Couch Co-Op Dying?

[Treeskee]

I know there are still some games on PS4 (and I assume XB1) that fit the genre, but I remember it used to be a lot better/more abundant. Is Nintendo the only company that still puts these out regularly? and do you miss the genre or prefer just online MP instead?

[deadman1]

Poll is different than the title.

I don't really have a preference, but yes, couch co-op is dying.

[KOMO1211]

poll is a little apples to oranges as I don't think regular MP can be compared to coop. both have their pros and cons. but to answer the question yes, console game makers prefer to just say if you want to play with a friend play multiplayer.

[Razion]

Most local and couch games I see first on Steam. Recent local games I've played include: Abraca, Armello, Duck Game, Fighties, Gurgamoth, Rocket League, Rivals of Aether, Samurai Gunn, and Ultimate Chicken Horse. For me, local is usually done during lunch at campus or work. Admittedly, a small demographic as not a lot of people are going to be using Steam or Switch consoles for much of their local play. More common I think is a younger demographic using mobile or 3DS. As far as preference goes.. while I do like local, even I do a heck of a lot more of my gaming online. It's just a lot more convenient for everyone involved. Ideally games are both local and online so you don't run into the pesky situation of going, "oh, uh, you [have to go download this at home / come over to play it]."

[potis]

Couch co-op games should have died 10-15 years ago.

Now they are dying cause companies are half-smart.

Why care for the 5% that cant do online and gimp your game for the other 95%?

Or because some people ride on nostalgia or whatever excuse they use.

[dope_danny]

can't sell multiple copies with couch co-op.

[Verdugo]

Couch co-op promotes violent murder of close friends, no wonder its dying.

[oplawlz]

Couch co-op games should have died 10-15 years ago.

Now they are dying cause companies are half-smart.

Why care for the 5% that cant do online and gimp your game for the other 95%?

Or because some people ride on nostalgia or whatever excuse they use.

Truth. Couch play has serious limitations which have been frustrating players since the 80's. It's been relegated to a gimmick, as it should be, thus nintendo's support.

[Sezerek]

Couch co-op promotes violent murder of close friends, no wonder its dying.

Spoken like a true survivor of some Mario Party marathon weekends.

[Shibito]

Spoken like a true survivor of some Mario Party marathon weekends.

Those damn friends with their jump hacks to always get a 10

[Xenonn]

can't sell multiple copies with couch co-op.

this, companies greed is what's killing/killed couch co op

[StationaryHawk]

It's a form of play that's been pretty readily embraced by indie developers, who I assume benefit from it more than big publishers.

[Jester Joe]

Couch co-op games should have died 10-15 years ago.

Now they are dying cause companies are half-smart.

Why care for the 5% that cant do online and gimp your game for the other 95%?

Or because some people ride on nostalgia or whatever excuse they use.

Give one good reason why you can't have both.
Or maybe even stats to back that up? I'd be willing to bet it's far more than just "5%", especially since that's all Mario Party offers and yet it still manages to sell.

Truth. Couch play has serious limitations which have been frustrating players since the 80's. It's been relegated to a gimmick, as it should be, thus nintendo's support.

Couch Multiplayer is hardly a gimmick...

[kail]

Couch co-op games should have died 10-15 years ago.

Now they are dying cause companies are half-smart.

Why care for the 5% that cant do online and gimp your game for the other 95%?

Or because some people ride on nostalgia or whatever excuse they use.

Siblings, hangouts and parties say hello.

- - - Updated - - -

Truth. Couch play has serious limitations which have been frustrating players since the 80's. It's been relegated to a gimmick, as it should be, thus nintendo's support.

It's multiplayer...

[Deleted]

I vastly prefer couch-coop over online play, so it's sad to see only a few games supporting it. That said, there have been some fantastic recent games supporting this, such as Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime and Overcooked.

[Gatsbybutters]

How do people think online gaming is superior to local? Do you prefer higher input lag and 99% of the people you're playing with being trolls or straight cancer?
I can see if you have no friends or you're a troll yourself why you'd hate on couch co-op, otherwise just put both options in whenever possible and be done with it.
Just look at most online fighting games, fun for about 6 months, after that most of the people you fight will be using fast characters and a lag button, or never approach and use input lag combined with frame rate data to turn it into a turtle fight game. Or most shooters where you're getting stabbed in the feet through the ground every other match.
Don't get me wrong, online could be better than couch co op, but people are fucking garbage, and no one has a work around for that yet.

[dwightyo39]

I miss the days where all my gamer friends lived near me, and we would play NES co-ops, N64 (I'm looking at you, Conker's 4 player beach storming), or even some battlefront on the ps2. Now they all live out of town, and my in town friends are not gamers.

Once in a while we hook back up, and play some Contra, Life Force, or River City Ransom.

[Skizzit]

How do people think online gaming is superior to local? Do you prefer higher input lag and 99% of the people you're playing with being trolls or straight cancer?
I can see if you have no friends or you're a troll yourself why you'd hate on couch co-op, otherwise just put both options in whenever possible and be done with it.
Just look at most online fighting games, fun for about 6 months, after that most of the people you fight will be using fast characters and a lag button, or never approach and use input lag combined with frame rate data to turn it into a turtle fight game. Or most shooters where you're getting stabbed in the feet through the ground every other match.
Don't get me wrong, online could be better than couch co op, but people are fucking garbage, and no one has a work around for that yet.

Because it's not just a matter of flipping a switch to add in couch co-op/mp. For some games like fighting games or games like Duck Game and Samurai Gunn where everything is on single screen it's simple so that's why they have it, but for first and third person shooter? Way, way more complicated not to mention an added impact on system performance.

It's not that people hate couch co-op. For me, it's just that for the majority of games that I would want it in, i.e. fighting games, it already is included. For other types of games that once had it but do not anymore, like fps games, I would much rather play online that split screen anyways and also would rather devs spend their time working on other aspects of the game.

[Gatsbybutters]

Because it's not just a matter of flipping a switch to add in couch co-op/mp. For some games like fighting games or games like Duck Game and Samurai Gunn where everything is on single screen it's simple so that's why they have it, but for first and third person shooter? Way, way more complicated not to mention an added impact on system performance.

It's not that people hate couch co-op. For me, it's just that for the majority of games that I would want it in, i.e. fighting games, it already is included. For other types of games that once had it but do not anymore, like fps games, I would much rather play online that split screen anyways and also would rather devs spend their time working on other aspects of the game.

Split screen isn't the only way to local. I'm not one for losing options, especially the superior ones.

[Cattleya]

Split screen isn't the only way to local. I'm not one for losing options, especially the superior ones.

They're referring to games where split-screen *is* the only option. How else exactly do you plan on implementing local co-op for first-person/third-person games? Coincidentally, those are usually the games in which people beg for local co-op.