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Thread: game server hosting on wht?
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09-15-2006, 04:40 AM #1Disabled
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game server hosting on wht?
is WHT purley for the discusion of web hosting? or can you talk about game hosting? also one question that really is bugging me is why there is so much more web hosts out there than game hosting servers? is it becuase there is more money in web hosting?
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09-15-2006, 04:44 AM #2Predatory Poster
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Originally Posted by hivemail
Game hosting has a bad reputation as a market. Your target market demographic laregely consists of minors and some people don't want to deal with that market segment. (There are some adults but when I did it several years ago it was mostly kids buying services)
The money is about even. You can make money in both fields if you have a solid plan and some luck on your side.Patron: I'd like my free lunch please.
Cafe Manager: Free lunch? Did you read the fine print stating it was an April Fool's joke.
Patron: I read the same way I listen, I ignore the parts I don't agree with. I'm suing you for false advertising.
Cafe Owner: Is our lawyer still working pro bono?
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09-15-2006, 05:53 AM #3Web Hosting Master
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Originally Posted by hivemail
They ran the prices down to nothing within 2 years.
It USE to be a great revenue stream. When I started doing it was in 1997 and there wasn't another host out there. You could make decent money while providing GOOD service. not the kind around now.
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09-15-2006, 07:56 AM #4Disabled
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but if you planned everything out could you make a good business out of it and if you had the money? becuase surley you have more chance of making money in the gam hosting and the game industry it self as plain hosting market is just saturated with hosts
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09-15-2006, 08:14 AM #5Web Hosting Master
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Try the numbers. maybe it will work for you. I found that it's counter productive. it takes a substantial amount of resources to run game servers, and there are a few game servers that almost require a whole server.
Take that number and figure that you can find pricing at like 2 bucks a slot, and that's where the end is for me. But there's got to be a way to make money or they wouldn't be for sale.
The support is substantially higher with game servers too. I wouldn't do it unless pricing went back to at least 4.50 per slot. I left the market and sold the company when it dropped below 10
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09-15-2006, 08:27 AM #6Web Hosting Master
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There's not a lot of game server hosts left because every 19 year old kid leased a server and called himself a host.
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09-15-2006, 01:20 PM #7Disabled
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Lol @ jerett,
Your right about the kid part, I have had many kids with their so called "companies" approach me asking if they could resell.
I started in the game stuff about 4 months ago, providing BF2 Ranked servers, and many other games.
I have to say, BF2 is very popular at this point, and I have been fine in Texas.
Just be careful, and watch your funds.
Good luck!
-Jarrett
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09-16-2006, 05:46 AM #8Disabled
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yes that is one thing that i did not like the prices where to low for each slot, but i don't really want to do just hosting for normal sites as it is such a saturated market, but if i offer other servcies such as team speak servers etc.. and plan it out, as planing is the most important thing to me!
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09-16-2006, 06:07 AM #9Originally Posted by sedna06
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09-16-2006, 06:24 AM #10Junior Guru Wannabe
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There are many reasons to avoid becoming a GSP:
-If you host in the game server world... you will get TONS of chargebacks simply because the vast majority of your clients are kids using mommy and daddy's credit card.
-They do not follow cancellation procedures
-They are EXTREMELY demanding in terms of support and performance.
-The slightest amount of lag, even lag caused by the client's ISP, will send them running to a new host.
-Any support issue not taken care of in 15 minutes will spawn a forum flaming the size of which has never been seen... on multiple community forums.
Also, game developers such as EA (who created Battlefield 2) are not allowing ANY new providers for Ranked Slot servers and will be even more extremely restrictive for their next release: Battlefield 2142. They are staying with these huge "cloud" GSP's like Verizon's new game service and Speakeasy's GameCloud. These services spawn game servers on-demand from an easy web-based CP for as little as a $10/month subscription.
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09-16-2006, 06:37 AM #11Disabled
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but with hard work and planing and money behind you then you can't go wrong, sure if you only have $200 and dive striaght in with no planing you not going to get fair, and i had thought about doing regular hosting but didn't like that idea of doing reular hosting on it's own, but online gaming and the game industry it self is making so much money,
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09-16-2006, 06:53 AM #12Junior Guru Wannabe
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I'm really sorry to say that the industry is showing signs of being taken over by large corporations. They see the community and its popularity packed with young white men... that means THEY WANT IT. Verizon teamed up with CAL to release PlayLinc, Speakeasy bought GameDaemons and together created GameCloud. These are products that are small business killers.
Take a look at the console world. People like you and I cannot host a Halo 2 server, or any other XBox game at that. It is controlled by XBox Live, which is hosted by providers selected and contracted by Microsoft. The PC gaming world is about to shift in the same direction, already seen in Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2142. I'm sure many small GSP's have their fingers in their ears going "LA LA LA LA LA LA HE DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT LA LA LA LA" but, mark my words, developers like Valve/Vivendi, EA, etc will control who is allowed to host their games... and it won't be you.
Unless you are CURRENTLY well established, you have a very slim chance of making it. That's not to say you can't but everything is working against you... even the game developers keeping multiplayer hosting limited to certain industry leaders.
Best of luck.
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09-16-2006, 07:08 AM #13Disabled
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lol, im gonna need it hehe
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09-17-2006, 05:46 AM #14Web Hosting Guru
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its good to also figure yourself out a business plan it can help you look into detail more, research, know the market and its competitors its one of the best ways to go if the plan is to start a business
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09-17-2006, 06:10 AM #15Disabled
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also there is one more thing that i am concerned about is that i am from the uk and the only provider that i know of that offer game server for GSP are layeredx and i am worried if i where to go with them that gamers in the uk will complain because of network lack
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09-17-2006, 08:46 AM #16Junior Guru Wannabe
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Originally Posted by sedna06
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09-17-2006, 09:41 AM #17Web Hosting Guru
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Originally Posted by sedna06
Further note, layeredx is in the US, which would mean you would get around 80-200ms which yes gamers would complain about, there are plenty dedicated server providers in the uk where you can rent a server, install the game server files on and run the server(s), thenyou sell the servers, tbh layeredx's reseller scheme seems a bit of a waste of time personally
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09-21-2006, 05:21 PM #18Disabled
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does any one know any good providers of dedicated servers in the uk
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09-22-2006, 01:00 AM #19Carpe Diem
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I don't agree that game hosting is full of kids or somehow not as respected.. I do however agree that game hosting used to get a bad rap until some of the bigger web hosters realized the revenue coming in from the "kids" they were hosting and decided they wanted some too.. Now apparently it's fashionable to own a GSP..
If you look around now they all seem to have game hosting divisions springing up.. The only problem is the gaming market matured a long time ago, I don't think anyone told them though
That goes to show you that money doesn't buy brains.. Big companies have no business selling game servers just like some of the little companies have no business running datacenters.. Stick to what you know and leave what you don't to the people that do..
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09-22-2006, 10:10 AM #20Web Hosting Guru
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The Gamehosting market is quite overfull, Trying to get into it now would be your downfall. Wait for the other companies to go out of business first then start err up.
EDIT: Ahem.. Don't wait on us... I don't plan on itNext-Generation Game Servers- www.NextGenServers.com - Play On. Fast, Reliable, Low ping, No Lag, full support servers. Providing Professional, Low Cost, but effective services to gamers like you. Providing the nextgen of gaming services.
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09-22-2006, 10:15 AM #21Disabled
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ok, umm i really want to do somthing like host and game hosting bust ordinary hosting is just to saturated
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09-22-2006, 12:33 PM #22Web Hosting Master
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Well the reason that 95% of hosts fail is because of poor planning. Do you know anything about hosting game servers or hosting web sites? If not then research for a long time or find something else to try and do, like real estate.
There are many things that can go wrong with hosting and if you do not know how to fix it then you are going to have problems.
Plus the competition is too great so unless you have a good marketing plan, a solid investment, knowledge, and the ability to provide what other hosts can't you won't make it in hosting.
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09-22-2006, 12:37 PM #23Web Hosting Master
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Addon...
Take it from me...I started a GSP in 2001 and ran it for 2 years...
By the end of my company I had to lower prices to compete with all the hosts using cheap dedicated hosting so much it wasn't even worth my time. Most gamers don't understand the quality factor and just want the lowest price...the ones that did understand quality were already with GameDaemons and Griffinrun.
I'm sure it's just 10x worse now.
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09-23-2006, 01:03 AM #24Carpe Diem
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Yep, It's worse now
Most new hosts think they can clean up by offering lower prices then everyone else and throw in a truck load of addons to boot... but they fail to realize they need to stuff 20 servers on each machine just to break even at the end of the month... Problem is by then half the customers are gone..
On the other side of it plenty of GSP's have made a living practising this exact business model.. They survive by advertising everywhere and luring in new customers with the $1/slot prices.. The theory is with every 10 new customers let's say 3 will cancel at the end of the month. That leaves a net +7 paying customers.. Rinse and repeat..
And you wonder why GSP's have a bad name...
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09-23-2006, 03:42 AM #25renegade
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Originally Posted by fireforfx