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I have one question about Vita's 3G connectivy...

F

Fernando Rocker

Banned
Is it possible to play online games with the 3G functionality? If I recall correctly, the only games we are going to be able to play online are asynchronous modes, like for example, Hot Shots Golf.

3G download speeds are good, but the latency is very high.

So... the 3G will be used mostly for the social features and Near, right?

tsjXx.jpg
 
D

djplaeskool

Member
3G + Active gaming = ugh.

A lot of what has been shown as far as 3G is concerned has been community features and social interactivity.
 
F

Fernando Rocker

Banned
Yeah... the reason why I am making this thread is because there seems to be some confusion around here and other websites... specially some guys saying how much better Monster Hunter 4 would be on the Vita because of the 3G function.

But I'm pretty sure a game like that would suck over 3G.
 
E

Einbroch

Banned
See, this is what I don't understand about playing games online: WoW takes up less bandwidth (~30KB/s) than a 3G connection (~170KB/s). So why can't people play games online on 3G?

Is it a stability issue?
 
F

Fernando Rocker

Banned
Einbroch said:
See, this is what I don't understand about playing games online: WoW takes up less bandwidth (30KB/s) than a 3G connection (~170KB/s). So why can't people play games online on 3G?

Is it a stability issue?
Click to expand...

Latency.
 
S

StevieP

Banned
Einbroch said:
See, this is what I don't understand about playing games online: WoW takes up less bandwidth (30KB/s) than a 3G connection (~170KB/s). So why can't people play games online on 3G?

Is it a stability issue?
Click to expand...

It's not about bandwidth, it's about latency (measured in ms) not speed (kb/sec). Latency is the reason I find it very hard to play online competitive games on the console model (peer-to-peer matchmaking) and generally play my online games on PC (dedicated server model, plus free). Much better latency, much higher quality match in pretty much every case. Latency is atrocious over a cellphone network, far worse than peer-to-peer hosted matchmaking even.
 
F

Fernando Rocker

Banned
I think this is an important advise... so, if you guys are planning on getting the 3G model to play online modes on the go, think about it twice.

Sony has been very quiet in not telling this.
 
M

Man

Member
Cow Mengde said:
Huh? My download speed is only 120k but I can handle Vindictus very well on my PC. Is 3G different from regular DSL internet?
Click to expand...
3G / 4G : You are guaranteed > 200ping.
 
C

Cow Mengde

Banned
Oh, I see. That explains everything. Thanks.

Wait, then why was everyone so hyped about online for the Vita? What's the difference between Wifi and 3G?
 
F

Fernando Rocker

Banned
Cow Mengde said:
Huh? My download speed is only 120k but I can handle Vindictus very well on my PC. Is 3G different from regular DSL internet?
Click to expand...

Yes, because of the high latency. Every move you would do, for example, in UMvC3, it would have a couple of seconds of lag.

Speed is fine, but is irrelevant.
 
K

Kyoufu

Member
Fernando Rocker said:
I think this is an important advise... so, if you guys are planning on getting the 3G model to play online modes on the go, think about it twice.

Sony has been very quiet in not telling this.
Click to expand...

Sony already said at E3 that 3G will only be for those latency light games.
 
C

Cruzader

Banned
Fernando Rocker said:
I think this is an important advise... so, if you guys are planning on getting the 3G model to play online modes on the go, think about it twice.

Sony has been very quiet in not telling this.
Click to expand...
3G is know for the ability to access social features on Vita. (on mobile devices in general)

Not sure why you are concerned on this kind of thing. Now if it's worth it is debatable. I don't care since I will just use mobile hotspot with my android phone on wifi model if I need to access some of its features.
 
M

Man

Member
Cow Mengde said:
Does that mean the wifi model is actually the superior version?
Click to expand...
3G model switches to Wifi mode whenever such a conneciton is available.
You are offline with the Wifi model if no open Wifi network in reach.

EloquentM said:
for gaming yes. for socializing, no.
Click to expand...
The Wifi model isn't superior in any fashion except price (and you loose a lot by saving those $50).
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Cow Mengde said:
Does that mean the wifi model is actually the superior version?
Click to expand...

Err, no. The 3G model also has WiFi. Meanwhile, the 3G model is always on, always connected, can do communication, leaderboards, trophies, game patches and downloads, web browsing, etc abroad.

While Sony haven't confirmed online multiplayer, 3G is more than suitable for "play by email" or turn based games; card games, board games, party games (acrophobia, for example!), score challenge multiplayer, etc.

If none of this appeals to you, then the 3G model won't be worth the extra $50. if it does, it probably will.
 
B

Bad_Boy

time to take my meds
Fernando Rocker said:
I doubt the average Joe knows about E3.
Click to expand...
I'm sure they will make things clear. I doubt your average joe even knows the Vita release date, even in japan. Marketing hasnt begun yet...
 
D

DuendeSmoker

Neo Member
Cow Mengde said:
Huh? My download speed is only 120k but I can handle Vindictus very well on my PC. Is 3G different from regular DSL internet?
Click to expand...

The problem with 3G is the latency, not bandwidth. These 120k of yours refer to bandwidth, or how much data can be transfered per second. Latency refers to how fast the data gets to the destination, measured by milisecond. Usually, anything below 50ms is great, and it's still good enough up to 80ms.

3G is well known for having a very high latency, beyond 300ms. That's why it's not recommended for gaming, as it will result in lag. Lots of it.
 
F

Fernando Rocker

Banned
Cow Mengde said:
Weird. The last thing I think anyone would give a shit about is socializing through their handheld.
Click to expand...

I know people (for real) who can't enjoy games on certain consoles because they don't display notifications about trophies and achievements on their Facebook account.

Sad but true.
 
M

Man

Member
Cow Mengde said:
Weird. The last thing I think anyone would give a shit about is socializing through their handheld.
Click to expand...
Come out of the gaming ghetto. Smell the roses of advanced online services and smartphone functionality.
 
P

Pyke Presco

Member
Just putting this out there, as a contrast to what most people are saying: 3G is certainly capable of handling online gaming. Throughout basic training the only Internet I had available was on weekends with a 3G connection on my iPhone with Telus(Canadian cell phone company).

I tethered it to my laptop, and then bridged the connection to my 360. Call of Duty: Blackops and Halo Reach were easily playable with a 3 bar connection on 360, and on PC I could connect to servers in Call of Duty 4, TF2 and Mount and Blade with pings ranging from 80-150 (though there were far more with pings over 500-600). Playing games over 3G is certainly not impossible. There were also other guys in my platoon who ran off of a Rogers Internet stick and played WoW with no problems whatsoever according to them.

That being said, it will get expensive. My cell data plan has 1GB of data, which flexes up to 2GB and then 6GB for an additional $20 each if I go over my limit. Using the connection for 3 or 4 days of solid gaming a month(5-6 hours eah day) could easily bring me close to the 6GB cap. So the issue isn't really whether gaming over 3G is possible, it's much more an issue of how expensive it will get if you decide to play for 30 min or so every day at lunch at the office or whatever.
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Cow Mengde said:
Weird. The last thing I think anyone would give a shit about is socializing through their handheld.
Click to expand...

Well it's nice that you haven't bought a smartphone yet, but the rest of us have. You can say what you want about the quality of the games themselves LOL NO BUTANS CRAP ANGRY BIRDS GARBEG WHO'D PAY MORE THAN $0.01 FOR DAT CRAP I WANT DEEP MATOR GAMES, but the social connectivity features in terms of leaderboards, challenges, achievements, PBEM, item trading, and a lot of other stuff just spanks the shit out of any current dedicated handheld. That's to say nothing of things like texting, which is just as doable on a 3G Vita as using SMS on a phone.
 
A

antonz

Member
Stumpokapow said:
Err, no. The 3G model also has WiFi. Meanwhile, the 3G model is always on, always connected, can do communication, leaderboards, trophies, game patches and downloads, web browsing, etc abroad.

While Sony haven't confirmed online multiplayer, 3G is more than suitable for "play by email" or turn based games; card games, board games, party games (acrophobia, for example!), score challenge multiplayer, etc.

If none of this appeals to you, then the 3G model won't be worth the extra $50. if it does, it probably will.
Click to expand...
This actually brings up an interesting issue. The quoted battery life does not apply to the 3G model. They specifically say 3-5 hours is with no network abilities enabled.

3G is always on and draining battery so the 3-5 hour is only the Wifi model with wifi off.
 
D

darkwing

Member
it all depends on your 3G provider, here in my country , depending on your location, you can get good latency on 3G, heck there are wifi modems that accept a 3G sim card
 
A

antonz

Member
Squire Felix said:
I got a question now,

If carriers are doing "4G" (LTE, HSPA+) why is this phone restricted to 3G?
Click to expand...
I would have to guess price and the fact 4G is still very much in its infancy in many areas like the US
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
I wanted to buy the 3G model, but after thinking this through, I guess I'll go with the wifi-only one, as I wouldn't really bother with buying another sim card just for the Vita.
 
T

TUSR

Banned
antonz said:
I would have to guess price and the fact 4G is still very much in its infancy in many areas like the US
Click to expand...
Im not sure about the markets, but doesn't the Japanese market have more interest in hand held gaming then the North American market does?

Whats the infrastructure like in Japan as far as wireless networks go?

I guess having a world chip in it would be better from a accountants view then a limited "4G" chip in it.

And with the battery life being so crappy, I guess they would need the room for small/less consuming parts.
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
antonz said:
This actually brings up an interesting issue. The quoted battery life does not apply to the 3G model. They specifically say 3-5 hours is with no network abilities enabled.

3G is always on and draining battery so the 3-5 hour is only the Wifi model with wifi off.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure. I don't find 3G uses any more battery than Wifi, maybe even less, but if the original quoted figure didn't involve any network connectivity, hard to say.
 
E

Ermac

Proudly debt free. If you need a couple bucks, just ask.
Stumpokapow said:
I'm not sure. I don't find 3G uses any more battery than Wifi, maybe even less, but if the original quoted figure didn't involve any network connectivity, hard to say.
Click to expand...

The iPhone gets worse battery life browsing on wifi. Unsure about the Vita, but I'm guessing it would be similar.
 
N

Nessus

Member
Stumpokapow said:
Well it's nice that you haven't bought a smartphone yet, but the rest of us have. You can say what you want about the quality of the games themselves LOL NO BUTANS CRAP ANGRY BIRDS GARBEG WHO'D PAY MORE THAN $0.01 FOR DAT CRAP I WANT DEEP MATOR GAMES, but the social connectivity features in terms of leaderboards, challenges, achievements, PBEM, item trading, and a lot of other stuff just spanks the shit out of any current dedicated handheld. That's to say nothing of things like texting, which is just as doable on a 3G Vita as using SMS on a phone.
Click to expand...

Isn't that the point, though? That everyone already has a smartphone and uses that for all their social media features.

Seems sorta clunky lugging around a Vita for that.
 
S

ShdwDrake

Banned
Cow Mengde said:
Weird. The last thing I think anyone would give a shit about is socializing through their handheld.
Click to expand...

I doubt that, I see more and more of my friends on FB and Twitter using that functionality through their games. Tweeting while playing on the go is a very welcome feature for those people.

More people than you think use social networking features that are in video games nowadays.

Nessus said:
Isn't that the point, though? That everyone already has a smartphone and uses that for all their social media features.

Seems sorta clunky lugging around a Vita for that.
Click to expand...

Hardcore games with buttons.
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Nessus said:
Isn't that the point, though? That everyone already has a smartphone and uses that for all their social media features.

Seems sorta clunky lugging around a Vita for that.
Click to expand...

There are social features in mobile games. There are no social features in handheld games. Vita provides an opportunity to fix that.

It's true that the advantage of texting is mooted if you have a good texting phone.
 
T

TommyT

Member
Stumpokapow said:
Err, no. The 3G model also has WiFi. Meanwhile, the 3G model is always on, always connected, can do communication, leaderboards, trophies, game patches and downloads, web browsing, etc abroad.

While Sony haven't confirmed online multiplayer, 3G is more than suitable for "play by email" or turn based games; card games, board games, party games (acrophobia, for example!), score challenge multiplayer, etc.

If none of this appeals to you, then the 3G model won't be worth the extra $50. if it does, it probably will.
Click to expand...

They still have this game?! I remember playing it on AOL and it was amazing!

Can you remote play the PS3 using your vita via 3G? :D
 
J

jamesinclair

Banned
Im confused. I thought the super ridiculous prices for play-by-hour over 3G were because.....well, you could play games over it.

But on top of the $50 price difference, we're being asked to pay by hour to access.....facebook and online rankings? And I guess the youtubes?

Seriously?

How come Kindle lets you do basic web browsing for free?
 
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