Does online matter?

[Hendo]

Might sound a bit stupid asking this question on an internet forum that was started to make it easier to swap friendcodes, but bare with me.

After the discussion on Metroid Prime 3 in the Zelda thread, is online play a deciding factor for anyone in buying a game?

I made my case on Metroid that I just haven't enjoyed the previous 2 proper Primes and if I bought it, chances are I'd get no further than halfway through and give up, wheras an online multi (like Prime : Hunters but without the cramp) would have really sold it to me.

[David]

Weather a game has online or not doesn't really bother me in the most.

I suppose I don't have a 360, really the only console fully focussed on it, but IMO the online play always takes a back seat to single player/local multi.

They do enhance my excitement though. GH3 for example I would've still bought, but online play is getting me very excited.

The only exception to the rule it Mario Strikers, which I bought because it had online.

[Sambob]

I think that a good multiplayer really sells a game for me.....I bought perfect dark back in the day because of the fact that you could have so many clever kinds of bots in the multiplayer mode, not online but the multiplayer was wicked.

I was bitterly dissapointed that mario party didnt have wifi....although the ds version should be good. And if smash bros didnt have online multi i wouldnt buy it, same goes with mariokart wii, id really consider not buying it. However with games where the single player is obviously the main priority then its not as much of a problem, but i do like a good bit of multiplayer well done, its what games are all about I think, sitting around watching a mate, playing head to head, whatever but for me its always been a group activity, like gay sex,

[DANGERMAN]

I wouldn't turn a game down because it didnt have online, but I might be swayed to pick a game up for it. Pro Evo on the DS is a good example, I may have bought it anyway eventually, but I bought it when it came out to make the most of online.

Metroid not having online is a missed opportunity, but its not swaying whether or not I buy it, the lack of games on the Wii is doing that

[Phooey]

Hendo wrote:

...is online play a deciding factor for anyone in buying a game?

Not in the slightest. Granted the online stuff in Animal Crossing was fun, but it wasn't a deciding factor in me buying it. If I'm reading a game review & the majority of the text explains how the game is better online, then I'll probably give it a miss. I'm all about the single player experience...baby.

[Noize]

I think it depends on the game. Some games are clearly made for multiplayer fun, and not having an online mode for them would make it feel like it's crippled and lacking some necessary features.

Imagine playing a deathmatch oriented FPS, but only against bots or local multiplayer. While it may be fun if you gather 3 of your friends to play, it would still feel like a big missed opportunity.

But most games are still made with the single-player in mind (thank god) and while there may be strong online features, to me, they usually are more like a bonus to extend the title longevity than anything else. Most multiplayer modes are competitive modes, and to me, while sometimes you may want to "compete" against other people, sometime you may want to play a scenario, a story. The holy grail though, is when we can complete the single-player game in cooperative. THIS, is more like my thing.

But right now, as most games are still including only "competition"-type of multiplayer in their games, it doesn't bother me too much that if it isn't included.

[Centy]

Depends on the genre for me I have to say I mean a first person shooter that isnt online is like ice cream made without milk where as an RPG like Oblivion doesn't need it.

I guess I think that sometimes multi player can be the icing on the cake and with some games it would be the integral part ie Metroid Hunters on the DS I wouldnt have been remotely interested sans multiplayer.

My latest game is Enemy Territory Quake Wars and its entirely multiplayer only well it has bots but it needs to be online for any real fun to start. Games that focus on one or the other are the really great ones. Like Oblivion has 100% focus on the single and is amazing and ETQW is 99% multi only and both do things perfectly. Rainbow Six vegas and gears of war suffered slightly in single player as Coop seems to be the best part.

SO yeah definently depends on the game I mean imagine MArio Kart without multiplayer or pheonix wright with it. It would be madness.

I think Metroid Prime 3 has lost a great oppertunity to be single only but thats just me I didnt enjoy the single player.