Rated Xbox
Many of the problems with Xbox Live are the same ones encountered in any other online game setting. The most prevalent problem is the presence of griefers -- people who seem to derive pleasure from ruining other people's fun. Their behavior can range from constant foul language, racist taunts and playing the game in an annoying, disruptive way. For example, in a racing game, a griefer might intentionally crash into the other players' cars instead of racing. Swearing can be a serious problem in games when players are using voice chat. It can be muted, but then the players lose the use of the voice chat. Some games allow you to mute individual players.
 Images courtesy Xbox Your best defense against griefers is a strong Friends list. |
Xbox Live supports a feedback system that allows users to rate other players based on their in-game behavior. Microsoft reports that they review the feedback and punish players who receive a significant number of complaints. Punishments range from warnings to suspensions that can last up to two weeks. Microsoft can ban players who abuse voice chat from using the service.
Users can also designate players they want to avoid and players that they enjoyed playing with. The TruSkill matchmaking software will try to accommodate the user's wishes when setting up games. The Friends list is probably the best weapon against griefers. A healthy list of friends who have a reputation for playing well can ensure a fun experience.
A more insidious problem is cheating. Mod chips were widely available for installation in the original Xbox. These chips could allow the Xbox to play games from different regions, or they could alter it so that the player had an advantage in online games. The Xbox 360 has not been hacked yet, and no mod chips are currently available, but there are reports of groups working hard to develop them. Microsoft has taken great pains to make the Xbox 360 mod-proof. Whenever an Xbox 360 connects to the Xbox Live network, the system checks and matches individual codes on the processor and the hard drive. It also checks the system BIOS. If anything has changed, the system blocks that 360 from ever accessing Xbox Live.
Another common problem is poor performance. Lag and latency can slow some games to a crawl, or cause servers to time out. Although this can be due to deficiencies with Microsoft's servers, it is usually a problem with Internet traffic in general, or with the connections used by the participating players. If the player hosting the game sets the number of players too high, or doesn't have enough upstream bandwidth, the game will run poorly.
Some Xbox Live users are concerned about privacy. The Gamecard interface allows other players to see what a user is doing, because the current activity, such as "Viewing Pictures," is displayed on the card. You can disable this by adjusting the privacy settings, and there have been no reports of sensitive information such as an address or credit card number being stolen from an Xbox Live account.
For lots more information about Xbox Live, Xbox and related topics, check out the links on the next page.
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While Microsoft runs everything through their own servers, with users identified by a single Gamertag, Sony left it up to each developer to run their own. Users have to create separate IDs and logins for each game they play online on the Playstation 2. Playstation 2 doesn't offer integrated voice chat, but Sony doesn't charge anything for players to play online, either. With each game developer running their own show when it comes to online access, they could technically charge gamers if they wanted to. So far, developers have shied away from this. In the near future, games like "Everquest" that require a lot of resources to maintain a persistent online world could add extra fees to the online gaming experience. |
