Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
We've known about this forever, but yesterday gave us another reminder about the power of multiplayer...
I thought it might be interesting to understand why . Here are the 4 main reasons (as I see it) why multiplayer has surged past single player as the torchbearer for the medium.
1. Humans are the most social animal on planet earth. It's in our DNA. You'll often hear NeoGAFers say something like..."When I get home from work, the last thing I want to do is have teenagers vomit in my ear. I just want to be left alone." Yet, they'll type these very words on NeoGAF, which...I'm sure you see the irony. Everyone here has neighbors, friends, family we interact with every day because living in the woods as a hermit isn't all that rewarding. Humans crave connection.
2. Single Player has lost its stranglehold on Bartles 8 Player Types...
There's some valid criticism of Bartles 8 Player Psychologies but the overall concept is undeniable. People play games for different reasons. KILLERS (Doom to Fortnite), EXPLORERS (Skyrim to Fortnite), ACHIEVERS (Trophies+Achievements to Battle Passes), SOCIALIZERS (nothing to Fortnite) etc...Thanks to advancements in technology, multiplayer has made massive inroads to appeal to different player types. Multiplayer used to be the barbarian horde trapped in the KILLERS category. Single player could freely explore the other 7 types without any pressure. Those days are long gone. The barbarians are out.
3. Single Player is losing its grip on the permanence + progression advantage. I often hear single player gamers say "Multiplayer games are too repetitive. You just do the same thing over and over. I like story in my games." This critique is becoming less and less valid as multiplayer moves from short round based games to worlds with permanence. If you're struggling to understand what this means, watch this...
The only thing more satisfying than accomplishing easy short term goals (Overwatch - 10 min rounds) with friends is accomplishing difficult, long term goals with friends (DayZ - 1 month servers).
4. Tattoos wouldn't exist if others couldn't see them. Horse armor flopped because social interaction is vital to keeping up appearances. Not isolation. Today MTX make up a massive bulk of gaming revenue and the industry has really only spent 15 or so years figuring this stuff out. The revenue breakdown from one of the most successful single player focused game companies (PlayStation) in history...
Look at the yellow. If almost no effort produces this kind of revenue split, what will effort produce?
Multiplayer oriented GAFers and single player oriented GAFers, did I miss anything?
I thought it might be interesting to understand why . Here are the 4 main reasons (as I see it) why multiplayer has surged past single player as the torchbearer for the medium.
1. Humans are the most social animal on planet earth. It's in our DNA. You'll often hear NeoGAFers say something like..."When I get home from work, the last thing I want to do is have teenagers vomit in my ear. I just want to be left alone." Yet, they'll type these very words on NeoGAF, which...I'm sure you see the irony. Everyone here has neighbors, friends, family we interact with every day because living in the woods as a hermit isn't all that rewarding. Humans crave connection.
2. Single Player has lost its stranglehold on Bartles 8 Player Types...
There's some valid criticism of Bartles 8 Player Psychologies but the overall concept is undeniable. People play games for different reasons. KILLERS (Doom to Fortnite), EXPLORERS (Skyrim to Fortnite), ACHIEVERS (Trophies+Achievements to Battle Passes), SOCIALIZERS (nothing to Fortnite) etc...Thanks to advancements in technology, multiplayer has made massive inroads to appeal to different player types. Multiplayer used to be the barbarian horde trapped in the KILLERS category. Single player could freely explore the other 7 types without any pressure. Those days are long gone. The barbarians are out.
3. Single Player is losing its grip on the permanence + progression advantage. I often hear single player gamers say "Multiplayer games are too repetitive. You just do the same thing over and over. I like story in my games." This critique is becoming less and less valid as multiplayer moves from short round based games to worlds with permanence. If you're struggling to understand what this means, watch this...
The only thing more satisfying than accomplishing easy short term goals (Overwatch - 10 min rounds) with friends is accomplishing difficult, long term goals with friends (DayZ - 1 month servers).
4. Tattoos wouldn't exist if others couldn't see them. Horse armor flopped because social interaction is vital to keeping up appearances. Not isolation. Today MTX make up a massive bulk of gaming revenue and the industry has really only spent 15 or so years figuring this stuff out. The revenue breakdown from one of the most successful single player focused game companies (PlayStation) in history...
Look at the yellow. If almost no effort produces this kind of revenue split, what will effort produce?
Multiplayer oriented GAFers and single player oriented GAFers, did I miss anything?
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