are MMORPGs the death of the single player RPG?

[k0no]

me and a friend got thinking about this the other day....

years ago, we got into final fantasy games, in a pretty big way, and played them loads, even played them together for added smack-talk value etc.

we were aware of MMORPGs for years, but, like many people, only made the plunge with WoW.

neither of us play WoW any more.... but since that time, we've found it hard to get into a good solid single player RPG, which to me seems odd, because my complaints about MMOs are always that they lack in character developement (personality, not statistical), story, and graphical finesse and atmosphere.

other people seem to feel the same way... so is it true? has the MMO forever tainted my appreciation for a good story-based RPG game? will i ever like final fantasy again?

what do you guys reckon to this?

 

[Hammered]

I recently abandoned MMORPG's and went back to all the old school FF & other single player RPG's, like everything else, MMORPG's will have its time to dominate, much like single player RPG's did before it, eventually it might die out and something else will take over... maybe single player RPG's...

Can also look at it this way, MMORPG's are like an upgraded version of RPG's?
as you say lacking story, but maybe thats still an area that needs improving...

after all, the majority of people dont want to play games on their own...

 

[BaronAsh]

LoZ RPGs are the future.

 

[The Blue Mongoose]

personally i have not yet had fun with a MMORPG... i played WoW to keep my mates happy and hated it...

i will keep trying them... when i get free trials

but i have had plenty of fun with single player RPGs and FPS RPGs.

so i say no. MMOs have an audience... but so do 1 player RPGs

 

[Nazrel]

me and a friend got thinking about this the other day....

years ago, we got into final fantasy games, in a pretty big way, and played them loads, even played them together for added smack-talk value etc.

we were aware of MMORPGs for years, but, like many people, only made the plunge with WoW.

neither of us play WoW any more.... but since that time, we've found it hard to get into a good solid single player RPG, which to me seems odd, because my complaints about MMOs are always that they lack in character developement (personality, not statistical), story, and graphical finesse and atmosphere.

other people seem to feel the same way... so is it true? has the MMO forever tainted my appreciation for a good story-based RPG game? will i ever like final fantasy again?

what do you guys reckon to this?

No. I've played MMO's and I still play and prefer the single player RPG's.

 

[scarbunny]

Im not a great fan of most online games as a rule,however it seems that devs see MMOs as huge money spinners as they can release a game and still get huge amounts of revinue years down the line.

 

[k0no]

No. I've played MMO's and I still play and prefer the single player RPG's.

see, i definitely still "prefer" single player RPGs.... but i find they don't necessarily have the same kind of 'impact' that they used to.

also, to the guy/girl who's looking forward to Diablo 3? i say YES!

 

[Tanker987]

Each has its audience.
MMO's are desired by the people who simply can't be creative, even a adventure game has to be about winning it seems. however for those who prefer a storyline as well as complexity frm a game RPG's are still there.
Also the flexibility of a single player game has amazing value, MMORPG's don't have this quality.

 

[Crunchy English]

Infinite Undiscovery seems promising, in spite some issues with it's name. Tales of Vesperia is all but assured to be awesome.

The trouble with MMORPGS, for me, is that they always tend to involve other people. I realize that's supposed to be a selling point, but anyone whose played on Xbox Live recently will probably realize that while having online friends are great, some time away from the ignorant unclean masses, that populate 80% of nearly any internet connection, is a necessity.

Single Player RPGs will always have a market because they are a much cleaner experience that MMO's. They can tell a better narrative, hands down, and they can afford to be a more personal experience.

 

[PxDn Ninja]

Along with what Crunchy English said, MMO's will always be there because people enjoy playing with other people, but sometimes, you want more than a grind session, and want a genuine story and polished experience. Singleplayer RPG's will dominate that area pretty much forever so there will always be the both, learning from each other, but perfecting their own speciality.

 

[mr mcshiznit]

while MMO's are alot of fun and have a pretty big fan base, there will always be people(such as myself) who refuse to buy a game and then have to pay more on a monthly or yearly basis. But if more games use the play for free - then buy junk to use in games - formula there could be a huge shift in the MMO vs. single player RPG area. Another point to ponder on is that some people would rather just play all alone without guildmates or party systems with real players.

 

[DerGermanGuy]

Since I've stopped to play WoW, I played a lot singleplayer RPG like Hellgate London Oblivion or Titan Quest. But I am looking forward to WAR.
Both MMO and RPG are on their own way cool. I like them both.

 

[DeadlyFred]

The problem with Hellgate (not getting into a debate over the inherent quality of the game in general), is that most of the quests are the exact same kind of thing you get in a MMOG. In fact, the game plays very much like one.

MMORPGs are more about wasting time than carrying a plot. They're an easy way to provide lots of playtime with minimal effort from the writers, since all you ever really need to say is "Go here and kill this enemy for this reason." Then you just go somewhere you've already been 50 times, and kill and enemy you've already killed 50 times except this time killing 50 of them completes a quest.

 

[varulfic]

see, i definitely still "prefer" single player RPGs.... but i find they don't necessarily have the same kind of 'impact' that they used to.

Is that really because of MMORPGs? Maybe you're just getting older. RPGs aren't exactly known for breaking the mold, maybe they don't have the same impact anymore because you've seen it before already?

I disagree. Singleplayer is a vastly different experience than multiplayer in any genre, and is still prefered among most gamers. Most people I know who love MMORPGs have never been that into old fashioned RPGs, anyway.

 

[BentNeatly]

i have a friend whos a WoW freak. and whenever i would talk about oblivion, which i loved! (and still do) hed get all sarcastic and be like "whatever dude, play it by yourself." and my response was always "yes. yes i will. and fuck you."

I love RPGs, i love the graphics, and the quest for weapons and armor, and sorry folks, but i dont really care about hitting level 70 on WoW. doesnt seem that exciting to me.

 

[Slycne]

Single player RPGs might not get as much attention as MMOs, but there are still plenty high profile ones coming down the pipe.

Fable 2
Fallout 3
Final Fantasy XIII
Dragon Age
Infinite Undiscovery
Diablo 3

just to name a few

So no, I don't think MMOs are going to be the death of single player RPGs. The games still continue to sell well, and while an MMO may make more money for a developer the production cost is much higher.

Another accept to this might be that genres can wax and wane in their popularity. Flight and adventure games used to be the end all of video games, but in recent years they have sharply declined with the popularity of shooters. It's just recent that you are starting to see them come back. Platformers have gone through this as well.

While we have still seen a steady stream of single player RPGs we have seen far fewer that are met with critical acclaim.

In the end I don't think one genre will ever or can ever totally encompass another.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

If MMOs were going to be the death of single player RPGs, then single player RPGs would have died out with Everquest.

 

[varulfic]

Diablo 3 is more of a multplayer rpg, though. Well, sorta, anyway. It might as well be. The diablo series has always been best online, I know I won't try it offline anyway.

 

[Madrak the Red]

i never got into MMOs, due to the infernal grinding and lack of a story. I also hate the combat systems, and the levelling, and the interaction, and the respawning.

So for me, no.