Re: Single Player FTW

On Wed, 09 Oct 2024 13:13:20 -0400, Xocyll <Xocyll@gmx.com> wrote:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> looked up from reading the
entrails of the porn spammer to utter  "The Augury is good, the signs
say:
>

>
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A recent study reported that most gamers prefer single-player! Take
that, multiplayer nerds! ;-)
>
Of course, the reality is that, if you look into the study, the
single-player advantage is minimal; it's along the lines of 53% to 47%
in favor of single-player. And the breakdown is predictible; the old
fogies like the single-player, whilst the brats go for the online
stuff. Honestly, the study doesn't really tell us anything that we
didn't already know.

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I like a blend of full single player games and MMO's which I play as
single player games with more realistic (and rude) NPCs.
Plus the option to chat while doing my solo play.
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I'm not adverse to teaming at times, but I hate playing with people with
a different playstyle so even in MMOs I solo play so I can play my game
my way and not be rushed by some speed running bozo who apparently hates
playing the game and wants to rush through everything lest story, lore,
or entertainment contaminate his purity.
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Back in the days COH was on the live servers there was a CSIPGR coh
group I played in, (weekly play session, dedicated character I only
played with them,) but 99.9% of my play was solo.

Yeah, but we're all old fogies; _of course_ we trend towards
single-player. Who amongst us ancients has the time, patience or even
social network anymore to dedicate so much time to multiplayer?

I'd wager having more disposable income helps too. Sure, teens are
renowned for having a lot of excess cash and for years were the prime
target of many companies, but that income -though broad- wasn't deep.
For a lot of the kids, a $60USD game was a huge investment. So kids
tended to buy fewer games and stick with each game longer. Multiplayer
helped extend the lifespan of those games. Adults can afford to buy
more games, so shorter single-player experiences aren't as much of a
downside.




Interestingly, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney recently made a claim about how
the future of games is social, and that games like Fortnite (to pick a
completely random example) are the future of gaming. Which seems a bit
short-sighted. Then it is Epic saying this. They also insisted PC
gaming was going to be dead in a few years back in the mid 2000s.
They've never been much to look past their current success. "Fortnite"
is social;

"Fortnite" is popular, therefore all games should be like "Fortnite".
Forget the fact that there's a huge population that doesn't _like_
Fortnite, and there have been a lot of very popular single-player
games. That's not what Epic is selling _now_, and changing gears is
hard. Therefore, "Fortnite" is the future, now and forever. ;-)




Of course, the real question is: will the young, multiplayer-focused
kids of today stick with their online titles as they age, or will
their tastes shift more to single-player, as it did with their
parents? Personally, I think the logistics of adulthood will force
their hands and they'll start seeing the merits of solo-play, but who
knows?