Long answer (though not exhaustive by any means): Multiplayer gaming has always been a significant portion of the gaming pie. It has always been popular, no matter the success of singleplayer only games. MMOs, as a subset, will continue to enjoy their portion. It won't go away just because The Last of Us was a great singleplayer experience (in fact, its multiplayer continues to attract players). The question being asked here it an unnecessary one; one type of experience being popular does not preclude the other enjoying success.
If you take wow out of the equation then the mmorpg market looks very healthy indeed, thriving and a ton of quality choice. The issue is that people who don't really understand what a good rpg looks like, but enjoy wow that is labelled as an rpg. rpg had allways been a more niche taste, and a niche mmorpg that makes millions a year is a brilliant success.
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Since I started playing MMORPGs in the '90s, I have found it hard to devote much time to a single player game. There are always going to be players who'd rather commit time to persistent worlds with a community, competition, or even reasons of vanity, that just can't get that sense of enjoyment from a single player game. Frankly, if it wasn't for the number of unremarkable, short-lived MMOs in recent years, I think there would probably be less people trying to tell their stories through single player games rather than through the online multiplayer alternative.
If you give me a multiplayer (4-8 players) game that can be hosted on a dedicated server with the continuous progression similar to Egosoft's X space series, I'd tell MMO's to go teabag a blender so fast...
My MMO interactions remain the same between every one I touch; with the half-dozen core of peeps I've been gaming (all genres) for the past 15 years. Heck, we even play single player games together via Ventrilo.
The things I've looked to get out of MMORPGs have come and gone. Enjoyed it while it lasted and very appreciative that the desire to play them relentlessly like I use to has passed.
Single player games are fun for a while, but they lack too many things to really be considered for a 'main game'.
Way i see it, if you aren't interested in playing with other people, then you are not actually an MMO Gamer anyway, funny thing is, there are gamers out there who consider themselves to be MMO gamers, but they balk at actually committing themselves to the social aspects of the MMO's they play, also, they tend to drift from game to game and never really fit in, i can see why people might consider them to be tourists, at least based on their behavior, for those types i guess the single player games are the only ones that feel right to them, MMO's probably feel too uncomfortable for them to be able to enjoy the experience.
So while MMO gamers will often play single player games, its unlikely that its at the expense of whatever MMO they play.
I love games in general. Have a sweet spot for MMORPG but lately there aren't many MMORPG that out do what I already can get from singleplayer and multiplayer games. The social part of today's MMO I also can get from multiplayer games. Unless it's a sandbox game then social feature's go much deeper then to group or join a guild and speak in chat. But havn't found the right one yet for me.
MMOs and single playrer games will continue to happily coexist as they have for the last 15+ years.
People play both for different reasons so one cannot endager the other.
Those players seeking a social community game can never get satisfaction from a single p!ayer game.
^This. They don't really affect each other except for the better in that they offer more RPG games to choose from. I play both but will always lean more towards MMOs as they give more bang for your buck, usually. I play these RPG's for story and WORLDs to escape into, much the same way I read books and watch movies. Unless that facet changes from either type of game, neither is going anywhere and these Doom and Gloom threads are as bad and pointless as the Global Warming/Climate Change...wait which is it again?...agenda permeating our public schools and corporate media conglomerates.
Originally posted by Kyleran The tourists are leaving the genre, soon we'll have it all to ourselves again.
The AAA devs are also leaving the genre. But I suppose you don't mind indie niche offerings.
most of "us" started mmos when they were niche. so na, i for my part dont mind.
as long as marc jacobs is concidered a niche
and once he aint, we still got jita baby
^ this.
I play a game where I can meet and engage ALL players.
Not limited to server limits. So if it is a niche game, so what, I like it, I don't follow everyone to the FOTM mmo, I play my niche game since Launch, costs me nothing, playing for free. If it remains the only MMO if everything else has died, so be it. I don't mind.
And if that niche game dies too, I just find something else to play, or not. I'll find something else to amuse myself.
And oh yeah, Jita FTW.
"going into arguments with idiots is a lost cause, it requires you to stoop down to their level and you can't win"
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Single player games are fun for a while, but they lack too many things to really be considered for a 'main game'.
Way i see it, if you aren't interested in playing with other people, then you are not actually an MMO Gamer
You may need a "main" game but i doubt many others do. Personally i don't need a main game. I don't why i should not be playing 10 games and having multiple experiences.
And you are right .. i am not actually an MMO gamer. I just play *some* MMOs because they can be enjoyed as single player games.
Originally posted by Kyleran The tourists are leaving the genre, soon we'll have it all to ourselves again.
The AAA devs are also leaving the genre. But I suppose you don't mind indie niche offerings.
Pretty much any MMORPG that I've enjoyed has been developed by a non-AAA developer, so sure, I don't mind them leaving the genre either.
The next good MMORPG that I'll end up liking I firmly believe will come from a small company.
Assuming they can raise enough money to put in a bare bones MMOs. The issue of MMOs, compared to say a point & click adventure game (which also is abandoned by AAA devs), is that it costs a lot more just to get the basics up & running.
Originally posted by Kyleran The tourists are leaving the genre, soon we'll have it all to ourselves again.
The only problem with this is that when tourists leave, so does their money. As soon as these tourists "move on" do you really think that things are going to get better? The big complaints right now are about innovation, but will less money make that better? Meh..... The biggest innovations will be about how lean a dev team can be and still get work done. With reduced budgets, MMORPG development is going to be like pissing through a pinhole, super messy, mostly pointless, and it's just something you really just want to try.
As far as the big game companies go i think its slowing down. I think you will see more indie or niche games coming out. I think that's why we have all these eastern games coming here and being published by Western companies. They are probably thinking if its worth the money to make them now. The market is so flooded with them. And doesn't matter what people here think of most of those games. They all have their fans playing and enjoying them.
Originally posted by Kyleran The tourists are leaving the genre, soon we'll have it all to ourselves again.
The only problem with this is that when tourists leave, so does their money. As soon as these tourists "move on" do you really think that things are going to get better? The big complaints right now are about innovation, but will less money make that better? Meh..... The biggest innovations will be about how lean a dev team can be and still get work done. With reduced budgets, MMORPG development is going to be like pissing through a pinhole, super messy, mostly pointless, and it's just something you really just want to try.
I hope that instead of having 20 okay games we will have 2 or 3 good ones. Everyone right now is trying to make the same game with one or two things to make it stand out. We need something new. We need a game that is designed, developed and funded by people who would actually want to play it themselves. Someone will make it. I think if the market shrinks people will have to put more thought into it. . not necessarily more money. Lack if innovation isn't working and someone will take a chance on something that works.
Originally posted by Kyleran The tourists are leaving the genre, soon we'll have it all to ourselves again.
The AAA devs are also leaving the genre. But I suppose you don't mind indie niche offerings.
Well if considering the AAA devs gutted the genre and sold out the casual instagratification crowd, then I say good riddance.
Lets them swarm Sinlge player games and MOBAs for a while and let our genre recover. Meridan, UO, Asheron's Call, EQ, DAOC and even Shadowbane were all "inide" when they started. I'd be happy playing any of the above compared to the crap that gets shoveled out nowadays.
Matter of fact I am about to play EQ on Ragefire the new progression sever in just a few minutes, the closest to classic EQ you can find besides the emulators.
I think if the market shrinks people will have to put more thought into it. . not necessarily more money. Lack if innovation isn't working and someone will take a chance on something that works.
Maybe.
No .. they can leave and do something else .. like Blizz.
In fact, Blizz's "innovation" is to leave the traditional MMOs and make MOBAs, and card games.
Players will always play good games. When early MMORPGs came out there were great singleplayer games out too (System Shock 2, just as one example in a sea of others.) Many of us realized these great singleplayer (and multiplayer) games were better than early MMORPGs and played them instead. Eventually MMORPGs stopped sucking so much and we played MMORPGs. Nowadays I still enjoy a mix of the better MMORPGs and single/multi games.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
Comments
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer (though not exhaustive by any means): Multiplayer gaming has always been a significant portion of the gaming pie. It has always been popular, no matter the success of singleplayer only games. MMOs, as a subset, will continue to enjoy their portion. It won't go away just because The Last of Us was a great singleplayer experience (in fact, its multiplayer continues to attract players). The question being asked here it an unnecessary one; one type of experience being popular does not preclude the other enjoying success.
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Now playing GW2, AOW 3, ESO, LOTR, Elite D
If you give me a multiplayer (4-8 players) game that can be hosted on a dedicated server with the continuous progression similar to Egosoft's X space series, I'd tell MMO's to go teabag a blender so fast...
My MMO interactions remain the same between every one I touch; with the half-dozen core of peeps I've been gaming (all genres) for the past 15 years. Heck, we even play single player games together via Ventrilo.
The things I've looked to get out of MMORPGs have come and gone. Enjoyed it while it lasted and very appreciative that the desire to play them relentlessly like I use to has passed.
Single player games are fun for a while, but they lack too many things to really be considered for a 'main game'.
Way i see it, if you aren't interested in playing with other people, then you are not actually an MMO Gamer anyway, funny thing is, there are gamers out there who consider themselves to be MMO gamers, but they balk at actually committing themselves to the social aspects of the MMO's they play, also, they tend to drift from game to game and never really fit in, i can see why people might consider them to be tourists, at least based on their behavior, for those types i guess the single player games are the only ones that feel right to them, MMO's probably feel too uncomfortable for them to be able to enjoy the experience.
So while MMO gamers will often play single player games, its unlikely that its at the expense of whatever MMO they play.
I love games in general. Have a sweet spot for MMORPG but lately there aren't many MMORPG that out do what I already can get from singleplayer and multiplayer games. The social part of today's MMO I also can get from multiplayer games. Unless it's a sandbox game then social feature's go much deeper then to group or join a guild and speak in chat. But havn't found the right one yet for me.
You answered your own question with that conclusion.
"going into arguments with idiots is a lost cause, it requires you to stoop down to their level and you can't win"
Jeez people try to stop with rather stupi...err with questions that any kid can give the awnser to ..( as in 6 year olds)
mmo's have bin around for 2 decades .. not a gazillion single player games will ever make everyone stop playing mmos
^This. They don't really affect each other except for the better in that they offer more RPG games to choose from. I play both but will always lean more towards MMOs as they give more bang for your buck, usually. I play these RPG's for story and WORLDs to escape into, much the same way I read books and watch movies. Unless that facet changes from either type of game, neither is going anywhere and these Doom and Gloom threads are as bad and pointless as the Global Warming/Climate Change...wait which is it again?...agenda permeating our public schools and corporate media conglomerates.
most of "us" started mmos when they were niche. so na, i for my part dont mind.
as long as marc jacobs is concidered a niche
and once he aint, we still got jita baby
"I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"
^ this.
I play a game where I can meet and engage ALL players.
Not limited to server limits. So if it is a niche game, so what, I like it, I don't follow everyone to the FOTM mmo, I play my niche game since Launch, costs me nothing, playing for free. If it remains the only MMO if everything else has died, so be it. I don't mind.
And if that niche game dies too, I just find something else to play, or not. I'll find something else to amuse myself.
And oh yeah, Jita FTW.
"going into arguments with idiots is a lost cause, it requires you to stoop down to their level and you can't win"
Pretty much any MMORPG that I've enjoyed has been developed by a non-AAA developer, so sure, I don't mind them leaving the genre either.
The next good MMORPG that I'll end up liking I firmly believe will come from a small company.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
You may need a "main" game but i doubt many others do. Personally i don't need a main game. I don't why i should not be playing 10 games and having multiple experiences.
And you are right .. i am not actually an MMO gamer. I just play *some* MMOs because they can be enjoyed as single player games.
Assuming they can raise enough money to put in a bare bones MMOs. The issue of MMOs, compared to say a point & click adventure game (which also is abandoned by AAA devs), is that it costs a lot more just to get the basics up & running.
As far as the big game companies go i think its slowing down. I think you will see more indie or niche games coming out. I think that's why we have all these eastern games coming here and being published by Western companies. They are probably thinking if its worth the money to make them now. The market is so flooded with them. And doesn't matter what people here think of most of those games. They all have their fans playing and enjoying them.
I'm confused. MMO's are single player games these days.
Not quite .. sometimes you still have to deal with the occasional "guild-invite", but I think it is getting there.
I hope that instead of having 20 okay games we will have 2 or 3 good ones. Everyone right now is trying to make the same game with one or two things to make it stand out. We need something new. We need a game that is designed, developed and funded by people who would actually want to play it themselves. Someone will make it. I think if the market shrinks people will have to put more thought into it. . not necessarily more money. Lack if innovation isn't working and someone will take a chance on something that works.
Maybe.
Wa min God! Se æx on min heafod is!
This and devs will have to make better games because of it. The tourists will play any turd that comes along as long as its free.
Well if considering the AAA devs gutted the genre and sold out the casual instagratification crowd, then I say good riddance.
Lets them swarm Sinlge player games and MOBAs for a while and let our genre recover. Meridan, UO, Asheron's Call, EQ, DAOC and even Shadowbane were all "inide" when they started. I'd be happy playing any of the above compared to the crap that gets shoveled out nowadays.
Matter of fact I am about to play EQ on Ragefire the new progression sever in just a few minutes, the closest to classic EQ you can find besides the emulators.
No .. they can leave and do something else .. like Blizz.
In fact, Blizz's "innovation" is to leave the traditional MMOs and make MOBAs, and card games.
The only thing MMOs have over single player games is PvP.
Everything else is exponentionally better in single player games, or coop games.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
I see pressure being put on single player console games to become mmo. So, no, people want to play online together no matter what.