X-box/PS3 education

[blueonblack]

Can someone tell me how these things connect to one another? I'll admit I am a console caveman, my last console being a used Sega Dreamcast. I'm sadly out of touch, vastly preferring PC games personally, but I am considering opening a pay-by-the-hour gaming store and consoles make more sense from a business standpoint.

What would a guy need to allow a group of ten people to come in, sit down, choose a game and play against each other? Or anyone else for that matter.

Consoles, games, televisions and comfortable furniture are obvious, any other hardware?

(I can hear the console mob lighting their torches and brandishing their pitchforks now, try to be easy on the caveman, eh?)

[Trace]

Controllers.

[x88x]

I believe both have NICs integrated, so if you want multiple of each console to communicate you should just need a switch/hub/router/whatever and cables.

[Bopher]

Yep, both have NICs already installed and the PS3 has internal Wifi I believe on all the different systems and the newest 360 also has the wifi. 4 controllers and tvs big enough the comfortably sit 4 players depending on the games. PS3 the people I think could sign up for the free accounts, I have no idea if you actually have to have a PS3 to get an account. The 360s people would have to buy gold memberships to get online to play but if they are playing locally they don't need anything but a user name and they could keep those on memory cards. So pretty much the systems, tvs and standard networking gear to get them to talk to each other.

[diluzio91]

if possible you could offer a headphone splitting setup with extenders so more "serious gamers" could have cans on. but make it an optional thing that they would ask for... i would vote the 360 over the PS3, as it (gonna get flamed by the PS3 crowd) tends to have more multiplayer abilities... but if you are going to be purchasing the systems i would spring for the new ones because of the better cooling

[slaveofconvention]

I'd back the suggestion to go with Xbox360s as they do, as previously mentioned, offer a fair bit of network gaming. One recent update of the 360 allowed the use of USB keys to be used for game saves and profile storage (up to 16GB) so you would be in a position to allow people to save their progress and pick up where they left off without spending huge amounts on Memory cards etc. There's no point going beyond 16gb however. The xbox will format any key down to 16gb - I'm assuming it is MS's way of protecting the revenue they get from hugely overpriced xbox hard disks.

[x88x]

I'm assuming it is MS's way of protecting the revenue they get from hugely overpriced xbox hard disks.

Yup, that way you can't just hook up a USB HDD.

[BuzzKillington]

Maybe offer some customized USB keys for sale with your logo on them so customers can save their profiles as they play at your center.

[Diamon]

I'd second Buzz's suggestion. Order some customized USB keys that you can sell. And you could also keep a few 16gb ones around and offer saving their saves for them.

[TheGreatSatan]

*Sometimes, I sneak downstairs in the middle of the night and play Starfox64*

[x88x]

Actually, TGS brings up a good idea. You could have a vintage corner!

[Konrad]

I've heard you can connect the two machines together through a router?

There are plenty of mods and hacks involving fixed and removable storage devices (USB, SD, CF, HDD, SSD, whatever) for both machines, alongside all the "mod chip" stuff and countless performance tweaks and cosmetic twists. (Perhaps more for the XBox, though it's debatable.) Some are quite serious, some alter the machines beyond recognition.

[x88x]

I've heard you can connect the two machines together through a router?

Well, they both have full TCp/IP stacks, so yeah, it'd be pretty simple to get them to be able to talk to each other (theoretically), but...why? I'm sure there could be something I don't know about, but I can't think of any reason for a PS3 and 360 to talk to each other.

[Bopher]

None really. You can't play games together on the different platforms and I think for the most part they write information in different formats so accessing video and audio on each other wouldn't be doable. Not to mention I don't think either system can "share" whats on the hard drives anyway so that would blow that right out of the water. I do like the idea of USB sticks to save information on, but you'd need some sort of control system to keep track of the store use ones. I have a little idea on the thing but wondering how practical it would be to put together. Hmmm.

[x88x]

I do like the idea of USB sticks to save information on, but you'd need some sort of control system to keep track of the store use ones.

Physical control or only let store sticks be used on store systems? Physical control, for sticks that you want to stay on the premises, I would just stick an RFID tag on each and have a reader constantly running at the door. If it detects a stick leaving the premises, it sets off an alarm.

[Konrad]

I think he's referring to some kind of file system. Or metadata imposed on the regular file system which adds missing functions that are normally present in a real filesystem. I don't know how the machines store their data blocks, but I'm sure it's not uncrackable, possibly even standard (or slightly nonstandard) file systems.

[Bopher]

RFID would be a good system. I was almost thinking depending on the store setup maybe extension cables from the USB ports to the front desk that store keys could be plugged into that way they never have to leave the store operator. Probably not very practical since low speed is limited to something like 15ft i think. Unless something that could do USB to Ethernet then back to USB that could handle a connection like that. probably more work then needed. Figured maybe from the rear USB connector on the Xbox to the front desk, leaving the front 2 for game saves and such. Just thinking out loud here. Probably would be the way I would setup.