Verizon at Home

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In this guest blog post, Verizon Gaming Product Manager Jason Henderson looks at the online games experience with Verizon FiOS Internet.

Violent popping sounds pepper the air as you crouch behind a rusty warehouse, rifle in hand, listening for footsteps. The enemy base is just a building away, but you’ve only got a few rounds of ammo left. You’re waiting for the perfect moment.

Suddenly, footsteps behind you. You try to turn around, but are strangely sluggish on your feet. You see an enemy rushing toward you, and as he starts to fire, everything goes wrong. His movements become jerky, and aiming your weapon is like moving through peanut butter. The image freezes, and by the time it’s back, you’re finished.

The gamers out there will no doubt be familiar with this frustrating scenario – sometimes your Internet connection simply can’t keep up with the action on screen. In games, this doesn’t just make for a less enjoyable experience, it can completely ruin your experience. That’s why one of the major benefits of FiOS Internet is having a pipe big enough to handle fast-paced action.

In fact, better game performance is just one of several ways fast internet can improve your video game experience. Let me explain. First, recent research by the Yankee Group shows that 60% percent of U.S. households now have at least one video game console, and 59% of those who do have a console have it connected to the Internet. That means people aren’t just playing games, they’re playing more games online.

Today’s consoles are much more sophisticated than they were a decade ago, be it the Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox or another device. Using your console online doesn’t stop at playing “Red Dead Redemption” against someone across the country. These days, people expect to access an online marketplace on their console where they can download or stream a variety of content – from demos of upcoming games, full length games, and supplemental gaming content, like wallpapers and avatars to TV shows, movie trailers and even full length movies. All of this requires a fair amount of bandwidth to function smoothly.

FiOS provides an even bigger benefit when hosting games, and your own console becomes the “server” in an Xbox or Playstation competition.  As the host, you’re sending data to multiple other players, and FiOS’ upstream speeds offer a distinct advantage.  FiOS has upload speeds of up to 35 Mbps, with some plans offering upload speeds as high as the download speeds.  It’s something the cable competition can’t match. 

It’s the same situation for gaming on the computer. On the PC, play is far from limited to hardcore games. In fact, most games played on the PC are casual games like “Bejeweled,” free Web games, social games like “Farmville” on Facebook or Verizon’s own Games on Demand service – these either require a download or decent bandwidth for streaming. The last thing you want is to spend 30 minutes harvesting your virtual crops only to be told there was a server error and all your hard work just went down the drain.

At the end of the day, we are simply getting and enjoying more and more content via the Internet as opposed to getting it from an actual store. Every megabyte needs to be downloaded, and speed makes a difference, which is why FiOS is a great companion for not just virtual gun-toting hardcore gamers, but casual gamers and those looking to get more entertainment bang from their gaming bucks.