An audit of other games produced similar, if not better results, in a single afternoon. boasted an impressive 3,000 users, hundreds of which were using headsets. enjoyed more than 100 players with headsets, and was bustling with head-shot hungry gamers. had only 30 online users, but matchmaking was quick and painless.

Given the much larger number of PS2 owners, not to mention soccer popularity in Europe, more people play on the PS2 network than PlayStation 3, often resulting in a better matchmaking experience. And most online PS2 games share all the features one would expect on Xbox Live and PS3, including the aforementioned headset support (which is more than Wii can say), text messages, and of course, roster and game updates saved to a memory card.

Of the games I played, only had problems, as I was unable connect to third-party servers after five attempts. The good news, however, is that PS2 owners can expect 2-3 times the above numbers during peak play at night.

A missed opportunity

Interestingly, a majority of PS2 owners aren't even aware their console can be played online. Outside of little advertising from Sony, the problem is twofold, it seems.