Microsoft's Strategy

I know Brian hasn't really played a lot of games online and I know I poke fun of him for it all the time because we can't play together now that I live an hour away.

But an analyst recently said that Microsoft's online game strategy is "flawed". At first this sounded insane, but then it hit me: I think online gaming sucks! But bet me clarify, though. Playing games with strangers sucks.

A majority of online players, or at least the ones I play, cheat, complain and are general assholes. I've played SOCOMII and III online. I've played Mario Kart DS online. I've played Halo 2 as well. Besides the fact that most people who play online "master" the game before I even log on the first time, there are usually so many loop holes in games that it's impossible to have a fair game unless I invest tons of hours into playing the game online.

Remember the name of this website.

There is only one game I've played that did online so well, I played it for hours at a time. It kept online play so fair, no one cheated, usually people didn't stray from the rules, and even if someone did manage to piss you off, you could easily do the same back to them.

Burnout 3 was perfect for online play. It was destruction. It was fast. The idea of rounds wasn't used. If you crashed, you usually spawned away from a mess (or an asshole with a mark on you). You never sat out early for being being beating in the first few seconds.

People actually got Burnout 3.

Maybe there were ways to cheat in Burnout. But no one ever did. The only reason I ever stopped playing that game online was that I was really denying the fact that I had other things to do.

So, I almost agree with Michael Pachter at Wedbush Morgan Securities (whoever the hell he is). Maybe not for the same reasons (which the article never gives), but I do think massive online gaming isn't for all types of games where you can't reach over and smack your friend for always sitting on the moutain with the sniper rifle.