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Losing local multiplayer is one of the biggest loses to modern gaming. *Pics & Story*

Onyar

Member
Back then pro evolution soccer was huge in playing with local multi, If you where in a group like my friends just to be, I'm sure that people will know the true meaning of defeat, alcohol helped I guess.

And also even earlier, back in the 90's the PC LANs where huge, the parties in there also where really fun. I remember playing Starcraft and Mohaa, CS a lot of time.
 
Next time, spice it up with a little Gang Beast

iirmwl6axPtR0.gif

this clip right here is like 1 of 3 times where I've seen brad laugh the hardest ever.
 
I had a similar experience with local multiplayer recently - im not much of a multiplayer guy at all so when ps+ gave towefall ascension i tested it out and felt the sp was okay, but saw the potential in multiplay/coop and knew it could be fun. now I rarely have anyone ever to play mp with esp. Over my house for local but i kept the gAme just in case that moment Arose... And what do you know - one of my best friends asks to spend the weekend while hes visiting the area. It was THE actual person i had specifically saved the game for in hopes to play with him. So we cracked a few beers and didnt put the game down for literally 5-8 hours. neither of us knew what to do at first but learning and being on equal playing ground off the bat was amazing.

God local mp is amazing - half the fun of video games was sharig the experience and bonding over a game in the same room as your friends
 
I used to love having friends over to play video games via local multiplayer, and would normally have a friend come over for each entire weekend to hang out and do so. However, I don't really do local anymore. My OCD is too bad, I don't like having people in my gaming room and I've become much more of a solo gamer.

It's great for those who still love it, though. Good on you, OP.
 

Yudoken

Member
Well on pc you get a lot of games especially if you consider emulated games.
I recently found someone who's working on a program called "SplitScreen PC Tool" to play a few games (Borderlands 2, Left 4 dead 2 and more) on multiple monitors (which was something I always hoped and should be doable on pc with enough power) but Left 4 dead 2 didn't worked when I tried it and he don't have enough time to do this full time.
I wish he would work on this full time because I would really like to see more games playable on splitscreen.
Developers, please do this!

http://steamcommunity.com/app/49520/discussions/0/864977025916708574/
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
Yeah, it really pains me. It's yet another reason why the Wii U is my favorite current gen console, though the PS4 has a few really good (mostly indie) options. The XB1 has only a handful.
 
Splitscreen LAN Halo with friends was THE experience growing up. Renting out an OG xbox from the local movie rental store and playing Halo: CE and Halo 2 provided many good times.
 
I am 34 married with 2 kids.

And yet for the past 15 years myself and the same groups of 4 friends game once a week.

Im lucky my wife doesnt mind as its usually after 9.

Our go to game is smash.

But also we play:
Doa5
Kart racers
All soccer games
Towerfall
Party games

Online has nothing on local multiplayer.
 

dhlt25

Member
I agreed. Local multiplayer is prob the best gaming experience one can have. Too bad I don't have any friend that play games. My gaming habit has moved from LAN AoE, SC, CS, etc to single player RPGs.
 
Back then pro evolution soccer was huge in playing with local multi, If you where in a group like my friends just to be, I'm sure that people will know the true meaning of defeat, alcohol helped I guess

PES with 8 players and a multitap was the best multiplayer experience I've ever had.

It's also the most democratic way of deciding who makes the next cuppa in a shared house. Nothing raises the stakes like knowing you're making a brew if you lose. I do miss those Tea Cups.
 

Conezays

Member
Cool story. Wish I could get my hands on the GC adapter so I could emulate your experience! 4 player Smash is still a blast though.
 

Ploid 3.0

Member
I used to play anything from crash team racing to madden for unhealthy amount of hours, local mp. It is indeed a lot better. Always have been, always will be. People see Fighting Game Community gifs and think those people are probably savages, or unruly, but there is just something about local competitive gaming/sports that gets your blood pumping. I used to have madden parties at my house all the time. It's good fun. Trash talk also happens a lot, hah. When you are losing you are as quiet as a mouse, start winning and you start to speak up again.
 
Funny I've had the exact opposite of this experience.
I've had two smash nights with two sets of people, and each time everyone wanted to play something else after 2-3 rounds. I was like "Guys...we did two 3 minute matches..."
 

LilJoka

Member
Love local MP with my friends.
Halo 4
Worms revolution
Blur
GTA SA
Mario Kart
NSMB

So many laughs

I'm looking for a 4p Halo type shooter for PC badly.
 
A couple of weeks ago a friend invited myself over with 3-4 other people to play mario kart.
Everyone was bored to tears after about 1/2 an hour, so we just went outside and drank by the fire pit way more entertaining.
 

LilJoka

Member
A couple of weeks ago a friend invited myself over with 3-4 other people to play mario kart.
Everyone was bored to tears after about 1/2 an hour, so we just went outside and drank by the fire pit way more entertaining.

After drinking is when you should have gone on to MK lol.
 

Ultima_5

Member
i'm not 20something years old anymore and i dont have time to wait for my schedule and all my friends schedules to line up one magical fortnight for two hours to play games with them

That sucks for you but I don't see what that has to do with the thread. He wasn't saying online should go away
 

CNCOMICS

Member
3DS_Battlefield.jpg


Floating shelf, how poignant.

But yeah, I feel you. Having grown up in the early 90's
, dat Multi-Tap,
I hate the lack of local multiplayer. Winning the last slice of pizza or beer in a 1v1 with physical interference, like nudging or the repulsive fart can't be replicated online.
 

Usobuko

Banned
I've had much more fun playing games like Dota 2 online with friends all over the world. I agree it's a real shame local multiplayer isn't as prevalent as it once was but I definitely prefer online.

Never tried playing Dota on lan? A group of 5 friends vs another random group you found on lan cafe by joining their game?

Still the best dota experience for me.
 

Lng0004

Member
I just need ONE good racing game with split-screen multiplayer (that isn't Mario Kart). Is that such a big request? :(
 
I got a Wii U three weeks ago, and I am not shitting you, people are texting me every week asking if they can come over and play. On consecutive days as well

Local multi is the best
 

Bold One

Member
The death of Local was once of the great tragedies of last gen and the current one too.

I really hope it comes back, but for now Pro and FIFA with m8s still suffices

and I hope your friends are cool with you posting pics of them online
 

EhoaVash

Member
i haven't had the chance to play couch multi with friends in years

I still have my brother to play with but he's pretty bad at games/ it just doesn't feel the same

but yeah back in the days we would always play 4 player melee, smash 64, WWF games and even the naruto clash of ninja games. fun times
 

lazygecko

Member
Things tend to go this way in any technology-related field. New shiny thing arrives, in this case online/network multiplayer, and people abandon the former equivalent and view the new one as the natural replacement. But after a while people start to realize that the old thing remains valid and can co-exist with the new. A music equivalent would be everyone trashing their analog synths in the early 80's when digital was the new hotness, much to their regret years later.
 

WillyFive

Member
It's really perplexing how so many games today don't have multiplayer, even traditionally multiplayer games like racing games are only for one player locally. It seems so backwards, especially since HD widescreen TV's make split-screen gaming better than ever.
 
I'm ready. We are going to have our first 8 player smash on boxing day. Local multiplayer will forever be my favourite thing about gaming. It's what gaming is all about.

5nuszE8.jpg
 

Gsnap

Member
This is the best thread.

We had a big smash tournament when it came out for my birthday. Followed by the most epic super pole riders tournament that ever existed.

It's true that we don't have as much time as we used to, but when we do have time it's really nice to have games that actually have good local multiplayer.
 

Gale007

Member
Just curious are there any charts or statistics on the web that are saying that Hs and college gamers don`t care about or enjoy local multiplayer anymore? Everyone around my age who plays games (casual & hardcore) seem to love local multiplayer in games. The biggest issue we run into is that so few games come out these days that actually support local play.
 

Cartman86

Banned
The past year has been amazing for local multiplayer with all the great indie games in addition to the best multiplayer franchises Nintendo has getting new entries. It's unfortunate how little my friends seem to want to partake.
 

_Isaac

Member
Man local multiplayer is amazing if you get enough people interested in it. I guess that's been my problem so far. This has probably been the worst release of Smash I have ever experienced. It's so hard to find anybody that wants to play. I don't have any friends, so I used to resort to my cousins. They're not interested except for my 6 year old cousin. I guess that's something. Also co-workers seem to not be interested. Even the two I know have Smash Bros on Wii U. Local multiplayer is definitely a more fun experience, but it's so inconvenient. At this point, it's becoming so hard to actually set up a game night or something. It's really so sad. I guess online is a little better, but even then I no longer play with the online people I would play with on Brawl. Idk what happened. Probably my fault.

A couple of weeks ago a friend invited myself over with 3-4 other people to play mario kart.
Everyone was bored to tears after about 1/2 an hour, so we just went outside and drank by the fire pit way more entertaining.

This is another thing. I did manage to get my sister and two cousins to try it, and they really seem bored. They only played for half an hour, and that was that.
 

JimiNutz

Banned
I miss having nights like this

Relationships ruined everything

You're in the wrong kind of relationship...
My current girlfriend (who isn't even a gamer) just bought me a Wii U for my Birthday specifically so that we could play local multiplayer games together :)

My favourite gaming memories are definitely local multiplayer sessions and for the most part these were Nintendo games:

Mario Kart
Smash Bros
Star Fox
Goldeneye/Perfect Dark

I'm really hoping the new Star Fox has a good local multiplayer component and that Splatoon takes the place of Goldeneye/Perfect Dark (even though it's third person and a very different kind of 'shooter').
 

Kritz

Banned
Nidhogg - 2 player
r679f7g.jpg


Poleriders (Sportsfriends) - 4 players
giINySh.png


Gang Beasts - 8 players
jsQ5qVM.jpg


Screen Cheat - 4 players
q9RBa4M.jpg


The return of same-screen MP games has been glorious. Playing Poleriders and 8 player gang beasts have been some of the fondest memories of gaming I've had in years. I'm also looking forward to playing The Jackbox Collection and Crawl the next time I get friends together, and also finally giving Samurai Gunn a whirl. And, I mean, if you're out with friends and don't have a console nearby, you can always have a game of Space Team.

There's plenty of games to choose from if you don't own a Nintendo console, and with multiplayer games only getting easier and easier to make, expect Steam Early Access to start getting flooded with same screen games.

edit: I forgot to mention Assault Android Cactus, which looked very promising at PAX. Oh, and the frequently overlooked Hammerwatch was fantastic playing it online, I can only imagine it'd be even better locally.
 
Yeah it is. People always bitch about local-only games not having an online option, I never see it the other way around. And it's honestly a shame.

"Not all of us have friends and family locally to play with us!"

Sure, but a lot of us do. And it's a shame to see so many devs not even trying.
 

Shaanyboi

Banned
6 of us were at my place last night after dinner. Played some Nidhogg, Sportsfriends, Mount Your Friends.

Glorious time was had by all
 
Nidhogg - 2 player
r679f7g.jpg


Poleriders (Sportsfriends) - 4 players
giINySh.png


Gang Beasts - 8 players
jsQ5qVM.jpg


Screen Cheat - 4 players
q9RBa4M.jpg


The return of same-screen MP games has been glorious. Playing Poleriders and 8 player gang beasts have been some of the fondest memories of gaming I've had in years. I'm also looking forward to playing The Jackbox Collection and Crawl the next time I get friends together, and also finally giving Samurai Gunn a whirl. And, I mean, if you're out with friends and don't have a console nearby, you can always have a game of Space Team.

There's plenty of games to choose from if you don't own a Nintendo console, and with multiplayer games only getting easier and easier to make, expect Steam Early Access to start getting flooded with same screen games.

edit: I forgot to mention Assault Android Cactus, which looked very promising at PAX. Oh, and the frequently overlooked Hammerwatch was fantastic playing it online, I can only imagine it'd be even better locally.


I came here to post "well get a PC" but you've covered most of the games. :).
 
Some of the best memories with college friends (we didn't actually get along most other times) was playing Worms 2: Open Warfare. So much fun with a few drinks.

Similarly, playing Smash Bros with my three younger brothers is always great fun. I see my eldest brother now play League of Legends, and it just looks lonely. He has fun, sure, but I don't equate people down the end of a headphone with people in the same room.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
I'm already a young working adult, and I still find some time (at least a month) to play with other Nintendo fans. Most of them already have kids.

Online play is great, but the genuine laughter when you beat your opponent next to you will never be replaced by a simple LOL on a chatroom.

This. The argument that you can't arrange schedules is a bit weak - people manage it for other things - if it is important, you'll make time. People get together for coffee, or lunch, or dinner, or the Super Bowl, or poker night - why not games? If your old friends have scattered across the country that is more understandable, but maybe you can set a gaming group at work or something?

Maybe with online, people just make do with that, although I don't think online MP is any replacement for local multiplayer.
 
A mate of mine is organising a Smash meet up in January, 8 Player Smash on a 150" Projector? Yes please!

I'm ready. We are going to have our first 8 player smash on boxing day. Local multiplayer will forever be my favourite thing about gaming. It's what gaming is all about.

5nuszE8.jpg

Oh fancy seeing you here. You'll have to arrange another meet up round yours yo!
 

M3d10n

Member
I literally moved my Wii U to the lounge at work. I haven't bought Smash yet, but we have fantastic MK8 sessions over there.

Actually, some of the best multiplayer experiences I had happened at work, since we could do LAN parties over there as well. There's something about being in the same room as your teammates/opponents that headsets cannot reproduce.
 
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