Poll: The Loss of Splitscreen

[bwarrior]

Is it just me or has there been a massive loss in splitscreen gaming since the PS3 and Xbox 360? This properly came to my attention at the end of a party and where we got bored and we put left 4 dead 2 on and got ready to play. Only to find that only 2 people could play splitscreen.
It is left '4' dead not left 2 die!!!!
Another example is MW2, every single mission has friendly AI walking around you so why can't you play 2 player on single missions.
HAWX always had three planes in the air 100% of the time yet strictly 1 player.

Not only that but when I was having a lot of fun on my PS2 I remember putting bots on and playing with my friends. this meant that we could team up against the computer on any map we chose or we could fight each other with a small army behind each of us. Of course I am talking about timesplitters and James Bond : nightfire. But this has disappeared completely on the new consoles when i was hoping it would only get better because of better AI.

Well I blame Multiplayer online, for some reason developers think I would rather play with Sum Ting Wong in China rather then my mate beside me, now I know that multiplayer isn't all bad, in fact MW2 multiplayer was brilliant but I really don't want to completely lose the ability to play with a mate beside me but games like HAWX are convincing me that is going to happen.

Your thoughts people?

 

[Mr. Google]

It will go down and it sucks i love split screen getting some friends together and just messing around but now games are only 2 person split screen or none at all and that is just terrible!

 

[The Amazing Tea Alligator]

If you ask me, it's just like the loss of LAN. I loved split screen back when I bothered with consoles.

 

[Satin6T]

this is why i really freaking hate a lot of todays consoles(except wii), lack of multiplayer on the same console and on the same tv

but yeah i don't think it will completely die out

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

unfortunately, yes it will die. Hopfully not in our life time but eventually it will.

 

[teh_Canape]

yeah, it will go down, and IS going down, especially since the disturbing lack of splitscreen multiplayer on PC games, thanks Blur and Split Second it is coming back, but I havent seen it on pc since the times of Serious Sam the Second Encounter, now I just hope that Shank have splitscreen on pc (which would be stupid if it doesnt, considering it's a sidescroller)

 

[Baron Von Evil Satan]

We can see it happening before our eyes, and it pisses me off... My friend and I wanted to play Transformers: WfCT after he bought it, but NOOOO. A Co-Op game with no split screen. It's terrible. I yern for the days of squinty 4 split screen multiplayer that was halo, and mario kart 64, and all the others titles...

 

[Phlakes]

As long as I still have Goldeneye, it will never completely die out.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

Split screen co-op is one of those things you don't break out regularly, but I just think it's lazy when 4 player split screen isn't included in a game which has 4 player online. It's rediculous.

Some of my favourite experiences I've had in games has been though couch co-op. Now I load up a game like Team Fortress 2 and find that I can't split screen. That's just crazy.

 

[Durxom]

As I'm pretty sure, someone else has said one of of these other sort of topics, gaming has become a lot more commercialized recently, and with the recent recession, people are less likely to take a bet with stuff, with that being said.

The main thing now is, you will make a lot more money by making the co-op/multiplayer online and forcing the gamers to buy 2-4 copies to play with each other, than just having one person buying the game and having 4 people play it.

In short, Split-Screen=Profit Loss

 

[RadiusXd]

If you ask me, it's just like the loss of LAN. I loved split screen back when I bothered with consoles.

ITS NOT TRUE DAMNIT! there are lan hacks!
I dont wanna hear it! LALALALA

 

[Crimson_Dragoon]

A lot of times this is due to technical limitations. Games now a days are far more technical and can be so taxing on the console that can be difficult to process everything for 2 players (with 2 player split-screen, everything needs to be processed twice). With 4 players, this can be damn near impossible, especially in campaigns where there can be so much going on (hence why the Halo series has 4-player split-screen for multiplayer, but only 2 for the campaign).

 

[imnot]

it will g odown which is a pitty because its my only source of multiplayer.

 

[bwarrior]

Yes that is true, I find it horrible that the gaming industry is 100% moneymaking now. Take the new prince of persia for example. you have to buy the fucking ending of the game. its not right! I hope we get a proper game publisher bringing it back.


And where have the bots gone?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[tharglet]

Gaming concepts rarely go and die quietly in a corner - I'm sure some games will be released with it, even though it isn't as common.
Platformers still get released and they've been around for a lot of years, and allegedly are outdated by some folk's reckoning.
Split screen does have a strong contender in online play (as online play can allow friends as well as randoms to compete), and you don't need to worry about optimising the split screen mode for running on one machine (as stated by another poster).

I wonder how much split-screen gaming really does for the sales of a game. I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't enough to make it worth the cost of doing it.

 

[teisjm]

Wouldn't be supprised.

Since it would be an easy way for devs to force people to get multiple copies in order to play together.

 

[MasterV]

Unfortunately, the days of split-screen multiplayer are gone. Very few (if any) new games offer the ability to play with your mates in the same room, something that was prominent in all of the previous console generations. Now it seems we're all doomed to sit alone on our dark rooms playing with(and often getting griefed from) people who we don't know.

I miss local multiplayer. It was miles and miles better experience than anything I've played online.

 

[Drexlor]

Why don't developers care about splitscreen anymore? I'd prefer local multiplayer to online multiplayer any day.

 

[GonzoGamer]

It already has started going down but I hope it never disappears completely. Even with the loss of screen-realestate, I much prefer playing with my friend on the couch rather than over the net. A friend and I actually just finished playing both playthroughs of Borderlands completely in splitscreen.
It will probably disappear almost completely then make a comeback as a ?revolutionary new feature? in Modern Warfare 12.