Research Finds Fewer Console Games Are Including Multiplayer

[MetalMonkey74]

SSX NEEDS LOCAL MULTIPLAYER!!! (sorry for shouting, i just feel very strongly about that particular reboot)

It doesnt take researchers to realise local multiplayer has been seriously lacking in modern games. I personally think that if consoles want to survive the next generation, they need to bring it back!

 

[BoogieManFL]

I like having the option to do both. Good single player experiences are always nice to have - but it's also great fun to play with a close buddy. Not enough good cooperative games out there. The only notable one in my mind for the last SEVERAL years was Splinter Cell Conviction. And the coop ending for that? Wow.. Voice chat had never gone so silent during a mission..

 

[Big_Boss_Mantis]

"A game that gives you a great experience is what you want; if the great experience involves multiplayer, fantastic. If it doesn't - well, that can be fantastic as well."

Capitain Obvious to the rescue of the video games industry!

What took you so long?

 

[thiosk]

This is great, because call of duty can continue upsidegrading their multiplayer experience and everyone else can focus in either on making a multiplay competitor, or on the single player mode alone.

Cheers

 

[Proverbial Jon]

I could have sworn that the exact opposite was true, that multiplayer was being tacked onto pretty much every game this generation. I was honestly sure the plague that is multiplayer was only spreading further... it would seem that I should bow to the superiority of market research instead!

 

[bigman88]

SSX NEEDS LOCAL MULTIPLAYER!!! (sorry for shouting, i just feel very strongly about that particular reboot)

It doesnt take researchers to realise local multiplayer has been seriously lacking in modern games. I personally think that if consoles want to survive the next generation, they need to bring it back!

I HATED the ssx reboot, and hated it even more for the fact that it didn't have any splitscreen. Still cant get that bullsh* excuse out of my ear "oh, oh, the visuals won't be able to sustain itself on the consoles with splitscreen mode, too much processing", GTFOOH...

Big problem iwith the lack of splitscreen current consoles is people are quite alright with thier being no splitscreen, people want there games no matter what greedy moves company's pull nowadays, and the continuing trend shows it.

Next gen (zzzz..)will do fine with a minimum of splitscreen support for games; this generations seems to be doing pretty fine without it.

 

[flarty]

Really?

*Looks at God Of War: Ascension, Tomb Raider, Uncharted 3, Halo 4, Gears Judgement*

I'm struggling to think of a retail console game that doesn't have multiplayer. DmC, but that's about it. I'd love to know how they got their findings.

Forgot Metal Gear Revengeance and Bioshock Infinite

Theres more but cant think for now

Deus EX, Dishonoured, Metro 2033, infamous 1&2?

upcoming? as far as im aware the last of us and sleeping dogs dont have multiplayer

Sleeping Dogs didn't - and what do you mean by upcoming for it? It's been out since last year. Unless you accidentally got it confused with Watch Dogs. Not sure if Last of Us is going to have it or not though.

erm yes i meant watch dogs =/ dammit

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

You know what kind of world I'd like to live in? The kind where single player games don't have a forced multiplayer component and where multiplayer games don't have a forced single player component. For example Battlefield and Call of Duty don't need single player. No one buys those games for their 4 hour long scripted single player. On the other side, Mass Effect and Dead Space don't need multiplayer.

 

[The]

A far cry from bheing upset with the trend I am pleased by it!

Heh. A FAR CRY! Get it? Cause... FC3 had... multiplayer component... *joke dies*

 

[grigjd3]

Really?

*Looks at God Of War: Ascension, Tomb Raider, Uncharted 3, Halo 4, Gears Judgement*

I'm struggling to think of a retail console game that doesn't have multiplayer. DmC, but that's about it. I'd love to know how they got their findings.

Forgot Metal Gear Revengeance and Bioshock Infinite

Theres more but cant think for now

Deus EX, Dishonoured, Metro 2033, infamous 1&2?

upcoming? as far as im aware the last of us and sleeping dogs dont have multiplayer

Skyrim (late in 2011),Darksiders 2, The Witcher 2 (is this out yet on a console?), Kingdoms of Amalur. I believe those are all single player only. Anyhow, of course Halo and Gears is multiplayer. There isn't a reason to play those games without multiplayer. I'd agree, though, that shoving MP into Tomb Raider and Uncharted 3 is a complete waste.

 

[Atmos Duality]

The implications of that list are more intriguing than its explicit conclusions.

This does not necessarily mean single player games sell better, or are largely more popular.
(it could be true, but this trend does not prove it)
It is entirely possible for the number of players (either by gross or proportion) playing multiplayer to increase annually despite the proportion of games offering multiplayer decreasing annually.

Call of Duty 4.x maxes sales every single year, and by far, most of its popularity can be attributed to online multiplayer.
(indicated by sales of map packs and online usage)
It could suggest an avoidance trend of other companies. They can't compete with online megagames since the appeal of those follows Network Good logic (bigger population = bigger appeal).

READ: This is all conjecture, and just an example of the sort of thoughts this provokes.

 

[oldtaku]

consumers aren't too worried about it.

More like f@#4ing ecstatic about it.

 

[dmase]

It's funny the past 2 years there have been a lot of reviewers and people complaining about how all the videogames seemed to have multiplayer when in reality there where less games with multiplayer being made.

 

[Glaice]

It's either because companies are either 1) Adding a tacked on, cheap and worthless multiplayer or 2) not adding multiplayer at all.

 

[Strazdas]

its not that less games have multiplayer, its that there are way more indie titles with no multiplayer that lower the multiplayer percentage.

Personally i dont care about online multiplayer. if i want to play online i play a MMO, all else i want to play singleplayer only and dont evne touch that multiplayer button most of the time.
Now the Hotseat/splitsceeen mode is going extinct and im ready to kill for that. i used to play with friends in hotseat Heroes and civilization all the time. most games even civ 5 dont support that anymore even SC2 dont have lan now.

 

[Signa]

The chart just shows percentages for the market per year that has multiplayer or no mulitplayer. If you're counting all the upstart indie games that are single player only, then yes, a higher number of games are now supporting single player.

In the AAA industry? Nope. It's just as bad as always.

 

[Geoffrey Ledger]

If the industry thinks implementing local multiplayer is bad for business then why don't they instead of having no local multi-player at all, they could lock the split-screen feature and unlock it to users that have their own individual licence to the game, this then means you could have 4 people sign in to a single device that own a licence of that game. Also then the developers can make statistical analysis to see how many people are playing on the same device to find out how popular split-screen really is, local multi-play definitely adds so much replay value but how can they know people are using it currently, i guess with xbox live its possible. I like the idea of having your progression saved to an account with achievements along with this.