Consumers push for 'PC-less' broadband gaming

The UK's broadband cable companies, eager to profitably eke out revenues wherever they can, are preparing to target gamers with PlayStations or Xboxes but no PCs over which they access the net.

After launches in the US and Japan, broadband gaming is coming to Europe, yet at the moment providers expect their customers first to have broadband net access over PCs before they can sign up to network their consoles.

NTL, for example, today said it is launching Xbox Live with subscribers paying an extra £5 per month on top of their broadband internet access packages, of which it offers three choices.

Yet a current problem has been highlighted in an email from a silicon.com reader in Derry City, Northern Ireland, whose son is an avid Xbox gamer. After ordering a cable modem and paying for a connection, NTL eventually informed their customer that his son is not allowed to only operate a console plus modem set up.

The reader said the cable giant only realised what was going on when his son attempted to register his console and was told he needed a PC. He wrote: "My son bought the Xbox for this very reason i.e. the Xbox is a dedicated gaming console and a cheaper alternative to buying a full blown computer system. NTL suggested to my son that he registers his modem's MAC address [its unique hardware ID] via my computer.

"My son suggested to NTL WHY NOT SEND A LAPTOP with your engineer at installation and he can register those without a computer at source."

The reader goes on to say that with a significant proportion of console users not expected to be home PC users, plus an estimated 25 million Xbox Live/PlayStation2 users projected by the end of 2006 in the UK: "I think my son deserves some kind of reward for initiative instead of 50 phone calls later talking to people who haven't got a clue".

Bill Goodland, director of internet at NTL, told silicon.com: "The key issue here is provisioning. For example at present broadband customers currently have to fill in screens on their PC and wouldn't be able to do that with a console only. We are actively looking at the possibility of providing a console-only broadband connection but have nothing to announce as yet because we need to do more research in this area."

However, fellow cable operator Telewest is slightly more optimistic, despite recognising the difficulties. A spokeswoman said: "Once [a connection is] installed it would be very difficult for us to work out what's wrong and fix faults if a user doesn't have a PC. But I can tell you we're certainly looking into it as there is obviously a huge market for online gaming."

BT Openworld, which competes in broadband provision with either NTL or Telewest in many areas, is less inclined to target the PC-less market. Chris Jones, head of partnerships at the BT unit, said the company recognises there will be a day when devices such as hi-fis and fridges might be broadband networked but that there is little progress being made.

He said: "We've done our homework and the reason [for not offering console-only broadband] is that the majority of Xbox users have PCs."