Online Games, popular?

hi all,
i'm researching about online games (RPGs?)and i'm not all familiar with games. what are the top games(most commercially popular)? how much does it cost? and are we ready(broadband) for big growth in online gaming here in the states? how popular are the online games here in the states? i would appreciate any informations you might have.

I think online games are very popular... Pay for play, on the other hand, is not as popular... First of all you pay for the game, then you pay for your inet access, and now you have to pay for access to the server...

-sage-

I'm personally opposed to games that require you to buy the game initially and then pay on a monthly basis to keep playing them.

Now if they had the game for free, then you paid as you played it would be better. E.g., you buy like 5 hours of time and you can use it up over a few days or a few months.

With that said, most games that have a monthly fee are in the $10/month range.

By internet game I'm asuming multyplayer games, not things like javascript games.

Anyways, there are different types of games as you more then likely know ie. RTS (real time strat.) RPG (role playing game) FPS (first person shooter) etc...

You can play games on-line, for example Blizzard North's Diablo II is a RPG that can be played on-line.

Most popular games tend to be RTS and RPG. Last time I checked Warcraft III was fairly popular (its an RTS), and usualy when a new D&D comes out people will flood to stores and buy it like its the holy grail of games.

The USA is ready for online games... I don't exactly see how this is a question exactly. On-line is a global communications village, so that would make anyone with an ISP (internet service provider) ready for these games... I'm still confused as to how this is a questions.

Originally posted by Drakain Zeil

The USA is ready for online games... I don't exactly see how this is a question exactly. On-line is a global communications village, so that would make anyone with an ISP (internet service provider) ready for these games... I'm still confused as to how this is a questions.

wow nice info, can you play online games real time and multi player using 56K?

Originally posted by speedracer
wow nice info, can you play online games real time and multi player using 56K?

I've been on battle.net a few times with my 56k kicking some butt at Warcraft 3. :)

Originally posted by speedracer
wow nice info, can you play online games real time and multi player using 56K? From an English perspective, I'd say online gaming is still some way off becoming prevailent. Broadband is very expensive here, even for 512k ADSL, which isn't that quick, we're paying ~$45 per month. This + installation cost and location of the adsl/cable modem.

Popular games, off the top of my head:

Counter strike
Unreal Tournament
Command and Conquer
GP Legends

Can't think of many popular ones tbh.

Originally posted by mouse
From an English perspective, I'd say online gaming is still some way off becoming prevailent. Broadband is very expensive here, even for 512k ADSL, which isn't that quick, we're paying ~$45 per month. This + installation cost and location of the adsl/cable modem.

Popular games, off the top of my head:

Counter strike
Unreal Tournament
Command and Conquer
GP Legends

Can't think of many popular ones tbh.

thanks! for the list of games. i'll check them out now. there are so many games out there...what do think makes a game stand out? from the rest?

:o ya forgot TFC

Yeah, before I got DSL I used to play games over my 56K modem over an ISP that vanished from the face of the earth some how...(still listed in directorys and have a billboard, www.icom.ca was the ISP fyi).

Anyways, popular games are all about their design and how the gaming community will respond to it.

A few years ago adventure games like Kings Quest was very popular (its one of my favorites actually) however people no longer wanted to play adventure games like KQ, they moved onto "adventure" games like laura croft. Sex sells, the makers of LC/tomb rader will actualy say that in an interview, and that they used a female character to increase it's popularity. However that causes things to spin out of control resulting in thins like the "nude" patch for the game. Heck there proably are gamers who play for it's actual game but there still are people who play it because its main character is a girl who runs around fighting.

Other then that, more things sell games, promotion word of mouth etc... but what will keep them roped in to the game making it popular will be more based towards design and intresting elements in the game.

Starcraft was rated #7 as best game of all time recently, why? Well lets look at it.
First of all it has an intresting story line, one that is open to continuations, or ending then and there. It constantly changes in the game of who is the most powerful race.
Next, in the game there are seemingly hundreds of millions of different unit combinations and strats., infact no one combination of units is unbeatable, that leaves a huge opening for new plans, one thing can beat another unit, but one combination can beat the next... etc... players like that.
More over it has a nice efficent layout, and impressive sounds (the sounds in it are so percise that two blind men from Korea can play the game, based on it's sounds alone! Infact they are very good also).

However by todays standards the game is out-dated.

So lets look at somthing more developed, such as... Quake 3.
Its multyplayer, people like that, they can get on-line and team up or FFA (free for all), people like that. Also they can have a varity of maps to play on. There have been first person shooters around for years, what sets this one apart from the origional Wolfenstine? Well firstly the graphics, freedom of movement, multyplay, depth of the game etc.. people want what is the best.

Black & White is a game where you are some god-like being who raises a monster like a Tamagatchi (those little toy digital hand-held "pets") to be good or evil. People like that because it's somthing origional, and it lets players choose an alignment.