From PSU: Whether you’re a fan of multiplayer games or not, it’s hard to not recommend Knockout City. Velan has developed an exciting and refreshing take on an often overlooked sport, with varied and fun game modes and tight controls that lead to matches you will remember long after finishing. Right now Knockout City is great and I am excited to see where it will go in the future.
GameSpot caught up with Velan Studios to discuss the life and death of its taken-too-soon dodgeball game, and tried to figure out why modest success is often not enough in the live-service market.
Was this on PS+ at launch?
Never download it.
Have almost no interest in competitive online multiplayer games these days unless they are made by Naughty Dog.
It was on ps+ a few months back not at launch I believe. That was probably the last ditch to get a larger player base,. Obvs didn't happen. I would have liked to have played it but have too much of a backlog shame as it looks good but noe servers will be taken down it's too late prehaps
I mostly play single player games so I rarely try online multiplayer games especially since I find most of them similar.
This game is one of those rare online games that I gave a shot. Although I didn't spend a ton of time with it, I did have a couple of memorable and fun moments together with my son. Close fights, last minute passes, and exciting turn arounds made it a lot of fun to play. So it's kinda sad to hear that they're pulling the plug on this one.
The problem with live services is there isn't an infinite amount of gamers or even gamers with an infinite amount of free time.
It's really a very small market and sure you get the occasional surprise hit (Rocket League, Fall Guy) but alot of the time these games aren't interesting enough.
My biggest bug bare with online multiplayer in general is the whole "progression system" in games like COD and Battlefield.
I haven't got time to be unlocking all the best gear, and it's almost impossible to play and have fun as those who do have the time, get the best weapons.
One of the reasons I like Overwatch is that if you're good at the game and with other good players, you're likely going to win.
Where as less skilled players end up with less skilled players. I'm not very good at Overwatch, but I am 9/10 playing with people who are similar.
Exactly this !! Cod and BF are a prime example - the more you play the better weapons you get that kill a whole lot quicker, a person who plays a few hours a week gets destroyed game after game gets fed up and quits.
Wait, weren't these sort of games supposed to be the future?
Good. Love it.
Personally I think because they are mostly the same sh&t and there is only room for a limited number of them thriving at the same time.
Isn't it kind of obvious? The market can only support so many. Everyone wants a piece of the pie, so they try and grab a slice, but many fail because they're chasing a trend someone else was already successful at instead of bringing something new.
Exactly, people only have so much time and money, and there are so many of these games now, gamers can't support them all, thus they all flock to the most popular games.
I also feel like alot of these developers don't have enough of a road map to keep the content/updates flowing to keep the game fresh for players. I also feel that alot of dvelopers try really hard to nickle and dime players at every opportunity when a live-service game can demand alot of the player's time and money.
Because they're focused on making money, appealing to addictive traits, than actually being fun.
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