Are developers too focused on online play
It seem nowadays online is a must for a game with more and more focus been placed on the online portion of games, often at the detriment to the single player campaign. But are developers right to focus on what seem a small percentage of console users?
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/11/microsoft-xbox-live-gold-subscribers-use-service-3-hours-per-da/
So Microsoft claim to have sold 45million 360 consoles and yet less then 30% of their user base actually play online on the console, I would assume the number is about the same for PS3 online users as well.
So should developers focus on the single player portion of games more than they currently are.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/11/microsoft-xbox-live-gold-subscribers-use-service-3-hours-per-da/
More than half of Xbox Live's 25 million users are paying subscribers, which means that over 12 million players make use of the service's online multiplayer and non-gaming offerings
So Microsoft claim to have sold 45million 360 consoles and yet less then 30% of their user base actually play online on the console, I would assume the number is about the same for PS3 online users as well.
So should developers focus on the single player portion of games more than they currently are.
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ps. I know folk have replaced PS3s for same reason.
Online is where it's at this gen. Everyone I know wants to play online against REAL people, instead of spawn at same point over and over ai. I mean I havent touched single player campaign in Blops yet. I was straight online with it.
Single player games do nothing for me, its pretty much just the same old routine in every game, might as well just buy a movie and watch it a few times.
I was more thinking games like Assassins Creed, Bioshock and Dead Space which seem crowbarred in online play and in respect to Bioshock failed miserably (Only time will tell with the other two).
As much as I enjoy online, and had I bought Blops I would probably just straight into the online, I do still enjoy a good single player game and often feel disappointed when online play is added were it really isn't necessary.
Good point, at least some of the claim 45million will be dead RROD or banned consoles which would make the percentage higher. I was just shocked at how few people actually value online, with the way online/LIVE is talked about I was expecting a much higher percentage.
In saying that there's not really any other game genres that have shifted their focus to the extent that FPS games have.
Now RPGs and adventure games, if they started focusing more on the online aspect then I would be annoyed!
Ive said it many a time, there just isnt any denying that a good percentage of 360 sales must have come from replacments. 2 purchashed myslef.
Yeah, this sort of stuff does my nut in, I mean AC: Brotherhoods multiplayer looks like something different, but I expect the great majority wont stick with it for too long.
Alan Wake is my game of the decade because of the incredible writing and dialogue. Singularity was a highly underrated SP FPS, and all the other games I love are SP centric only as well - Fallout, STALKER.etc
I think some games are just more suited to multiplayer, such as cod and halo. The kids are bad enough on there!
I enjoy playing games like Bioshock and AC and taking a break from multiplayer gaming, but its seems developers are intent on us being called n00bs and **** by 8yr old yanks in every game these days.
Regards
Mark
I'm with you there. I used to enjoy playing online back in 2000/2002 on my old Dreamcast but back then you didn't have all the idiots that are there now. Besides, I don't have the time to spend 24/7 getting god-like just to play against 12 yr old kids.
Me and my mate put hours into Resident Evil 5 and World At War Zombies in offline co-op, but they used some absolutely terrible screen division. In both of the games you only got like a quarter of the screen each, and this is with two players!
The fact that the focus is on the online play means that the single player modes are down to a minimum and can be completed within a day. I remember the days it would take atleast a week to complete a game.
It really annoys me that games are marketed at such a high price and only have a 5 hour single player campaign. 'Yeeeeh but it's all about the multiplayer' is the answer that comes back. Newsflash! not everybody has an internet connection, not everybody wants to play online and why do the multi million pound adverts advertise the game with single player campaign footage? £40.00 for 5 hours gameplay. Bargain!
Developers need to look at the likes of The Orange Box which provides a ton of single play gameplay and a great FUN standalone multiplayer game seperate from the main campaigns.
Maybe developers are focused on online play... but with good reason as its bloody popular.
Does anyone still play Shadowrun on the PC or 360 anymore? That one was multiplayer only.
Unless the multiplayer is something EXCEPTIONAL you're stuffed.
I play online, but only Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2 on the PC, there are still communities for both and it's a fun blast for a couple of hours, but they are also OK against the computer AI.
I have a 360 and lots of games but never play online with that, the community just doesn't appeal to me, I activated my 1 month gold trial a few months ago to download an update and a few demos, tested the online play with GTA4 for 5 minutes, then never used it again until it lapsed.
As for single player. This will never die. There will always be great game experiences that we can enjoy on our own without an aggressive yank shouting in our ear. So I hope both SP and MP aspects are taken into consideration by developers.
summary of the single player....