By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
SvennoJ on 06 August 2013
Edit Thread
Mythmaker1 said:
SvennoJ said:

The Wii seems to have done well without online multiplayer evolving.
I haven't played online on the WiiU yet either, games seem to work fine without.

Anyway without digital distribution, instead of season passes, small DLC expansions, map packs, car packs, hat packs, we would still have worthy disc based expansions that add 30 hours to the game.
More indie games would have disc based releases. After being succesful on PC compilation discs would make it to consoles. Maybe we would still have games magazines sold with discs full of demos and indie games.
The AA game would not face extinction. With money not going to online passes, DLC, map packs, online fees etc to support the few big titles that are played year round, more people might be inclined to try some new games.
Games shops would be doing a lot better and not need to milk the 2nd hand market to stay alive.

Does the Wii not have online multiplayer? I was under the impression that it did.

And while the idea sounds good in theory, disc-based expansions were never very feasible, given the cost in bringing it to market. What's more likely is that more content would be disc-locked, and you would have to buy a code to unlock it, or CD-keys would be used to limit reselling.

More indie games would have disc-based releases, but fewer overall indies would make it to market because of the upfront cost. It's likely most would simply develop for PC, dragging out the process of eventually bringing them to console. As far as gaming magazines...how many are actually left?

As far as AA games go, that strikes me as a little overly optimistic. The trends that are killing AA games started long before those kind of practices became commonplace.

Regarding game shops, I disagree. Game shops aren't being killed by online multiplayer, they're being killed by big-box stores stealing their business.

The Wii has online multiplayer, but I wouldn't call it (much) evolved from the online capabilities of the dreamcast. I don't know anyone personally who has played online on the Wii.

Disc locked content makes no sense at all. Expansions were flourishing before DLC took over. I bought 6 alone for EQ, which is an online game even. Many games had great expansions, AoE, Sims, Half-life, etc.

Gaming magazines are mostly gone because there is no more need for them. If demo discs, extra little games would still need to be distributed physically, they would still exist.

Game shops definitely feel the pinch from digital distribution. If they had expansions and indie games to sell as well that would help. Big box stores can steal their anual big releases, but they don't have the space for all the rest, which is taken away by digital distribution. Plus the pc game market is pretty much gone entirely from retail.

Anyway, I enjoy the ease of digital distribution as well. Love the ease of getting great indie games, and ps+ is definitely putting a dent in my retail buying habits, yes I'm part of the problem too. DLC not so much though, buying an expansion felt a lot more exciting then downloading a tidbit of dlc. Plus that demo disc with a great magazine, much better then waiting hours for 1 demo to download, then worry about HDD space.
As far as online multiplayer, yes it can be fun. It never reaches the heights of splitscreen or lan play for me though. I rather have more focus on games that can be shared in the same room.