Is it just me or is Ad-Hoc multiplayer gaming useless?

[Fraser]

Don't get me wrong the idea is sound but let's look at the math.

Let's say Monster Hunter Freedom 2 (it only has an ad-hoc multiplayer mode) sells 100,000 in the UK in it's first week of release.

At the end of 2006 there were close to 1 million PSP owners in the UK (according to Sony). That would mean that by now, bearing in mind the PSP slim and lite has boosted sales somewhat, there could be anything between 1.5 and 2 million + PSP's in the UK.

Based on these rather shakey estimates that gives us a conservative projection of a 1 in 15 chance of stumbling into range of someone else playing the game. There is no telling that if you do find someone playing the same game that they will be up for a multi-player bout at the time or if they even have their wi-fi switch on (leaving it off conserves batteries).

Of course there are all sorts of reasons why ad-hoc should be good. Multiplayer between friends who meet expressley for the purpose surely find it fun and there is also game sharing. But really, how often have any of you done either of those things? I for one haven't ever indulged in either.

So the questions remains, are ad-hoc modes a waste of time or is it just me?

[Mandark]

You're right. It's not worth the time and effort putting multiplayer in games for handhelds. I can however, see the point of multiplayer for phone games.

[Fraser]

I think infastructure multiplayer modes are a great idea, especially when they are thougtfully implimented like in MGS Portable Ops.

It's the ad-hoc thing I think is a bit daft.

Your right though, more mobile games should have a multiplayer option but again that should be infastructure play as opposed to ad-hoc if you ask me. Game ownership is even more fragmented than PSP gaming among mobile gamers.

[splat]

As far as I understand it, adhoc is purely designed for when you have friends around and are playing within a room. I guess we should call it local rather than adhoc

[icarus_kid]

There are some of us out there that regularly enjoy ad-hoc Killzone, Street Fighter Alpha, Tekken and MGS: Portable Ops. All that's required is PSP enthusiast friends, or even better, a Playstation daft girlfriend.

[Fraser]

I remember seeing a while ago that someone had made these badges for DS wifi users to wear on the underground in Japan. The idea was that the gamers looking for game share players for a certain game would wear the necessary badge e.g. a Pokemon badge for pokemon, a Mario Kart badge for Mario Kart etc.

Cool idea and something similar could work for PSP but I still think the liklihood of coming across someone playing the same game as you is still pretty slim. I don't know anyone I see often who owns a PSP which is a bummer.

[HiddenAway]

Great idea but probably wouldn't work around here - unless we made it into some form of fashion item that gets endorsed by celebrities...

I'd love to see more games use the Infrastructure mode of play though. Some games like Disgaea would certainly benefit from it.

That said, if you really wanted to try ad-hoc through your PSP, then I suggest you take a look at XLink Kai. If done correctly, you can play ad-hoc games over the Internet for free. People have been saying that with this, they've been able to play Monster Hunter Freedom over the Internet.

That said, I didn't have much success when I tried to use it. Worth a look if you really wanted to try though.

[Autobon]

Your right on the ball with this subject. I am from the USA, where Ad-Hoc never gets used because of how far apart people are from each other. On top of that, the USA is an xbox country mostly, so its hard to find others with a PSP.

Infastructure though, now thats incredible.

[Bludhavenn]

Well originally it was for just connecting with friends who also have PSP's. Which is still very useful and convenient in my opinion.

[staticshade]

adhoc is simply for same room gaming and i for one think its brilliant i've got 2 friends wo have got psps and we regularly engage in multplayer games .
people regularly setup meets and get togethers in various towns ans cities around the world to play psp games i'm even planning to start one at my university in liverpool,uk
as i think same room multiplayer games are awesome and should never be replaced completly by infastrcuture modes .

[PGTracy]

Ad-hoc mode is useful when the game allows single-UMD play. Most don't though, which means Ad-hoc play is more of a pain than it's worth.

[Spanner]

I agree on this one. I've only ever found ad-hoc to work when it comes to a two player game, and you're sat next to each other. In those instances, it's pretty cool.

But for multiplayer, I think games really need an infrastructure. Otherwise, MMORPGs would cut ot the middle man and just have us all connect, ad-hoc, through the internet.

[Pants McGewen]

I think ad-hoc multiplayer really suffers from requiring two copies of a game to play (and supplying a cut-down single-game option isn't the answer). It's understandable, with the limitations of requiring a data-filled physical cartridge to load the game. I wonder, will the move to non-physical formats for gaming benefit ad-hoc multiplayer? Would it be possible, for example, to install a temporary game file from a unit containing a paid-for download game onto a second unit?

[Fraser]

That's a really cool idea - Sony, if you are out there, listen up for once!

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