Network Gaming Servers - Cross Platform?

[Kitsune]

So, say you have a copy of Call of Duty 4 and play online. Are you limited to playing others who have the platform you do? Are XBox players only able to play other XBox players? Can PC users battle it out with the consoles? I'm not familiar with how XBox Live/Playstation Network put their consoles online and how they join games. The servers for the game, I'm assuming, are run by the game publisher, but they're divided based on gaming platform?

[Undertoad]

So far, the worlds have not collided.

In the case of the PC games, the game publishers sometimes run servers but mostly it's the rest of us doing it, because the secret is, a server is just a goddamn computer and many people have access to a place where they can stick a box on a network. In BF2, many clans operate their own servers so they can set their preferred rules and access. EA or somebody offers server rental plans, which make it even easier to set up.

In the case of Xbox Live, MS runs the entire operation... and charges a rather high fee for players to be on the network. In the case of the PS network, Sony runs the operation and gives access to it for free.

The console people would, IMO, require their own specialized controllers in order to compete successfully against the PCers. We PCers have access to more controls (104 keys, usually programmable in game) and -- again IMO -- keystrokes on a keyboard combined with the right-hand dedicated mouse, are faster and more precise than joystick maneuvering, for most things.

[Bullitt]

What UT said.
Also, get the game if you haven't already. It's my favorite XBox360 game to date. Looks amazing and is fun as hell.

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by Bullitt

Also, get the game if you haven't already.

Got it -- I'm really enjoying it, although having what sound like middle schoolers wipe me across the map on multiplayer is always frustrating. Lots of fun, regardless. It is the first shooter I've really gotten into in a long time.

And thanks, UT. I honestly had no idea what it was connecting to, since the consoles don't allow you to set up personal servers like the PC does. Finding people is a lot easier this way, although I'm a bit creeped out at this new level of connectivity transparency.