online fever

After a feverish week-long search (which felt more like three months), I finally managed to get my hands on a U.S. Network Adapter and a copy of SOCOM. I've already had the Japanese Network Adapter (it's called a "BB Unit" out here) and HDD for about eight months, but all I ever played on it was Final Fantasy XI, and I really didn't play much because of the enormous amount of Japanese involved. Anyway, long story short: I've been bitten by the online bug, quite badly. The last three nights I wound up staying up until 4 in the morning playing 16-player SOCOM with friends and strangers alike, and it was a total blast. It's amazing to think that I can be halfway across the globe and yet still play a lag-free game with near-instantaneous voice chat with 15 other people in America. It's nuts! I realize PC gamers have been doing this for ages, and I've played my share of online FPS PC games in the past (plus Quake III on Dreamcast), but ultimately I'm a console guy, so this is truly a new beginning for me. I just got PSO for GameCube too, so as soon as the Broandband Adapter comes out on Oct. 3, I'll be online with that as well. These are exciting times indeed, and I can't wait to see what kinds of new ideas companies like Namco, Capcom, Sega, etc. come up with for network games as online becomes more and more mainstream. Bring it on!

Posted by john tv at September 13, 2002 09:45 PM