I gotta admit, I'm surprised to. I thought I would be one of the only ones who thought it wouldn't be that important. I guess people are just very vocal about it so it seemed to me that's what most everyone else liked. Video games are an outlet, a way to relax, and I don't do that as well with other people at my ears, espeically competitive, no matter how well I know the person.

EDIT: I also highly appreciate the artistic aspect of most of the games I play, and you don't really need to be online with other people to enjoy that. I'm worried how all the companies trying to add online components is going to detract from that.

 

It used to be important to me, but not much anymore. I used to play a lot of FPS and RTS games online and it was a blast. But something curious happened as the ages of people online slow went from college age + to now having mostly younger kids online. And that dynamic changes things a lot.

The first time I noticed this being a problem was when I tried playing hybrid Halo matches. I couldn't find ANYONE on ANY SERVER (well thats too harsh, but maybe 1:100) where the other players would actually use team work in team based matches. I gave up on Halo because of that. I tried ETW and ETQ and ran into the same problem. Long gone were the days of connecting to a strange server and have some stranger use tactics in those games and help you out.

Even playing on PSN wasn't all that great either. It was only fun if you were only there to wreak havoc because every game seemed to be filled with a bunch of players that would just do whatever no matter what the game type was set to. Prime example of this is doing races in GTA IV and someone ALWAYS decided to build roadblocks and shoot rockets at you instead of racing.

Now I suppose part of it was that I wasn't in clans anymore, so I didn't have the unbeatable MOHAA sniper team ability anymore.

The only thing I'd play now is Quake 3 (when I fix my router) and will likely play Diablo III online. The whole environment has changed around me and it just isn't fun anymore.

 

Absolute non issue for me. But that's more to do with my gaming habits than anything else.

Y'see, I play games to loose myself in another world, another life than this one. I love games that immerse me, games with atmosphere (to the point where if a mediocre game is atmospheric enough, I'll play it over the latest multi-million selling technical superachievement). Having some dude chatting to me whilst I'm doing that is just annoying. I don't play games competatively (I rarely even put games on a hard setting) simply because I don't enjoy it. The best times I've had in games are the times I've been immersed enough in a game world that I wandered off and made my own fun (recently going hunting for a lark in RDR, or on Timesplitters, where I'd craft my own stories and gun battles with the very editable matchmaker and bots - although, admitedly this is less immersion, more a really well designed sandbox for games). To suddenly go off and try to compete in something, or waste my time talking to someone, is totally alien to me. It's like some old folks have 'smoking time' where they basically sit in a chair for an hour and smoke a pipe, and god help you if you disturb them.

I fully expect absolutely no one to understand my attitude towards things.   Ah, the joys of a one track mind.   I only use the online side of things to update patches, and occasionally DLC when it's not a rip off. So that's... what... twice that I can remember?  

 

I have to say I'm very surprised by the results so far.
That and the fact that I was one of two people to vote right in the middle. lol

 

I'm not. Seems just about right, though I expect more people to be absolute on the online side. I think a lot of gamers still appreciate a well-made single player game that is supported by a strong online presence, but most older gamers appreciate the former moreso. I never left the 80's and 90's. I love playing with friends, but I play with them in real life, and enjoy my escape with a good story-driven game on my own.

Creaky sounds exactly like me. I'd rather discuss Mass Effect with friends over a beer, than shoot them in the deathmatch mode, because Bioware had to put one in to appease fans of a totally different genre.

 

I never play online.

 

I'm with you and Creaky.

 

#brofist @ Liege Prime and Prowl.

 

I can see that lots of people love online multiplayer and stuff - I'm glad it's starting to be seen as a excellent venue for gaming, but so long as there are still people who focus on SP. I'd rather have two games, one with really solid sp and no mp and one with really solid mp and no sp than a single game with two mediocre gameplay modes. Because then no one wins. I prefer it when everyone wins (that's the non-competative side of me coming out again  ).

 

Somewhat important. I grew up with consoles like the Sega Genesis and PS1, so I know how to enjoy offline gaming. But I also like to show off my skills from time to time. And some of my friends (including a couple people on here) don't live close enough to come over and play split screen or something. So, yeah. It is important to me in some aspects. But am I one of those fake gamers that only plays COD and Halo with complete strangers 24/7? No.

 

That's exactly the kind of thing that I find the biggest negative of online gaming these days. It seems that many games get some crap tacked on that has no business being a part of it just because of multiplayer game mode popularity.

 

I'd say yes, it's important, considering the online multiplayer is most of what you're paying for in a PS3/360 game nowadays.

For the most part, though, it depends on the game. If it's something like Call of Duty, where you only have two choices (Campaign or Multiplayer), then yeah, I'd want to get my money's worth out of the game. Plus, it's always more fun to play with real people than the CP. If it's a sports game, I could care less about MP, as there's enough enjoyment out of the single player options.

 

Exactly exactly. Anything that a company puts in a game takes time and development and resources. There are some games that have a good balance, but for the most part I would rather there be a focus one way or the other to have the best of either world. Also that way I wouldn't be buying a game at full price where I end up only utilzing 40% of the content.

 

I should add that I still love huge single player games. Loved the single play campaign in Portal 2. Really looking forward to Elder Scrolls V and L.A. Noire. Love the Mass Effect series.

But I love chatting with people online, mostly because the majority of my friends these days have moved away or have started families and just aren't around much. I've got my wife and a child on the way, but I still need interaction with other people, and XBL has been a great way for me to do that. Personally though, competetive multiplayer isn't terribly important to me, but co-op is. I'd much rather have a buddy to watch my back and help me work things out against AI then deal with fighting against obnoxious twats who still exist in the real world.

 

You just summed up why online is something I really like, but not the end-all, be-all.

 

I'm the same. I'll play to explore the virtual world, to satisfy my curiosity, and for relaxation. I can appreciate good design, well-crafted story, and stimulating environments. But I really don't want to have to be trying too hard to get through that.

I prefer to save that competitive energy for more important aspects of life.

 

somewhat important I have played online games and by in large they were more frustration than fun,often thanks to douches making a sport of hunting new players.

I am old school offline gaming is fine by me.

 

I generally don't have the time for online games. I play either short bursts, or occasionally an afternoon, if it's real good. Only time I ever played online seriously was War for Cybertron, mostly for giggles, leading to the immortal line:

"Err, Scourge_151? Me and Sol are kinda dead over here if you could come along and save us"

 

Buy me a diamond ring and let's get this wedding planned.

Lemme clear up some stuff:

Just cause I think online is important doesn't mean I think it should be tacked on to everything. I'd rather take a game with a fantastic single player mode over a game with an okay single player mode and mediocre multiplayer. There are a number of games that do both right, but there are more that do it wrong.

Also, during our Halo Saturdays we'd sometimes end up fighting against each other online. That doesn't really ruin everything. Whether we're playing together or against one another we still had a damn good time.

 

That's another thing, my schedule is sporadic and I work long hours. I tried playing a couple games online with some friends in the co-op modes since they didn't support local co-op, but after so long I just told them to play without me. On top of that, when FF11 came out about 8 years ago, I actually tried to play that (it was a FF game, so I felt obligated since it still meant a lot in 2003), but of course, you can't do much of anything without a consistant party of 6, and after a week of me not playing, everyone I knew leveled a little too high for me to actually go out and fight with them.

 

It's somewhat important. I play COD online with my brother and sister and WFC with other people from here. But as an old school gamer, PSN being down doesn't bother me too much. I'm used to offline gaming.