Personal computers have been delivering online gaming for years, but the battle for domination of the online console market has just begun: Sony introduced the Network Adapter in August 2002, and Microsoft introduced the Xbox Live gaming network in November. It's a battle well worth winning. Research firm GartnerG2 predicts that revenue for online gaming–enabled consoles in the U.S. will reach $2.3 billion in 2005. And Screen Digest, a European research firm, estimates that total revenues for online games (both PC and console) will top $1 billion by 2006. By then, some 23.4 million people will be playing online console games, according to DFC Intelligence.

Online gaming can be enormous fun. You need the right group of people to play with, but you also need solidly entertaining games. To test some games—as well as the online experience for each console—we set up two Sony PlayStation 2s and two Microsoft Xboxes at pc Magazine Labs, ordered pizza and beer, and played into the wee hours. And you thought your job was tough!

Microsoft Xbox

Microsoft has absolute control over the Xbox Live network, and it shows. The company requires game publishers to include certain features (such as support for voice communication) in games and insists on controlling each game's infrastructure (authentication and servers) so Xbox Live customers and publishers can be billed. The Xbox Live starter kit ($49.95) includes 12 months of service, but Microsoft requires subscribers to enter credit card and billing information before signing up with the service. This made us uncomfortable, and it wasn't clear whether we'll receive notice when our first year ends or Microsoft will just start billing our credit card for monthly installments, as happens with MSN. Still, the service has 500,000 subscribers worldwide, and by the end of 2003, 50 Xbox Live titles will be available.

On the plus side, TCP/IP network configuration is a little more intuitive than with the PS2, and the Xbox's built-in Ethernet port means you don't have to add hardware. The starter kit comes with a headset for voice communication, and voice masking (disguising your voice) is available for all of the games we tested. Unfortunately, in most cases it made our taunts and gibes unintelligible.

Xbox Live offers each gamer a unique ID, called a Gamertag, for use across the service; a Friends list, which lets gamers find their friends online and invite them to a game; and Matchmaking, which lets players find opponents of similar skill levels. Also, the combination of the Xbox's built-in hard drive and Xbox Live lets game publishers offer additional downloadable content, such as characters and levels.

Sony PlayStation 2

As of March 31, Sony had sold more than 600,000 Network Adapters for adding online capability to its PlayStation 2. The adapters are available for either dial-up or broadband connections (42 and 58 percent of units sold, respectively). Sony has a more open approach to online gaming than Microsoft does: You're free to choose your own ISP, and each game publisher can supply an infrastructure for its games. Twenty games are available today, and about 15 more are in development.

Installation of the network adapter is close to effortless, but a clumsy interface makes configuration a hassle. If you've ever configured TCP/IP networking on a PC, though, you should be able to muddle through.

A drawback to Sony's open approach is that each publisher, and sometimes each game, requires you to have a separate ID. This can become quite a hassle for the active online gamer. Also, some titles, such as EverQuest Online Adventures, require an additional monthly fee.

Perhaps the biggest success in online PS2 gaming is EA Sports' Madden NFL 2003, which has 400,000 registered users to date. Another success story: Approximately 13 million player hours have been spent online with SOCOM: US Navy SEALs since the beginning of 2003.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.