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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I can’t really speak for anywhere
else, but the mainstream arrival of broadband here in the </span></font><st1:country-region><st1:place><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>UK</span></font></st1:place></st1:country-region><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'> has had both positive and negative effects. As I say I can only
speak for the </span></font><st1:country-region><st1:place><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>UK</span></font></st1:place></st1:country-region><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'> but these days most serious online gamers have 2mb broadband or as
high up to that as their line can support, meaning you see much fewer people
these days over 50ms, eradicating lag issues pretty much. However while people
used to turn to the PC and get playing online with 56k modems or ISDN, people
are now just plugging up their broadband-enabled consoles – not good for
the PC market, especially when it’s generally cheaper and easier to do
with a console.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>---------------------------------------<br>
Chris Adams<br>
GameSwitch Ltd.<br>
<a href="http://www.gameswitch.co.uk">www.gameswitch.co.uk</a></span></font><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>(0871) 218 GAME<br>
</span></font><font size=1 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:7.5pt;
font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>+44 (0)871 218 4263</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>-----Original
Message-----<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b> |PxR| TazAnimal
[mailto:tazanimal@rifleteam.com<span class=GramE>] <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent</span></b></span><b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>:</span></b> 26 May 2005 03:37<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> cod@icculus.org<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> RE: [cod] IS </span></font><st1:stockticker><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>COD</span></font></st1:stockticker><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> and other FPS's DEAD? On topic and off topic
unfortunately!</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3 color=navy
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy'>Mark:</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3 color=navy
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy'>
In my personal experience, the FPS "Genre" has never gotten it
right. The discrepancy between</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3 color=navy
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy'>players
systems and internet connections causes lag which makes the game hard to play
on</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3 color=navy
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy'>an
even level. However, I would still be playing COD and / or COD:UO even
with the "lag" issues</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3 color=navy
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy'>IF
the cheating community was not ruining the experience for me. No matter
what PunkBuster has done</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3 color=navy
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy'>in
COD and UO, there are still cheats that can get around PB. And for me,
playing games cheat free is the only way I enjoy playing.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3 color=navy
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy'>TazAnimal</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3 color=navy
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy'>Brett
Stinson</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3 color=navy
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy'><a
href="mailto:tazanimal@rifleteam.com">tazanimal@rifleteam.com</a> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3 color=navy
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy'>
</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:
12.0pt;margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>-----Original Message-----<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b> Mark J. DeFilippis
[mailto:defilm@acm.org]<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, May 25, 2005 9:00
PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> cod@icculus.org<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [cod] IS COD and other
FPS's DEAD? On topic and off topic unfortunately!</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br>
As much as I have seen the traffic on this list drop, I am also seeing the
ladders at leagues<br>
drop as well. At it's peak, the COD HQ 4x4 ladder had 235 clans, of which
probably 150+ were active.<br>
Now, it has 30, perhaps 12 are active. Similar drop in TDM.<br>
<br>
The COD:UO ladders are not doing much better. It also does not seem to be
limited to COD.<br>
Noticed the same for UT2004, and even Counter Strike has been impacted.<br>
<br>
Friends are closing up clans left and right, and people I know that own server
leasing companies<br>
are consolidating as they lose people. Even one of the cheapest guys out
there, like ET.<br>
<br>
Supply and Demand? I don't think there is much. There are diehards
that are excited about<br>
BF2 and COD2 coming out. I am. SO that should bring back life
again!<br>
<br>
I don't think so. I think, and have predicted that the FPS Genre is going
the way of<br>
the Combat Flight Sim. If UBI had released LOMAC (Lock-on) had come out
when that<br>
genre was hot, that small Russian team would have been wealthy. Instead,
it is a great<br>
sim, the best I have seen to date IMHO (A FX5950 would get down to 9fps at
times), and<br>
the newer 6800 during the same demo code run still only hits 43fps! But
it would have been<br>
huge, had the video card technology been what it is.<br>
<br>
Where are all the clans going? Why are their members leaving? Look at the
ranks<br>
of World of WarCraft, Final Fantasy, Matrix On-line.... Massive On-line Gaming.<br>
<br>
If COD2 was going to be a MMO game, with Borgs, Trolls, and Flying Faeries<br>
we could put lead in to, it might have a chance. ;-) I wrote some pretty<br>
recent editorials to PCGamer, and submitted this observation as an article to<br>
them for publication. They have contacted me back, and I am still talking with<br>
their people. It is clear I am not the only one to notice the
trend. My communications<br>
with TWL's admins, and competition managers I have come to know I don't think<br>
want to see it, but they notice the dips in ranks.<br>
<br>
I became friendly with many clan founders over the past 2 years while running
{TRv},<br>
and several were multi-gaming. COD, COD:UO, BF1942, BFDC, UT2004, SOF2, with<br>
25 active players, and over 100 on their rosters that were active on their
servers<br>
and played via rotation via sign-up. Shut down last week. Large
healthy clans<br>
here one day. WOW comes out, and a month later, gone.<br>
<br>
Matrix was a DOA. WOW seems to have brought it back to life. <br>
<br>
I can take the death of gaming perhaps, but not the Genre. At 43, I grew
up in the Atari<br>
era as a 18+teenager, my early years were Mainframes, PDP11, Byte mag was 12
pages long<br>
and carried the ads for Imsai 8080, and Altair systems. 8KB Ram. First
multiplayer game<br>
was StarTrek on a Dec Vax at work. SO the Atari era was great. <br>
<br>
I would hate to see the death of the Genre. I didn't like "Scott
Adams" text adventures<br>
back in the Era of TRS-80's and Atari, and I don't like the current Genre,
which is where<br>
I feel WOW, and Matrix-On-line.<br>
<br>
If somewhere COD:UO, and BF2 became RPG's and FPS's, where did WOW become<br>
a MMO RPG Adventure and 3rd person shooter.<br>
<br>
I know there are many on this list that have gaming server companies. I
sure would like someone elses' view of what we are seeing. The calm is
eerie, and I hear that "Death rattle", that once you hear it<br>
they say you never forget it....<br>
<br>
Over the years through COD, and UO, I have come to know and respect many of you
for many<br>
reasons, some of which includes knowledge and opinions. Please take a moment if
you have some thoughts, to share them.<br>
<br>
PCGamer did not turn my article down, they said they would get back to me with
commentary<br>
on content, and I provided some "food for thought"...<br>
<br>
I sure would love to be wrong.<br>
<br>
<br>
Best Regards<br>
<br>
Mark D<br>
<br>
<br style='mso-special-character:line-break'>
<![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]><br style='mso-special-character:line-break'>
<![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<X-SIGSEP>
<p style='mso-margin-top-alt:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;
margin-left:36.0pt'></X-SIGSEP><tt><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt'>S1,-------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></font></tt><font
size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><br>
<tt><font face="Courier New">Mark J. DeFilippis, Ph. D
EE defilm@acm.org</font></tt><br>
<tt><font face="Courier New">
defilm@ieee.org</font></tt><br style='mso-special-character:line-break'>
<![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]><br style='mso-special-character:line-break'>
<![endif]></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</blockquote>
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