Cable Forum - View Single Post - Cross-platform Games

Uncle Peter · 08-03-2007, 21:12

I suppose it depends how developers embrace this system and how many make the decision to lock their content into this Xbox live style service. There's bound to be a backlash within the PC gaming community but if enough premium titles go down this path many gamers are bound to succumb even if they don't relish the idea of paying for something which was once available gratis. Publishers and developers potentially stand to benefit in the main as this provides an effective revenue generating platform in terms of offering premium downloadable content to a new audience where margins are shrinking as development of titles becomes more complex and costly.

In terms of the technology base: a very simplistic view of Xbox live is that it's a glorified lobby and matchmaking hub. Very few games are actually hosted on dedicated servers as P2P is the preferred method of player connectivity. I know this has bitten users in some countries where they have hard caps and over-use charges quite badly.

08-03-2007, 21:12	#37
Uncle Peter Inactive Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: on holiday by mistake Age: 56 Services: Vivid 200, Full House, V6 x2 Posts: 5,977	Re: Cross-platform Games I suppose it depends how developers embrace this system and how many make the decision to lock their content into this Xbox live style service. There's bound to be a backlash within the PC gaming community but if enough premium titles go down this path many gamers are bound to succumb even if they don't relish the idea of paying for something which was once available gratis. Publishers and developers potentially stand to benefit in the main as this provides an effective revenue generating platform in terms of offering premium downloadable content to a new audience where margins are shrinking as development of titles becomes more complex and costly. In terms of the technology base: a very simplistic view of Xbox live is that it's a glorified lobby and matchmaking hub. Very few games are actually hosted on dedicated servers as P2P is the preferred method of player connectivity. I know this has bitten users in some countries where they have hard caps and over-use charges quite badly.