Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2003)
NATION THE BAT TALI Sci|Tech The Battalion Page 6A • Tuesday, September 16,200] Online gaming comes to College Station PlayStation 2 and Xbox’s live services pull Internet gaming out of the world of PCs By George Deutsch THE BATTALION Since the dawn of video gaming in the 1970s, game developers have dictated the evolution of game play through not only technology, but innovation. The technology of today allows home video game consoles to do things unheard of in the days of the Atari 2600, and one of the most recent innovations in console video gaming is found online. Of the three major home con soles — the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube — the Xbox and PlayStation 2 offer gamers the ability to play others from across the country via a modem and Internet connection. And whether online gaming is time well spent or merely time away from class, it seems to be catching on in College Station. Senior information and opera tions management major Justin Stafford has been playing his PlayStation 2 online for about a year. For Stafford, playing games online allows him to find a level of competitiveness he normally couldn’t amongst his in-town friends. “People here (in College Station) suck,” Stafford said. “You can’t really get competition here.” For Stafford, the online PlayStation 2 arena is a good test of skills. It is such a good test, in fact, that some PlayStation 2 and Xbox games even offer gamers, such as Stafford, statistics tracking and an online national ranking system. Thousands compete with each other everyday, with win/loss records and game scores helping to determine a player’s numerical ranking. Stafford, for example, is currently ranked No. 44 in the nation on EA Sports’s NCAA College Football 2003. Stafford plays his PlayStation 2 online under the name JJSAggie2003, but gamers’ online names range from the bizarre to the obscene. A gamer’s online name can reveal a lot about the person playing under it. Stafford’s online name has actually drawn criticism from other online gamers, as it reveals his Aggie status. Cussing happens a lot on here, and people are real aggressive. People... say things they wouldn't in person. — Justin Stafford senior information and operations management major “I played this guy from Texas Tech,” Stafford said. “He saw I was an Aggie and immediately started saying A&M was inferior in foot ball. It’s like he had a vendetta against me.” The online world is not without its problems, and in some cases, more grudges are formed than resolved. As the Official Xbox Magazine reports, cussing is still a problem online for some gamers, as many take winning and losing very seriously. And since an online voice com municator is stan dard with a PlayStation 2 or Xbox online mem bership, opposing players can poten tially hear every word said and vice versa. Fortunately, both systems offer a mute feature. “Cussing happens a lot on here,” Stafford said, “and people are real aggressive. It’s just like the Internet. People have the guts to say things they wouldn’t in person. Some people rub it in.” In the end, it is up to the individual gamer to decide whether live game play is worth it. Xbox owners looking to experience Microsoft’s live arena, Xbox live, need only pur chase a subscription, which is about $50 a year, but they must have a broadband Internet connection PlayStation 2 owners must purchase a network adapter for about $40, but they don't have to pay an annual membership fee, according to the Official U.S PlayStation Magazine. Whether an Xbox PlayStation 2 enthusiast, the era of online gaming has begun. As Stafford said after beating a younger gamer this weekend, "This guy just called me ‘sir.’ He said, ‘Good game, sir.’ Here, it’s like I’m a legend.” The PlayStation 2 network adaptor (pictured at top) enables online play and costs about $40. It attaches to the back of the PlayStation 2 (above). Microsoft's voice communicator accom panies the Xbox Live starter kit (right) and attaches through the controller's memory unit slot, enabling verbal communication. — • «. I It i <j lOl No Lines Check out out* student bodies! Workout without the waits! Career Advising- All Majors Internship Listings Job Search Workshops Resume Reviews Career Research Library Career Cenieri Texas A&M University With you every step of the way http://careercenter.tamu.edu 209 Koldus 845-5139 Tired of your one hour workout taking two hours? Well, come into Gold's Gym for the ultimate fitness experience. WeVe serious about results, not about standing around. [ FREE0DAY PASS-1 0FREE ‘S? CLASSES ©@@®@ uest Name: Manager Approval: GEOX-.X> T iS GEYWI. Bryan (979)822-8000 • College Station (979)764-8000 10-31-03. Membenhlpi tot required. 5 d*y pan mutt bt consecutive days, Pint time vltl redeemable (or cain. Participating Gold’a Gymt only. Other ren trictiont may apply 02003 GGI. The Latest Equipment • Extensive Cardio Circuit Training • Personal Training • Nutrition Women’s Only Area • Pro Shop Plus Hundreds of Group X Classes Including: BodyPump • Body Combat • Body Flow Yoga • Group Spin • Cardio Kickbox Abs & Back • Super Step and more! JHLwMrtd .iJHmail^ KmmiJF -Ii—fc.. BRYAN 725 E.Villa Maria #501 (979)822-8000 COLLEGE STATION 200 Brentwood Drive East (979)764-8000 goldsgym.com 38 YEARS • 6S0 LOCATIONS 3 MILLION MEMBERS * ONE GREAT NAME Hosp that l By Pam THE ASSOCIA HOUSTON - Joseph Hospital s has dismissed tb company responsit its elevators wl became trapped be tor’s doors and a head was severed. “The official i still open,” Jeff W pital’s chief exe said. “However, communicate the a pital has taken as own independent ii Dr. Hitoshi N surgical resident ; died Aug. 16 as elevator on the According to poli Smai h] THE t Backers of ne\ kind of souped-u{ the week the tec drawing board am Unlike traditio Identification tag; laser reader. They drivers with “spec military quartemi livestock from “fi New wireless As some companies w technology called Radk linger about competing privacy. In the system, that transmit informalK Retail applications Locates items in stocki and identifies where tt need to go in the store Identifies relumed merchandise by - date sold, store location or whether or not it was stolen; allows customers to check out by scanning their carts SOURCE: Auto ID Center I , ; But the MIT I and sponsors su< Procter & Gambit week in Chicago embedding the chi companies save bi from factory to w; For now, the foe sure there is enougl so much as to clog warehouses. Using all the way to the AUDIT SI UNDERGRADU/ 1. 95 cumulative 2. 45 undergrad 3. 2.0 cumulath 4. In good standir GRADUATE STI 1. Eligible to subn 2. In good standir Master's Non-t 1.75% of courses 2. In good standir Ph.D. students 1. Accepted as a I 2. In good standir HOW TO GET V II you meet the requii 1. Submit a Rir between Septt 2. The Aggie Rint an ordering se • Please allot • Contact the by October 3. Order you • Payment is personal cr • Ring loam at the Shor your Ring t http://faid.1 Visit www.AggieNetwi Wee at 845-1050.