Whatever happened to the Splitscreen campaign?

[The_Blue_Rider]

While I was playing Uncharted 3 with my friend yesterday we were discussing how few games seem to have a split screen campaign these days, instead opting for a separate multiplayer component, or just not having co-op at all unless its online.

Now I know this is because a lot of games these days are trying to tell stories that wouldnt work with a buddy, but its getting a bit ridiculous. For example, why cant I play the Call of Duty campaign together with my friend? I mean sure theres spec ops and Zombies that are great fun, but you're almost constantly with a squad in CoD. Same thing with Bulletstorm, a co-op mode on that would have been great fun.

Why cant more games just take the Halo route and have a second player, but just have him universally ignored, thats always worked well.

So yeah if theres any other reasons for the lack of splitscreen campaign id like to hear them (apart from the story one I mentioned, and the corporate greed explanation Im sure many of you are already thinking), and also I'd be interested to hear of some games that are good for splitscreening, whether they be new or old

 

[Scrustle]

Hardware limitations. With split screen the machine has to render 2 images at once, and at this late point in the console cycle hardware has reached its limits. They simply can't handle it any more, or if it can it has to do it with pretty downgraded graphics.

Of course this also gives companies a justification for making people buy twice as many copies to play co-op. Even if they could create split screen they can just be lazy and say they couldn't do it, and the result is they get more sales.

 

[Guffe]

Well y'know... I have no idea.
I love split screen co-op lika Halo, it's so good. Also games like Tales of Symphonia even if not split screen is really awesome. It is a shame that it is as rare as it is.

 

[AD-Stu]

Hardware limitations. With split screen the machine has to render 2 images at once, and at this late point in the console cycle hardware has reached its limits. They simply can't handle it any more, or if it can it has to do it with pretty downgraded graphics.

Of course this also gives companies a justification for making people buy twice as many copies to play co-op. Even if they could create split screen they can just be lazy and say they couldn't do it, and the result is they get more sales.

^ I'm guessing exactly this. We're already at pretty much the limit of what this console generation can handle visually, so asking that same hardware to do two images at once would be a pretty serious stretch.

It's probably got nothing to do with it, but I wonder if the switch to widescreen formats has something to do with it too. Back in the heydey of splitscreen gaming, everything was played on 4:3 aspect screens so there was still a reasonable amount of space left to display the two images when you split them horizontally.

One other though - people probably don't offer splitscreen now because it's a solution that has since been surpassed by technology. Again, back in the heyday of splitscreen gaming there was simply no way to connect to another console and play multiplayer against someone who wasn't in the same room - hell, it was even a challenge on PCs. That's obviously no longer the case, and as a bonus everyone gets to look at their whole screens.

 

[EHKOS]

All I know is Borderlands 2 is doing it, which is just another reason to love Gearbox. Although I've never had any friends so split-screen doesn't matter to me.

 

[Matt King]

i don't know but i hate it so much, i really prefer playing with my friends next to me than online i was dissapointed in sr3 and dead island when they had no splitscreen

 

[Rednog]

Corporate greed? Really?
Hardware limitations and the decreasing demand for split screen must mean those evil video game companies are out to screw you. Excuse me while I go roll my eyes.

 

[Souplex]

The demise of local play is the demise of the gaming party.
I really prefer playing with friends as opposed to random jerks on the internet.

 

[Goofguy]

i don't know but i hate it so much, i really prefer playing with my friends next to me than online i was dissapointed in sr3 and dead island when they had no splitscreen

Well sure, I'd rather game with my friends next to me but they're not even in the same region as me. Online coop is the next best thing (with the added advantage that you get the whole screen to yourself).

While I am a big fan of local coop, I don't like it when it's some half assed attempt to include a second player in what is clearly a single player campaign (see Super Mario Galaxy). Games that market themselves as coop experiences with equal benefits to all players (see Borderlands, Army of Two, Kane and Lynch, Lord of the Rings: War in the North) are much more desirable to me.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

Because newer TVs are becoming wider and wider.

Joking aside, I've heard explanations along the lines of hardware limitations due to the strain of having to render two images/screens/whathaveyou at the same time, made even more perilous once mandatory online multiplayer pushes its way to the front.

But yeah, I'm jonesing for a good couch co-op game these days too. I think the newest games I've played that had that were... Portal 2 and Resident Evil 5? Makes me harken back to the days of Time Splitters and the early Halo games, hell even Army of Two was good in that regard (Borderlands somewhat more tolerable).

 

[Schtoobs]

Hardware limitations. With split screen the machine has to render 2 images at once, and at this late point in the console cycle hardware has reached its limits. They simply can't handle it any more, or if it can it has to do it with pretty downgraded graphics.

Of course this also gives companies a justification for making people buy twice as many copies to play co-op. Even if they could create split screen they can just be lazy and say they couldn't do it, and the result is they get more sales.

Scrustle pretty much summed up what I'd say were the main reasons. I could have just not posted but my memories of playing local co-op with friends and family are the best I have of gaming and the main reason I still play games 25 years after playing for the first time.

From what I can tell though, co-op and splitscreen gaming is coming back, particularly on pc, from the indie dev's. Because the big publishers aren't picking up these types of games, indie dev's are taking advantage of the gap left in the market. So not only are we gonna get splitscreen/co-op, we get them as a main component of the game (rather than a tacked on extra) and for much less money.

You may be aware that on Steam there is this "greenlight" thing where you can up-vote indie games you want to appear on steam in the future. This had a few local multiplayer games on it, nothing amazing looking, but they are there, and are mostly ports from consoles. Hopefully, with more indie and smaller dev's getting on consoles now we will see an increase in splitscreen gaming throughout. I still maintain that the main reason behind the huge success of the Wii was the vast local multiplayer catalog.

 

[Cabisco]

I really do miss split screen, it was always so much fun going round to a friends to play and it's a shame this has for the most part gone. Especially the 4 player split screen, some of my favorite times playing games was with 3 friends.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I never really bought the "hardware limitations" excuse honestly since offline split-screen campaigns have been around since the NES at least. It also seemed to have been relatively common in the last console generation as well. I can understand not being able to play a fully optimized insert-game-here but it seems like the kind of thing that would have been just as developed as other components of the game. As for TVs being made wider, that seems like it would be the best thing to happen for split-screen gaming. Remember 4-player Goldeneye and having your own little post-it note to play in? On a modern TV you have a 90's sized TV to play on (roughly). Also there have been games that let you set how you want the screen to be split (horizontal/vertical divide). I can understand gargantuan games like Skyrim, Just Cause 2 and, GTA anything not being able to handle 2 or more people wandering around murdering people on opposite sides of the map but I also think that would be the best reason to implement some kind of invisible wall to keep players closer together.

I think split-screen co-op is being weeded out to sell more copies of the same game (as mentioned above by other people). Another reason would be to get more people to use those stupid online pass things (ie: discourage people from borrowing/buying used/not having Internet/having shit internet) and a third would be to sell more Xbox Live Gold subscriptions.

 

[The White Hunter]

While I was playing Uncharted 3 with my friend yesterday we were discussing how few games seem to have a split screen campaign these days, instead opting for a separate multiplayer component, or just not having co-op at all unless its online.

Now I know this is because a lot of games these days are trying to tell stories that wouldnt work with a buddy, but its getting a bit ridiculous. For example, why cant I play the Call of Duty campaign together with my friend? I mean sure theres spec ops and Zombies that are great fun, but you're almost constantly with a squad in CoD. Same thing with Bulletstorm, a co-op mode on that would have been great fun.

Why cant more games just take the Halo route and have a second player, but just have him universally ignored, thats always worked well.

So yeah if theres any other reasons for the lack of splitscreen campaign id like to hear them (apart from the story one I mentioned, and the corporate greed explanation Im sure many of you are already thinking), and also I'd be interested to hear of some games that are good for splitscreening, whether they be new or old

Killzone 3 perplexed me in this regard, the co-op was offline only though! Which seemed silly.

Resistance 3 is the prime example of doing everything right, it had great co-op both online and local, good campaign, good multiplayer (with splitscreen and offline!) and a great horde mode. (Zombies? Fuck that, Grimms are where the fear should be >_O)

But yeah, more games should have splitscreen co-op, but that mode should be online too, always imo, it adds to selling points and if you don't use it oh well but a lot of people will enjoy those options.

 

[The White Hunter]

Because newer TVs are becoming wider and wider.

Joking aside, I've heard explanations along the lines of hardware limitations due to the strain of having to render two images/screens/whathaveyou at the same time, made even more perilous once mandatory online multiplayer pushes its way to the front.

But yeah, I'm jonesing for a good couch co-op game these days too. I think the newest games I've played that had that were... Portal 2 and Resident Evil 5? Makes me harken back to the days of Time Splitters and the early Halo games, hell even Army of Two was good in that regard (Borderlands somewhat more tolerable).

If you have a PS3 pick up a copy of Resistance 3, it's an outstanding game to play on the couch with a buddy.

 

[randomsix]

CoD splitscreen campaigns would be fucking awesome.

But yeah, as the next guy said, this gen couldn't handle it.

*Wonders about Halo 4...

*uses google

*Happy that split screen will be played in my home!

Can you really say that the gen can't handle it if it has splitscreen noncampaign modes?

 

[excalipoor]

CoD: World at War had a split screen campaign...but it was nigh unplayable in comparison to something like Halo. Technical limitations aside, why is it that nobody seems to get right something that once upon a time was the standard form of multiplayer? These days a not-half-assed split screen is a major selling point for me, even if I have no interest in the single player.

I think split-screen co-op is being weeded out to sell more copies of the same game (as mentioned above by other people). Another reason would be to get more people to use those stupid online pass things (ie: discourage people from borrowing/buying used/not having Internet/having shit internet) and a third would be to sell more Xbox Live Gold subscriptions.

...well that's just depressing.

 

[Vandenberg1]

Army of 2/ thread.... No really, tho I do miss Halo style co-op, but remember how bad RE5 was? Bio-Shock wouldn't work with a buddy. Gmes try to give the single player too much story fun for that kind of game, however Gears of War did it along with a few other titles so it's not dead. Old school single player shooters were not complicated enough to limit it to one player

 

[randomsix]

CoD splitscreen campaigns would be fucking awesome.

But yeah, as the next guy said, this gen couldn't handle it.

*Wonders about Halo 4...

*uses google

*Happy that split screen will be played in my home!

Can you really say that the gen can't handle it if it has splitscreen noncampaign modes?

Putting my droll post aside for a minute...

Talking about CoD, the spec ops noncampaign missions are easy (resource side) compared to the main story scripted scenes. So yeah, I can say what I did, me thinks. Or did I fail to see your point? Cuz I do that a lot!

I've only played a couple spec ops matches with a friend so I'll take your word that the campaigns are more resource heavy.

 

[daveman247]

splitscreen games? lets see....
borderlands
left 4 dead 1/2
splinter cell double agent & conviction
gears of war 1-3
portal 2
minecraft xbla
perfect dark xbla
resi 5
army of 2/ sequal
resistance 3
rainbow six vegas/ vegas 2
earth defence force/ insect armageddon


theres probably much more, but thats all i can think of right now ^_^


So there HAVE been many splitscreen games, its just been in the last few years where it has started to fade...
Why can't more games do it? halo does it with FOUR people AND still looks great! In fact, they let you go online with four people if you want!