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[AmuroChan]

In light of the recent launch troubles of high-profile games, mostly due to online issues, do you think AAA publishers/devs will reconsider including MP in just about every game and start making more single-player only games?

Personally I don't play a lot of MP anymore, mainly due to lack of time. So for me I'd welcome more SP-only games and I think there are some advantages for publishers/dev as well.

1. Shorter dev time if they only need to focus on SP (maybe?)
2. Don't need to worry about online/server issues
3. Don't need as big of a team. Hence smaller budget

These are just conjectures on my part. I'm not speaking as if these points would be true for every game.


Thoughts?


Lock if redundant.

 

[Sabrewulf]

There are plenty of single player only games that have released on the AAA front this year.

No, we're still going to see a lot of games with multiplayer. But that's okay.

Blame this on worthless QA teams not working the kinks out of the games.

What are you basing this 'just about every game has MP now' argument from?

 

[SerTapTap]

Doesn't MCC have single player issues too? LBP3's bugs seem unrelated to online multi. Shape Up is just fucking broke. Unity's framerate seems garbage in single player anyway (and I believe the online connection thing was found to be a placebo). Driveclub is the only example I can think of where it clearly was only the multiplayer that completely screwed up.

Anyway, I wouldn't mind seeing less focus on multiplayer, for my own selfish reasons. And anything that strays away from the Fall 2014 bugpocalpyse is a good thing. But online MP has been a focus for much of this gen, I'm not sure the sudden influx of problems is related to online multiplayer, or anything more than an unfortunate coincidence combined with "still not used to next gen" and a "release before the holidays" deadline. Though last year's launch games, lackluster as they were, mostly worked.

 

[JayEH]

I think we've seen less throw away MP over the years since publishers realize that it is nearly impossible to over throw CoD, Halo, BF, etc.

 

[sublimit]

Unfortunatelly no.The majority of modern gamers will not even touch a game with no MP in it.

 

[Chuck]

Blame this on worthless QA teams not working the kinks out of the games.

Nah, how about I instead blame it on the shit publishers rushing a game out the door without finishing it just to meet a release date?

Aka the actual problem.

 

[AmuroChan]

Nah, how about I instead blame it on the shit publishers rushing a game out the door without finishing it just to meet a release date?

Aka the actual problem.

Serious question, is there a way to properly QA what it's like to have a few hundred thousand users hit the server concurrently?

 

[Hip Hop]

Personally I don't play a lot of MP anymore, mainly due to lack of time.

This is always used as an example as to why people don't usually play MP.

Time is usually the reason I fall back on MP when need be.

I don't have to worry about anything and usually takes less of you than a SP campaign.

Jump in on Battlefield/Call of Duty/Counter Strike (Or any other MP game really) and have a few short rounds and be done with it. At least that's how I see it.

But anyway, I really don't see one or the other overtaking. There's a pretty good balance right now. A few SP only AAA games just released.

 

[Vilix]

Quite the opposite. MP is one of the main reasons people pay to access XBL and PSN. You think MS and Sony are just going to let devs/pubs take it out?

 

[IISANDERII]

Yeah i'm tired of two half arsed modes instead of one proper one.

 

[AmuroChan]

Quite the opposite. MP is one of the main reasons people pay to access XBL and PSN. You think MS and Sony are just going to let devs/pubs take it out?

I feel like Sony may not care as much about that as MS does. If I recall that's why MS didn't want Rime and Tequila Works went to Sony since the game is SP only.

 

[Haunted]

That's definitely wishful thinking. The push for online only socially connected MP games will continue.

 

[ExVicis]

I really enjoyed that Wolfenstein came out with no MP. I wish more developers would realize unless they're CoD, BF or Halo they're not gonna have a lasting online community and just stop bothering.

 

[Magwik]

Serious question, is there a way to properly QA what it's like to have a few hundred thousand users hit the server concurrently?

Hold a public beta across all release platforms?

 

[Zeyphersan]

Probably not. Probably less by percentage, really. Not counting indie games, anyway, but even they are starting to support a lot more multiplayer stuff

 

[Corine]

I really hope not. No way would I throw away $60 or so on a game with some short 8-12 hour campaign and nothing else. Open world with a ton to do is another story though, but even then I'd prefer multiplayer.

 

[Orayn]

I feel like Sony may not care as much about that as MS does. If I recall that's why MS didn't want Rime and Tequila Works went to Sony since the game is SP only.

I think it's more because they're the kind of indy dev that Sony generally courts, making the kind of artsy game that Sony likes to show off. Their last game was published by Microsoft and was also single player only.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

That's definitely wishful thinking. The push for online only socially connected MP games will continue.

This is true, but I think that will actually lead to more 1 person only games.

In the present/near-future: Your game is online or it isn't.

I truly expect SP/MP modularity in the same software package to become a rarity. Which on a piechart would actually look like more single player only games.

 

[Astral Dog]

No, i think we will be seeing more multiplayer games.

 

[AmuroChan]

I think it's more because they're the kind of indy dev that Sony generally courts, making the kind of artsy game that Sony likes to show off. Their last game was published by Microsoft and was also single player only.

Even their own 1st party games though Sony doesn't seem to mandate online multiplayer. Infamous has no MP. Neither will The Order.

 

[Orayn]

Even their own 1st party games though Sony doesn't seem to mandate online multiplayer. Infamous has no MP. Neither will The Order.

Quantum Break is SP-only, and plenty of MS's indy exclusives are too. At this point I don't think either console's first party library is mature enough to draw many conclusions about whether Sony or MS are mandating a certain number of MP games; Like I said in my last post, it probably has more to do with Sony favoring certain types of games, not that they really love and care about single player or want to stop some MP plague.

 

[Vilix]

Even their own 1st party games though Sony doesn't seem to mandate online multiplayer. Infamous has no MP. Neither will The Order.

That's one thing you gotta like about Sony. Unlike MS they don't seem to want to insist that publishers have an online multiplayer component with every A+ game.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

Shadow of Mordor, Alien Isolation, Evil Within, Assassins Creed Rogue, Infamous SS.

There's been some great games released recently without MP.

 

[Lionel Richie]

I think there should be some balance. I don't play MP, only local with my girlfriend, so I hope we don't run out of SP games anytime in the future.

Always balance. It's good for the business.

 

[whitehawk]

I think we've seen less throw away MP over the years since publishers realize that it is nearly impossible to over throw CoD, Halo, BF, etc.

I hope not. Gears of War was a throwaway multiplayer initially and it was one of the best multiplayer games of last gen.

 

[DoT2]

I really hope not. No way would I throw away $60 or so on a game with some short 8-12 hour campaign and nothing else. Open world with a ton to do is another story though, but even then I'd prefer multiplayer.

Ya I really find that multiplayer adds a lot to the replay value, definitely think more games should start including it as long as it isn't half assed job.. What I really want is more couch coop games tho.

 

[Sabrewulf]

Nah, how about I instead blame it on the shit publishers rushing a game out the door without finishing it just to meet a release date?

Aka the actual problem.

Because the developers are without fault?

It's Evolution/Sony's fault for not holding a longer, public beta to stress test. It's 343/MS's fault for not having some sort of way go get the MCC into more hands.

Activision had betas for Destiny and AW. Public and Private. Both games came out with little to no issues other than CoD's classic shit Netcode.

That's one thing you gotta like about Sony. Unlike MS they don't seem to want to insist that publishers have an online multiplayer component with every A+ game.

State of Decay doesn't have Multiplayer. Nor will Quantum Break. Nor will Screamride.

 

[OmegaDL50]

You know now that I think about, how come there hasn't been any character action games with a versus mode?

I'm talking about a game like Bayonetta 2 or Ninja Gaiden Black.

Considering the complexity of the movelists, I guess the closest thing would be one of those arena based fighting games like Power Stone, however the movelists and combat mechanics for games like Bayonetta 2, MGR, or Ninja Gaiden Black have much more depth.

Hell can you imagine just being able to pick one of the levels in any of these games and the whole stage is the battleground, it's just in multiplayer the players involved are given a random spawn location and need to seek each other out.

Why hasn't this been done yet? It sounds amazing on paper.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

You know now that I think about, how come there hasn't been any character action games with a versus mode?

I'm talking about a game like Bayonetta 2 or Ninja Gaiden Black.

Considering the complexity of the movelists, I guess the closest thing would be one of those arena based fighting games like Power Stone, however the movelists and combat mechanics for games like Bayonetta 2, MGR, or Ninja Gaiden Black have much more depth.

Hell can you imagine just being able to pick one of the levels in any of these games and the whole stage is the battleground, it's just in multiplayer the players involved are given a random spawn location and need to seek each other out.

Why hasn't this been done yet? It sounds amazing on paper.

Ninja Gaiden 3 has this

 

[Sabrewulf]

You know now that I think about, how come there hasn't been any character action games with a versus mode?

I'm talking about a game like Bayonetta 2 or Ninja Gaiden Black.

Considering the complexity of the movelists, I guess the closest thing would be one of those arena based fighting games like Power Stone, however the movelists and combat mechanics for games like Bayonetta 2, MGR, or Ninja Gaiden Black have much more depth.

Hell can you imagine just being able to pick one of the levels in any of these games and the whole stage is the battleground, it's just in multiplayer the players involved are given a random spawn location and need to seek each other out.

Why hasn't this been done yet? It sounds amazing on paper.

Anarchy Reigns, NG3. Bayo 2 has co-op.

God of War sort of has it too,

 

[Astral Dog]

You know now that I think about, how come there hasn't been any character action games with a versus mode?

I'm talking about a game like Bayonetta 2 or Ninja Gaiden Black.

Considering the complexity of the movelists, I guess the closest thing would be one of those arena based fighting games like Power Stone, however the movelists and combat mechanics for games like Bayonetta 2, MGR, or Ninja Gaiden Black have much more depth.

Hell can you imagine just being able to pick one of the levels in any of these games and the whole stage is the battleground, it's just in multiplayer the players involved are given a random spawn location and need to seek each other out.

Why hasn't this been done yet? It sounds amazing on paper.

Others have, like Bayonetta 2 has the Tag climax mode.you make a bet and play verses online to win halos and characters.

 

[OmegaDL50]

Ninja Gaiden 3 has this

How does it work exactly? Is everyone in versus mode Ryu? or just a random mook with Ryu weapon set?

I own Razor's Edge on the PS3 so I never checked the online content yet, probably is barren / dead though.

Anarchy Reigns, NG3. Bayo 2 has co-op.

God of War sort of has it too,

I never played Anarchy Reigns, I own the Bayonetta 2 disc version which came with the original game, I haven't beaten the original Bayonetta yet so I haven't popped in the Bayonetta 2 disc to know that it has a co-op mode.

Still it's nice to know something like this exists. Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

 

[Dance Inferno]

I feel like MP is still going to be a thing as long execs can justify the fact that MP modes will lead to purchases, which is generally the case. I personally don't play MP modes at all, but I feel like most gamers care about MP and, all things being equal, are more likely to buy a game with MP than a game without MP.

 

[OmegaDL50]

I feel like MP is still going to be a thing as long execs can justify the fact that MP modes will lead to purchases, which is generally the case. I personally don't play MP modes at all, but I feel like most gamers care about MP and, all things being equal, are more likely to buy a game with MP than a game without MP.

While that may be true amongst the audience for games like Call of Duty and whatnot, I am the sort that really gets into a single player game, especially lengthy JRPGs like Xenoblade or Dragon Quest VIII.

In fact I don't know of many single player focused JRPGs that have a true multiplayer modes, in fact I don't even know how such a thing would be implemented.

A game like Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgaea might work with multiplayer though, since it's mainly turned based, the player 1 and 2 basically could alternate. It would also be like a more involved and complex version of Chess.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

How does it work exactly? Is everyone in versus mode Ryu? or just a random mook with Ryu weapon set?

I own Razor's Edge on the PS3 so I never checked the online content yet, probably is barren / dead though.



I never played Anarchy Reigns, I own the Bayonetta 2 disc version which came with the original game, I haven't beaten the original Bayonetta yet so I haven't popped in the Bayonetta 2 disc to know that it has a co-op mode.

Still it's nice to know something like this exists. Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

Everyone is a masked mook

 

[John Harker]

The truth of the matter is, they'll keep building what sells.

Did single player games like child of light or valiant hearts sell enough to keep going? Maybe one of them did. But that doesn't make a trend.

As the zeitgeist gets more social and connected, so to will our lives and our habits and by extension our devices and our preference.

May still get the odd outlier like evil within, those sales were pretty surprising - but again, the odd example here and there does not a trend make. It's much harder to optimize retention and monetize post launch on single player games and that is what publishers want as their budgets balloon... And in turn you need more staff than ever post launch to maintain the services these connected games provide. It's a circle.

Edit:

Someone above pointed out bunch of recent single player games... I didn't count most of them because they are based on a liscense (or in the case of Rogue, a spinoff of sorts of a mass franchise). Those types of games sell just as much if not more on the strength of their brand recognition than its "single player nature"