Gaming in a RV?

Satellite? No. There's too much latency for gaming.

Cellular maybe but those gaming apps burn allot of data. Many of us use Verizon's JetPack for internet but it's limited data and $$$. Also CG WiFi systems are usually extremely slow due to poor connection,s and large back haul so they likely won't work either.

Verizon 4G via the Jet Pack is fast enough, but may cost you a fortune on data usage. On my plan I get 5GB/mo for $50 with each extra GB costing $10.

Way too much latency in satellite connection, even campground free wifi gets overloaded and is slow.

Any 4G hotspot will work fine, although you'll obviously need to park somewhere with a decent signal.

Gaming itself does not use enough bandwidth to be a problem, but downloading and updating your games will. Try to do that over a wifi connection somewhere and you should be fine.

I think there is the potential for it for casual gaming on a fairly generic gaming setup, with moderate graphics settings. I agree Satellite is way out of the question even on the most conservative setup, latency is the most important factor in FPS games and satellite delivers by far the slowest latency of all the internet connection options. Cellular would likely be usable if you are getting a good solid 4G signal. The problem is many FPS games being so dependent on near zero latency and high frame rate graphics that a single dropped frame or a short spike in latency could be the difference between making the shot or being shot. I would consider a cell amp like the ones from Wilson, to ensure you can squeeze every little bit out of your cell connection even if it does not appear you need one.

There is life other than gaming. Going on hikes, reading books etc.

Data usage will be a killer,


Ken

For me, a good day is spent doing the outdoor activities while there's light and winding down playing in front of a console at night. Don't have to choose one or the other.

A really, really good 4G signal, even when you can get 50 Mbps download speeds, will still have a lot of latency for online gaming. Most serious gamers don't use wireless anything (keyboard, mouse or WiFi) because of latency.

Recently we took a road trip (without the RV - I know, oh the horror). While at a rest stop so mom could take a potty break, my son took out my old Droid Razr HD that he uses to play games on over WiFi because the rest stop had free WiFi. He played a game for about 2 minutes when he got a pop up stating he had used up his bandwidth allotment. In 2 minutes playing a game on a Android smart phone.

My sister recently bought an iPhone for her son. Before that, her and her husband never went over their shared 2 GB data plan. Since her son uses the phone more to play games than anything else, she had to up their data plan to 6 GB shared so to not to go over their monthly allowance. That's a lot of data for gaming on a smartphone.

Satellite and 4G data has just too much latency for online gaming to be enjoyable. If you don't mind the lag, you most likely may mind the dollars you shell out for data usage.

-Michael

Im going to jump in here not to help with the OP's question because I am not wifi/internet savvy.

I do however enjoy hiking, biking, walking and sitting around the fire....and then playing some games on the XBOX during the evening or during a downpour. I say if that is what you enjoy camping then I hope you can find a way to do it while your boondocking etc.

Cheers

Daryll

In the rural locations of parks, and particularly the remote locations used for boon docking, low-latency Internet connections of any type are unlikely. In most of these places there is nothing that resembles broadband, and for many places, no mobile data connection at all, unless you stay quite close to urban areas or the routes of major highway systems.

Mobile satellite links to the Internet are possible, and while speeds do not approach the new FCC definition of "broadband" they are much better than dial up, comparable to some of the mobile data services. However you will have latency problems for most types of gaming. About 600 milliseconds is typical now for the fastest satellite technologies. It is not just space on the repeaters and traffic, you are fighting the speed of light and the height of geostationary orbits.

I suggest you look at HughesNet for mobile (but not in-motion) satellite Internet. Equipment for the most up to date services runs $2000 to $4000, and service starts at about $50 a month, prices rise with speed and volume.