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I recently started my blog and created a Google Adsense account. But there's one problem; for my e-mail adress, I used my Yahoo! e-mail, but I need my Google Account to recieve payment, right?
So, what I want to know is, how do I change the e-mail adress that's on my blog?
Note: I wrote this article on another site. The original article can be viewed here.
It's the truth; online gaming has really taken off this gaming generation. Being able to play multiplayer games with your friends, compare rankings on leaderboards, and always being able to find a good challenge; it's pretty cool.
Well, all 3 major consoles have their own respective online services and, for the most part, they're all pretty good. But unfortunately you don't have to look hard to find obvious faults in all 3 services. So in this article I'm going to point out these faults and how to fix them. Please keep in mind that this article isn't meant to bash, but to simply give some feedback to the online services.
Nintendo Wi-Fi (Wii)
I'll start with the Wii's Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. A Nintendo console going online seems like a dream come true; being able to see how you compete against the world in all of your favorite games like Mario Kart and Smash Bros. But the problem here is that the connection is so faulty. Games get dropped frequently, the lag is frustrating, and it really hurts the overall online experience. I mean, I understand that this is Nintendo's first online console. But they really should try to work on these problems (although I admit that Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii have been improving quite a bit since I bought them).
In addition, the Friend Code system is possibly the most useless and idiotic thing I've seen since the Atari 5200. While you simply just use a username to register in PSN and XBL, Nintendo Wi-Fi gives you a 12-digit code instead. And to register other people you have to enter their 12-digit code as well! Not only is this bulky and frustrating, but it's very easy to make a mistake while copying your code. And then other people can't register you because you copied a digit wrong. It really is a complete mess.
I would also like to see Voice Chat get implemented, as well as more Wi-Fi compatible games for the Wii. Smash Bros. Is fine, but after 7 months it starts to get (dare I say) boring. If Nintendo could remedize these problems, Wi-Fi would be a much better online experience for everybody. Moving on...
Xbox Live (Xbox 360)
I admit it; I'm not exactly Microsoft's biggest fan. But I'll also admit that Xbox Live is a huge step up over Nintendo Wi-Fi, thanks to a more manageable registering system, better rankings system and more games that are worth playing online. However, there are still some serious issues that need to be properly addressed in order to make a better experience for the gamer.
First of all, the fact that you have to pay to even use Xbox Live is idiotic. It's true that $50 a year is a reasonable price, but consider this; every year you're investing more money into your Xbox 360, while the Playstation Network (PSN) is free. So if you buy an Xbox 360 Arcade with 6 years of Xbox Live, then it would cost more than a 40 GB Playstation 3 with 6 years of PSN. It also doesn't help that customer support isn't always very helpful.
When I play Xbox 360 with my friend at his house, we go online a lot with Halo 3 and Gears of War. And we always have to deal with annoying lag (although not as bad as Wi-Fi). It's not his internet, because he has a rock-solid connection, which means that the problem is Xbox Live. It doesn't do it every time we play, but the lag is still frequent enough to cause frustration. Not to mention some of the people that we play against can start saying some real nasty things when they start to lose. But I guess that Microsoft can't do much about the latter.
Playstation Network (Playstation 3)
Having played my friend's (not the same one) Playstation 3 online numerous times, I can safely say that it's currently the best online service of the three. It has almost no lag at all, a good selection of games that support it (including LittleBigPlanet) and, best of all, it's free to use. However, I do have two complaints about it.
The only real problem with PSN is that it seems to be down frequently. This is mostly because Sony's still installing frequent updates to it, as it's still fairly new compared to Wi-Fi and Xbox Live. I don't have a problem with Sony improving it. But I do have a problem when my friends and I want to get online on Grand Theft Auto IV and blow stuff up. Although this should start to even out over the next year, Sony shouldn't have to be shutting down PSN so frequently. In addition, the HOME beta was fairly boring as well, but Sony has time to fix that.
So, there you have it. Things that each game company can do to improve their online service. Also, I'm sorry I couldn't come up with more criticisms for PSN. It's just that right now, everything seems to be all there.
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