Online console gaming involves connecting a console to a network over the Internet for services. Through this connection, it provides users the ability to play games with other users online, in addition to other online services.
The three most common networks now are Microsoft's Xbox network, Sony's PlayStation Network, and Nintendo's Nintendo Switch Online and Nintendo Network. These networks feature cross platform capabilities which allows users to use a single account. However, the services provided by both are still limited to the console connected (e.g. an Xbox One cannot download an Xbox 360 game, unless the game is part of the Xbox 360 to Xbox One backwards compatibility program).
Additional services provided by these networks include the capability of buying additional games, online chatting, downloadable content, and game demos.
Early attempts
The earliest experiments relating to online connectivity on game consoles were done as far back as the early 1980s. For some consoles, Dial-Up internet connectivity was made available through the use of special cartridges, along with an adapter. The GameLine for the Atari 2600 and the PlayCable for the Intellivision are two notable examples of this. Services like these did not have multiplayer online gaming capability, but did allow users to download games from a central server and play them, usually requiring a fee for continued access. However, neither the GameLine or PlayCable attained mainstream popularity and both services were shut down during the 1983 video game crash.
During the 1990s a number of online gaming networks were introduced for home consoles, but due to a multitude of problems they failed to make a significant impact on the console gaming industry.[1] For a number of years such networks were limited to the Japanese market.[2] In a November 1996 interview, Shigeru Miyamoto remarked that online multiplayer gaming had not achieved mainstream success, and would not for a long while yet, because the technology of the time could not provide the quick-and-easy startup that general consumers would want from a "plug and play" console.[3]
The Sega Net Work System (Sega Meganet) was a network service in Japan for people using the Sega Mega Drive. Debuting in 1990, this service worked with the Game Toshokan (literally meaning "Game Library") cartridge to download games on the console (meaning that the game would have to be re-downloaded each time).[4] Players attached a Mega Modem (modem, with a speed of 1,600 to 2,400 bit/s) to the "EXT" DE-9 port on the back of the Mega Drive, and used it to dial up other players to play games. There was a monthly fee of ¥800.[5] The service was also in North America under the name "Tele-Genesis" at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show (Winter CES) in January 1990,[6] but it was never released for the region.[7]
Sega then brought a similar online service to North America, the Sega Channel, debuted in December 1994. Sega Channel provided users the opportunity to download new games straight to their consoles with the purchase of a cartridge similar sold through General Instruments. The service cost $15 (USD) per month and at one point had over 250,000 American subscribers while also building a following overseas but Sega decided to halt the project and provide an online portal in their new console the Sega Saturn.[1]
AT&T unveiled the Edge-16, an online gaming peripheral which featured simultaneous voice and data transmission, at the 1993 Consumer Electronics Show.[2] However, AT&T cancelled it in 1994, having decided that its $150 (USD) price tag and lack of a match-up service (meaning players would have to find someone to play with on the network themselves) would prevent it from achieving any popularity.[2]
In 1994 an American company, Catapult Entertainment, developed the XBAND, a 3rd party peripheral which provided customers the ability to connect with other users and play games through network connections. The peripheral cost $19.99 (USD)[8] and required a monthly fee of $4.95 (USD) for 50 sessions/month or $9.95 (USD) for unlimited use.[9] The XBAND supported the Super NES and Sega Genesis consoles and received a mushrooming installed base (the number of users quadrupled over the second half of 1995),[9] but once the Super NES and Sega Genesis's popularity faded the peripheral was discontinued.
The Satellaview was launched in mid-1995 for the Super Famicom in Japan. The access provided downloadable versions of hit games free to the user but required the user to download the games only at certain times through a TV antenna, in a fashion similar to recording a TV show.[1]
NET Link for the Sega Saturn provided users the ability to surf the web, check email, and play multiplayer games online. Released in 1996, the modem peripheral cost $199 (USD) and came with a web browser program and a free month of access.[10] Despite the device's low price, strong functionality, and prominent marketing, less than 1% of Saturn owners purchased the NetLink in 1996,[11] an outcome cited as evidence that the idea of online console gaming had not yet achieved widespread interest.[12]Phil Harrison of Sony Computer Entertainment commented on the issue of online console gaming during a 1997 round table discussion:
I think online gaming is a little bit of a myth. A lot of consumers, when asked if they would like online gaming, automatically say yes because they don't actually know what it is - very few people have actually had the experience. It's like asking someone if they would like a Ferrari. They say yes but then discover it costs a lot to run, it's going to be in the shop all the time, and it's going to guzzle gas. And currently this is the experience most consumers get when they play online.[13]
The first home console with built-in internet connection, the Apple Pippin, was launched in 1996. However, its $599 price tag kept it from effectively competing with other internet gaming options (by comparison, the Sega Saturn and its separately sold Netlink device combined cost less than $400).[10]
The Philips CD-i and its CD-Online service (released in 1996) also rang up at less than the Pippin, but suffered from mediocre functionality.[14]
In 1999 Nintendo decided to take another shot at online gaming with the Nintendo 64DD. The new peripheral was delayed often and only released in Japan, it provided users to connect with each other and share in-game art and designs and even play games online, after purchasing the peripheral for 30,000 yen. The 64DD failed to impact gamers as it was released shortly before Nintendo announced the release of its new console, the GameCube, and only nine games would be released supporting the new peripheral.[1]
SegaNet became a short-lived internet service operated by Sega, geared for dial-up based online gaming on their Dreamcastgame console. A replacement for Sega's original, PC-only online gaming service, Heat.net, it was initially quite popular when launched on September 10, 2000. Unlike a standard ISP, game servers would be connected directly into SegaNet's internal network, providing very low connection latency between the consoles and servers along with standard Internet access.[citation needed]ChuChu Rocket! was the first online multiplayer game for the Dreamcast.[15][16]
The Playstation 2 gained online functionality between July 2001 and June 2003 depending on region. There was no unified service and thus no official name so it was often referred to as PS2 Network Play, PS2 Network Gaming, PS2 Online, or Net Play in the PAL region. Because of this any online functionality was the responsibility of the game publisher and was run on third-party servers. Online play was originally achieved through the use of an accessory Network Adapter but was a built in feature of the later slim consoles and allowed the connection of an Ethernet cable or in some markets a phone-line port for dial-up connection. The highly acclaimed Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was the first online title,[17] and joint release in the NA and EU markets with SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs, which had online voice chat, helped drive success.
Modern networks
Modern consoles include an Ethernet port to allow users to plug into the consoles online gaming network. This is the location of the Ethernet port on the Xbox360 slim model
Xbox network, originally branded as Xbox Live, is an onlinemultiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002.[18] An updated version of the service became available for the Xbox 360 console at that system's launch in 2005. The service was extended in 2007 on the Windows platform, named Games for Windows – Live, which makes most aspects of the system available on Windows computers. Microsoft has announced plans to extend Live to other platforms such as handhelds and mobile phones as part of the Live Anywhere initiative.[19] With Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, full Xbox Live functionality was integrated into new Windows Phones that launched in late 2010.[20]
The Xbox Live service is available as both a free and subscription-based service, known as Xbox Live Free[21] and Xbox Live Gold respectively, with several features such as online gaming restricted to the Gold service. Prior to October 2010, the free service was known as Xbox Live Silver.[22] It was announced on June 10, 2011 that the service would be fully integrated into Microsoft's Windows 8.[23]
Xbox Live continued to be offered as part of Microsoft's future consoles, the Xbox One and the Xbox Series X and Series S, as well as with integration with Windows 10 and Windows 11. The Xbox Live Gold subscription was also bundled as part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service, providing both the Xbox Live services and the library of games offered from Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft rebranded the service as simply Xbox network in March 2021.[24] By January 2021, Microsoft reported that there were more than 100 million Xbox network subscribers (including those through the Xbox Game Pass subscription).[25]
A paid subscription atop the PlayStation Network, PlayStation Plus, provides additional features such as the ability to play online games (otherwise not offered as free-to-play) and cloud saving for supported games. In additional, Plus subscribers gain access to free games and special deals on the PlayStation Store on a monthly basis. By October 2021, Sony reported that there were over 47.2 million PlayStation Plus subscribers.[27]
The Nintendo Network is Nintendo's second online service after Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to provide online play for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U compatible games. It was announced on January 26, 2012, at an investor's conference. Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata said, "Unlike Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which has been focused upon specific functionalities and concepts, we are aiming to establish a platform where various services available through the network for our consumers shall be connected via Nintendo Network service so that the company can make comprehensive proposals to consumers." Nintendo's plans include personal accounts for Wii U, digitally distributed packaged software, and paid downloadable content.
The Wii console is able to connect to the Internet through its built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi or through a USB-to-Ethernet adapter, with both methods allowing players to access the established Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.[28]Wireless encryption by WEP, WPA (TKIP/RC4) and WPA2 (CCMP/AES) are supported.[29]AOSS support was discreetly added in System Menu version 3.0.[30] Just as for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo does not charge fees for playing via the service[31][32] and the 12 digit Friend Code system controls how players connect to one another. Each Wii also has its own unique 16 digit Wii Code for use with Wii's non-game features.[32][33] This system also implements console-based software including the Wii Message Board. One can also connect to the internet with third-party devices.[34]
Like the Wii online service, the Nintendo Switch Online service allows users of the Nintendo Switch to play various multiplayer games online (outside of those offered as free-to-play titles). The service also offers access to a selection of emulated Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System games for free, as well as other free games such as Tetris 99. An Expansion Pass, added in October 2021, expanded this emulation service to include select Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games. Subscribers also had access to unique offers for certain products, such as special Joy-Con controllers for the emulated games.
Nintendo reported by September 2021 that the Nintendo Switch Online had reached 32 million subscribers.[35]
Related Research Articles
Phantasy Star Online is an online role-playing game (RPG) developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega in 2000 for the Dreamcast. It was the first online RPG for game consoles; players adventure with up to three others over the internet to complete quests, collect items and fight enemies in real-time action RPG combat. The story is unrelated to previous games in the Phantasy Star series.
ChuChu Rocket! is an action puzzle game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. Released for the Dreamcast in 1999, it was the first game for the system to support online console gaming. Players must place arrows on a board to lead mice into escape rockets while avoiding cats. The game features single-player modes in which a player must save all the mice on a board, and a multiplayer mode in which players battle to collect the most mice.
This is a list of all video game lists, sorted by varying classifications.
The Xbox network, formerly known as Xbox LIVE, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the original Xbox console on November 15, 2002. An updated version of the service became available for the Xbox 360 console at the system's launch in November 2005, and a further enhanced version was released in 2013 with the Xbox One. This same version is also used with Xbox Series X and Series S. This service, in addition to a Microsoft account, is the account for Xbox ecosystem; accounts can store games and other content.
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameSpy brand to other video game publishers through a newly established company, GameSpy Industries, which also incorporated his Planet Network of video game news and information websites, and GameSpy.com.
Voice chat is telecommunication via voice over IP (VoIP) technologies—especially when those technologies are used as intercoms among players in multiplayer online games. The VoIP functionality can be built into some games, be a system-wide communication system, or a third-party chat software.
The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is a defunct online multiplayer gaming service run by Nintendo to provide free online play in compatible Nintendo DS and Wii games. The service included the company's Wii Shop Channel and DSi Shop game download services. It also ran features for the Wii and Nintendo DS systems.
XLink Kai is a program developed by Team XLink allowing for online play of video games with support for LAN multiplayer modes. It enables players on the GameCube, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita / PlayStation TV, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One to play games across the Internet using a network configuration that simulates a local area network (LAN). It notably also allows original Xbox games to be played online again following the Xbox Live shutdown on 21 April 2010 and certain GameSpy titles such as Saints Row 2 to be played online after the GameSpy network shutdown on 31 May 2014.
Import gamers are a subset of the video game player community that take part in the practice of playing video games from another region, usually from Japan where the majority of games for certain systems originate.
The GameCube is one of Nintendo's home video game consoles and part of the sixth generation of video game consoles. Although the competing PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles supported substantial amounts of online games, the GameCube had only eight games with internet or local area network (LAN) support. Nintendo never commissioned any servers or internet services to interface with the console, but allowed other publishers to do so and made them responsible for managing the online experiences for their games. Nintendo remained pensive with its online strategy for the duration of the GameCube's lifespan, defiant of growing interest from players and the success of Microsoft's Xbox Live online service. Company leaders including Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata based their stance on concerns with maintaining quality control over their games and doubts that players would want to pay subscription fees.
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain additional revenue from a title after it has been purchased, often using some type of microtransaction system.
Online games are video games played over a computer network. The evolution of these games parallels the evolution of computers and computer networking, with new technologies improving the essential functionality needed for playing video games on a remote server. Many video games have an online component, allowing players to play against or cooperatively with players across a network around the world.
The Xbox is a home video game console manufactured by Microsoft that is the first installment in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was released as Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market on November 15, 2001, in North America, followed by Australia, Europe and Japan in 2002. It is classified as a sixth-generation console, competing with Sony's PlayStation 2 and Nintendo's GameCube. It was also the first major console produced by an American company since the release of the Atari Jaguar in 1993.
In the video game industry, digital distribution is the process of delivering video game content as digital information, without the exchange or purchase of new physical media such as ROM cartridges, magnetic storage, optical discs and flash memory cards. This process has existed since the early 1980s, but it was only with network advancements in bandwidth capabilities in the early 2000s that digital distribution became more prominent as a method of selling games. Currently, the process is dominated by online distribution over broadband Internet.
The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 was the 18th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 5, 2012, and ended on June 7, 2012, with 45,700 total attendees. It was televised on Spike and streamed online to computers, mobile devices, PlayStation Home and on Xbox Live via IGN's application. This was the last event to be broadcast by G4 along with being the last one to feature a physical press conference by Nintendo which mainly focused on games that were coming to the then upcoming Wii U video game console that launched later that year and was later considered to be a commercial failure.
Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox network and Xbox Game Pass. The brand is produced by Microsoft Gaming, a division of Microsoft.
In video games with online gaming functionality, also called cross-compatible play, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. It is commonly applied to the ability for players using a game on a specific video game console to play alongside a player on a different hardware platform such as another console or a computer. A related concept is cross-save, where the player's progress in a game is stored in separate servers, and can be continued in the game but on a different hardware platform.
In the video game industry, the market for home video game consoles has frequently been segmented into generations, grouping consoles that are considered to have shared in a competitive marketspace. Since the first home consoles in 1972, there have been nine defined home console generations.
References
1 2 3 4 "AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY, GOD CREATED XBOX LIVE.." XBOX Nation 19 (2004): 52. MAS Ultra - School Edition. EBSCO.
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