Nik Wood writes on why he thinks that the internet has had a negative effect on gaming.
Plenty of unforgettable games have completely messed up their players throughout the years, all the way back from the PS1 days to the dark recesses of the modern internet.
With so many games fighting for players' attention and interest losing out over time, time sink games are at risk of eventually losing steam.
It was worrisome to begin with.
It's a niche genre with only a handful of hits that can stand the test of time.
I like the sound of that!! I will for sure never support these gaas games.
Sony must be shocked at gamer's reaction, making them cancel a few of these and hopefully go back to the good heavy hitters they had us used to..
now bring on that PSPro reveal and show us some SP 1st party awesomeness.
It's pretty ridiculous.
Imagine having a breadth of data at your disposal to see the statistically low success rate of these games, only to be laser focused on the exceptional case studies.
Only a few will catch on. You need a perfect storm to be successful in GaaS and a bit of luck on top of that. But a potential cash cow will keep them trying and some will go out of business because of it.
Helldivers 2 manages just fine…
Keep production costs low… don’t just make custscenes until the mechanics and enemies are perfected first.
Make so much content that you can drip extra content for years, and the game already feels complete without them.
Most importantly: make weapons, enemies, levels, and mechanics that will stand the test of 1000 hours. This might require more devs embracing procedurally generated leveled, which I think separates Helldivers 2 from Destiny’s repetitiveness.
Nameer from eXputer: "Some exceptions aside, I don't think the battle pass is a net positive for gaming with how they're implemented in most live service titles."
I like the way Helldivers 2 does battle passes. It allows you to make purchases on each level of the battle pass and gives you the option of choosing which item to unlock first. The more purchases you make using medals the further you progress. There is no timer and you can earn medals towards purchasing stuff via personal orders and Major orders.
I haven't played much live service games that have battle passes but I remember some games that have battle passes where you progress through it linearly using an exp system. What makes it really bad is that the battle pass will have like 50 or more levels with the cooler stuff being closer to the end. They also have an in-game shop that sells exp boosters so you can reach the end of the pass before it refreshes. Everyone ilse will have to grind their way through.
battle pass in fortnite is perfect; buy one and it buys the rest for every other season as it gives you more money than the first cost. so 8.50 and season ends with you getting 13.00, it pays for the next and you have some pocket change to save up for cash shop. All of which is optional
"Games are released with terrible bugs that are eventually sorted out by updates, that require… an internet connection."
^^^
Only valid point in the whole article, the relatively few other arguments he gives just make him sound whiny.
I personally play very little online with the exception of a little BF or COD here and there. I used to do the mmo thing too for awhile until I wised up and got sick of the amount of time and money you have to sink into them.
But my point is, even though I'm not much of an online gamer myself I've never felt that online gaming was (in any significant way) harming the industry, let alone any the games that I like. Not sure how this guy gets that impression...
Now, I'm mainly a single-player (or on-the-couch multiplayer) gamer, so keep that in mind...
Online gaming is the future. Sure, some things need to change. Some things need to grow and evolve. But think about Demon's/Dark Souls. Those games could be played completely solo, but you would still feel the influence of other players. Star Wars Old Republic is an MMO, yes, but it can also be played - more or less - solo and you can experience a halfway decent story. I anticipate Guild Wars 2 will also be much the same way.
The problem is World of Warcraft. Because it's such a success, everyone imitates it, but WoW is a 7-year-old game. It's ancient. The online game model needs to evolve beyond WoW instead of copying it.
Online gaming changes the reasons why we play a video game. It is for competitive reasons followed by the emerging cooperative mode. In either case online is social based. It creates an environment of immediate gratification using one's primitive emotions of dominance over another. I, for one, play online but prefer single player or co-op campaign mode that follows a storyline. It can cause impatience, which is a huge detriment to the single player mode.
Online will cause the destruction of ownership and the destruction of the meaning of a name. Games get chopped up, rehashed, and repackaged. My biggest hope for online this generation was that the consoles could do it better than the PC. Consoles were always a representation of stability over technology until they all went online.
I don't appreciate being mislead into thinking the games I purchased digitally are mine. No matter which way they slice it the terms and conditions say otherwise. Since when does the terms "buy", "own", or "ownership" NOT mean what the dictionary defines them as? Yet that is what is stated in PS3/360 terms. They are basically telling you that they have the right to mislead you by having a buy button. I could go on and on about the issues with online based gaming but I won't. I'd be here for quite awhile.
MP games will sell more because you can't borrow friends' copies to play against them. You have to buy new ones. And most people can't wait for a price drop or buy it used because the community might die out, so they sell lots of copies right from launch.
@Nitrowolf
"Good and Evil didn't have Online.
If you have an issue with online play then at least use a game that is actually online play."
"games back in the 80's -90's weren't full of 3D models and all worked on a 2D plane."
Good and Evil was a rare example of the need for online patches in an offline gaming world. Yet I can't name much else. So, I ask, is having online the solution to bugged games or is it the problem? In my experience, there are more bugged video games on release now that they have in the past
The PS1and PS2 were on a 3D plane and had no online systems in place. I can't name a video game on these systems (aside from G&E) that had noticeable bugs like we do today.
Note: Read some of my other posts here and you'll see I have many issues with online gaming.