RE: Why Online Play Will Never Be Local Play (A trip down memory lane)
You're so right, and I honestly felt that with few exceptions (little big planet, towerfall accession) those types of experiences would never come back. I have to say though that the Nintendo Switch has completely brought me back to that time.
For the first time in years an actual activity I can expect to enjoy with other people in the same room as me, is video games. The second Mario Kart dropped I began taking my switch everywhere, playing with everyone.
Drunk at 3am in an Atlantic City Hotel room? Time for Mario Kart! Housewarming Party? Mario Kart!
Then I bought Arms, which has actually become perhaps my favorite split screen experience to date. It has a great playlist system for going online (or offline) with 2 players split screen. My girlfriend and I hop on together and sometimes we get to team up against others and sometimes we gotta fight eachother. My friend got a Switch, brought it over and then all of a sudden we had 4 friends in the same room all in the same Arms online playlist just running havoc.
With Splatoon and Smash in the future, I'm finally optimistic about social gaming experiences again.
Little Big Planet multi-player is amazing. That was one of our more recent favorites. Playing the user made survival levels is crazy fun. We got so into it, and we were yelling so loud that other people in the house had to come tell us to shut up. lol (We were typically pretty quiet.) I'm still waiting for more games to be announced on the Switch before I get it, but I'm still optimistic. My biggest multi-player right now is Monster Hunter on 3DS. Probably the best multi-player experience on the system if you like RPGs.
I do have a 3ds and an appreciation for rpgs, will have to check the title out. Little Big Planet 1 and 2 have so many wonderful memories wrapped up in them. My friend and I used to even go into the creator mode together and create 2 separate death trap vehicles and then pit them against eachother...
A game you really owe it to yourself to check out in terms of couch play is Lovers In Dangerous Spacetime.
I'd never heard of it, but it was free on the ps4 last month and it has CHANGED THE GAME for me.
That game looks pretty sweet! I'd totally play that, but we don't currently have a PS4. Boyfriend really wants one though so, we'll probably end up picking one up in the near future. There's a couple titles I want for it as well, and I'll add this to the list too.
I am glad to hear about monster hunter @michellerhey its a game I have always had interest in.
@drwatson I always found nintendo were the masters at bringing people together with games which is why I have always supported them.