9 years ago when I found MMO's I thought single player games were dead and gone and I would never look back. 

I really feel that the single player games being released to date (on all platforms) are really pushing boundaries and from my own personal experience, nearly all my hard core MMO gamer mates have migrated back to the single player market. 

Main reasons:

- MMO's are just not evolving fast enough.  Too many cookie cutters

- Hype versus payoff.  Unfortunately for the past 5 years not one game has lived up to their hype WAR, SWTOR, Vanguard, AoC list goes on...

- Dumbing down of genre from the true RPG throw back to the D&D paper based gaming etc.  Crafting is watered down alongside exploration etc.

Single Player Games

- Have gone through several evolution steps for all platforms, graphics and sound.

- Story lines have been developed and supported by in-depth extensive worlds

- online capabilities that still allow for co-op, multi player, score boards etc.

- Immersion is incredible.

I would consider myself a hardcore MMO lover but for the past year I have only played MMO games in between single player titles e.g. Modern Warfare 4, Red Dead Remption, Far Cry 3 now (incredible game), XCOM, Skyrim, Civ 5.

Maybe its a time/age thing but it seems myself and ALL my friends are returning back to single player games, table top and board games for the interaction.  We all play MMO's still but we are all really in a holding pattern waiting to see when they will evolve past their current form and most of us are losing interest fast.

Either way I feel single player games are leading the way in development and MMO's are just not keeping up.

MMOs are simply stagnating right now. Know quite a few that have left and are now playing other genres of gaming due to this.

Many of them still enjoy the multiplayer aspect in their game of choice.

I can totally agree and relate to what you have exposed. MMO game market needs to evolve somehow if it wants to recover it's quality.

The problem here is that they don't want to do it. They are fine releasing shitty games that people will play for some weeks/months, because those games are cheap to produce and a "low risk" inversion.

It's pretty much the same trouble as with anything else out there nowadays: they give us cheap, low-medium quality products, because they realized two things:

1)Lots of people will use/buy/rent them anyway, because they can't afford something more expensive.

2)If they don't give us more options, we can only: a)get what they give us, or b)don't get anything at all.

Reality is always a sad thing...

I find two reasons single-player games are surpassing MMO's:

#1. Building a gaming community no longer requires gamers to be in the same game.  It's very easy to connect with other gamers regardless of what they are playing.  Social media has made connecting with gamers simple and easy.  This simply wasn't the case when MMO's first hit the scene.  If you wanted to find a community of gamers, you had to all be in the same game.

#2. MMO's are simply too risky to try anything amazing.  I hate to say it, but indie games are kicking the pants off of AAA when it comes to creativity and experimentation.  Indie MMO's are few and far between simply because it's too expensive and way too much manpower is needed to pull them off.  Most indie MMO's struggle with overhead and long term viability.  

single player games arnt passing MMOs.

MMOs are going backwards, every new mmo that comes out has more resitrction, more linear paths, more story told to you instead of you makeing your own story as you go. they are more dumbed down than ever, and honestly they are just single player games with a bunch of people either in your way or running around doing their own ( story quest ) with no need to interact with them.

when i first started in MMOs back in 2000, i thought damn i cant wait to see how much they progress in 10 years its going to be awsome.... boy was i wrong, it has gone backwards at a alarming rate.

I kinda get what the OP is saying.

Honestly, I have had a lot of fun with MMOs. The most fun Ive ever had with any game was with FFXI CoP xpac. But some of my tastes have changed, and while im not opposed to themeparks, im not fully on board with sandboxes. There are bits of both that I find attractive. To say nothing of my time being more limited with each passing year (not a family man, just increasing responsibility at work). Add to that having to deal with stupid, rude, or people who have insane ideas that are completely self destructive to a game (looking at you FFXIV Lodestone Tanaka defense force >.> yeesh) And then there are games that could be so aweome if not for the fascination of PvP in mmos (more have some form then not)

Doesnt really matter, Ive been waiting for  (LOL) my "perfect" mmo. Yea yea I know, laugh it up.  Im sure some of my ideas for an MMO would offend both sandbox and themepark players alike such as: no pvp ever, crafting and gathering with no economy at all (you want shit? kill for it or make it your damn self), etc.

The fact is that perfect mmo will never come, the mmo market has become "popular" and most businesses cant afford to cater to my nonsense. So you try to find a game that is interesting enough and has enough pros to outweigh the cons, and you shut the fuck up and enjoy your game.

That being said, if anyone ever came out with a game like oblivion/skyrim, and supported it for years with frequent content updates, and not just a handful of DLC, and allowed multiple players to join you on your world. I would gladly pay a subscription fee for many years. Play solo most of the time, and party up when friends can.

However, that isnt likely to happen. Sometimes people say go play a single player RPG, and they are fun for a time. But its not like an MMO that I can play for years, because there is no social aspect/comradery and the game "ends"

CoS does sound like the closest thing ive seen to this, BUT I dont really believe they can pull it off. Plus there are a few things I learned for there forums that Im not sure I like or straight up hate.

Originally posted by chryses

9 years ago when I found MMO's I thought single player games were dead and gone and I would never look back. 

I really feel that the single player games being released to date (on all platforms) are really pushing boundaries and from my own personal experience, nearly all my hard core MMO gamer mates have migrated back to the single player market. 

Main reasons:

- MMO's are just not evolving fast enough.  Too many cookie cutters

- Hype versus payoff.  Unfortunately for the past 5 years not one game has lived up to their hype WAR, SWTOR, Vanguard, AoC list goes on...

- Dumbing down of genre from the true RPG throw back to the D&D paper based gaming etc.  Crafting is watered down alongside exploration etc.

Single Player Games

- Have gone through several evolution steps for all platforms, graphics and sound.

- Story lines have been developed and supported by in-depth extensive worlds

- online capabilities that still allow for co-op, multi player, score boards etc.

- Immersion is incredible.

 

I would consider myself a hardcore MMO lover but for the past year I have only played MMO games in between single player titles e.g. Modern Warfare 4, Red Dead Remption, Far Cry 3 now (incredible game), XCOM, Skyrim, Civ 5.

Maybe its a time/age thing but it seems myself and ALL my friends are returning back to single player games, table top and board games for the interaction.  We all play MMO's still but we are all really in a holding pattern waiting to see when they will evolve past their current form and most of us are losing interest fast.

Either way I feel single player games are leading the way in development and MMO's are just not keeping up.

 

I have to say that the older I get, the less attractive single player games are for me.

There are some exceptions, such as XCOM which you mentioned. I finished the game without losing interest. In fact, I was kind of disappointed when I finished the game. It was at a point when I felt like I am finally getting somewhere in the game and was looking forward to playing many more hours. I wish someone made a XCOM based MMO. The research aspect would have so much potential.

Anyway, I do agree that MMORPGs are currently at a really bad state. I am not subscribed to any MMO and tend to keep low expectations regarding the ones I am looking forward to. I still hope that the new wave of sandbox games that are on the horizon will bring some fresh air.

I realized that it may be more fun to actually develop some RPG instead of playing the ones that are out there. Developing a MMO would require too many resources, so I started developing a RPG board game. I find myself having more fun making an interesting RPG rather than playing current MMOs.

Originally posted by coretex666

There are some exceptions, such as XCOM which you mentioned. I finished the game without losing interest. In fact, I was kind of disappointed when I finished the game. It was at a point when I felt like I am finally getting somewhere in the game and was looking forward to playing many more hours.

That game is really good. Perfect blend of gameplay elements far as I'm concerned. I don't even normally care for that style of gameplay or the alien sci fi schtick. However, that game was simply a blast to play.

Originally posted by DrunkWolf

single player games arnt passing MMOs.

MMOs are going backwards, every new mmo that comes out has more resitrction, more linear paths, more story told to you instead of you makeing your own story as you go. they are more dumbed down than ever, and honestly they are just single player games with a bunch of people either in your way or running around doing their own ( story quest ) with no need to interact with them.

when i first started in MMOs back in 2000, i thought damn i cant wait to see how much they progress in 10 years its going to be awsome.... boy was i wrong, it has gone backwards at a alarming rate.

I agree that MMORPGs have gone backwards since WoW and now half the games being developed aren't even finished when they are released anymore that I don't understand.

Nope, they aren't.

Well, not entirely. The "bitter vets" on this site who post their myopic views of the MMORPG industry tend to answer "yes" to the OP's question. However, I imagine for most non-jaded gamers (which is the majority of gamers), MMOs are doing just fine.

Personally, I've been playing computer games since the early 80s, but I haven't touched a single-player game since I logged into my first MMO over a decade ago. Playing single-player games is like masturbation: playing by yourself can be ok, but once you play with others, there is no going back. (Well, unless you have don't have internet access, that is.)

Originally posted by Boardwalker

Nope, they aren't.

 

Well, not entirely. The "bitter vets" on this site who post their myopic views of the MMORPG industry tend to answer "yes" to the OP's question. However, I imagine for most non-jaded gamers (which is the majority of gamers), MMOs are doing just fine.

 

Personally, I've been playing computer games since the early 80s, but I haven't touched a single-player game since I logged into my first MMO over a decade ago. Playing single-player games is like masturbation: playing by yourself can be ok, but once you play with others, there is no going back. (Well, unless you have don't have internet access, that is.)

It's a little off topic, but may I ask which MMO / MMOs are you currently playing?

Originally posted by Boardwalker

Nope, they aren't.

 

Well, not entirely. The "bitter vets" on this site who post their myopic views of the MMORPG industry tend to answer "yes" to the OP's question. However, I imagine for most non-jaded gamers (which is the majority of gamers), MMOs are doing just fine.

 

Personally, I've been playing computer games since the early 80s, but I haven't touched a single-player game since I logged into my first MMO over a decade ago. Playing single-player games is like masturbation: playing by yourself can be ok, but once you play with others, there is no going back. (Well, unless you have don't have internet access, that is.)

Don't agree at all. While I don't think mmos are failing by any means not everyone that has left is bitter or somehow jaded as you seem to think.

Many of them still do multiplayer in their game of choice just in a different genre.

Originally posted by coretex666

 

It's a little off topic, but may I ask which MMO / MMOs are you currently playing?

I'm playing EVE and some WoW right now. I also play TSW every now and then.

Originally posted by Wickedjelly

Originally posted by Boardwalker

Nope, they aren't.

 

Well, not entirely. The "bitter vets" on this site who post their myopic views of the MMORPG industry tend to answer "yes" to the OP's question. However, I imagine for most non-jaded gamers (which is the majority of gamers), MMOs are doing just fine.

 

Personally, I've been playing computer games since the early 80s, but I haven't touched a single-player game since I logged into my first MMO over a decade ago. Playing single-player games is like masturbation: playing by yourself can be ok, but once you play with others, there is no going back. (Well, unless you have don't have internet access, that is.)

Don't agree at all. While I don't think mmos are failing by any means not everyone that has left is bitter or somehow jaded as you seem to think.

Many of them still do multiplayer in their game of choice just in a different genre.

Perhaps I was a little harsh. But it often seems that most of the people who post on this site have a very narrow, and jaded, view of MMORPGs and their current state.  I think that 2012 was a banner year for MMORPGs, so I guess I'll have to agree to disagree with many of the people here.

I would have to disagree with you OP. There have been far too many great single player RPGs to come out in the last 9 years.

Dragons Age Origins.

Oblivion.

Fallout 3.

Mass Effect 1 & 2

Knights of the Old Republic (2003) & 2

Baldurs Gate 2

Final Fantasy 10

Pretty much agree, MMO's have become totally boring, and It's hard to get excited for any of them anymore.

All this hype never delivers, and I'm tired of the lack of progression in MMO's, they're all the same.

Rather then MMO's I've been looking for Co-Op games, 2-3-4 player, co-op campaigns or missions, anything.

At least it gives me some variety, even the "revolutionary games" like guild wars 2, really improve little on the base concept of MMO for the past years.

Originally posted by Boardwalker

Originally posted by Wickedjelly

Originally posted by Boardwalker

Nope, they aren't.

 

Well, not entirely. The "bitter vets" on this site who post their myopic views of the MMORPG industry tend to answer "yes" to the OP's question. However, I imagine for most non-jaded gamers (which is the majority of gamers), MMOs are doing just fine.

 

Personally, I've been playing computer games since the early 80s, but I haven't touched a single-player game since I logged into my first MMO over a decade ago. Playing single-player games is like masturbation: playing by yourself can be ok, but once you play with others, there is no going back. (Well, unless you have don't have internet access, that is.)

Don't agree at all. While I don't think mmos are failing by any means not everyone that has left is bitter or somehow jaded as you seem to think.

Many of them still do multiplayer in their game of choice just in a different genre.

 

Perhaps I was a little harsh. But it often seems that most of the people who post on this site have a very narrow, and jaded, view of MMORPGs and their current state.  I think that 2012 was a banner year for MMORPGs, so I guess I'll have to agree to disagree with many of the people here.

If games like Skyrim were to add a multiplayer function to the game officially, I would agree. However, there are still many single player games being made to this day without any form of multiplayer support (which boggles my mind). The overwhelming surge of social media the past decade will only help mmos in the long run.

When CoH came out, I had made statements that this type of mmo would be seen more widely in the marketplace. MMOs created to keep folks entertained for 2-3 month stints at a time. However, where I guessed wrong was that publishers would develop and release many of these types of mmos over similar time spans and have tiered subscription models to allow access to multiple games at the same time.

Developers really need to understand their fanbase better, and create a game with them in mind. For far too long we have been fed WoW-like clones of games, and games that are released in unfinished states. I don't believe we're going to see a ton of relief from kickstarter mmos (we will see more innovation at least).

Hell, even as good as GW2 is, the game still has a ton of flaws and is far from perfect.