split-screen gaming, seriously why is this dying?

[Midnight Crossroads]

The usual explanation given by developers is it's too difficult to run a game from four different places at the same time. That has some merit, but there's also the very real possibility that it comes down to online multiplayer and a desire to make a profit.

The idea is that if you allow four people to play a game together, then only one copy needs to be bought, but if you force all four to buy the game because there's no split-screen, suddenly they not only have to own four copies, but four consoles.

It's been my opinion for a while that online multiplayer should not mix with consoles.

 

[p3t3r]

try some motorstorm 2 and all the cod games have 4 player spltiscreen. and i don't like that splitscreen is going away either

 

[Windcaler]

I would say its mostly due to multiplayer from different platforms becoming easier to setup

Beyond that, I think it has a lot to do with age. Im in my early 30s and have been playing games since I was like 6. Something Ive noticed is that as Ive grown older split screen becomes harder and harder to follow. Each individual screen has just become so small that it seems like I always have to strain my eyes to uncomfortable levels when I play split screen.

 

[Dense_Electric]

2) why do you think less and less games now support splitscreen? fortunatley i have a sister but i can imagine many households with more than one son would benefit and also people in my situation who are at college, university or flatshare with a colleauge

At the risk of going completely off topic here, are you implying that gaming is an all-male hobby? Oh, you poor, misguided forum-goer...

 

[Da_Schwartz]

Because before all you needed to have was 4 controllers for u and your friends to play a game. Now you need to buy 4 consoles and 4 games. $$$$

 

[Craorach]

Greed, for the most part.

As a gamer though, I've never understood the appeal of split screen. Unless you have a huge TV it sucks. I'd certainly not try to play any sort of competetive game.

 

[Kecunk]

Yeah it kinda sucks, you'd think with how freaking big tvs are getting these days split screen would be no problem.

 

[Traun]

It was already said, but - money.

Me and several friends can enjoy a game with only one copy of it with split-screen, however removing the split-screen function means that they will have to buy a new copy themselves.

This is why hotseat has been dying for some time. Civilization 5 didn't had a hotseat causing me the Buyer's Remorse of a life time ( and I am careful when buying stuff...usually). If Civ 6 doesn't have hotseat, I won't be getting it.

Spoiler

And the hell with the interest of corporations, if we're not going to play on one machine, we aren't going to play Civ. Heroes of M&M, I'm looking at you too.

 

[ScoopMeister]

Just get an XBox and buy Halo. Seriously!
If not, are you looking for a specific genre of game (e.g. Just FPSs)? You could try some racing games like Split/Second or Motorstorm: Pacific Rift.

 

[sergnb]

fortunately my company has paid for me and my colleauges to stay in student accomodation which means no rent for 8months. As a result i now live with 12 of my colleauges who are all really decent guys, i was one of the few who had a PS3 so i thought it would be cool if we had alittle gaming session but its unbelievable the amount of games that no longer support splitscreen and theres only so much black ops zombies that people can tolerate.

so i ask you 2 questions:
1) do you know of any good PS3 that support splitscreen

2) why do you think less and less games now support splitscreen? fortunatley i have a sister but i can imagine many households with more than one son would benefit and also people in my situation who are at college, university or flatshare with a colleauge

Burn zombie burn
Black ops
Mortal Kombat
Deadly Nation
Motorstorm

Not all of them are splitscreen but yeah you know the drill, 2 players and the likes

 

[daftalchemist]

I ALWAYS hated split screen. This was even back before everyone had a giant-ass HD TV too. You can't see a damn thing in that tiny little field of vision, and god forbid you had four players at once, because your tiny little square may as well be a kaleidoscope full of moving colors for all the detail you can discern in it. I already have bad eyesight, I don't need TV screen to be making me feel like my eyes are even worse than they are.

 

[Grabbin Keelz]

I guess the rise of online multiplayer, but that doesn't mean they can't put it in. I guess it's just hard to render two screens at once.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Splitscreen is dying because companies think gamers have no friends.

Or more accurately:
1) Most people play online with their friends these days, so they figure they don't want to make splitscreen since most users won't use it.

2) They don't want the graphics to suffer in any way from splitcreening the game, since some vocal gamers will cry bloody murder and hellfire over one jagged pixel

3) Why let more than one person play on a single copy of a game, when you can force them all to buy the game so they can play together?


Yeah, it sucks. I LOVE splitscreen. I go friend's houses a lot, so local multiplayer is a massive feather in that game's cap. Not to mention that my girlfriend is a gamer, and I like playing alongside her.

Honestly, console game developers, if you're gonna make a multiplayer game that has a co-op mode, SPLITSCREEN IS A MUST. It is WAY easier to coordinate tactics with someone on the same couch than someone on a mic who has no idea what you are seeing. Not to mention that splitscreen makes team deathmatch modes a BLAST.

 

[HUYI82]

Splitscreen is dying because companies think gamers have no friends.

Or more accurately:
1) Most people play online with their friends these days, so they figure they don't want to make splitscreen since most users won't use it.

2) They don't want the graphics to suffer in any way from splitcreening the game, since some vocal gamers will cry bloody murder and hellfire over one jagged pixel

3) Why let more than one person play on a single copy of a game, when you can force them all to buy the game so they can play together?


Yeah, it sucks. I LOVE splitscreen. I go friend's houses a lot, so local multiplayer is a massive feather in that game's cap. Not to mention that my girlfriend is a gamer, and I like playing alongside her.

Honestly, console game developers, if you're gonna make a multiplayer game that has a co-op mode, SPLITSCREEN IS A MUST. It is WAY easier to coordinate tactics with someone on the same couch than someone on a mic who has no idea what you are seeing. Not to mention that splitscreen makes team deathmatch modes a BLAST.

well said, on top of that you get the forced online trophies to make you even more angry so you have no choice but to go online if you want a platinum, scandalous! i don't want to play online with random strangers that i have never met, i want to play with friends and my partner who is in the same room as me instead of them just watching me play i want to play 2 player games with them.

 

[Momoka530]

Because with split screen you had to worry about player 2 staring at your screen and either cheating off of it, or getting confused and thinking it was their screen.

 

[Serving UpSmiles]

Haze is....decent at least it has a bot mode so you don't need to limit yourself to four players and theres campaign co-op

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

I've been bitching about this for years.

It's difficult to render high end graphics in split-screen. I believe a few games have used lower quality models and textures for split-screen as a workaround. This is effective but it causes other issues and means more work in development. Instead of doing more work to include split-screen, it's tempting to leave it out and focus on making single-screen look great.

Lately, high end graphics have arguably started to hit a graphics plateau, and developers seem to be focusing more on features as a result. It's possible that features will come to be viewed as more competitive than graphics. I really hope this will lead to a revival of things like split-screen. I want things to look nice, but I've got have my features, man.

 

[yellingatpixels]

With splitscreen, especially FPS, if the other person "zigs" and I "zag" my head explodes.

BUT never had a problem with racing games...