with an online component, but most gamers I know are split on the
value of paying an additional monthly fee for server access. They
already pump money into buying games, upgrading their rigs, and paying
for high-speed bandwidth.
Some online games, most notably MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online
Roleplaying Games) are only playable on the publisher's servers and
they require a monthly fee to play. Typically about $15/month.
Other games, typically FPS (First Person Shooters), come with their
own game servers that people can run themselves either on their local
LAN or on the Internet. Usually, the publisher will run several free
public servers, but they are usually crowded with beginners who don't
know how to play as well as obnoxious jerks and cheaters. Some people
will run servers that are open to the public as well but try to police
them a bit better. But the bandwidth requirements are steep. Think
terabytes when you have 30 people at any time, each using something
like 50KB/s. (That's for Battlefield:1942 which is a pretty hefty
game. Other games, like EnemyTerritory and CounterStrike are lighter
on the bandwidth, but it can still add up.)
There are several hosting companies that specialize in offering
pre-configured game servers. They generally average about
$2/person/month with a minimum of 12 players.
-Kevin
On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 09:43:49 -0400, Won Lee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> At 09:33 10/11/2004 -0400, you wrote:
> Paul,
>
> Out of curiosity, how much demand is there for this type of service?
[Todays Threads] [This Message] [Subscription] [Fast Unsubscribe] [User Settings] [Donations and Support]
