PS2 Online?

[nickyf1]

Is it any good, and does it cost anything? Ive heard good things about XBox Live, but not alot about the PS2 Version. Anyone tried it?

[Rockmunky]

I've heard its pretty poor, and that hardly anyone uses it. It's free though, providing you have the adapter and whatnot.

EDIT: xbox live owns.

[Kidzer]

PS2 online isn't great, its only use is playing games, none of the extras that make XBL so good.

PSN on the other hand (PS3 online, PlayStation Network) has much of the features XBL has, but from initial reviews isn't as user friendly, and the backbone of the network doesn't seem much cop at the mo!

[gregc]

Assuming you're talking racing, I've only used it for Toca 3 but I found it pretty reasonable - as long as you find races without too many idiot kids....

Kidzer's right about all the extras that you get in XBL, but that's never bothered me too much - I'm only really interested in the games anyway. If you've got Toca 3 then any race run by one of the UKOG guys should be good - they're a nice bunch, as long as you race clean

[jonboy1066]

Thanks Greg, as a member of UKOG's Admin team it's nice to see a recommendation like that.
I only use PS2 online for ToCA3 as well, and find it's absolutley fine, there are no more lag issues than I've seen with XBL and some PC online servers, and being free of course you can't expect the extra bits that XBL offer but who needs that stuff anyway. We've got a Forum, Email, Text Messages and all sorts of other ways to contact each other for free so we have no need for the XBL stuff.
I dare say that XBL is a bit like having SKY+, You live life perfectly well coping without it until you get it, then whithin a couple of days you don't know what you'd do without it LOL.

[Matt]

OMG ITS JOHN! Lol, Why's John here, he should be either getting drunk, and setting blistering laps, or watching V8'S! (little inside joke between john and UKOG)

[safc_fan89]

I foolishly bought a network adaptor for my PS2 earlier this year...major disappointment. On racing games, no-one seemed to race fairly, and for some reason a lot of my online games wouldn't work online, which was very frustrating. Waste of money...never used Xbox Live but it must be better than PS2 online...

[Knowlesy]

PS2 online is what put me off X-Box Live for a while to be honest. I assumed it'd be the same.

But Live is just far superior, in every way. Gaming, for me, has never been so fun which when you consider I had no interest in games for quite a while in 2006 is something pretty special.

PS2 online is a sick joke. My mate had it up and running and what I found interesting was that a) nobody was online to play against hardly and b) the service was spartan and completely dismal. It feels very much an afterthought, which it probably was when you consider how late the thing came on tap.

I remember back in 1999/2000 all the talk about PS2 taking gaming to the next level, centred around an online world beyond wildest dreams. Absolute bull, frankly.

PS3 should address this, but nobody will buy it rendering the whole thing a total charade.

[jonboy1066]

Hey Matt how ya doin mate? V8's is over so I'm watching the season review gradually and I've run out of Beer so thought I'd have a look around here.

safc_fan.. It's a shame you had a bad experience but you shouldn't let that put you off there are plenty of people out there who race fair

Knowlsey...I can only speak for ToCA online but the claim that no-one is online is completely false, I just browsed the sessions to see who was playing ToCA right now and found 115 people online, that's just in the rooms that I could see, as all the full rooms do not show up. Yes the service is spartan because after all it was an afterthought, but it does what it needs to do, we have forums etc for all the other stuff and it's free.

Up untill about 15 months a world where I could race people online with my PS2 WAS a world beyond my wildest dreams now that dream has been realised I dunno what everyones complaining about.
My experience of XPox live was no better than PS2 the rooms were full of people who didn't race fair and there was just as much lag (sometimes more) Granted the games I played on XPox were PGR3 and NFSCarbon which were both rubbish games (IMO) and would attract the wall riding and ramming kids that get on your nerves but I think it's hardly fair to slate the PS2 online community, as I wouldn't slate the XPox community. I'm sure there are groups of fair play racers out there on each platform, it's just a case of finding them.
Look up any UKOG, BFG, T.C, PSR or ADVR room for pro sim and you'll find good clean racing with a friendly atmosphere

[Knowlesy]

Well, with any online network, you soon know who to avoid and who to play by feedback systems.

I have had some great races online with some folk who had similar or faster pace to me and who made no contact with me. It's good to take note of these people and find them all the time! It puts a smile on the face coming second to a pro, rather than beating a bunch of fools.

I suppose I was harsh on PS2 online there, I did after all play it early on. But I'm still not sure it offers as much as X-Box live and even Sony admit this and they are going to remedy it with PS3 supposedly.

[Cryos]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

PS2 online is what put me off X-Box Live for a while to be honest. I assumed it'd be the same.

But Live is just far superior, in every way. Gaming, for me, has never been so fun which when you consider I had no interest in games for quite a while in 2006 is something pretty special.

PS2 online is a sick joke. My mate had it up and running and what I found interesting was that a) nobody was online to play against hardly and b) the service was spartan and completely dismal. It feels very much an afterthought, which it probably was when you consider how late the thing came on tap.

I remember back in 1999/2000 all the talk about PS2 taking gaming to the next level, centred around an online world beyond wildest dreams. Absolute bull, frankly.

PS3 should address this, but nobody will buy it rendering the whole thing a total charade.

If psn is going to be anything like PlayOnline; Its going to be Carp.

[jonboy1066]

Why's it going to be a fish?

[Matt]

DOWN JOHN, DOWN! Lol.

[Kidzer]

Originally Posted by rxie

If psn is going to be anything like PlayOnline; Its going to be Carp.

Indeed, I've read some articles on PSN, with silly things like when you are downloading something, you can't do anything else...which will be corrected in a patch I expect, but its a bit silly to have to patch it for something like that IMO!