Rockstar Toronto created Grand Theft Auto:IV (a successor to GTA:San Andreas, GTA:Vice City and GTA3) for Xbox 360, PS3 and recently PC.
Multiplayer uses Peer-to-Peer (P2P) which is unconventional. More specifically, P2P is designed for a small number of users while performance deteriorates after ten computers are connected to the network making it difficult for the network to grow. Also, there is no centralized network administration, no centralized security and as the number of computers increase - the network becomes more complex and difficult to manage. There also may be no centralized data storage, no backups and this falls on the individual user to take care of.
For one who wants to create a game and have their friends come and play - there are often several disconnects stating "your computer is too slow" which makes P2P inconvenient. Clan members of mine and I created a multiplayer game with about four of us recently and one-by-one our connections got dropped from the game and we lost our stats.
Having a dedicated server would allow a centralized system to take care of the CPU load, bandwidth and security. This would allow more users to join the multiplayer game and maintain a great connection and have confidence they'll be there for awhile without being disconnected.
Please pledge with me to ask Rockstar Toronto to develop and release a dedicated server so many of us can enjoy true 32-player servers with peace of mind.
Thank you.
Sources:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Disadvantages_of_peer_to_peerWe the undersigned - fans, enthusiasts and newcomers have enjoyed release after release of the Grand Theft Auto series and we just love what's been done with GTA:IV. We hope you consider making a dedicated server to preserve the network quality, security and user control for multiplayer gaming.
Thank you Rockstar Toronto for taking the time to read this letter.
