Online gaming is ruining our enjoyment of video games.

Of course, everyone will immediately think "WTF is wrong with you A-hole!", but lets take a look at this assertion. I will use the ever-controversial Halo asthe example.

The first Halo was one of the best multiplayer experiences I ever had. Almost everytime I got the chance,I would get together with other friends and we would have a great time while playing 2v2 CTF on Blood Gulch, or slayer on Hang 'em High. Then, after a couple years of much fun, Halo 2 came out. The advent of online multiplayer took away all incentives to get together with friends to play. We all sat at home on our lazy asses and played by ourselves. Sure, we played with each other, but talking through a mic is very different from chatting with someone right next to you. The "fun" of the game had been lost.

Another example could be DoTA. I was first introduced to this game by several friends, and we all met up at an internet cafe where we would just play this game over and over again. It, like Halo, would become one of the defining moments of my gaming career as we slowly moved out of the internet cafe and started hosting our own LANs. Eventually, my friends got bored with it and moved on to better things but I stuck back and played (usually by myslef) on Bnet. Needless to say, much of the fun had been drained away.

The point is, that playing multiplayer matches with your friends present in the same room provides for a much better gaming experience than any online game. Unfortunately, humans are intuitively lazy and would much rather just stay at home to play online. Multiplayer over the internet should be removed from games to ensure a more enjoyable experience for all.

Of course, there are many people who love to be competitive and "own" their fellow gamers. I am sure that this demographic would be quite dissappointed if online gaming was taken away from them. However, the removal of online gaming would simply spur many more real-life tournaments, where players can socially interact with others, have a good time doing so, take out the comptetition, and, possibly winning some sweet prizes. The amount of tournaments held around the globe would surely increase.

It is obvious that many gamers are seen as nerds or geeks in today's society. Ignorant fools simply think we are losers whostay at home all day and live a virtual life instead of a real one. If gamers started having more and more LANs and left their own house to play with friends, people will slowly start to see that gaming is, in actuality, a social experience and we could get rid of that despicable label forever.

Edited for spelling and spacing errors.

Ehh... I'm not gonna read that. Instead i'm just gonna say that imo online gaming adds a lot of value to games. Because i know personally from my experiences once i beat a game 2 or 3 times i usually get tired of that games sp. If it didn't have online multiplayer that game would just collect dust forever. Online gaming for me is a must have.swaginator

Yes, i understand. The point was that playing with your friends at a LAN or something is much more fun than playing by yourself online. With the advent of online gaming, a lot of the incentives for LANs have been taken away. I suggest you read the last paragraph now, since I really don't want to summarize that.

I have no friends that play video games as much as I do (I do have friends lol). So I'm sticking with online games until I find that one guy or girl that likes to dick around as much as I do.Vax45

You just have to look in the right place.

[QUOTE="swaginator"]Ehh... I'm not gonna read that. Instead i'm just gonna say that imo online gaming adds a lot of value to games. Because i know personally from my experiences once i beat a game 2 or 3 times i usually get tired of that games sp. If it didn't have online multiplayer that game would just collect dust forever. Online gaming for me is a must have.Swiftie101

Yes, i understand. The point was that playing with your friends at a LAN or something is much more fun than playing by yourself online. With the advent of online gaming, a lot of the incentives for LANs have been taken away. I suggest you read the last paragraph now, since I really don't want to summarize that.

Yeah I agree that games are especially enjoyable when you have a LAN party going on(Dota and Halo's system link are the prime examples of this) because of the sheer enjoyment or just watching some stranger's expression after you just killed him virtually but still online gaming isnt ruining our enjoyment of videogames.

wow just wow

its alot easier to play online and get a 16 player match in halo 2 than it is to round up 15 other friends everytime you want to play

everyone who actually uses logic knows that online >>>> playing with friends..

Every Village has its idiotLed_poison

It looks like i've found one for yours.

You must be crazy to think i'll read all that. :lol:SaintBlaze

You can't read six short paragraphs? What grade are you in?

No, sorry, but I don't have many friends that enjoy the same video games that I do. Heck, do you really think I can find someone else to play Mario Party with me? Not really, dude. Well, except some of my family members.

Actually, I just got Mario Strikers: Charged. I invited a couple of my buddies over to play it. They liked it, and I knew they would, since they seem to be Nintendo fans. However, if they weren't my friends, and I had my other group of buddies over, I knew they would hate it and want to do something else instantly.

It's hard to get people to play with you when they don't want to. They say, "Let's just do something else. This is stupid." So whom I am to play with? This is what online play is for. The people that can't have friends to play with will always have someone to challenge, and they are almost always better than the AI.

Okay, society may view gamers that way, but who cares if they think that? They are obviously ignorant if they think all gamers do all day is game to their heart's content. Plus, if you know a person who has the mind-set, I think you can turn that person's thoughts around.

Great social event indeed, but only if everyone likes it.

wow just wow

its alot easier to play online and get a 16 player match in halo 2 than it is to round up 15 other friends everytime you want to play

everyone who actually uses logic knows that online >>>> playing with friends..

tidus222

Back when I was playing 2v2 Halo, we all thought 8v8 would be 10x better. However, I was quite dissappointed when it was imlemented in the second game.... more does not always mean better.

The most fun I've ever had playing multiplayer games came from going to LAN parties at friends' places. That was 6-7 years ago, and we still talk about it! AOE2 and Day of Defeat esp., followed by Medal of Honor: AA.

I also went to a 12-player Halo 2 LAN back in November, same thing, it was tons of fun!

I can totally see where the TC is coming from on this.

everyone who actually uses logic knows that online >>>> playing with friends..

tidus222

Hmmmmmmmmmm......................

I smell sheep.

No, sorry, but I don't have many friends that enjoy the same video games that I do. Heck, do you really think I can find someone else to play Mario Party with me? Not really, dude. Well, except some of my family members.

Actually, I just got Mario Strikers: Charged. I invited a couple of my buddies over to play it. They liked it, and I knew they would, since they seem to be Nintendo fans. However, if they weren't my friends, and I had my other group of buddies over, I knew they would hate it and want to do something else instantly.

It's hard to get people to play with you when they don't want to. They say, "Let's just do something else. This is stupid." So whom I am to play with? This is what online play is for. The people that can't have friends to play with will always have someone to challenge, and they are almost always better than the AI.

Okay, society may view gamers that way, but who cares if they think that? They are obviously ignorant if they think all gamers do all day is game to their heart's content. Plus, if you know a person who has the mind-set, I think you can turn that person's thoughts around.

Great social event indeed, but only if everyone likes it.

DeathScape666

You present a valid point. In my experience, it has never been hard to find other gamers at friends. Just go to a local internet cafe or strike up a conversation with gaming store employees. Of course, they may not like to play the exact games you do, but thats just part of life. However, there would have to be a popular game like CS, Halo, Unreal, WC3, SC, etc that all of you would enjoy.

Hmmmmmmmmmm......................

I smell sheep.

mentzer

Look through my post history, and you will see that I am actually a staunch Lemming. I used to love nintendo though, the N64 was probably my favorite system. Goldeneye multiplayer (no online, in case your retarded) was simply amazing. Of course, the xbox appealed to me much more when it came out.

[QUOTE="tidus222"]

wow just wow

its alot easier to play online and get a 16 player match in halo 2 than it is to round up 15 other friends everytime you want to play

everyone who actually uses logic knows that online >>>> playing with friends..

Swiftie101

Back when I was playing 2v2 Halo, we all thought 8v8 would be 10x better. However, I was quite dissappointed when it was imlemented in the second game.... more does not always mean better.

you can play doubles on halo 2 easily in matchmaking

much easier than calling 3 buddies to play halo 2

the only time i ever really played multiplayer with friends was back with GOLDENYE for the n64 back then there was no online so i had to call up friends all the time to play.... its just much easier having online ..... the old days of having to round up the group of friends stunk.... sure its fun as heck but its just to much of a hastle...

[QUOTE="mentzer"]

Hmmmmmmmmmm......................

I smell sheep.

Swiftie101

Look through my post history, and you will see that I am actually a staunch Lemming. I used to love nintendo though, the N64 was probably my favorite system. Goldeneye multiplayer (no online, in case your retarded) was simply amazing. Of course, the xbox appealed to me much more when it came out.

Unfortunately, you simply can't have 40 player MP without online.

Unless you have 40 friends and a huge place to play over LAN, which of course is not practical in it's application.

The most fun I've ever had playing multiplayer games came from going to LAN parties at friends' places. That was 6-7 years ago, and we still talk about it! AOE2 and Day of Defeat esp., followed by Medal of Honor: AA.

I also went to a 12-player Halo 2 LAN back in November, same thing, it was tons of fun!

I can totally see where the TC is coming from on this.

svetzenlether

Hell yeah! Most of these online lovers probably haven't played LAN with aton of friends yet, and I really do feel for them. Btw... DoD was a great game!

[QUOTE="Swiftie101"][QUOTE="mentzer"]

Hmmmmmmmmmm......................

I smell sheep.

mentzer

Look through my post history, and you will see that I am actually a staunch Lemming. I used to love nintendo though, the N64 was probably my favorite system. Goldeneye multiplayer (no online, in case your retarded) was simply amazing. Of course, the xbox appealed to me much more when it came out.

Unfortunately, you simply can't have 40 player MP without online.

Unless you have 40 friends and a huge place to play over LAN, which of course is not practical in it's application.

More does not always equal better. Wasn't there a Black Hawk Down game which featured 50 players over xbox live, but didn't do too well with the critics? Also, lets look at CS. Personally, I would prefer a 6v6 or something on Dust2 than a 16v16. Again, Halo2 BigTeam battles weren't the best matches the game featured.

[QUOTE="DeathScape666"]

No, sorry, but I don't have many friends that enjoy the same video games that I do. Heck, do you really think I can find someone else to play Mario Party with me? Not really, dude. Well, except some of my family members.

Actually, I just got Mario Strikers: Charged. I invited a couple of my buddies over to play it. They liked it, and I knew they would, since they seem to be Nintendo fans. However, if they weren't my friends, and I had my other group of buddies over, I knew they would hate it and want to do something else instantly.

It's hard to get people to play with you when they don't want to. They say, "Let's just do something else. This is stupid." So whom I am to play with? This is what online play is for. The people that can't have friends to play with will always have someone to challenge, and they are almost always better than the AI.

Okay, society may view gamers that way, but who cares if they think that? They are obviously ignorant if they think all gamers do all day is game to their heart's content. Plus, if you know a person who has the mind-set, I think you can turn that person's thoughts around.

Great social event indeed, but only if everyone likes it.

Swiftie101

You present a valid point. In my experience, it has never been hard to find other gamers at friends. Just go to a local internet cafe or strike up a conversation with gaming store employees. Of course, they may not like to play the exact games you do, but thats just part of life. However, there would have to be a popular game like CS, Halo, Unreal, WC3, SC, etc that all of you would enjoy.

I have a better example for the Mario Strikers: Charged thing that I didn't think of before:

I wanted some of my friends to play Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, but none of them wanted to. So we went and did something else. I was really looking forward to playing multiplayer in Smooth Moves, but no one wanted to play it. We played for about a minute, and then turned it off. I can't find anyone else to play with.

Strike up a conversation with an employe (Excuse my horrible spelling.) at GameStop? I would, but I am only fifteen years old. Hanging out with some nineteen year old would be kind of weird, to say the least.

Well, a lot of my friends like Halo, but not me. I really haven't found a video game we all enjoy. One group of my friends, the Nintendo fans, really enjoy Super Smash Brothers Melee, though. We've had some tournaments. Those were really fun. I really can't see anyone disliking Brawl, so maybe that will be "the multiplayer experience."

[QUOTE="svetzenlether"]

The most fun I've ever had playing multiplayer games came from going to LAN parties at friends' places. That was 6-7 years ago, and we still talk about it! AOE2 and Day of Defeat esp., followed by Medal of Honor: AA.

I also went to a 12-player Halo 2 LAN back in November, same thing, it was tons of fun!

I can totally see where the TC is coming from on this.

Swiftie101

Hell yeah! Most of these online lovers probably haven't played LAN with aton of friends yet, and I really do feel for them. Btw... DoD was a great game!

We were so hooked on DoD back then. We played the Caen level over and over.

[QUOTE="Swiftie101"][QUOTE="DeathScape666"]

No, sorry, but I don't have many friends that enjoy the same video games that I do. Heck, do you really think I can find someone else to play Mario Party with me? Not really, dude. Well, except some of my family members.

Actually, I just got Mario Strikers: Charged. I invited a couple of my buddies over to play it. They liked it, and I knew they would, since they seem to be Nintendo fans. However, if they weren't my friends, and I had my other group of buddies over, I knew they would hate it and want to do something else instantly.

It's hard to get people to play with you when they don't want to. They say, "Let's just do something else. This is stupid." So whom I am to play with? This is what online play is for. The people that can't have friends to play with will always have someone to challenge, and they are almost always better than the AI.

Okay, society may view gamers that way, but who cares if they think that? They are obviously ignorant if they think all gamers do all day is game to their heart's content. Plus, if you know a person who has the mind-set, I think you can turn that person's thoughts around.

Great social event indeed, but only if everyone likes it.

DeathScape666

You present a valid point. In my experience, it has never been hard to find other gamers at friends. Just go to a local internet cafe or strike up a conversation with gaming store employees. Of course, they may not like to play the exact games you do, but thats just part of life. However, there would have to be a popular game like CS, Halo, Unreal, WC3, SC, etc that all of you would enjoy.

I have a better example for the Mario Strikers: Charged thing that I didn't think of before:

I wanted some of my friends to play Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, but none of them wanted to. So we went and did something else. I was really looking forward to playing multiplayer in Smooth Moves, but no one wanted to play it. We played for about a minute, and then turned it off. I can't find anyone else to play with.

Strike up a conversation with an employe (Excuse my horrible spelling.) at GameStop? I would, but I am only fifteen years old. Hanging out with some nineteen year old would be kind of weird, to say the least.

Well, a lot of my friends like Halo, but not me. I really haven't found a video game we all enjoy. One group of my friends, the Nintendo fans, really enjoy Super Smash Brothers Melee, though. We've had some tournaments. Those were really fun. I really can't see anyone disliking Brawl, so maybe that will be "the multiplayer experience."

Nice, Super Smash Bros is an amazing game to play with friends! There are probably alot of gamers at your high school (?) who you can chill with. Once you get to drive, life will be MUCH easer =).

[QUOTE="mentzer"][QUOTE="Swiftie101"][QUOTE="mentzer"]

Hmmmmmmmmmm......................

I smell sheep.

Swiftie101

Look through my post history, and you will see that I am actually a staunch Lemming. I used to love nintendo though, the N64 was probably my favorite system. Goldeneye multiplayer (no online, in case your retarded) was simply amazing. Of course, the xbox appealed to me much more when it came out.

Unfortunately, you simply can't have 40 player MP without online.

Unless you have 40 friends and a huge place to play over LAN, which of course is not practical in it's application.

More does not always equal better. Wasn't there a Black Hawk Down game which featured 50 players over xbox live, but didn't do too well with the critics? Also, lets look at CS. Personally, I would prefer a 6v6 or something on Dust2 than a 16v16. Again, Halo2 BigTeam battles weren't the best matches the game featured.

BH Down is not exactly a great game, and of course it depends on the games quality.

Obviously I was not referring to a game that is mediocre.

A better example would be UT2K4 or Battlefield 1942.

And don't forget not everyone's gaming schedules are not the same, and online give those gamers a avenue to play MP when they are able to.

[QUOTE="Swiftie101"][QUOTE="mentzer"][QUOTE="Swiftie101"][QUOTE="mentzer"]

Hmmmmmmmmmm......................

I smell sheep.

mentzer

Look through my post history, and you will see that I am actually a staunch Lemming. I used to love nintendo though, the N64 was probably my favorite system. Goldeneye multiplayer (no online, in case your retarded) was simply amazing. Of course, the xbox appealed to me much more when it came out.

Unfortunately, you simply can't have 40 player MP without online.

Unless you have 40 friends and a huge place to play over LAN, which of course is not practical in it's application.

More does not always equal better. Wasn't there a Black Hawk Down game which featured 50 players over xbox live, but didn't do too well with the critics? Also, lets look at CS. Personally, I would prefer a 6v6 or something on Dust2 than a 16v16. Again, Halo2 BigTeam battles weren't the best matches the game featured.

BH Down is not exactly a great game, and of course it depends on the games quality.

Obviously I was not referring to a game that is mediocre.

A better example would be UT2K4 or Battlefield 1942.

And don't forget not everyone's gaming schedules are not the same, and online give those gamers a avenue to play MP when they are able to.

Yes, the Battlefield series are really good, and so is UT. Alot of players in these games often produce more results, but there will also be more griefing and such. Also, imagine if you could play these games at a LAN with that many people. It would be a hassle of course, and you would rarely see these LANs, but you would have much more fun. It boils down to a question of quality (LAN) or quanitity (Online). *If* those games had no onine play, thenit would definitely encourge massive LANs and massive fun (lol.). As for your last point, I'll need some time to think about that, because the casual audience is also important. I must say, that is a very good point that not all of us are passionate about gaming.

I think it varies and it all depends on the game. If Gears of War did not have online play, then lemmings would have been sick of it after beating it on every difficulty. Certain games work well for multiplayer in the same room like Smash Bros, Mario Kart and a lot of sports games, however for games like FPS's, online works so much better because split screen is such a pain in the rear end, you get a far better visual perspective and it also cuts down on the consoles processing power requirements.DSgamer64

Actually, we probably would have just gone over to someone's house and played split-screen. FPS's on console can be hard to play sometimes, but you get used to it when your enjoying yourself so much.Also, nintendo's games like the ones you mentioned are practically perfect for any group of friends.

I think you can enjoy both lans and online. I like Online because i can play with my friends and family who live out of state.Heil68

same here, i think he just sx at online play and cant handle the trash talk

Americans have a HUGE problem with online whoring.

I mean an online fighting game?

WTF is the point of a fighting game if you can't compete with someone next with one on one and meet new people and find out their skills?

Online co-op?

How the hell can you cooroperate if you can't TALK to the damn person? *since most people with online don't have headsets?

But really it depends on the game. Shooters NEED online so it can form a community. Mods, clans, etc. The problem is that EVERY genre trys to do this when it shouldn't. Fighting games shouldn't be online, you can't MOD a fighting game since every fan will get pist, you can't start a CLAN since it's a one mand team, and the littlest lag will kill everything *even though there's something working against that*. The reason why fighting games died was because the arcades died. The point of fighting games were to meet people, have random battles, right there real-life experience, learn new moves, hang with friends, have tournaments, etc. Can't really do that with online.

The point is, that playing multiplayer matches with your friends present in the same room provides for a much better gaming experience than any online game. Unfortunately, humans are intuitively lazy and would much rather just stay at home to play online. Multiplayer over the internet should be removed from games to ensure a more enjoyable experience for all.

Swiftie101

Awesome post. At least the Japanese understand the exprience of playing against your friends and against strangers to meet new friends since the arcades exist there.

I hate the ultra competive nature of Online Video games... I agree, Online has killed gameing for me... in some ways.

I miss the days of great single player games... that just happend to have a multiplayer... Now games are multiplayer and just happen to have single player included.

No, sorry, but I don't have many friends that enjoy the same video games that I do. Heck, do you really think I can find someone else to play Mario Party with me? Not really, dude. Well, except some of my family members.

Actually, I just got Mario Strikers: Charged. I invited a couple of my buddies over to play it. They liked it, and I knew they would, since they seem to be Nintendo fans. However, if they weren't my friends, and I had my other group of buddies over, I knew they would hate it and want to do something else instantly.

It's hard to get people to play with you when they don't want to. They say, "Let's just do something else. This is stupid." So whom I am to play with? This is what online play is for. The people that can't have friends to play with will always have someone to challenge, and they are almost always better than the AI.

Okay, society may view gamers that way, but who cares if they think that? They are obviously ignorant if they think all gamers do all day is game to their heart's content. Plus, if you know a person who has the mind-set, I think you can turn that person's thoughts around.

Great social event indeed, but only if everyone likes it.

DeathScape666

See now THIS is where arcades come in.

I don't mind online, I mind it replacing split-screen. There are a lot of 360 games that only have online, and for someone with friends that don't have 360s, not to mention an unreliable connection, that really sucks.