Gamers: More and more going online

If they don't know already, parents of gamers will want to know how easy Sony and Microsoft are making it for console gamers to go online, link up with other players, "form alliances and socialize in groups," the New York Times reports. We're not referring to computer gamers; we're talking about the PlayStation 2 and XBox gamers who typically start playing at much younger ages. Computer gamers were always necessarily a little more techie and knew how to go online; now it's easy for gamers of all ages. "Once a console is hooked up to an Internet connection, players merely click a button that takes them directly to the online game portal," according to the Times. More than 10% of the 25 million PlayStation 2s sold are online-capable, but about 1.2 million PS2 users are playing online so far, according to market research. Microsoft says 1 million out of 14 million Xbox users have bought the online kit and subscribe to Xbox Live, while - for Nintendo GameCube - only two games are available for online play (by contrast, Sony expects to have 100 PS2 games available for online play by Christmas, up from 65 now, the Times reports).