Recently we have seen various Switches belonging to hackers, a device without many well developed public hacks at time of writing, be banned from Nintendo's online offerings. Such a thing then became the subject of much discussion, not only because all of Nintendo's previous efforts in the last decade or so have had next to no proper security and at the same time were often barely functional.
One thing that came up more than once was the notion that a banned Switch is if not worthless then worth a whole lot less. It is not a new concept as games go; see also the xbox 360 and its various banwaves last generation wherein banned ones could be seen at points to go for sometimes less than half that of a new charting game, at the same time equivalent setups that were unbanned would still go for more than a charting game and maybe even two.

Related to this is the notion some developers and publishers have that single player only games are at least untenable from a financial perspective. Such a thing has seen many a game have a multiplayer mode tacked on, almost invariably at a cost of development focus or budget for the single player.

For myself then local multiplayer and co-op were much enjoyed staples of my pre online days, single player was almost always where it was at though. Then they started wanting me to pay for online, something I have never done unless you count dial up costs on my dreamcast. I never once had an online 360 of my own or one readily accessible and would maintain it was probably one of the best periods of gaming ever for me. The idea that a banned device is worthless is then very odd, though I am of course more than happy to pay the pittance some consider them worth to get such a banned device if it still allows single player.

This is part of a series on GBAtemp where we consider game design, aspects of play and game industry concepts. Previously we discussed emulation vs hardware.

Spoiler: earlier editions

a favoured game style that might have become less common in recent times, skills one might have learned or honed because of a game, games on the PS4 and Xbone that will stand the test of time, games that got better after launch, cancelled games and shuttered devs, and story canon in games.

To that end you are invited once more to talk about the ideas raised in the text above and anything related to it you feel warrants mention.

 

[AutumnWolf]

I don't care about online much

Specially on consoles

Like... why do I have to pay to play a game that's pretty much an online only game when the game is already 60$?

Makes no sense to me

 

[SirAileron]

Back in ps1 times fps games were bad because no consideration was done for console controls at all. For a long time now games are made to be used with a controller so it is no longer a problem. These days fps games have way more buttons than a typical wasd + mouse configuration so i would probably prefer to play with a controller on the pc as well.

Sounds like you don't really have much experience with WASD. Even the most basic of those configurations has 1 more available "button" compared to a standard controller, and that wouldn't even be counting a mouse with a scroll wheel.

If you're comfortable with it, that's one thing, but unless you somehow use motion controls in your controller, it's pretty indefensible otherwise.

 

[AutumnWolf]

Sounds like you don't really have much experience with WASD. Even the most basic of those configurations has 1 more available "button" compared to a standard controller, and that wouldn't even be counting a mouse with a scroll wheel.

If you're comfortable with it, that's one thing, but unless you somehow use motion controls in your controller, it's pretty indefensible otherwise.

Kind of Off-topic: I tried to use the WiiU gamepad on PC to play tf2

 

[Ryccardo]

Zero by definition on any title that does not allow players to self-host, and near zero on frankly most other games (I mainly played multiplayer Minecraft via crossover cable or VPN, so as far as the game is concerned it's not technically "online" )

Actually, thinking back, I did enjoy Animal Crossing WW and CF online (after disabling wii speak... few things I hate more than listening to other people talk orally), but the instability of NL more than killed those memories

 

[MrLucariox]

The reason why I love playing multiplayer is because i think that multiplayer is the test of your skills. More urgently, singleplayer is the training grounds and the multiplayer is the test field for me. Sorry for bad grammar if i had any horrible mistakes. English is not my native language.

 

[JellyPerson]

I don't do online multiplayer. The only multiplayer I do is couch multiplayer. Sadly most people have either forgotten what that means or they don't know it. (Sad.)

 

[Lacius]

Since online play costs money this time around, and since I'm unwilling to pay for online play, it doesn't really matter to me.

 

[chrisrlink]

as long as ninty doesn't push an update to block local multiplayer on hacked consoles tooI'm fine that imho is going too far besides the EULA said nothing bout taking away local multiplayer from us that would cause too much of a shitstorm too

 

[Armadillo]

I value it on pc and spend a lot of time on multiplayer games.

Don't care about it at all on consoles as you have to pay and I don't think it's worth it.

 

[invaderyoyo]

It depends on the system. On a Nintendo system, near worthless. All of my friends bought a Wii U and are extremely hesitant about getting a Switch. I basically have nobody to play with anyway. Even if they did have Switches, there's not much to do online with a Nintendo Switch. None of us liked Splatoon and you can only play Mario Kart so much.

On a PS4, equally as valuable as single player. Playing with friends online is really fun. Of course, local might be even better, but everybody has limited time so online is a very reasonable compromise.

 

[Taleweaver]

I've changed in this regard. Two times, even.
When I was young, the internet consisted of a small timeframe (usually about 10 minutes) between the "BBBRRRLLWWIEEBRLBLBWIIEIEEEEEE"-sounds and the "get off the internet, I need to use the phone!"-sound from my parents. So that obviously wasn't cutting it*.

The early zeroties were pretty great, but it posed a problem: online anxiety. I always fear that I won't contribute enough to the team**, so I wanna make sure I know all the ins and outs of it. Result: I just played a handful of games, but I played them rigorously.

But after some starcraft 2 matches, I just got fed up with it. There's always someone better than you, and that whole "improve" thing was eating away at my fun factor. So since then, I only accidentally played online. I never put my wii or xbox online, and my wiiu only for testing purposes (I once played mario kart 8 online. Once! In hundreds if not thousands of hours ).

Don't get me wrong: I'm all in favor of online games. It's good that they have a massive appeal, and if you like 'em: all the more power to you. All I ask - and I think everyone will agree to that - is that neither side should be tacked on. If it's a singleplayer game, don't throw in multiplayer "just because". Likewise, multiplayer games shouldn't just have a checkbox-achieving singleplayer just to show off some explosions for the trailers (hmm...on the other hand, I would be in favor of games that force their player through a very short campaign/tutorial if it stops them from humiliating themselves online).


*not to boost my status, but if this is familiar to you, consider liking this post.
**somewhat the opposite approach to the guys who treat their 50$ game as an online chatbox, or think they'll learn everything by asking everyone else how to play.

Back in ps1 times fps games were bad because no consideration was done for console controls at all. For a long time now games are made to be used with a controller so it is no longer a problem. These days fps games have way more buttons than a typical wasd + mouse configuration so i would probably prefer to play with a controller on the pc as well.

This is a bit of a separate discussion, but I dare say that you're incorrect.
-as mentioned, computer mice simply have much higher accuracy than joysticks. At least when it comes to things like acceleration and on large distances, which are key in FPS'es and RTS'es.
-games are now indeed made with controller in mind. But that doesn't mean they have more buttons. They're more ergonomical, yes. But WASD has an advantage you rarely need in games these days: the ability to quickly change direction. The typical gamer has three fingers on W, A and D at the same time. that allows a fraction of a second faster switching from one direction to another (I even knew someone who had the 'back' button mapped to somewhere on his gaming mouse to be able to be more agile there as well).
-a bit nitpicking, but...keyboards still have more keys than controllers. Even though WASD is so common that nobody bothers to change it, you can just as well rebind things to RDFG and use more keys with your left pinky. Not to brag, but I played UT2004 so fanatically that in the end, I had almost my whole keyboard remapped (hard to reach buttons where just teamsay messages, but hey...it was just how I rolled ).

 

[LuigiXL]

I still feel like online is totally not for me and a generational thing. I think the biggest single aspect (wether a valid concern or just an illusion) is as an adult I have much less time to game.
I feel online will always be swamped with YouTubers and 13 year olds (rightly so) who have nothing better to do (just like I did with SNES era!). I know some games have matchmaking skill sets, and I guess that leads to the other part where I don’t feel it will ever grab me: is I don’t really care if I’m beating another human or A.I. As a child of the SNES I think I’ll always be a single player kinda guy.

 

[Deleted User]

PS4/XBOX ONE = Multiplayer
Switch/3DS = Single player

 

[mightymuffy]

Online play? Very little: if this were a case of CFW vs Online Play as stated in topic title, then it's CFW for me all the way... I can happily miss out on what would otherwise just be a couple of goes on a racer and very little else.

However, in the case of recent events/bans, I am not risking my Switch getting banned for having cfw/whatever ....for purchasing games digitally through the online store. I prefer digital over physical, and as I'm not really into piracy on current gen machines (just my personal opinion, no pitchforks getting ready here from me!) so, CFW vs Buying from the Online Store? Sorry CFW, I'm not risking it..

 

[dimmidice]

Online play has ruined some games a bit IMO. I usually don't care for online elements at all. Except for fully online games. But i really shouldn't play those they're really bad for my mental health and even physical health. I get way too hooked on em.

But as for adding online to singleplayer games it's silly. GTA V's online for example has overshadowed singleplayer while arguably they're two entirely different games. Just wish they'd sell em separately and make them separately. Other games with online that ruined the experience. MGS V (Feels like you miss a ton of stuff if you play offline, and online is just a money wrenching scheme), Dark Souls series (invasion mechanic is ridiculous, and forced on you if you want to coop). I've encountered more games with problems regarding it but well drawing a blank atm. Might edit it in later. Mobile games certainly have a lot of very lame and frustrating online mechanics added ontop.

 

[fatsquirrel]

Buy 2 Consoles. 1 for cfw 1 for online.

Not everyone has the economic ability to do that

 

[dragoon147]

are two consoles actually fixing the issue though? I'm kinda confused on what the CDN actually is. I just saw someone had got there "non hacked" switch banned, so i'm kinda worried about hacking my second one. I do like playing games online sometimes

 

[Burlsol]

Generally don't care for online play. Most games with online play have a shit community or structure their game so that you are entirely dependent on other players to progress as a means to draw out content artificially. I don't care about competing as there will always be someone out there with more hours of their day that they can devote to learning the game and all the exploits. I play games to have fun and relax, not to try and prove something.

Nevermind the part where switch voice chat is just a phone app instead of being part of the service.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Online is more important to me these days now that Nintendo is actually focusing on providing online multiplayer games. If my Switch ends up banned I'd probably buy a second just for online.

 

[horokeusama]

I'm satisfied with single player campaigns for most of my games, but there are few social aspects of some games that I really want to keep, like Mario Kart's online modes and some other specific games. That allows me to keep in contact with friends that I don't see much everyday, without having to rely on whatsapp/messenger only.