Singleplayer or Multiplayer?

[don_bidarian]

Lately(well starting from last gen) more and more games put their emphasize on multiplayer aspects of the game than single player.
And this gen we see more games which are "online and multiplayer only" which got me thinking, is this what actually gamers want or is this the way companies want to run their games.

Now I might be an old fashioned player, I started with Atari, moved to Nintendo then Sega genesis and PS1~4.
I'm a single player person, I love a good game with good story and good gameplay, a game cannot excite me if it doesnt have those 2 specific factors.
I do appreciate a nice split screen co-op so I can play the campaign or other modes with my friend on the couch.

I dont care about online MP much, its a nice add on to have, but I really hate it when online MP starts to hurt SP aspects of a game(Call of Duty being a great example).

So I wanna know your opinion on this matter,
Are you a more of a single player gamer or multiplayer?
Which one do you think is more important in a game?

 

[Alex_68]

Interesting argument indeed Don

I personally like both at the same level. A good single playing with a good story is very amusing for sure and gives hours of relax and fun.
Multiplayer sessions are very amusing too, if you find the right players to share them with. I have fun both with SP and with MP, no difference. I just decide to play one way or the other depending on my mood in that moment. I find it an advantage and a very effective way to increase the game's longevity.

Advantages, yes. There are also disadvantages though.

Examples:

Destiny: good game but you play it only in MP. So, if you don't like MP you can't enjoy, pity.
Skyrim: a superb SP that gives you weeks of fun. Great, but the people who like MP?
The Elder Scrolls: This is Skyrim, but only in MP and you have to pay a montly subscription if you want use it. Bleh... I'm a MP lover but I will never buy it.

The perfect balance between SP and MP, imho is GTA5. You buy the game, you pay it and stop. You can play it forever without spending a coin, with the possibility to enjoy both MP and SP with the same intensity.

This said, I'm firmly convinced that the future of videogames will be multiplayer, like Destiny, and business oriented like Elder Scrolls and AC Unity (pay to step up your char).

 

[don_bidarian]

The perfect balance between SP and MP, imho is GTA5. You buy the game, you pay it and stop. You can play it forever without spending a coin, with the possibility to enjoy both MP and SP with the same intensity.

Exactly, GTA 5 is the perfect game in that case.
It has a nice long exciting SP campaign which can take hours of your time, and on the side it has an entertaining MP(this one I cannot vouch as I have not played the MP).
But IMO more games should be like that, pay equal attention to both SP and MP (unless they are pure MP or pure SP in which case it is acceptable).

 

[Haze]

Single-player for sure. Always have, always will.

I love a good story. I'm not a big multi-player person really. It's actually pretty rare for me to play online.

 

[don_bidarian]

Single-player for sure. Always have, always will.

I love a good story. I'm not a big multi-player person really. It's actually pretty rare for me to play online.

Only because of that, I will add you to my PSN

 

[Haze]

Only because of that, I will add you to my PSN

Awesome

 

[iamthenight90]

i love a good single player. even call of duty rarely gets my attention when it comes to multiplayer. unless its a nintendo game i barely play unless its a game thats only multiplayer (titanfall and garden warfare

 

[Haymansafc]

I have to agree with Don. I've always been a single player person. I grew up with an Atari STE right at the back end of the 80's and then the Sega Megardive in the early 90's - so it's natural for me to prefer being a single player.

As I've said numerous times before, I always take a storyline/plot and gameplay above anything else. It's one of the main reasons why I tend to avoid the sheer raft of FPS games on the market - because they're primarily set up for multiplayer. I don't want that - I want a game that I can enjoy alone. A game that makes me care for the characters through a good story. Yes, something that can last for more than a few hours also.

It does genuinely worry me that we're seeing an increasing emphasis on multiplayers and online functions. Not everyone wants this, not everyone has unlimited/top of the range internet and people like myself are being increasingly pushed away from console gaming as a result. If I wanted all this online and muliplayer business, I'd buy a high end PC. From a console, I just want to plug it in, slot in a disc and play. What is so wrong about wanting just this, these days...?! It was a formula that worked for almost a couple of decades!

Creating accounts, logging on, connecting to servers, WiFi, microphones/headphones, subscriptions for this/that <shakes head> Just....no! Stop...! It's too complicated for me. What happened to easy, straightforward gaming? Just give me a disc, let me slot it in where I get a title screen that has an option of 'new game' or 'start'!

This is an argument I really could go on all day about - so I think I'll just leave it as this for now!

 

[don_bidarian]

I have to agree with Don. I've always been a single player person. I grew up with an Atari STE right at the back end of the 80's and then the Sega Megardive in the early 90's - so it's natural for me to prefer being a single player.

As I've said numerous times before, I always take a storyline/plot and gameplay above anything else. It's one of the main reasons why I tend to avoid the sheer raft of FPS games on the market - because they're primarily set up for multiplayer. I don't want that - I want a game that I can enjoy alone. A game that makes me care for the characters through a good story. Yes, something that can last for more than a few hours also.

It does genuinely worry me that we're seeing an increasing emphasis on multiplayers and online functions. Not everyone wants this, not everyone has unlimited/top of the range internet and people like myself are being increasingly pushed away from console gaming as a result. If I wanted all this online and muliplayer business, I'd buy a high end PC. From a console, I just want to plug it in, slot in a disc and play. What is so wrong about wanting just this, these days...?! It was a formula that worked for almost a couple of decades!

Creating accounts, logging on, connecting to servers, WiFi, microphones/headphones, subscriptions for this/that <shakes head> Just....no! Stop...! It's too complicated for me. What happened to easy, straightforward gaming? Just give me a disc, let me slot it in where I get a title screen that has an option of 'new game' or 'start'!

This is an argument I really could go on all day about - so I think I'll just leave it as this for now!

You just spoke my heart mate!

 

[Sekelani]

I don't mind playing single player. I like a good story mixed with action/ suspense. If there is any multiplayer aspect to it great, if not I don't care. I don't like games that focus on multiplayer as a basis like COD which is mostly for multiplayer.

 

[Moberg]

I'm with you on this, Don. Single player is my favourite way of playing. A good story and vivid characters is what I appreciate much in games. The more they are like interactive films the better for me. Ambitious storyline - that's what I'd like to experience more often. The Last of Us is of course a good example of going in this direction and it also has MP option for those who enjoy it.

I don't find it much attractive to play online with random people. Sports games are different but even in this case i prefere playing with someone I actually know.

Coach cooperation is what I miss since not many games include this option these days.

I'm seriously considering dropping my PS+ subscribtion next year. I can save money for The Witcher 3 this way and this game will no doubt suck me in for long weeks.

 

[Haymansafc]

COD does focus much too heavily on multiplayer and the single player gamers (like myself) are left very much short-changed. Just about all FPS's do this to be honest. I think when the multiplayer focus became more prevalent, when online gaming became a big thing (what – six/seven years ago?), is when I lost most of my interest with them. This was when technology/online gaming more or less left me behind and I still haven’t grasped the concept of it to this very day. I'm still very much in the mindset that if you want a multiplayer, you get a spare controller, invite a friend around and set up a two player/split screen mode.

Games which involve simply going from one arena to another, shooting away at anything moving before moving onto the next arena (repeat over and over…) just doesn't appeal to me at all. I genuinely don't understand this ongoing trend. Where's the story? Where's the thought? Where's the pleasure in simply having one thing to do in a game? Sorry, but it just goes over my head completely. Sadly as this remains so popular, developers and producers of games have become unbelievably lazy and basically put some sort of repetitive FPS 'theme' in many games these days. The horror genre, which I’m most into, has suffered horribly from this in recent years where the idea of 'survival' has been blurred (the genre only just about starting to find it's roots again). You just can't get away from it, now…

Again, I'm still undecided over whether to get PS+ as and when I get a PS4. It seems most of it's use is indeed for multiplayer games. As I have no known friends with a PS4, I don't see the point. Indeed, the idea of playing with strangers doesn't appeal to me whatsoever either. If all else you get is the odd free game (which you've paid for within the subscription, remember. Nothing in life comes for free), then I'll probably not bother. It would be wasted on me.

You just spoke my heart mate!

Thanks, Don! At least we know we're not alone on having this stance...!

 

[don_bidarian]

Well do not lose hope yet, as some developers still make awesome single player games(although they drop in numbers everyday) but I think we are safe for now in the single player world

 

[RobDaCool]

Single player by far!

Besides I didn't marry a gamer girl just so I could play a game with some random online person lol

 

[Max_Headroom]

COD AW and BF4 are the only games i have been on-line with all the rest i bought for the single player, i enjoy both equally.

 

[zer0ryd3r]

Single player by far!

Besides I didn't marry a gamer girl just so I could play a game with some random online person lol

My wife thinks she's a gamer but I told her that playing Candy Crush, or the newst craze, Candy Crush Soda Saga (are you bleeping kiddng me??) doesn't make her a gamer

 

[Paradox]

I mainly prefer to do single player as I'm not much for groups.

 

[JamesGoblin]

Last single/multiplayer I played was Starcraft - 2004? I guess. Since then I'm playing exclusively MMOs (first M is for massively, making the difference from "only" multiplayer).

 

[miro]

Since about 6 months I became a multiplayer. Before this I was always just playing alone! On steam I love playing arma epoch pvp alot!
I'm also on a team in the fantasy baseball league on dailylineups.com/.
What I now want to try is "don't starve together".
Let's see how long I'm going to play this online multiplayer games but for now they are real fun!

 

[hddmag]

Lately(well starting from last gen) more and more games put their emphasize on multiplayer aspects of the game than single player.
And this gen we see more games which are "online and multiplayer only" which got me thinking, is this what actually gamers want or is this the way companies want to run their games.

Now I might be an old fashioned player, I started with Atari, moved to Nintendo then Sega genesis and PS1~4.
I'm a single player person, I love a good game with good story and good gameplay, a game cannot excite me if it doesnt have those 2 specific factors.
I do appreciate a nice split screen co-op so I can play the campaign or other modes with my friend on the couch.

I dont care about online MP much, its a nice add on to have, but I really hate it when online MP starts to hurt SP aspects of a game(Call of Duty being a great example).

So I wanna know your opinion on this matter,
Are you a more of a single player gamer or multiplayer?
Which one do you think is more important in a game?

More like a single player person most of the time. I don't enjoy being with trolls.