The Longevity of the Game

As games become increasingly bigger, fewer of them are being completed. How important is finishing a game in our overall enjoyment of them?

[toguns]

Are they actually getting longer though? As a whole, haven't they mostly been getting smaller? Unless you want to count massive open world RPGs like TES games have mostly been becoming shorter with more cutscenes taking up the already shrinking play time.

[TheFirstClassic]

Well the online multiplayer in games has shortened the single player but added more length to games overall.

[ShaunCameron]

Um. No. All online multiplayer did was give games the illusion of length and replay value to a mode that has nothing to do with the single-player campaign. It's nothing more than an extra feature that few people really have much use for. Kind of the modern-day "difficulty for difficulty's sake".

[TheFirstClassic]

"It's nothing more than an extra feature that few people really have much use for."

Even though I don't have much use for it myself, thats kind of a ridiculous statement. People buy call of duty and battlefield in droves, do you think they buy it for the single player? Multiplayer is a HUGE selling point in games nowadays.

And yeah, it's a mode separate from the sp. What's your point? It's still part of the game. And I'm not sure how it gives the illusion of length and replay value, they're there, at least replay value is anyway.

[toguns]

This is really a reply to shauncameron, "illusion of length" "difficulty for difficulty's sake?" Why can't all hold all these buzzwords. Difficulty is to provide a greater challenge. The people who have the skill to beat the higher difficulty leave with a sense of accomplishment that just isn't there in easier games. Multiplayer increases the lifespan of games which isn't really the point of this article. The point of this article is the length of single player campaigns. And just because you're an antisocial person that refuses to bend doesn't mean that most people are. Multiplayer is the main reason that the biggest selling games sell well. Humans have a strong competitive drive. It's what got us to the top of the food chain. That competitive drive is catered for by online multiplayer. Now man up

[3-4-5]

If I'm enjoying the game, then I want the experience to last as long as possible, as long as it stays fresh, fun & doesn't turn boring.

Some games work better as a 15-20 hours main story & some work better as a 50+ hours grand adventure + side quests and whatever else.

I thought the size of N64 games were perfect.

You couldn't beat them in one sitting, so you got some replay value out of them, and if you could beat them in one sitting it would take you 10-20 hours.

The worlds were big enough to let you wander around in and discover things, but never too big to get lost or to take too long in. The pacing was just right.

If a game is going to take 50 hours to beat, then give me some variety to keep me interested in playing through the entire journey.

[awgi]

Yeah I think that's a good question.

I certainly think games, as a whole, have more content than they did ten years ago and I think this partly accounts for the appearance of length. There are just more things to do.

I hope you're right about most games becoming shorter, or at least a more streamlined main story, but I pray not through the overuse of cutscenes!

[Jacobite]

MW3 single player 7hrs most, BO and CODs are short under 10hrs single player, don't start me MOH again short.Skyrim now thats a game 584hrs in.

[th3n00bg4m3r]

I finished Black Ops and Modern Warfare 3 in 5hrs each.

[Me_My]

I find JRPGS are long but most shooter games with the exception of Fall Out are short but I understand why as on average people of North America have a short attention span when it comes to story so most shooters will always be about 6 to 7 hours because any more and the player will forget the story and the reason they bought the game to begin with.

[Heisenburger]

That being so because Fallout is not a, as you said, shooter game. It is a roleplaying game.

[Ticklez]

The only games I played and still play five years from release are the Socom games. And those game don't have unlocks, perks, and xp... The games were about skill and talking sh*t to your enemies. Games now focus on how to make sure everyone can play it, trying to bring in the most sales. So really there is no one to blame, money needs to be made.