Online has finally come of age
Admittedly it's been happening ever since Xbox 360 launched at the end of 2005, but last week's E3 really emphasized the fact that online is finally here for consoles in a big way. Online modes were pushed time and time again as being as important - if not more so - as offline elements, while the promise of downloadable content was frequently used to boost a game's potential appeal.
Microsoft is never one to shy away from recounting the success of its online service and erstwhile employee Peter Moore took great pleasure in telling the gathered press at its E3 conference that there are now seven million Xbox Live members and anticipated that figure to rise to 10 million by next year's E3. All that before it revealed a deal with Disney to offer a selection of its films to download from Live in HD.
PlayStation Network also gave Sony some big numbers to shout about at its conference, with 20 million downloads from the service worldwide and 950,000 users in North America. Two of the most intriguing games of E3 were also Network-focused titles - the adorableLittleBigPlanet(above) willlet players upload and share their user created levels online, whilethe mind bendingEchochromewill be download only.
Even Nintendo got in on the act, revealing thatMario Kart Wiiwould offer online battle and racing modes. And when Nintendo has more than one online console game, you just know that gaming over the pipes really has arrived.
