax great for gaming
by Vladimir Cole 
{ Mar 2nd 2006 at 10:58AM }
Prediction: as more and more cities have WiFi and/or WiMax clouds deployed, more people will be able to access the internet at broadband speeds for low or no cost. The upcoming ubiquity of wireless broadband access will usher in an era of 80% and 90% Xbox Live, Nintendo WiFi and PlayStation 3 Hub connect ratios.
Game developers that had been ignoring online functionality will rush to add it. Those that have been doing it for years will be sitting pretty in the leadership position.
Companies that provide services that require broadband access will also benefit. Massive Inc. will be able to place ads more effortlessly into a greater number of games, for instance. Newly-connected gamers will be able to download Nintendo's back-catalog of games. Software that enables tethering of multiple broadband connections will make the digital distribution channel viable for multi-GB downloads, improving the viability of the digital distribution business model.
World of Warcraft will break 20 million subscribers.
Some negative side effects will result as well. The nation will need to learn to cope with an outbreak of MMOG addiction as unsophisticated gamers learn to cope with this particularly addictive style of game. Viruses will leap from PSP to PSP or even from PSP to Nintendo DS, bricking everything in their wake. Parents will fail to keep up with the speed of technology and will (as always) underparent, exposing their children to sexual predators who will use the new networks in sophisticated ways.
And gamers who have heretofore been big fish in small ponds will learn what true competition is like. Tens of millions of new gamers will be competing for the same leaderboard spots currently vied for by mere hundreds of thousands of gamers.
The impacts of these networks will
extend far beyond gaming, of course. Still, gamers are in for a wild ride.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
binary_hero @ Mar 2nd 2006 11:14AM
you seem to have forgotten the huge technical hurdles that we are about to hit - the existing phone networks simply cannot handle this. There will be huge amounts of lag and slowdown for ages until the networks catch up.
(unless google use all that dark fiber it bought up ages ago and goes into telecoms)
Todd @ Mar 2nd 2006 11:22AM
It sounds like a dream come true. Be wary of things that sound like a dream come true. Sure everyone is saying great things about this, but have you stopped to think why? It's because hardly anyone has done this yet and the people that are selling the equipment to do it with are trying to make it sound like the answer to everyones problems. Regardless of how the bandwidth is delivered to the customer it still has to be paid for. Any new electronic equipment is expensive and at first it will only be profitable in the most densely populated areas. The early adopters will be businesses and other broadband providers know this and will be trying (with some really sweet deals) to get their existing businesses to sign contracts so they can't switch at least in the short term. All in all mostly what people are hearing about Wi-Max right now is a jazzed up sales pitch. Just look at the picture provided and you'll realize he's not trying to sell you a wi-fi connection; he's trying to get you to invest your money into a new capital venture.
NX @ Mar 2nd 2006 11:23AM
With a cost of $100 plus tax for a Xbox 360 Wi-Fi adapter (which is about $5 to make), I don't think many people will be rushing out to buy one. Of course the Rev and PS3 have it built in, even though MS is always bragging about their online capabilities.
dslamngu @ Mar 2nd 2006 1:01PM
Not sure about the 20E6 WoW subscriber prediction. Some of us have mortgages or degrees to work towards and thus refuse to play precisely because of the addictive reputation of that beast. It would destroy the world.
Jose @ Mar 2nd 2006 1:13PM
As our great president once said, "Bring 'em on!"
RaZer @ Mar 2nd 2006 1:26PM
WiFi is a slow POS. I definately don't want that ghetto wifi on my XBL games slowing everyone down. If you can't get a hard wire connection please stay the hell off live, all you wifi people do is join games and slow it down for the rest of us.. And have you ever tried to join a game hosted by someone on wifi? It's a joke...
Doug the Aquacell Guy @ Mar 2nd 2006 1:31PM
"Big fish in a small pond"...I was one, until I got hooked up. Now I'm used to losing.
NX @ Mar 2nd 2006 1:39PM
Razer, you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. 802.11g, at 54Mbps, is fast enough to run at the maximum speed available from any US ISP. You have no idea if someone is actually running on Wi-Fi, you are just making assumptions. Slow users are probably connecting with a "lite" Cable/DSL plan at 128Mbps.
Todd @ Mar 2nd 2006 3:09PM
You know this sounds like new technology, but it's not. Since I do CATV design for a living I know for a fact that every city that is able to provide you with a DSL or a cable modem can become totally wireless. At every pole or pedestal that has a tap (line level connection point) someone can add a modem and a WiFi/WiMax transceiver. Then everywhere cable or DSL service is available becomes a hotspot. There just isn't the demand for it. So rest assured if there is enough demand for your city to be completely wireless, and you already have cable or DSL service in your area, very little work will be needed to make it so. All this talk is just a marketing pitch from the people that make the transceivers and the companies that back them. Such as Intel with their line of Centrino processors.
Todd Rabanus @ Mar 2nd 2006 6:10PM
this prediction may not be far off. After all McDonald's now has Wi-Fi. WTF! MacDonald' s. Who the hell thought that up? Even in the ghetto McDonald's has Wi-Fi. They don't own laptops down there!! just a matter of time before another restraunt does it, and then another resetraunt, and another, and another. Before you know it you can access anyone of these signals, anywhere in the city. Bam whether you know it or not the whole cities getting free internet access. Sound like some big brother stuff to me
refinedsugar @ Mar 2nd 2006 8:24PM
Nice little summary on the state of multi-play Vlad.