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Will couch co-op games make a big return?

R

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
I somehow expected couch co-op to come back early this gen for some reason. I swore Killzone Shadow Fall would be couch co-op like KZ3 was but... Nop. Online Co Op only. I absolutely love inviting pals over, having a beer and eating pizza while we play some co-op games but it seems developers are either oblivious to it or just don't care. I mean... what's the excuse? KZ3 pulled back certain effects and draw distance, and yes the FPS took a hit, but we had a blast. Why couldn't they do the same this time? I wouldn't have cared. Kinda disappointing. Looking at the PS4 release list, at least aside from FIFA 14 there are no couch co op games it seems. I hope developers take this into consideration. Gears of Wars and Halo were fantastic, and something simple like Castle Crashers with 4 buddies is the best thing ever, true and perfect gaming bliss. Hell, even RE6 is passable with a pal (just because we make fun at the insane/stupid story).

Developers... take not. Bring Couch Co-Op back, even if it doesn't make sense story wise or whatever.
 
J

JoshHood

Member
Relix said:
Looking at the PS4 release list, at least aside from FIFA 14 there are no couch co op games it seems.
Click to expand...
Lego Marvel too. Do we know if Ghosts supports split-screen/split-screen+online like the recent PS3 CoDs yet?
But yeah, makes me sad as well :( Sucks that Killzone and Need for Speed have both dropped split-screen elements in recent years, as have many others. Probably one of the worst losses of the generation for me.
 
J

Jamix012

Member
Relix said:
Apparently. That's why I am buying all Nintendo games with co-op. Additionally Rayman Legends was PERFECT for us. Just a blast
Click to expand...

There really is nothing more fun in video games, for me, than sitting down and playing with a bunch of friends or your significant other. I'm glad at least one of the big three is still paying attention to it.
 
M

Mike Double U

Banned
I hope so. I'm confused to why they have disappeared. Is it really taking up that many resources to choose to exclude local co-op from games?
 
terrisus

terrisus

Member
That would mean people would only be buying one copy of the game instead of 4 though!

One of the things that I loved from this past generation was local download multiplayer with a single cartridge with some DS games.
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Mike Double U said:
I hope so. I'm confused to why they have disappeared. Is it really taking up that many resources to choose to exclude local co-op from games?
Click to expand...

I don't think so - its just a fundamental focus towards online at the expense of anything else. I love local multiplayer and it is a real shame it isn't supported more these days.
 
F

flkraven

Member
I think Nintendo will be the only console left with a large offering of couch-multiplayer games period, let alone co-op.
 
M

mylasthope

Neo Member
Agreed. Sad that isn't not as prevalent anymore. Playing games with friends in the same room is always an amazing experience.
 
D

Dranakin

Member
How does 4-player local Diablo 3 fare on the consoles? I read in reviews that for the most part, the framerate is stable. There's hope yet.
 
R

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
Dranakin said:
How does 4-player local Diablo 3 fare on the consoles? I read in reviews that for the most part, the framerate is stable. There's hope yet.
Click to expand...

I am expecting Diablo 3 for PS4 just because of the coop. I am sure it will be great
 
S

Solid Samus

Banned
I think that there's hope yet for couch co-op. We didn't see much of it because everyone was hopped up on presentation but what with games actually being able to hit 60 frames per second in multiplayer this generation there's a great chance we'll see more couch co-op titles, maybe with framerate or visual hits but it's a lot more likely than last generations (where many developers struggled to get their engines to run 30 frames at 720p in singleplayer...)
 
C

Chris R

Member
Dranakin said:
How does 4-player local Diablo 3 fare on the consoles? I read in reviews that for the most part, the framerate is stable. There's hope yet.
Click to expand...

It's a bunch of fun. Only bummer is that you have to take turns opening menus to equip gear/skills and sell stuff.

edit: Would be perfect to play if everyone had a WiiU pad of their own they could use, or interface to a tablet or something to take care of the inventory and character side of things without stopping the action for everyone else.
 
C

Creaking

He touched the black heart of a mod
Downside of all these games with incredible graphics. Still, if Uncharted 3 could turn down the fidelity a bit to support splitscreen, I'd hope we'd see some more like that before too long.
 
H

hatchx

Banned
Halo never stopped offering this. Neither did Call of Duty. Neither did Gears of War. Neither did the Lego games. Neither did New Super Mario Bros.


.....so....yeah. Didn't go anywhere. Killzone is an expensive franchise but it's not really a hugely popular, successful one. I suspect a co-op mode would make it more successful.
 
T

Tagyhag

Member
It's a dying part of video games unfortunately.

It'll always be there with niche or extremely casual products so it'll never truly die but it's not going to have a surge in core popularity ever again.
 
A

adamantypants

Member
The best times of my childhood were spent in front of a 26" CRT TV playing 4 player Goldeneye and Timesplitters.

I was under the impression that games now are too demanding for console hardware for split screen multiplayer. Or am I talking out of my ass?
 
S

soxinthebox

Member
Relix said:
Apparently. That's why I am buying all Nintendo games with co-op. Additionally Rayman Legends was PERFECT for us. Just a blast
Click to expand...
Had you played NSMBU before that? Thinking of picking up Rayman but we have just been playing Mario and I'm worried it'll be too similar
 
B

Boy Wander

Member
Jamix012 said:
There really is nothing more fun in video games, for me, than sitting down and playing with a bunch of friends or your significant other. I'm glad at least one of the big three is still paying attention to it.
Click to expand...

Just to add to this, if you have kids, local co-op is a great way of bonding with your son/daughter. Much more interactive and fun than watching a movie. And I agree with what others have said - Wii U is great for this. Other than Lego City, pretty much every other game we have has local co-op.
 
Woo-Fu

Woo-Fu

Banned
No.

The living room as we once knew it is dead, thus couch co-op is dead. Instead of being forced into one room to consume media from a TV we have it anywhere we want via wi-fi/cellular, smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, handhelds, whatever.

Recognizing this I find Microsoft's push into TV with the Xbox One nothing short of mind-boggling. They're questing for the holy grail of convergence, something that is no longer possible.
 
A

Arcayne

Member
God I hope so, Diablo 3 co-op is damn amazing. I've been exclusively trying to look for more co-op + shared screen games, its just that much more enjoyable.
 
S

sclpls

Neo Member
KoopaTheCasual said:
...except it's up to developers to include local multiplayer in a game? Not the big bad Sony and Microsoft.
Click to expand...

Sure, but developers listen to publishers who, strange as it may sound, are sometimes known to take into consideration incentives of a financial nature. Naturally, developers sometimes tell publishers and other business partners to take a hike... but sometimes they don't.
 
R

rpmurphy

Member
This is the future, yesterday:
Zkt8s1C.jpg
 
R

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
soxinthebox said:
Had you played NSMBU before that? Thinking of picking up Rayman but we have just been playing Mario and I'm worried it'll be too similar
Click to expand...

Oh yes. NSMBU was the game I bought the WiiU with back in the Summer. Trust me, they are platformers... but Rayman is just too intense and original. Fantastic game. They are different sides of the same coin. Do it!
 
L

LaNaranja

Member
Wii U has this in spades. It is a big reason why I love the console. I can see how those who have no one to play with would have significantly less fun with the system.
 
R

Raysoul

Member
This is also one of the reason I decided to buy a Wii U. Local multiplayer looks blurry on the other next gen consoles.
 
O

Obscured

Member
KInect party games(and Wii/Eyetoy) fit that bill, but of course that isn't what most people are talking about.

I played some some Diablo 3 couch co-op with a friend the other day, and I have to say, I wanted my TV back.

A long time ago I had a friend who would have game nights and he would setup multiple TVs which was the best.

In this case it was a friend from out of town, but I think if I had someone coming over local I'd have them bring their box and grab my monitor and hook it up. Together but separate, will be my marketing slogan for the digital future.
 
terrisus

terrisus

Member
Woo-Fu said:
Recognizing this I find Microsoft's push into TV with the Xbox One nothing short of mind-boggling. They're questing for the holy grail of convergence, something that is no longer possible.
Click to expand...

As I remember, that's why they got into the whole video game thing to begin with.
But, I suppose that's more a discussion for another topic.
 
L

LosDaddie

Banned
hatchx said:
Halo never stopped offering this. Neither did Call of Duty. Neither did Gears of War. Neither did the Lego games. Neither did New Super Mario Bros.


.....so....yeah. Didn't go anywhere. Killzone is an expensive franchise but it's not really a hugely popular, successful one. I suspect a co-op mode would make it more successful.
Click to expand...

Best post in this thread. Anyone claiming local co-op was hard to find this gen doesn't know what they're talking about.

I had some incredibly fun co-op gaming with Gears/Halo/MUA2/NSMB Wii/XBLA Games/etc this gen. The games are there
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
I wish. Unfortunately, it seems that online multiplayer is more valued (i.e. more profitable) for mainstream publishers, and so mainstream devs are being told to sacrifice splitscreen in order to put out the fanciest graphics (something else that the mainstream highly values). Features get cut in order to have the widest appeal and largest profit margin. It's not this simple, of course, but it seems to be a trend. Even in Halo 4, the latest in a series wherein splitscreen gaming has been a core feature, the game lags like hell when played splitscreen, especially on Forge maps.
 
R

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
LosDaddie said:
Best post in this thread. Anyone claiming local co-op was hard to find this gen doesn't know what they're talking about.

I had some incredibly fun co-op gaming with Gears/Halo/MUA2/NSMB Wii/XBLA Games/etc this gen. The game are there
Click to expand...

Played them all. WANT MOOOOORE
 
J

Jimrpg

Member
Local coop is extra work for the developer and sells only the one copy to four potential sales. Whereas online coop they can sell more copies.
 
C

CLEEK

Member
Pikmin 3 Mission Mode is pretty much the best same-sofa co-op game I've ever played.

My 5 yo son and I play it every weekend.
 
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