There is now a common misconception among gamers that one must have a super-fast internet connection to be able to enjoy multiplayer. Indian gamers in particular have been worried that the increase in the number of “always online” titles and games that focus heavily on Web connectivity will hamper their gaming experience. Well, they need not worry so much.
While it is true that MMORPGs do benefit from a quick connection, most games that have vast multiplayer content or are always online — Titanfall, Elder Scrolls Online or the upcoming Destiny, will work absolutely fine on a 512 Kbps connection. That is a connection that most ISPs in India offer at dirt cheap rates. So, let us bust a few myths about gaming online and present the facts. What matters most while playing any online game is your ping. The higher it is, the more lag you will experience. Ping is determined by the network latency between the client (that is you) and the server or the peer. So essentially the more hops your signal takes to reach the server, the higher your ping gets.
Therefore, the question that gets asked all too often is, “If I upgrade my internet from a 1Mbps to 2Mbps, will I get less lag?” The answer is, yes, if you can tell the difference between 90ms and 88ms. But the question that begs answering is — why are higher internet speeds considered better for gaming. And we have the answer for you. Today, as more and more developers are moving to digital distribution, downloading the new 50GB games take so long that they can actually harm your system. Moreover, as mentioned before, MMOs, which have a lot of assets dedicated to the processor and require large calculations in real time, which are not stored on the hard drive, require a fast internet connection.
To elucidate the point further, Elder Scroll Online runs perfectly in the single player online mode on a 1Mbps connection, however, the minute you go into PvP and enter a battle, the frame rate drops to near unplayable levels. In conclusion, all that needs to be said about the matter is, that if you are only looking to enjoy playing online, all you need to get started with is a 512 Kbps connection.
Higher speeds come into the picture when downloading the massive games that are launching these days and yes, that is a worry but only if developers decide to adopt a solely digital distribution model. Until then, don’t sweat it, your internet is good enough.
