Multiplayer For Mobile Games - Are We There Yet?

Thanks to GameSpot for its feature discussing whether multiplayer mobile phone gaming is genuinely an emerging trend. According to the piece: "For every mobile maven that claims that networked multiplayer is where mobile gaming must direct its energies, there are another two that point to the prohibitive costs, technical barriers, and unacceptable risks that currently stand between wide-spectrum multiplayer and reality." Isaac Babbs of Atlas Mobile frames the problems as "...device limitations and high data costs to the consumer. On many of today's networks, even a simple chess game could hit you for half an hour of airtime--and that's if you manage to make it through without the other player getting fed up and dropping or going into a tunnel and losing reception." Will mobile phone gaming ever take off in the States?

Comments

Bluetooth?

[DiSKiLLeR]

There's no reason why you couldn't play multiplayer games over bluetooth?

The new Sony PSP and Nintendo DS have bluetooth for multiplayer gaming, so why couldn't mobile phones do the same? You could have a multiplayer game on the bus, on the rain, in a lecture, whatever....

But yes, the ultimate solution would be to have multiplayer gaming over GPRS :)

I can already surf the net using Opera, go on MSN Messenger, ICQ, AIM and others all on my mobile... the SE P900. My gf's P800 can do it too.

So i see no reason why multiplayer gaming can't go there.

D.

Re:Bluetooth?

[Devalia]

My old phone, a Sony Ericsson T68i let you do this. Albeit it had a limited selection of games (namely Battleships) which could use it but it worked well and was great for those long train rides with other friends with the same phone.

High data costs?

[drinkypoo]

I don't know about his cellular provider, but mine (T-Mobile) will give me GPRS data for $19.99/mo unlimited. This really is unlimited, they can afford to do that because it's about 41kbps best case, or roughly modem speed. This is plenty for just about anything you'd want to do on a cellular phone. The latency will be high, so you're not going to be playing a fighting game against someone with it - for that you need bluetooth and proximity.

$20/mo isn't bad considering you can not only use it for cell to cell communications, or cell to web, but you can plug a $5 cable into the phone and hook it up to your laptop, and use it as a modem.