My theory as to why people generally experience "less lag" on XBL vs P

Most games on all 3 systems use Peer-to-Peer connections. This means that instead of the company using a dedicated server to host games, the user has to host games themselves with their system using their own bandwidth. This generally is a poor way to host games since most people don't have the upload speed to handle large scale multiplayer games (Which is why you often find these games limited to 8-16 people)

Now, because the user has to host games themselves, location becomes a key factor. The closer you live to your host, the faster you can send/receive information about the game. This is where XBL has an "advantage" If you look at the demographics. Most people that own Xbox live in North America. With locations in Europe also factoring in. Whereas with the PS and Wii users, the userbase is spread out all over the world. This means that for Peer to Peer connection games, youare more likelybe connecting with someone on the other side of the planet which will significantly increase latency. Whereas for XBL, you are more likely to connect with someone who is geographically close to you.

So lag really has nothing to do with the 50 dollar a year annual fee for XBL or any service it provides. (Although I do find it funny thatsome people are actually paying another company to host their own games... it's kind of like a slave paying his master for the right to work 12 hour days in a field somewhere. )

This is why dedidcated servers are important. Dedicated servers allow you to set up hosts in geographic regions, so you will always connect with a central host server that is geographically close to you. Also, these companies can afford high bandwith internet services which will allow for bigger multiplayer games. Of course, all this costs money and for things like MMOs, a subscription fee is often required

This is stupid and untrue, your're just making wild speculations and passing them off as fact.

Oh and P.S. who cares?

I see plenty of lag on XBL in BFBC2. I dunno if it's the DICE servers or XBL or what, but I would not say one lags more or less than the other.Hahadouken

That's probably just due to server overload. DICE/EA uses dedicated servers for BFBC2. Ironically, XBL users use the same servers as the PSN users. All XBL and PSN do is point you in the direction of the server. You aren't actually playing on XBL.

This is stupid and untrue, your're just making wild speculations and passing them off as fact.

Oh and P.S. who cares?

balfe1990

his first paragraph aint :P its pretty well known most console games on both services apart from a few are peer 2 peer games.

This is stupid and untrue, your're just making wild speculations and passing them off as fact.

Oh and P.S. who cares?

balfe1990

He is not trying to pass anything off as fact. The title clearly states its a "Theory". If you believe his "Theory" is incorrect then posit an alternative theory as a rebuttal, not some one line dismissal that only serves to up you post count.

Oh and P.S. people who play multi player online care.

No.siLVURcross

Worst rebuttal ever! :D

When you write a paper for school or anything professional in the future, it would be wise to actually research what you percieve as being true. Otherwise you are just asking to be ridiculed. The 360 has alot of users all over the world, and I experience that on a daily basis, whether its from England or Australia. If you actually owned a 360 you would have been able to see why your "theory" is incorrect.

When you write a paper for school or anything professional in the future, it would be wise to actually research what you percieve as being true. Otherwise you are just asking to be ridiculed. The 360 has alot of users all over the world, and I experience that on a daily basis, whether its from England or Australia. If you actually owned a 360 you would have been able to see why your "theory" is incorrect.

Fizzman

Out of the 40million Xbox 360s sold, 22 million are from the N. America region. That is over 50% Only 1.2 million are from Japan, with other regions making up the remainder.

With the PS3, out of the 35 million sold, about 13 million are from N. America, but 5 million are from Japan and 15 million are from other regions.

With the Wii, out of the 70 million sold, 33 million are from N. America, 10 million are from Japan and 27 million are from other regions.

As you can see, the Wii and PS3 have much more balance in the regions while the majority of Xbox 360 owners come from the N. America region.

Also, only 1/2 of all Xbox 360s subscribe to Xbox Live Gold, and the majority of those subscriptions come from the N. American region.

[QUOTE="Fizzman"]

When you write a paper for school or anything professional in the future, it would be wise to actually research what you percieve as being true. Otherwise you are just asking to be ridiculed. The 360 has alot of users all over the world, and I experience that on a daily basis, whether its from England or Australia. If you actually owned a 360 you would have been able to see why your "theory" is incorrect.

GordonRamsay23

Out of the 40million Xbox 360s sold, 22 million are from the N. America region. That is over 50% Only 1.2 million are from Japan, with other regions making up the remainder.

With the PS3, out of the 35 million sold, about 13 million are from N. America, but 5 million are from Japan and 15 million are from other regions.

With the Wii, out of the 70 million sold, 33 million are from N. America, 10 million are from Japan and 27 million are from other regions.

As you can see, the Wii and PS3 have much more balance in the regions while the majority of Xbox 360 owners come from the N. America region.

Also, only 1/2 of all Xbox 360s subscribe to Xbox Live Gold, and the majority of those subscriptions come from the N. American region.

[QUOTE="GordonRamsay23"]

[QUOTE="Fizzman"]

When you write a paper for school or anything professional in the future, it would be wise to actually research what you percieve as being true. Otherwise you are just asking to be ridiculed. The 360 has alot of users all over the world, and I experience that on a daily basis, whether its from England or Australia. If you actually owned a 360 you would have been able to see why your "theory" is incorrect.

alextherussian

Out of the 40million Xbox 360s sold, 22 million are from the N. America region. That is over 50% Only 1.2 million are from Japan, with other regions making up the remainder.

With the PS3, out of the 35 million sold, about 13 million are from N. America, but 5 million are from Japan and 15 million are from other regions.

With the Wii, out of the 70 million sold, 33 million are from N. America, 10 million are from Japan and 27 million are from other regions.

As you can see, the Wii and PS3 have much more balance in the regions while the majority of Xbox 360 owners come from the N. America region.

Also, only 1/2 of all Xbox 360s subscribe to Xbox Live Gold, and the majority of those subscriptions come from the N. American region.

No, not really, because if you play on XBL, the chances of you matching up with someone in your geographic region are far greater on XBL than any other system because most people on XBL live there. Whereas with PSN and Wii, you are more likely to be matched up with someone further away because the demographics are far more balanced between the regions.

Also keep in mind that percentage wise, more people use PSN online than XBL because PSN is free.

Finally, "high speed internet" from a peer is very slow compared to the speeds provided by corporations. For example, the bandwidth provided by Blizzard for a World of Warcraft server would make "high speed internet" look like dialup. That's why "high speed intenet" is only capable of hosting small multiplayer games.

I'm in the UK, and when I play online at around 1/2am I get no more lag than usual (which is extremely rarely). Playing at 1/2am also means I'm connecting with people who are mainly in the US, and again - no problems.Ravensmash

That's because UK really isn't that far from the US, unless you are connecting to someone on the Pacific coastline. Chances are you are connecting with someone on the east coast of the US, which would only be about a 6 hour time difference.

[QUOTE="Ravensmash"]I'm in the UK, and when I play online at around 1/2am I get no more lag than usual (which is extremely rarely). Playing at 1/2am also means I'm connecting with people who are mainly in the US, and again - no problems.GordonRamsay23

That's because UK really isn't that far from the US, unless you are connecting to someone on the Pacific coastline. Chances are you are connecting with someone on the east coast of the US, which would only be about a 6 hour time difference.

connections across continents don't really work that way, it has way more to do with a region's ISP/infrastructure and how your connection is routed than it has to do with the distance

hence why North American connections with Australia tend to be laggy, but connections with South Korea or China don't