LATENCY
As any real gamer will tell you, the most important factor for most online games is latency. Which, in the most basic terms, is the time that it takes for an action you take to reach the game server (and the result of that action to get back to you). With high latency, when you pull your trigger, your opponent may have already moved out of the way!
Newer connection types like TPG FTTB or NBN have an advantage in terms of latency compared with legacy copper-based services such as ADSL2+. These newer networks utilise fibre optic cables which result in better overall latency!
While latency is the number one factor for playing online games, Internet speed matters for gamers.
Downloading
Who wants to keep all their games on physical media? Discs take up room and they can get damaged. What if you lose them? For PC in particular, games have moved primarily digital over the last 10 years. More and more console games are also being bought online for Playstation, Nintendo Switch and Xbox.
Even if you decide to stick to physical media, gamers live in fear of the dreaded day one patch, where you get home with your brand-new game, only to be greeted with “Update Required,” with a patch almost the size of the whole game to be downloaded anyway!
TPG’s NBN100 plan has a typical evening speed of over 7 times higher than the NBN12 plan, and if you're lucky enough to live in a TPG FTTB enabled building, you can achieve download speeds 9 times higher! This means you can get in the game that much faster when downloading or updating a game from a digital store.
Streaming
Want to take your gaming to the next level? You might want to try streaming your play. This is one reason a gamer might need a high-speed Internet connection. Primarily relying on your upload speed, as you will be sending out a video stream of your screen and maybe video of your face as well.
Both TPG FTTB and NBN connections have been designed with more thought put into a requirement for a higher upload speed than legacy Internet connections. This means that with a TPG FTTB or NBN100 plan you will be able to stream up to 4K definition, while not affecting your connection to the game server.
Multiple Users
As a gamer, you’re not the only person in the house. How many times have you been playing a game only for someone else to start streaming Netflix, affecting your game immediately? Think of your bandwidth like a pipe. Only so much water can flow through it at once so the best way to resolve this issue is to get a bigger pipe.
TPG’s NBN100 and FTTB plans provide enough bandwidth to ensure that multiple people can be online at once without your gameplay being impacted.
Next Gen – Streaming Consoles
In November 2019, Google launched its Stadia cloud gaming service, capable of streaming 4K games at 60 frames per second. While there has been no Australian release date announced, high bandwidth and low latency connection will definitely be a requirement if you want to experience the high end. Microsoft and Sony’s next generation consoles are scheduled for release towards the end of 2020, and these consoles are also to have similar game streaming features.
When these streaming consoles are released in Australia, you can be assured of great performance from TPG who was rated number 1 for NBN average download speed 5 times in ACCC's quarterly Measuring Broadband Australia Report.
Recommended Gaming Plans
If you live in a TPG FTTB enabled building, TPG's $59.99 ultra-fast on-net connection will deliver you the best performance for the lowest cost, with little to no slowdown seen in the evening peak.
For gamers on the NBN we recommend our NBN100 plan. This will ensure that you keep your waiting time to a minimum while downloading games, as well as ensuring that there is enough network bandwidth to go around for your whole family.
Get the Most out of Your Connection
WiFi is great for most people, but when you're trying to compete online, you definitely want to be connected directly to the modem via Ethernet.
If your online game has multiple servers, always go for the one closest to you. Distance is the main cause of poor latency.
Enabling network Quality of Service on your modem will tell the modem to prioritise your gaming traffic, ensuring your connection stays consistent.