100°

The Failure of Always Online Games

The Gaming Heretic talks about why the trend of the Industry to move 'always online' is a bad one. It has a negative impact on gaming and ultimately means that a game you enjoy will one day be unplayable when the servers go down.

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thegamingheretic.com
Software_Lover3497d ago

This isn't any new found information.

TheGamingHeretic3497d ago

Thus why its an opinion piece. It's a reflection of the overall frustration with the most recent issues with Destiny and other games.

XBLSkull3497d ago (Edited 3497d ago )

The argument isn't valid, you can face the same problem over a power outage. A few online hiccups from time to time are such a minor inconvenience it isn't even funny.

Don't like Destiny or DieAblo's policies? Don't buy them, most of us don't care. We'll have fun with the game for a few weeks and move on to the next one.

brish3497d ago

@XBLSkull

The major difference is the power almost never goes out.

With always online games it seems like they never work on release.

3-4-53496d ago

Generator fixes the Power problem...

What about the internet....o yea.

lemoncake3497d ago

All those millions of wow players must be feeling pretty stupid right now having got suckered into the short lived fad that is online only gaming.

Godmars2903497d ago

WoW is one thing, but its an insult to MMOs to call Destiny one.

Spotie3496d ago

Are you being intentionally obtuse? It's fine for some games to be that way. But every game requiring an online connection, regardless of genre or number of players? That's a mistake I hope gaming never makes.

rainslacker3496d ago

Well...when my net connection goes out, I can't play wow, so I play another game on my PS4. If all games require an internet connection, then when the net goes out, I can neither play wow, or any other video game.

Hopefully that makes it clearer for you.

Godmars2903497d ago

Isn't the reason these lizard guys are doing these attacks is to promote off-line games?

Not trying to justify what they're doing, but still, "innovation" in gaming these days tend to be something which benefits publishers at the cost of consumer rights. And by and large gamers seem to be defending or at least not realizing what they're losing.

kurruptor3497d ago

If they have to purposefully go out of their way and spend their time trying to take down the servers. I don't see that they are proving anything.

If it wasn't for them, I'm not sure we would have heard about the servers being offline.

Godmars2903497d ago

But then their point is that after a customer spent upwards to hundreds on a single game, when ever a publisher feels like that game wont make them anymore money, they can just pull the plug and the customer has nothing to show for it. Aside from an empty wallet.

kurruptor3497d ago

Can you give recent examples of when a game's server getting shutdown was such a big controversy? Games that had a single-player component that required you to be online for it.

Godmars2903497d ago

That's the exact point: when the servers for last year's version of Madden get shut down forcing everyone following the series to buy the newer Madden, it wont be a big deal. Only a minority will really be effected or complain.

There are no "big" examples of this. Just small ones. Capcom tying old arcade titles to DRM during the PS3/360 days. EA with Dungeon Master and the SIMs on PC and tablets. The XB1 and its original DRM that likely would have been a series of small incidents which everyone would have been given no real choice but to get use to.

kurruptor3496d ago

Sorry, but that is exactly MY POINT.

There has never been any controversy over a game's servers being shutdown.

Specifically there has never been a game that could have been offline supported, but was forced online required.... being shutdown early and causing an uproar.

People are worried that Destiny's servers might get shutdown after a few years? But, I thought this game sucked so bad that you are bored of it after a week.

If they shut down Diablo 3 right now, I would understand their point.

Godmars2903496d ago

The full point is that if these lizard guys aren't just doing it for their own attention, they're trying to bring to the attention of the majority of gamers which only effects a minority. Because by the publishes being able to shut down servers at their discretion becomes an issue of the majority, it will be too late. Such an option which gives companies more rights than consumers will have been well in place.

Then again since the only which would cause companies to reverse what's already in motion would be for people to not buy effected games for the exact reason of DRM, that these lizard guys are only being condemned for the inconveniences they cause, there's really no point to it.

People should have bought the XB1 as it originally was.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3496d ago
rainslacker3496d ago

I really don't believe that LS has any kind of altruistic intentions behind their attacks. They started it off to just be dicks, and then decided to make it into a campaign about how insecure the servers they were attacking were when they got some attention. I never even heard that they were championing the cause of offline games.

They just seem like they want to be people who want to stand up for the little man when the little man didn't ask them to, and in such a way that actually hurts the little man.

However, what they did/are doing(allegedly) is a prime example of why digital still needs some work, because things like this aren't uncommon, and there are real people out there that would do stuff like this maliciously. Most people would be shocked at just how insecure and prone to attack the internet(or their personal computers) really is. Anyone that's taken a network security class will know this.

cruzngta3497d ago

Titanfall and Destiny should have both had OFFLINE single player campaigns AND possibly bots mode if applicable. Online only needs to go away with the whole 'you need to be connected for the evolving world our game is in' it could be updated when you connect to apply any revisions and that would suffice. A person who pays for a product should be able to play it whatever way they like be it offline or online. What good is an 'evolving' world if you cant get a connection or some hacker group decides to take down the servers??? Hopefully this will come to an end and give players BOTH single player offline AND online components in ALL future games.

rainslacker3496d ago

I have to disagree on one point. The game was made as an online only game. Because of that, people should know what to expect, and with that expectation they would know the possible downfalls. Basically, I don't expect any MMO to have an offline mode, and for a game like TF or Destiny, if a SP wasn't available then so be it(I personally won't buy it).

I don't think that the world of Destiny(and certainly not TF) is ever-evolving or persistent enough to warrant an online only mode though.

I do agree that an offline mode would be good, as it would likely have helped sales, and allow playing when the net is being screwy.

Exies73497d ago

I enjoy online only games.

Not every game should cater to every type of gamer and complaining about this stuff is redundant and asinine.

Nobody is forcing you to purchase anything.

DivoJones3497d ago

Exactly.. being online-only allows more dynamic content. Like how Titanfall could patch seamlessly without forcing an xbox update.

But like they said in the article and has been said in the past, it also means once the servers shut down the game is done. Makes sense for digital games, but if I own a disc I always expect to be able to put it in the drive and play.

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220°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

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theverge.com
darthv7217h ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

solideagle4h ago

you should apply in MS PR team buddy, I think you will do a great job in my humble opinion :)

Sonic18812h ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio1h ago

MS: "Xbox services and content without AB up 1%, with AB up 62%. Hardware down 31%. In total a loss of 350 mill."

darthv72: "Seems about right."

MS: "Excuse m ..."

darthv72: "I don't hardly play on my consoles directly."

MS:

Cacabunga4h ago

I can tell people like you are an absolute minority..

If service is up means their fans and fanboys accepted this model and subscribed to it. The near future you will see a big decline because the service is saturated.

shinoff21833h ago

But that's been ms for years. When things aren't going their way they try to change the way things are said. For instance console sales are down, they stop telling how many sold instead telling us how many hours spent in halo or headshots. So it makes sense console sales down just say people are playing on more devices then previous. What they won't say is how many xbox players jumped ship to ps5.

Cacabunga2h ago

Hardware sales are so bad that Sony and Nintendo are blowing the sales off the water with their hardware.

If Xbox are losers, others aren’t..
Xbox already tried everything with Xbox live then subscriptions went down so much that they had to find something else. Their fans subscribed then reached saturation rather quickly.

Hardware and exclusive games is where it’s at! Keep gamers excited, announce decent software and people will support you

purple1017h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos6h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

XBManiac5h ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple1015h ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos4h ago(Edited 4h ago)

Top brass have also wanted to start seeing returns on the 100 billion they have put into various Xbox related moves so seeing more multiplatform games is highly likely especially from abk

It's basically saying that PlayStation is the reason Xbox is afloat right now thinks to Ps5 versions of COD

Kornholic3h ago

So basically PS and PC gamers' money is keeping Xbox on life support.

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140°

Why Monopolies In Gaming Must Not Be Allowed

As of right now, there are no monopolies in the games industry, and for the sake of the medium as a whole, they never should either.

thorstein16h ago

Shouldn't be allowed in any field.

Inverno12h ago

And yet the biggest tech companies in America are essentially that. They buy up all the small comps only to kill them off and steal what they have, and if they can't buy em they bleed them to death.

jwillj2k411h ago

Eventually they’ll realize the value is with the employee not the company. Buying an IP means nothing if the people who contributed are let go. They’ll get it one day.

MrCrimson10h ago

tech is different because they buy threats and then kill them. Twitter bought Vine and did nothing with it. Despite people seemingly liking it. Could've had tiktok a decade before bytedance. go figure.

Zenzuu11h ago

Monopolies shouldn't be allowed regardless. Not just for gaming.

MrCrimson10h ago

They buy IPs not talent. That's why these buyouts never work and the IPs die. Right now it's too expensive to develop games - but I expect that to shift maybe as AI tools can make it easier. The best games have been indie games for awhile as big developers fuck their ips to death with "games as a service" -

70°

5 Of The Best Narrative Twists In Video Games

GL compiles a list of some of the most mind-blowing video game narrative twists in recent memory, from The Last of Us to Outer Wilds

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gameluster.com
Rebel_Scum15h ago

With articles like these cant you tag the games mentioned so that we can know ahead of time if there’s a spoiler to avoid?

Not clicking on your article otherwise.