Topic: Do you think modern gaming relies too much on Online?

So I have been thinking about this for awhile now every since the DDoS attacks to be honest and I don't know about you guys but todays games seem to relies too much on online.

Yeah I understand alot of thing relies on online now but gaming I feel takes it too far. I mean even single player games now like Diablo III or Simcity need or needed a constant online connection just to play a single player game. Yeah I can understand that they might be something like the ill fated auction house in Diablo III on PC that needed to have an internet connection to use even in a single player game but couldn't they just not have that part not work if you don't have an internet connection instead of the whole game? It just irks me that oh you have to have internet even for single player offline games or games that should be offline. What about people who can't afford internet or live out in the boonies with no or really poor internet connection or even at times when the system goes down like the DDoS attack?

Another thing I have noticed is games removing offline co-op modes for online co-op modes. Why can't we have both? I mean take Driveclub for example I was excited about this game but then I realized its online co-op only. Why can't they make it like Mario Kart 8 with offline and online co-op? Or like Diablo III on the consoles? I mean I understand that some people can't get together with friends or family to play a game so that is when online comes in handy but why exclude offline as well? So you are telling me that if I want to play Driveclub on two players with my son in the same room I have to buy another tv, PS4, and copy of the game? WTF? Do companies honestly believe no one wants to play in the same room anymore?

I don't know but as these newer console become more and more reliant on the internet I am beginning to feel like just sticking with my older consoles like the PS2, or even older. I am sure that there are plenty of games that I haven't played on the PS2 yet or even better hitting up ebay for an older system that I never owned back in the day like an original Xbox or starting up my Dreamcast collection.

I don't know maybe I am making a mountain of a mole here but it's just how I have been feeling lately. What are you guys thoughts do you think that modern consoles rely on the internet too much. What ever happen to just putting the game in and playing it not have to worry about having an internet connection? Do games sacrifice too much stuff like couch co-op and single player game play for online multiplayer aspects of the game?

Sometimes, yeah. It's a little annoying when I see an online-only co-op mode because I like playing multiplayer games with my wife. But at the same time, sometimes I hate it when there's only local co-op and no online modes, lol. So really I just want both.

I don't really miss it at the moment, the only game I play co-op is Skylanders with my boy, and that has it. Once he grows up we'll probably find it a bit more annoying, but as its only me at the mo, I'm not too bothered.

I don't like playing Split-screen - I never have. Couch co-op is in my opinion more niche as it requires 2 people to be together at the same time in the same room where as online co-op just requires an online connection. I know that some families may play together and understand why they may want this feature but I would think they are the by far the minority of gamers. That doesn't mean that I don't want games ever to offer this but just means I can understand why developers may not add it.
I do think the online capabilities though have had an impact on gaming - not always positive in some cases. For me Halo started as a Campaign focussed game with a bonus MP feature. It was designed and developed this way as the majority of Xbox owners didn't have Gold. By the time Halo 4 was developed, I feel the focus had switched to an MP based game with a bonus campaign.
Funnily enough though my most anticipated games of 2015 are not MP or online games - Batman: Arkham Knight and The Witcher 3. Other games I am really interested in are also for the offline campaign - Uncharted 4, Rise of the Tomb Raider etc
Personally I don't mind if games are Online only as I doubt I will ever not be connected to the internet or let my Gold subscription lapse. It could be great for games - even in a SP scenario with real time environmental changes and cloud based support to increase AI numbers and behaviour and/or destruction/creative changes. It may be quite limiting if/when outside issues occur like being hacked or internet crashes but the benefits I think outweigh the negatives - It must do otherwise I wouldn't have kept my Subscription going as long as I have.
I don't rely on just 1-2 games either so I know I can play certain games if/when I have a loss of internet service. I have games like Metro Redux, Evil Within, Alien Isolation, Lego Batman, Halo: MCC, etc all of which have offline campaign options. What does concern me though is more around the way we sign in and the way games are saved. Not being able to sign into my profile obviously can make it tricky to play offline games.

I've been feeling the same for a while, but the majority of my issue comes from achievements. I know they're not everyone's cup of tea, but if I'm enjoying a game, I like to see if I can get all the achievements.

More and more though - and it's been happening for a while - I'll bust through all the single player achievements, and then find that I'm left with a laundry list of online achievements that take a ludicrous amount of time to complete. One title I played the other day - and I can't remember which it was - had one where I basically had to complete the game in four-player co-op. Just baffling.

I wish that there were separate lists - Solo Achievements and Multiplayer Achievements. Job done.

I feel like there is still a long way to go with online interactivity with gaming - honestly I feel like we have scratched the tip of the iceberg. That being said there should be a healthy balance. It should supplement the single player experience instead of hindering it.

I posted this question on Push Square as well to see what people over there thought as well and some one else said pretty much the same thing you said Ken about trophies. I had the same idea as you too a separate list where the trophies/achievements dont effect one another towards a Platinum or whatever Xbox calls it (I can't remember at this time).

I don't think anyone mentioned this positive aspect to an always online environment when it comes to the Xbox One: Azure implementation providing say Titanfall's creeps, Drivatars, or the excellent looking destruction in the Crackdown comparison vid. I'm not for always online as a standard but if developers can utilize this ace in the sleeve that Microsoft seems fairly confident in, by all means, show me something new. Even at the cost of split-screen or offline play for that particular game.

I don't think it even has a name on Xbox when you get all of the achievements. Which kinda sucks. You should get a "super-achievement" for bagging all the regular ones.

I think I mentioned it, well alluded to these games and benefits without actually mentioning the games by name...

Yeah I couldn't remember cause it has been awhile since I played my 360.

People like the drivatars? That is the one thing I really don't like about Forza. Seems like most AI drives like idiots now.

We've had some fun with them

I meant that I SEE a legitimate reason within just those three examples that Azure could make a difference, and even increase the quality and scope of games on the X1 if it were widely implemented. Crackdown won't run without it, I think that's a great thing.

It's been stated by Respawn that Titanfall would not run in it's current state on a PS4 or X1 offline, so "the cloud" is ONE reason that I think always online is suitable for some games.

It's a double edged sword. I have no problem with online gaming but I feel like it should be a supplement to a strong singleplayer campaign. Now, not everybody feels that way, and that's fine, but to me, stuff like what MS was initially trying to do with check-ins, and having to jump through hoops on these new consoles to play games offline if you can't connect to the internet is ridiculous. It never was this way and never should've been. These DDoS attacks can mess up the experience on both X1 and PS4 even if you never planned to play a game online, so I do feel the consoles themselves are too tethered to connectivity. I think one day we'll have the tech where maybe it's not an issue but right now, we're not close to that.

I think that you need to draw a distinction between 'online' and 'multiplayer'.
Developers are trying to 'enrich your gaming experience' with the online component of a game and to some extent, they are succeeding. The power of cloud computing has hardly been touched and I hope to see lots of gaming improvements coming from it. Drivatar's (love them or hate them, it makes no difference) are just the beginning.

Then there is multiplayer, the bane of many a game. Done well, it is fantastic but really, how many actually succeed? There are only so many ways you can cut a team deathmatch or capture the flag and someone needs to say it, if you can't do it well, don't do it. As to co-op, yup put it in but stop making it almost 'compulsory' unless it actually brings something to the game instead of, as is often the case, detract from it.

I just don't want this stuff to start impeding my enjoyment of a solo experience. I absolutely hated Crackdown 2 because, in addition to just not being very creative, idiots were constantly entering my game and ruining it. By the time I figured out how to fix that issue, it was too late, I had already been pissed off that I couldn't stand to bother with the game anymore. What I like about Forza Horizon 2 is how seamlessly you can transition from solo to group play back to solo.