Support NeoGAF

[Humdinger]

Yeah, I haven't played online in probably 10 years. I enjoyed doing it when XBL first came out. People were friendly, cooperative, optimistic, and talkative. It was fun; you had a sense of teamwork and cameraderie. That only lasted a year or two, though. Ever since then, no one talks, and people mostly play with their mics unplugged. So online gaming didn't really connect you with people anymore, and when it did, it was with some 13 year old who wouldn't shut up.

Plus, the nature of multiplayer gaming seems very boring and repetitive to me. Run the same maps, over and over. I like story and characters, and those are entirely absent in online multiplayer. It's all about the task, which usually involves something very simple and straightforward (kill these guys, hold this base, etc.). I just don't find it interesting for more than half an hour.

To be honest, I'm also slow on the reflexes, and so I get killed a lot, which is no fun. This is compounded by the fact that I don't play much (ever, really), so if I enter a game, I'm completely green, and I get slaughtered. Not fun.

Anyhow, I'm sticking to SP. I would like to get into some co-op gaming eventually, but my schedule and tastes make that hard.

 

[Swift_Star]

I never was fond of online gaming precisely because it needs you to keep coming back for it all the time so you keep up with the meta, buying expansions and whatnot. Definitely not for me since I play my games at my own pace and sometimes take months to finish one. I hate the pressure of online gaming.

 

[Kilau]

I can’t wait for the online fad to be over.

 

[JusticeForAll]

I NEVER play online anymore. The reason? Life happened. A busy social life, a wife, a daughter simply don't leave me enough time to spend enough hours to compete.

I don't feel the need to be called a "noob" by a 14yo, simply because he gets to practice so much more.

Gaming for me is al about relaxing or enjoying a meticulously crafted world. Give me any single player rpg, linear 3rd person story blockbuster game or even great walking simulator over any multiplayer game any time it the day. Can't say I miss the online gaming either. I feel like I'm enjoying games a lot more like this.

It's not even that I need games to be easy. Hell, I enjoyed and (almost) finished every Souls game since I imported Demon's Souls back when it first released. I just game on my own time and rhythm.

 

[avin]

I can’t wait for the online fad to be over.

Online games aren't a fad. But it's entirely possible that some of you are very lovely, special people.

avin

 

[Dave_at_Home]

Once you have children multiplayer becomes a near impossibility. I prefer single player experiences a lot more anyway.

I'm 37, don't have kids, and I can't bring myself to do online gaming anymore. I feel like I've got my fix years ago and just stick to offline gaming. Started with Unreal Tournament and ended at Overwatch (stopped before Doomfist character released). I simply asked myself, why am I dealing with toxic shitheads in a game of quick play on Overwatch? This isn't fun anymore. I'm very much a gamer of "been there and done that" attitude towards gaming. Glad I've closed that chapter. Fun while it lasted.

 

[Kilau]

Online games aren't a fad. But it's entirely possible that some of you are very lovely, special people.

avin

 

[poppabk]

I can’t wait for the online fad to be over.

We're what, about 30 years in to it? It's bound to fade soon.

 

[zomboden]

I tend to prefer multiplayer experiences like MMO's, FPS, etc. simply because it feels more fun for me to compare myself against other people. Directly or indirectly compete with others. If I work towards a cool thing then I can show it off and others can see what I achieved. I find single player games to be hollow and empty. Just have a pointless feel for me.

I've been into ESO on Xbox past few years. Just fun to be doing quests and seeing other people buzzing about the world around me. Makes it feel alive.

 

[Traxtech]

Once you realise mmos are just "grind to get loot, so you can grind to get better loot" it becomes easier to walk away from.

 

[EekTheKat]

My biggest regret online gaming is paying for it healthwise that I still haven't fully recovered from.

Good God there were days where I could barely walk. Not to mention I came across as even more of a loon in the real world with the lack of sleep and hours of drunk raid leaders yelling at you 6+ days a week causing mental and emotional issues.

If I didn't discover going to the gym I think I'd likely be dead already. I'm still somewhat unhealthy but feel far better than my prime days as a raider in wow.

Just a warning for those who still raid 6+ hour each night - Take control of your life and online gaming habits before it's too late.

 

[gaming_again]

Once you have children multiplayer becomes a near impossibility. I prefer single player experiences a lot more anyway.

The other night some Elden Ring co-op players may have been confused at my character suddenly jumping up and down, chugging all of her estus and then backing off a cliff. Online gaming and kids do indeed not mix.

 

[coffinbirth]

Well, I got burned out on single player games about halfway through last gen and shifted over to online shooters and I've been grinding the shit out of them ever since, with a daily dose of at least an hour Rocket League...and I'm getting pretty burned out. BR has kept things fun the last few years, but I'm about where you're at. I have an obscene backlog from the last however many years, literally hundreds of games, that I really do need to get back to, haha. I do enjoy playing with friends, and WZ2 is pretty fun rn, but I definitely need to either cut it way back or cut the cord altogether, as it's getting old.

 

[Griffon]

I think it highly depends of what day job you do.

If you have to deal with people and social interact all week, it's understandable that dealing with online morons after that isn't gonna be a good rest.
But if your work is a lot of solitary tasks without any people skills required, you might be wanting for a bit of human interactions during your nights.

I've seen both happen.

 

[Arioco]

I've never, EVER, paid to play online. It's against my religion, and I don't like online gaming that much to be honest, so...

I woould blame it on Microsoft for having this great idea, but the truth is that we the users are the ones to blame for accepting it. In fact it was so successful that SONY did the same the next generation.

People complain about having to pay for online gaming, but they pay.

People complain about unfinished games and DLCs, but they buy them anyaways.

And the list goes on and on....

 

[levyjl1988]

I would recommend Alice Madness Returns and Dragon Age Origins, those games are solid single-player experiences.

 

[OuterLimits]

Once you have children multiplayer becomes a near impossibility. I prefer single player experiences a lot more anyway.

Splatoon multiplayer has becoms a common occurrence in my family. Where my wife, my 9 year old and myself have somehow become entrenched in competition on who is the best at the game. Which is sadly not me since I spent 95% of my gaming time playing single player games the last decade. My wife who isn't even much of a gamer is addicted to Splatoon.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

Splatoon multiplayer has becoms a common occurrence in my family. Where my wife, my 9 year old and myself have somehow become entrenched in competition on who is the best at the game. Which is sadly not me since I spent 95% of my gaming time playing single player games the last decade. My wife who isn't even much of a gamer is addicted to Splatoon.

I hope as my kids get a bit older that they will play some casual multiplayer games with me.

 

[marquimvfs]

I've never cared enough about online gaming. Tried a few times with the mmo that was trend back in the day, but soon enough I abandoned it. The last thing that I played online was Tekken Tag Tournament 2 on PS3. Nowadays, some friends that live overseas like to play RPG using Skype (real table thing, not digital), and I've done that a few times. But online on consoles, it's been almost a decade, and another decade before that.

I've never, EVER, paid to play online. It's against my religion, and I don't like online gaming that much to be honest, so

Also that. I prefer to invest that money on physical versions from games that I really will enjoy.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

2005 - 2014 was almost exclusively World of Warcraft, what a gigantic waste of time in retrospective. Raiding is clearly a second job where you need to show up 3-4 times a week for 3 hours.

 

[8BiTw0LF]

Mainly a PvP/Co-Op guy, cause I love to play with friends and the competitive aspect it brings.

Most singleplayer games are just a quick fix for me. Always on the lookout for a good story and tight gameplay/controls - sadly there's far between the good ones.

 

[Starbuck2907]

I switch back and forth depending on my mood. I keep other players muted but keep the text chat on in BF2042 because it is hilarious. I also dabble in GTA V online because trolling on there is hilarious (just to be clear, I just play innocently until some comes after me, but then I troll the fell out of them. Again, funny as heck.).

I play single player a lot too, but what I play tends to alternate depending on my mood. I might play single player or multiplayer almost exclusively for weeks before switching back. It also depends on whether or not I have friends online that will play.

I’m 44 years old and married. I actually game more now that I have a newborn than I did before the baby. The baby falls asleep on me and takes two-hour naps while lying on me, so I fire up the Xbox and keep the volume low and play the whole time. I’d even say that the baby has re-ignited my interest in gaming which is something I didn’t expect. Our child just falls asleep on me and I wind up gaming. I could use the crib, but falls asleep and gets better sleep on me.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I’m 44 years old and married. I actually game more now that I have a newborn than I did before the baby. The baby falls asleep on me and takes two-hour naps while lying on me, so I fire up the Xbox and keep the volume low and play the whole time. I’d even say that the baby has re-ignited my interest in gaming which is something I didn’t expect. Our child just falls asleep on me and I wind up gaming. I could use the crib, but falls asleep and gets better sleep on me.

Reminds me of my old AC:Origins sessions for 3 hours with baby on my shoulders. Took a few adjustments to get right but afterwards it was great.

 

[mdkirby]

I used to play local and lan based multiplayer games with friends in uni, a lot of timesplitters and halo, this was when console gaming wasn’t really “online”, so it would be lan based, with 4 players in one room split screen, and 4 in another etc. on ps2 or original xbox etc.

Then as online started getting big, and world of warcraft and eve launched, I saw 2 things happen.

1. My friend who loved the idea of eve, always said, “if I play that my degree is over”…he held out, until a free trial. He got it, and that was then all he did for the next 18months and failed his degree.

2. Another friend on his gap year went to work for a local smallish 15 people games company. The boss there started playing WOW, decided he wanted people to play with so he bought it for all the staff and encouraged them to play after work. Then at lunch. Then for a bit in the morning. “Then after work” became 4pm-2/4am then they started playing a little in the morning. Then lunchtime expanded. Before they knew it an entire game studio was being paid to show up every day and play wow, for months. They went bankrupt.

After witnessing those things, i pretty much decided to never really get into any multiplayer online nonsense. I almost exclusively play single player story games. Once I finish the game/story, I put it down and don’t touch it again. It’s much more conducive to life.

 

[Markio128]

I don’t think I’ve ever been ‘addicted’ to an online game - mmm, maybe Resistance back on the PS3, but only because I had a few mates who enjoyed playing It. I guess Warhawk and MW2 we also played a bit as well. From the outside, it doesn’t look like things have moved on much since then, especially in the FPS space.

I literally dip my toe in the online GT7 races now and again, which are usually very competitive, but not annoyingly so. That’s about it nowadays.

 

[gaming_again]

I switch back and forth depending on my mood. I keep other players muted but keep the text chat on in BF2042 because it is hilarious. I also dabble in GTA V online because trolling on there is hilarious (just to be clear, I just play innocently until some comes after me, but then I troll the fell out of them. Again, funny as heck.).

I play single player a lot too, but what I play tends to alternate depending on my mood. I might play single player or multiplayer almost exclusively for weeks before switching back. It also depends on whether or not I have friends online that will play.

I’m 44 years old and married. I actually game more now that I have a newborn than I did before the baby. The baby falls asleep on me and takes two-hour naps while lying on me, so I fire up the Xbox and keep the volume low and play the whole time. I’d even say that the baby has re-ignited my interest in gaming which is something I didn’t expect. Our child just falls asleep on me and I wind up gaming. I could use the crib, but falls asleep and gets better sleep on me.

Lol enjoy it I 100%’d Cyberpunk with a baby on my chest and then didn’t get a chance to even turn a console on for 18 months (see username).

I’m replaying Cyberpunk and the map SFX and combat music immediately take me back to that golden time.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I stopped gaming once for almost a year because of a girl who didn't like me playing video games. It was a long time ago but I was an idiot to let myself get pushed around like that. Never give up on your hobbies for anything, and especially don't do it just to simp for some hoe who thinks that you need to be "fixed" somehow.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I haven't played much multiplayer since BF4. But I've never had a group of real life friends to play online games with.

 

[ozz ex machina]

I stopped gaming once for almost a year because of a girl who didn't like me playing video games. It was a long time ago but I was an idiot to let myself get pushed around like that. Never give up on your hobbies for anything, and especially don't do it just to simp for some hoe who thinks that you need to be "fixed" somehow.

Damn she got so close to fixing you then gave up after 12 months. I'm sorry she dumped you man.

I can’t wait for the online fad to be over.

Been prioritising multiplayer over sp for the past 20 years. It's not a fad. Some people just like competition/getting good at something and others like cutscenes and cosplay.

 

[DevilMayFlyForAWhiteGuy]

I never really got into online games that much especially MMOs. MMO are too grindy/time consuming in general. I used to play Battlefield (BC2, 3, 4) with a group of online friends and occasionally some fighting games with another group of friends. But it gets to a point where playing online with your online friends feels more like an obligation than something you’re doing for fun. Or at least for me it did.

So I don’t really play much online; it’s saved me money not having to pay for it on console too so that’s a nice little bonus.

 

[SupremeHoodie]

To the opposite effect. I haven’t played a single player/campaign for a game in like 8-9 years. I only get enjoyment and satisfaction out of playing against other people in competitive games. I was never an mmorpg kind of guy except for RuneScape back in the day.

 

[Digfox]

Interesting thread as the OP's story (and others who have since posted) mirrors my own in many ways. Back in 2018 I'd not long picked up a PS4 Pro & Xbox One X and needed to try and work out how many games were on my backlog. So I built a spreadsheet and decided to start actually play the games that I'd bought over the years. And around the few years before I was really only playing The Elder Scrolls Online, Path of Exile, Warframe, Marvel Heroes, Guild Wars 2 and WoW. All fantastic games but absolute grind monsters.

So I've done all I can to avoid any Live Service/Online games and concentrate on my backlog. Even to the point of intentionally ignoring recent expansions for ESO, GW2 and WoW. And its worked wonders I've competed or played the likes of Mass Effect 3, TLOU, Jedi: Fallen Order, Control, Slay the Spire, AC:Origins, Horizon Zero Dawn, Spider-Man, God of War etc. Loads of indies particularly. Games like Bastion or Inside that had been on my backlog for an eternity but had been ignored in favour of online games.

Whether it's an age thing or phase I don't know. But whilst I enjoy the repetitive and complexity of online games I don't half feel better for skipping them now. I used to love games like Team Fortress Classic and Day of Defeat but those were really quick and didn't require the huge time investment. There's been stuff like New World or the latest expansion for WoW I'd like to play but the thought of the time (and MTX) commitment puts me off. The other thing that has helped me is getting into retro again. Buying into MiSTer along with playing older PC games, which are really appealing atm. And I'm not sure this would of happened if I'd have still been invested in some of the aforementioned online games.

 

[kurisu_1974]

I'm so lucky I get bored of online games very quickly. Tried Guild Wars back in the day, some Destiny, Final Fantasy 15 which I thought was going to be the thing for me but man I hate doing those dungeons with random people constantly complaining about my tanking or whatever and the endless stupid fetch quests.

Only online game I play a lot is Magic Arena but there's no community involved there. It's just me against the world.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

teamkilling online is a ton of fun though.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Stopped playing online games in 2011. Before this, I sunk many hours in to Resistance, Fifa and Call of Duty and realised they were more stressful, repetitive and broken experiences.

I now generally play about 4-6 narrative driven games a year and love it.