Tech Giants Targeting Online Gaming Infrastructure

Thanks to CNET News for its story discussing the increasing interest of large tech companies in online gaming middleware, explaining: "Inspired by predictions of brisk growth in the $1 billion online game market, IBM, Sun Microsystems and other companies normally not associated with dragon-slaying adventures have launched projects recently to handle the complex infrastructure needed to run online games." Steve Canepa of IBM is enthusiastic about the opportunities: "The gaming industry is really going through a transition now... we think there's a real opportunity for IBM to play a role in that transition [by backing Butterfly.net, among other things]." However, analyst Billy Pidgeon points out, in riposte: "There's just not a lot of profit to be made... the infrastructure stuff is not really that expensive or difficult a piece of the online game process, so the outsourcing players can't charge a whole lot."

Comments

since when is IBM not associated with gaming

[musikit]

they worked on the PS2. they worked on the PS3 and they are working on the neXtBox. i believe they also worked on the gamecube and the nextcube

Xbox Live- again?

[bigman2003]

Wow- this is similar to the last story about XSN Sports...at least both are on-line.

I would like Xbox Live to switch from the peer-to-peer network, to something with more centralized servers. I believe this would cut down on lag in the games, and allow for more players on a server (of course).

But the important thing for me, is that the story focuses on 'elves and wizards'. I know there are a few games out there that do NOT focus on standard D&D type characters (Star Wars Galaxies for one) but when will we get more HUGE FPS worlds?

Instead of paladins and mages storming a castle, how about the Allies attempting to enter a city that is full of German snipers? This could be Medal of Honor, with nothing but human players. The D-Day invasion played out with teams of 400 people? That would be great.

Of course, as worn-out as the D&D worlds are, World War II is almost as bad. The western genre is starting to get more attention, and I can imagine a game with a map the size of Nebraska. You could have classes like 'gunfighter' 'blacksmith' 'saloon girl' and 'stagecoach driver'.

This kind of game would need some huge back-end power, and enough on the client side to keep track of anyone within a few hundred yards. The infrastructure is getting there though.

I think that peer-to-peer (Xbox Live) may have run its course, and we need to see something really big happen for Xbox 2.

Outsource your kidneys

[BortQ]

I'm a one man game studio, and yet I have managed to create a persistent game-tracker, as well as an online ranking system. So I would agree that this is a silly thing for IBM to do.