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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Remind me again why online multiplayer matters.

J_Allard on 02 September 2013

Because people don't make great AI anymore.

Why on Earth would I buy a Call of Duty, Battlefield, Madden, Gran Turismo, Borderlands, Diablo, or 90% of other games without some sort of online multiplayer?

And it has to be online because:

1. Not all games put 2-4 player support into their games anymore
2. Using one TV sucks
3. We're adults, we don't have friends over for gaming nearly as much as we did as teenagers

Even a SP focused game like Last of Us benefits greatly from online MP. Hell, the MP would not even work offline. I beat the game in like 10 hours and if it had no MP, that would have been all the game got from me were those 10 hours, and then it would be on the used shelf. So there's another big reason it matters, it matters to companies who want us to hold on to their games.



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gooch_destroyer on 02 September 2013

T-Bagging and having sex with your mother.



Jay520 on 02 September 2013

Online multiplayer allows you to play games with other humans across the globe. Whether or not you value this is subjective.



attaboy on 02 September 2013

I used to think I was the greatest Street Fighter player in the world. The local people I played just couldn't compete with my awesome skills. Online showed me just how good I really am. I made a lot of friends by proving my worth against others and being humbled by those much better than myself. I don't know about you, but I've had a great experience with online via Xbox Live.

1 vs. 100 (I really wish they kept this) was fun for the whole family, online. Call of Duty became a way of life for me for a while. With Mario Kart on the Wii, I was a kid again. I don't know what to tell you, buddy. Sorry your online experience has been so poor but for me, co-op Gears of War 3 or Resident Evil 5 was where it was at. And that was with total strangers!



J_Allard on 02 September 2013
attaboy said:
I used to think I was the greatest Street Fighter player in the world. The local people I played just couldn't compete with my awesome skills. Online showed me just how good I really am. I made a lot of friends by proving my worth against others and being humbled by those much better than myself. I don't know about you, but I've had a great experience with online via Xbox Live.

1 vs. 100 (I really wish they kept this) was fun for the whole family, online. Call of Duty became a way of life for me for a while. With Mario Kart on the Wii, I was a kid again. I don't know what to tell you, buddy. Sorry your online experience has been so poor but for me, co-op Gears of War 3 or Resident Evil 5 was where it was at. And that was with total strangers!

This is another great reason. It makes you a better player.



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Jay520 on 02 September 2013

Is it just me, or does the OP ask questions with the most obvious answers? What's this guy's problem?



jonathanalis on 02 September 2013

multiplayer local matters(4 me)
i miss it.
thats 1 great reason i like ninteno home consoles, here the local multiplayer matters, the developers care about it.



attaboy on 02 September 2013
jonathanalis said:
multiplayer local matters(4 me)
i miss it.
thats 1 great reason i like ninteno home consoles, here the local multiplayer matters, the developers care about it.

I play a fair amount of local multi-player on Nintendo consoles too but the competition does a good job in those areas as well.  Playing a little Splosion Man, Little Big Planet 2, Gears of War 3, or Viva Pinata Party Animals is just as good as anything I can find on Nintendo consoles.  Maybe Nintendo makes better quality games than their competition when it comes to "party fighter" SSBB or Mario Kart but the other consoles feature local multiplayer about as much as Nintendo does.



warhalohog on 02 September 2013
richardhutnik said:

Sorry, I am not sold on online multiplayer as a big deal.

I wil add here, if you have friends remotely, it is nice to be able to play with them.  But beyond this, I don't get it.

Online multiplayer is made out to be some sort of critical feature.  But try firing up some sort of minor title or older title and watch there be little people to play online with.  If it is a big title, you get a bunch.  Otherwise, you could likely not run into anyone.

Then, you do find someone.  If you aren't running into immature jerks who throw insults around, you get experience like I did with the original Borderlands.  I found a rare person online to play, and did a game.  I was then facing abusive language because he didn't like me.  Then, he gives me a hacked shield that made me indestructable pretty much, ruining Borderlands for me.

So, pardon me here.  I just don't get the big deal with online multiplayer at all.  What is the appeal of finding people I don't know online and playing them, and hoping the experience is decent.  Apparently Microsoft, and Sony, now feels that I would need to pay for all this.  And with Microsoft, I have the distinct feeling that I am to drag my friends into their world, as they do squat to really enable people to meet others through their service.  Seriously here, why am I going to bother dragging anyone into their world?  Sorry, not in the mood.  I would rather play face to face with people and have some sort of social connecting, not this faux Facebook style nonsense of lack of human interaction.  Like, I do boardgames with people at social get togethers, and that is rewarding, FAR more than what the online pay to play world does.

Hey, maybe I am missing something awesome here.  If so, feel free to post a counterpoint below.

i agree with you very strongly at the bolded part, nba jam on fire edition with three friends socialising and having fun not just gaming is so much better than be called names and being hated on in cod online, same with spartan ops in halo 4 and shank 2 co op, just like being in the same room and playing and joking around without the crap that i always get online. If you own a ps3 you should buy all stars on the cheap such a good hang out game while drinking or before  you go out, my girlfriend even gets in on the action due to controls and mechanics being so simple.

i agree with 



Mr Puggsly on 02 September 2013

I love these threads.

"I personally don't care for _______, so somebody explain why anybody enjoys _______"

Not everyone plays games online. Even as popular as online gaming is today, the majority are still primarily playing offline.



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