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[thefool]

Single obviously.
I only like to play multiplayer with friends, namely co-ops campaigns, a lost genre.

 

[mckmas8808]

Interesting to see how much single player rises along side a person's age. While I do mix of the two as someone in their 50s, I do understand and appreciate the "people can just fuck off" mentality leading to it. That and sometimes I just want to be left alone with my escapism without having to deal with anyone, even friends.

And I think this will remain true 10-20 years from now. We have lives to take care of.

 

[Bond007]

Always singleplayer first. Has never changed for me.
Im glad people are getting back to it.


Now lets get back to more linear experiences and fuck open world. Unless of course you know what you doing(Rockstar)

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

My most played game is Q3A

 

[The artful mincer]

Multiplayer games are more lucrative.
Single player games are more popular.

Both these statements can be true

A reminder that the insomniac leak backs this up.

Platform - PS5 Players Spend Much More Time Playing Single Player Games Than Multiplayer Ones, Leaked Documents Suggest

Newly leaked PlayStation data has revealed that PS5 users spent more time playing single-player offline titles than others. The multiplayer online and F2P titles appeared to be leagues behind in the charts as of January 2023. The charts reveal a slew of other notable details. PS5 users had a...

www.neogaf.com

If anything the above data demonstrates that single player playtime might be growing while multiplayer gameplay time has stagnated.

I predict this trend will continue as gamers get older.

 

[NahaNago]

That chart makes sense right now but I'm guessing that when this younger generation grows older, they will still play multiplayer since that will be what they grew up with.

It's funny that I only read the post above me after I posted and is the complete opposite of my thoughts on the topic.

 

[Danjin44]

Without the doubt I prefer SP over MP.....For me it just way more fun better experience.

 

[Warablo]

No, I think most people like coop games

 

[The artful mincer]

That chart makes sense right now but I'm guessing that when this younger generation grows older, they will still play multiplayer since that will be what they grew up with.

It's funny that I only read the post above me after I posted and is the complete opposite of my thoughts on the topic.

Personally I think all competition is a young person games.

We see this clearly in normal sports and I think we will see this Esports.

The top esports stars today won't be the top stars 10 years from now and this will be reflected in the games they consume.

 

[NahaNago]

Personally I think all competition is a young person games.

We see this clearly in normal sports and I think we will see this Esports.

The top esports stars today won't be the top stars 10 years from now and this will be reflected in the games they consume.

It isn't completely about competition but also nostalgia. Multiplayer games are bigger now than they were 20 to 30 years ago with just how you can play online games on tablets and cellphones. Just because esports is a younger persons game doesn't mean tons of older folk won't be playing those games just for fun.

 

[RCX]

Last MP I cared about was Titanfall 2.

A lot has changed in that space since then to ensure I want nothing to do with it.

If someone wants to make a solid single player game with a robust multiplayer element that isn't poisoned with DLC and microtransactions then I'll be there day 1. But somehow I don't think we're likely to ever see a game like that ever again.

 

[Shadowstar39]

Single player going all the way back to atari 2600/intelli, nes and appleII. Although back then multiplayer was couch co-op and was much better than online.
I haven't played online since buying battlefield 5 for a few bucks. The last invested game for online I played was Cod WW2 (last one before the woke invasion). I used to love battlefield 2, bc2, bf3, bf4, cod 2, codwaw, codmw1/2, cod advanced war. I played for the campaign and stayed for a few rounds of multiplayer. I also loved killzone and resistance for the same reasons. It was great when you got a single player game and multiplayer in 1. Then cods got woke, battlefield choked, and their games took up 1/4 of your hard drive... I said f-off....

Last mmo i played was Connan Hyborian adventures in what 2008? Vanguard, and maybe a bit of guildwars 2 when that came out. Before that I played Everquest 2, but hated wow (my friends all played that though and I don't play to socialize). If i want to socialize I will go over to your house. I have a friend that is the opposite of me and he always is trying to get me to play online. I did a few times and it was always the same thing. Rushing to level, skipping dialog, bullshitting the hole time and I not really enjoying the game. I think he does it to get away from his wife and 4 kids... sad.

What i really love is City Builders, Turn based Strategy, Elder scrolls, Ad&D games, Stealth games, spy games, space games like Freelancer/no mans sky, racing games like burnout, motorstorm, horror games like slient hill and re2. Jrpgs of all types. Wrpgs, Srpgs, Arpgs all single player. If some goon starts mouthing how they need to add co-op to x game, I say get lost. Once they do that it waters down the game. Those survival games would be right up my alley but they are geared for groups not solo.

 

[Unrivaledx88]

I love both

 

[hemo memo]

That's obvious. The overwhelming majority would perfer single player games obviously.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

And I think this will remain true 10-20 years from now. We have lives to take care of.

Do you really think these graphs looked like this 10, 20, 30 years ago?

 

[sono]

It's true but have you seen the current state of mp .

There are some great classic mp like ut4 but they are very specialised for the cod crowd

 

[Susurrus]

Mostly single player games. I can sit down and play and enjoy the game as I want on my own schedule. Plus, I usually play through a game and am done with it and move on to the next.

Coop multiplayer has a bit stricter schedule, but I can enjoy a good one from time to time. I had a buddy we were going through a bunch of online coop games together (Way Out, It Takes Two, Knights & Bikes, We Were Here series, Aliens Fireteam, Avengers, etc) in much the same way playing through then moving onto the next. We both have a similar work/family situation so it was always similar schedule and we were always fully understanding when it didnt work out w/ the other person. He had to leave the country for a year so time zone fucks that all up but we'll probably start back up once he's back.

Competitive online...I can enjoy from time to time. Haven't played any in a while, but Fall Guys and Rocket League were my more recent games. I also really liked Disc Jam back when it was active. However, I tend to get bored of most online competitive games, it feels it is like the same thing over and over just redoing matches, so I'll do little binges but get tired of them quick and maybe come back in several months. I also don't really have the time to get good and build strategy.

I used to play MMORPGs back in the day. Ragnarok Online, Final Fantasy XI, and I did the initial launch of Final Fantasy XIV off and on while it was free, but honestly haven't really had the time when I got older. With the limited time I do have, I'd rather play through various game campaigns and not schedule around other people. I'd absolutely love some offline single player version of FFXI so I could revisit it without the type of online game dedication, it had an amazing story, especially with the expansions.

 

[Hohenheim]

Been playing games a lot since 1990, and have probably spent max 10 hours in multiplayer games during all these years.
Not counting games where I have to see other people running around and fucking up my immersion (Diablo 4 being a recent example). Thankfully, most games let me shut all that shit off (like the Souls games)

 

[jakinov]

Considering that top MP games have MAU in the 8-9 figure range and account for much of the playtime in practice; seems to me they failed to avoid sampling/selection bias (or some other flaw to their survey) in their survey or the the participants are lying to themselves. For a the latter, a problem in business is that you can ask people would you buy XYZ or go to or do this but then they don't actually do it when it's available for a variety of reasons. People don't always know what they want. That's why companies test/pilot things at small scale and then expand out later. Often seeing what people actually do or have done is more important than asking what they think they would do.

 

[yansolo]

single player and co op only, i wish more games would let you co-op campaigns like in halo and dying light.

 

[mckmas8808]

Do you really think these graphs looked like this 10, 20, 30 years ago?

10 years ago?...... yes

 

[Soodanim]

My peak social gaming was around 18-22 when COD on PS3 was huge. Our entire friend group would play together. These were games bought for multiplayer.

That's all gone now. People don't have the time or inclination to get stuck into MP and that suits me just fine.

If I'm playing a game MP, it needs to be a game bought with that intention. If I buy a game for me I want to play it my own way at my own pace, and for me co-op means not doing that.

The last online I played was Dark Souls summons. I don't think I even summoned in ER before I started playing offline (either my connection or ER servers kept letting me down).

Single Player also offers unique experiences. I'm currently playing SH2: Enhanced Edition and trying to imagine that as MP is awful. MP would ruin that atmosphere.

 

[Blueghost]

Yep, i’m one of them

 

[Goalus]

*Old* gamers seem to prefer single player.

I prefer playing single player campaigns in a cooperative multiplayer mode, like Gears 5. Or cooperative PVE like Gears 5 horde. Not sure what I should vote.

 

[PeteBull]

*Old* gamers seem to prefer single player.

Makes sense since with age usually comes more disposable income and lack of free time so we simply cant do those 3raid days 4hours each weekly on WoW anymore, but got 0 problem spending 60$ and finishing new astro in 15h =]

 

[Mr Reasonable]

I play multiplayer most of the time. I'm surprised that the poll comes as close to a 50:50 split given that the most popular titles on consoles are mostly multiplayer and the top titles are consistently EAFC, COD, Fortnite.

I guess that the bigger multiplayer games get the biggest share of players while single player games get more players overall, but those players are spread across many more titles meaning that no one title is as big as those I mentioned earlier.

I'm surprised/not surprised that Neogaf is pathologically out of step with the rest of the world - you can see that single player gets more popular as people get older, once the sample gets to 55+, it gets to a peak of 74% of people playing single player titles (I wonder how many of these people are playing Candy Crush Saga or Mahjong Master) but for Neogaf to skew 93% single player, I can only assume that the average age here must be somewhere around 106.

 

[The artful mincer]

I guess that the bigger multiplayer games get the biggest share of players while single player games get more players overall, but those players are spread across many more titles meaning that no one title is as big as those I mentioned earlier.

This is very likely what's happening. If you look at Steam concurrent players the top 10 is usually only about 10% of the total player base.

That's why it's harder to break in and remain relevant in this space. It's a more lucrative yet smaller pie of players.

 

[The artful mincer]

Do you really think these graphs looked like this 10, 20, 30 years ago?

Yes.

This poll definitely includes players that grew up on Halo, Call of duty, World of Warcraft and Fifa.

The Free to play boom might might swing it back to multiplayer in the future however the base of older gamers is becoming larger and larger so I think it will be minimal.

We're seeing it in this console generation now.

 

[KungFucius]

Single player and couch co-op with the kids. Online anything tends to turn me off. I don't have that kind of time to invest in a game. Even single player games that are too long are a problem.

 

[Yoboman]

Multiplayer is fine when you're a kid playing with friends. As an adult I have no interest in going on Fortnite so some 9 year old called SkibidiRizzGod snipes me with aimbot and builds a staircase on my head or whatever TF you do in that game

 

[Reaseru]

I loved to play multiplayer games back in the ps3/ps4 era, but I got tired to constantly deal with cheaters and rage quitters.

Nowdays, when I watch my brother playing EA Sports FC, I laugh with those guys that can't cope with the fact they are losing 3-0 before half-time and leave the match, without getting any sort of penalty/punishment for doing that.

 

[FreeY$L]

Stats like this contradict playtime/spending stats, a market analyst for a big publisher would always look at playtime/engagement/revenue and decide their company’s next venture.

 

[Madserb2023]

It's not just games, this happens with everything as you get older. The brain develops from back to front. The lizard brain develops first which wants instant gratification so 5 minute multiplayer games are perfect. Concentration is also limited. The front of the brain develops last in your early twenties and that is responsible for long term planning and delaying gratification which is why you prefer single player games because it takes hours to complete something instead.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Yes.

This poll definitely includes players that grew up on Halo, Call of duty, World of Warcraft and Fifa.

The Free to play boom might might swing it back to multiplayer in the future however the base of older gamers is becoming larger and larger so I think it will be minimal.

We're seeing it in this console generation now.

This feels like wishful thinking to me considering both the industry investment and projections for Live Service over the next 5 years are pretty insane.

Does it really make sense to you that people in the single player bubble would know better than giant publishers who have been tracking this stuff forever and analysts who have been doing the same?

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

10 years ago?...... yes

You sure?

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I’m considering not renewing any MP subscription. Once my Premium expires.

 

[The artful mincer]

This feels like wishful thinking to me considering both the industry investment and projections for Live Service over the next 5 years are pretty insane.

They are chasing the smaller player base that's generating more money. Good luck to them trying to tear players away from Fortnite and GTA5.

Does it really make sense to you that people in the single player bubble would know better than giant publishers who have been tracking this stuff forever and analysts who have been doing the same?

A plea to authority!? You can argue better than that!

Videogame sales are incredibly hard to predict. NPD and all it's data can only predict sales with 35% accuracy. This interview is right up your ally if you have time.



But yes I believe as gamers age they will move away from competitive play. Maybe there's an opportunity for a developer to create a videogame equivalent of golf (metaphorically not literally) that brings in all the old farts.

That theoretical game would likely become a titan like Fortnite that would take a chunk of the market to itself.

 

[The artful mincer]

You sure?

I've had this debate with you before.

Tip of the iceberg. The top 10 games on Steam is only ever 10% of the overall player base.

 

[Mobilemofo]

Bots don't rage quit when you're whipping their asses.

They should tho. Should also be programmed to send you messages of abuse, like real humans.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

They are chasing the smaller player base that's generating more money. Good luck to them trying to tear players away from Fortnite and GTA5.

A plea to authority!? You can argue better than that!

It's an appeal to giant, capable, resource rich organizations wanting to orient in their own self interest. The (slightly smaller) player base is growing rapidly and spending way more money than the (slightly larger) player base which is much older and ready to age out of the medium.

Videogame sales are incredibly hard to predict. NPD and all it's data can only predict sales with 35% accuracy. This interview is right up your ally if you have time.

And yet, PlayStation, Microsoft, Ubisoft, EA, Activision Blizzard, Nexon, Tencent, Epic, Take Two, Valve etc...all seem to be pushing their chips towards Live Service because they believe they're looking at the environment with a greater than 35 percent accuracy. If it was as hard and unstable to recognize environment, you'd see far more diversity in where publishers are going. They're all going Live Service.

But yes I believe as gamers age they will move away from competitive play. Maybe there's an opportunity for a developer to create a videogame equivalent of golf (metaphorically not literally) that brings in all the old farts.

At least you get that second part right. One of the giant blind spots places like NeoGAF have is that they're comparing Gen I Live Service games to GEN XXVI traditional single player games. Live Service is a nascent medium with exponentially more room to grow than the far older model. This really is early gunpowder & gun vs late era swords.

That theoretical game would likely become a titan like Fortnite that would take a chunk of the market to itself.

GAAS thrives on innovation and finding new pockets of players. The old model of game thrives on feeding the same population the same game at intervals (Eg: Assassins Creed releasing every 24 months - largely the same game)

 

[Codes 208]

Cool, but i like both. Its part of why halo is one of my favorite franchises. You come for the campaign, you stay for the multiplayer

 

[rm082e]

My brain is wired for single-player experiences. Gaming to me is stress relief and enjoyment away from the obligations of life. My competitive drive only exists in areas of my life where it really matters - wife, kids, finances, and personal health. I just can't get excited to compete with people over a video game given the pointless nature of it.

 

[rkofan87]

sp all the way.

 

[Krathoon]

A long as people don't act like jackasses when you play multiplayer, your fine.

I had way too many jackasses when trying to do dungeons in WoW.

 

[The artful mincer]

It's an appeal to giant, capable, resource rich organizations wanting to orient in their own self interest.

Still a plea to an authority and zero relevance on if it is correct or not.

The (slightly smaller) player base is growing rapidly

Citation massively needed. Sony's leaked data clearly shows multiplayer playtime is stagnating or slowing down while single player time is increasing playstation plus subscriptions have stagnated.

and spending way more money than the

Agree

(slightly larger) player base which is much older and ready to age out of the medium.

What on earth do you mean by this?

And yet, PlayStation, Microsoft, Ubisoft, EA, Activision Blizzard, Nexon, Tencent, Epic, Take Two, Valve etc...all seem to be pushing their chips towards Live Service because they believe they're looking at the environment with a greater than 35 percent accuracy. If it was as hard and unstable to recognize environment, you'd see far more diversity in where publishers are going. They're all going Live Service.

Any data ever? Sony obviously have with mixed results up to now, anything for the other publishers or overall spend? Anyway there's still tons of diversity in investment even if more is going into live service.

At least you get that second part right. One of the giant blind spots places like NeoGAF have is that they're comparing Gen I Live Service games to GEN XXVI traditional single player games. Live Service is a nascent medium with exponentially more room to grow than the far older model. This really is early gunpowder & gun vs late era swords.

Why it always a weapons analogy? Did TV kill books or videogames kill TV. Both can co-exist without killing the other.

GAAS thrives on innovation and finding new pockets of players. The old model of game thrives on feeding the same population the same game at intervals (Eg: Assassins Creed releasing every 24 months - largely the same game)

And yet the most popular GAAS games are all over 5 years old at this point with even the mighty Helldivers 2 regressing to it's core fan base.

 

[Krathoon]

What usually happens when you first start playing a multiplayer game is that other players start flipping out because your not an expert.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I've had this debate with you before.

Tip of the iceberg. The top 10 games on Steam is only ever 10% of the overall player base.

The video in question shows that the top 15 most played games on Steam in 2012 added up to around 300,000 players.

The same video shows that the top 15 most played games on Steam in 2022 added up to around 2,490,000 players.

That accounts for over 8x growth in the span of 10 years.

The idea that there's the same percentage of single player gamers vs multiplayer gamers today relative to 10 years ago is pure fantasy.

The tip of the iceberg is growing at ludicrous rate.

 

[mdkirby]

The 94% stat in this neogaf poll suggests to me that we’re all old as fuck

 

[Aenima]

Acording to my PSN stats from last year or so. I only spent 1% of my gameplay time playing online. All games i bought this gen has been all Single Player games, and the only multiplayer game i plan to buy will be the new Monster Hunter.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Still a plea to an authority and zero relevance on if it is correct or not.

It's a useful metric to pay attention to considering how limited both of our (gamers) data sets actually are.

Citation massively needed. Sony's leaked data clearly shows multiplayer playtime is stagnating or slowing down while single player time is increasing playstation plus subscriptions have stagnated.

Agree

What on earth do you mean by this?

Gamers under 30 spend more time gaming than gamers over 30. Gamers under 50 spend more time gaming than gamers over 50. Gamers are more likely to leave gaming the older they get. These companies aren't nearly as interested in courting the over 40 crowd as you like to believe.

Any data ever? Sony obviously have with mixed results up to now, anything for the other publishers or overall spend? Anyway there's still tons of diversity in investment even if more is going into live service.

Why it always a weapons analogy? Did TV kill books or videogames kill TV. Both can co-exist without killing the other.

The gun didn't kill the sword. The sword just shrunk down to a combat knife. I've never said that single player games are going extinct.

And yet the most popular GAAS games are all over 5 years old at this point with even the mighty Helldivers 2 regressing to it's core fan base.

Gen 1 GAAS will make mistakes that Gen 3 GAAS doesn't. Helldivers 2 has horrendous progression after hour 50. Helldivers 3 will certainly fix that.

Another major blindspot gamers have is thinking that GAAS hit rate vs single player hit rate is a useful metric. It's not. Single player games have always been the safer bet. The paradigm you have to be viewing this topic in is from Games as a Platform. You're used to a new piece of plastic coming out every 7 years that's more powerful from 3 or 4 big companies. The GAAS market is similar in that platform launches will come at a cadence far slower than game launches.