The best people to play against/with on Xbox Live are Japanese people: this is the conclusion I've drawn from many weeks of Forza 2 experience. Want to know why? Read on.

I started my online racing career in Forza 2 by competing with people who share my mother tongue -- English. However, as I have a slightly Japanese-sounding Gamertag and can't always be bothered to use a headset, it wasn't long before the abuse began. "That ****in' kamikaze ****!" was one of the least imaginative utterances of racist abuse aimed in my direction, and I didn't bother to reply and explain that I'm British. I also didn't bother responding to "That Jap ****er's gonna get ****in' bombed!"

Xbox Live, I was beginning to think, is nothing but a mosh pit of socially incompetent gamers.

But then I cut my connection with the English-speaking world and joined up with the Forza 2 servers in Japan. Lo -- civilized people still exist! And many of them are Japanese.

Racing against seven Japanese drivers around Suzuka was one of the most refreshing online experiences I've had in years. Not only was everyone driving well and respecting the etiquette of racing cars (i.e. playing the game as though it's Forza 2 -- which, by the way, it is -- and not some online Destruction Derby), but there was also jovial and polite communication between drivers. Imagine!

And that's not at any expense of humour -- far from it. Among the Japanese Forza 2 players I've encountered, there are many interesting and entertaining characters. The nice thing is, when I explain that I'm English, that doesn't trigger a torrent of hate and vitriol. Instead, it tends to elicit camaraderie and curiosity about my culture. (I should probably explain that 'my culture' produces a vast number of people who seem to feel nothing but hate and vitriol, but I refrain from lowering the tone...)


I must also point out that their technical driving ability far exceeded anything I'd seen in the English-speaking domain of Xbox Live. Like Takuma Sato, many of the Japanese Forza 2 players are sharp drivers to the point of taking risks; but it's all done in a playful spirit and, when the race is over, there are congratulatory comments forthcoming -- regardless of whether they won or ended up in last place.

I wonder how much of a bearing experiences such as mine -- and I'm sure it's not a unique experience -- must have on Nintendo's reluctance to even enter the world of online chat-as-you-play/play-as-you-chat. It's certainly difficult to envisage a family man like Shigeru Miyamoto wilfully exposing his children to an arena (supposedly of 'entertainment') where racial abuse and aggression seems to be common.

But there must be a happy compromise to be found. There's no way that Mario Kart Wii will live up to its online potential without some sort of chat function, but I say that with a proviso that my online Mario Kart competitors are my close friends (or Japanese). Perhaps through a simple restriction process, with voice chat removed only during competition with strangers, Nintendo could ensure that Wii owners are given a suitable online experience. Wii is being marketed as a product for the whole family, after all, so Nintendo is likely keen to guarantee a family-friendly online arena before it makes any commitments in that regard.

Sony, on the other hand, has effectively sidestepped the issue simply by playing down the importance of online chat (and by not including a headset with the PS3). I've had a perfectly smooth online experience with Ridge Racer 7 since the PS3's launch day, and perhaps that is partly attributable to the game's text-only (or rather, preset messages only) communication system.

Minna no Golf 5, too, is an absolute blast online right now. Its 50-player online tournaments are attracting thousands of players from across Japan, myself included, and that again only features textual inter-player communication in its lobby areas. Maybe that is the ideal compromise -- text-based chat -- but it seems unfortunate to resort to such an archaic mode of contact purely so as to avoid verbal abuse.

Regardless of my disappointing experience in Xbox Live/Englishland, my enthusiasm for online gaming remains. In fact, that enthusiasm has been heightened by my positive experience playing with Japanese Live users. And where the PS3 and Wii are concerned, I suppose I'll happily settle for text chat. Come the launch of Mario Kart Wii, though, my feelings on the issue may well change.