[General] Online Gaming: What Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft need to work on

It's the truth; online gaming has really taken off this gaming generation. Being able to play multiplayer games with your friends, compare rankings on leaderboards, and always being able to find a good challenge; it's pretty cool.

Well, all 3 major consoles have their own respective online services and, for the most part, they're all pretty good. But unfortunately you don't have to look hard to find obvious faults in all 3 services. So in this article I'm going to point out these faults and how to fix them. Please keep in mind that this article isn't meant to bash, but to simply give some feedback to the online services.

Nintendo Wi-Fi (Wii)

Since we're meant to be a Nintendo site, I'll start with the Wii's Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. A Nintendo console going online seems like a dream come true; being able to see how you compete against the world in all of your favorite games like Mario Kart and Smash Bros. But the problem here is that the connection is so faulty. Games get dropped frequently, the lag is frustrating, and it really hurts the overall online experience. I mean, I understand that this is Nintendo's first online console. But they really should try to work on these problems (although I admit that Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii have been improving quite a bit since I bought them).

In addition, the Friend Code system is possibly the most useless and idiotic thing I've seen since the Atari 5200. While you simply just use a username to register in PSN and XBL, Nintendo Wi-Fi gives you a 12-digit code instead. And to register other people you have to enter their 12-digit code as well! Not only is this bulky and frustrating, but it's very easy to make a mistake while copying your code. And then other people can't register you because you copied a digit wrong. It really is a complete mess.

I would also like to see Voice Chat get implemented, as well as more Wi-Fi compatible games for the Wii. Smash Bros. is fine, but after 7 months it starts to get (dare I say) boring. If Nintendo could remedize these problems, Wi-Fi would be a much better online experience for everybody. Moving on...

Xbox Live (Xbox 360)

I admit it; I'm not exactly Microsoft's biggest fan. But I'll also admit that Xbox Live is a huge step up over Nintendo Wi-Fi, thanks to a more manageable registering system, better rankings system and more games that are worth playing online. However, there are still some serious issues that need to be properly addressed in order to make a better experience for the gamer.

First of all, the fact that you have to pay to even use Xbox Live is idiotic. It's true that $50 a year is a reasonable price, but consider this; every year you're investing more money into your Xbox 360, while the Playstation Network (PSN) is free. So if you buy an Xbox 360 Arcade with 6 years of Xbox Live, then it would cost more than a 40 GB Playstation 3 with 6 years of PSN. It also doesn't help that customer support isn't always very helpful.

When I play Xbox 360 with my friend at his house, we go online a lot with Halo 3 and Gears of War. And we always have to deal with annoying lag (although not as bad as Wi-Fi). It's not his internet, because he has a rock-solid connection, which means that the problem is Xbox Live. It doesn't do it every time we play, but the lag is still frequent enough to cause frustration. Not to mention some of the people that we play against can start saying some real nasty things when they start to lose. But I guess that Microsoft can't do much about the latter.

Playstation Network (Playstation 3)

Having played my friend's (not the same one) Playstation 3 online numerous times, I can safely say that it's currently the best online service of the three. It has almost no lag at all, a good selection of games that support it (including LittleBigPlanet) and, best of all, it's free to use. However, I do have two complaints about it.

The only real problem with PSn is that it seems to be down frequently. This is mostly because Sony's still installing frequent updates to it, as it's still fairly new compared to Wi-Fi and Xbox Live. I don't have a problem with Sony improving it. But I do have a problem when my friends and I want to get online on Grand Theft Auto IV and blow s*** up. Although this should start to even out over the next year, Sony shouldn't have to be shutting down PSN so frequently. In addition, the HOME beta was fairly boring as well, but Sony has time to fix that.

So, there you have it. Things that each game company can do to improve their online service. Also, I'm sorry I couldn't come up with more criticisms for PSN. It's just that right now, everything seems to be all there.

-TDMH

My Wii's online connection is fine. Just Friend Codes, they're nothing to realy be annoyed by but it would be awesome to just use your Wii Code, then when a new game comes out, you have allready added each other (if you swapped Wii Codes) and don't forget the VC/WiiWare is apart of Nintendos online, which is massive compared to The Playstation Network or Xbox Live.

PS3 overall is probally the best choice for online though (which you said)

I can't really comment because I've only experienced the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, friend codes get really annoying since you must have a code per game... but hey, that's a good excuse for a nice friend code system on site.

If you had like, a Mii code for all your Nintendo games, that would be so, so much better.

Discounting the price, Xbox live is easily the best.

I stopped reading that when I saw the name "Maul", because it's obvious that you're gonna say something fanboyish. I might re-block you.

Originally Posted by TheDeadMetalhead

I stopped reading that when I saw the name "Maul", because it's obvious that you're gonna say something fanboyish. I might re-block you.

He does have a point though. That £40/$50 is well speant as the service is well looked after compared to N-Wifi and PSN.

Ooo, this could get brutal...
Hm...
Wi-Fi's lag is terrible, I have a very nice 13 mb/s network, 92+ connection on my Wii and the lag is awful. DS, beyond terrible.
XBL, not much into it, but everyone's swearing and moaning like three-year olds upon every death, and the fanboys worship it like discount cocaine.
PSN, regardless of stereotype, has plenty of people with headsets.
The lag, barely. " You can't find friends.". No, your simply an idiot.
Sorry, bad day.

i dont use nintendo wi-fi much as i dont have many online games, iv played obvs like SSBB and MKW but i found the lag was just to bad and i have a heft 20MB connection speed so its deffo not that.

dont like having to pay for online so i gave up on XBL now.

im playing more of my PS3 as i have plenty of friends who play COD4 and burnout. plus MAG will be available in 2009/10 so that will be a boost. plus HOME and also LBP. so PSN wins by far.

Originally Posted by Maul

Discounting the price, Xbox live is easily the best.

So far that is your opinion. You need to compare each online service for a well structured argument...

To Microsoft word!