DNF: Why This Geezer Plays Offline

[DaveDQ]

You make a good point about how it's not just "cheesers" but also the guys that have a hard time losing. That's the root of it all (when it comes to exploits and quitting). Most of the participants are highly immature and can not properly deal with losing.

I think though that a strong case can be made for getting together with friends across the country and just having a good time with a preferred game. From when the Dreamcast introduced online console gaming, I have about 5 guys that I routinely game with online. There's something to be said for that.

[BigSho31]

I 100% agree with everything in this article. I'm a 30 year old husband, father of a two year old, with a professional career. I remember when I was in high school, all we ever did was play madden, ncaa (basketball and football), and mortal kombat like it was our job. I then went to college and i dominated madden and ncaa. I remember buying all the preseason college magazines and taking a week or so to name all the players. Then online came about and you could either get a memory card that somebody else did and then all you had to do was download it from someone else. That is the ONLY way I use online gaming. I don't have time in my life to invest in an online gaming culture that's so far beyond what I'm trying to do which is sit down, relax, NOT HAVE TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW, and play for an hour or so. I've tried online dynasty for the last couple years and I've yet to play a game where it doesn't have significant lag.

For those of us with new priorities and responsibilities, online gaming is just not an option.

[forensicd]

the only game I play online is FIFA, and it is perfect for online. We have a club of 5-6 players that play every night, and theres just something about playing soccer against other teams that just feels right. I dont thinkn there is another sports game that you could do this with. NHL is fun with others, but gets a little too chaotic.

[jenglund]

I agree completely as well. The one aspect I love about online is being able to store my dynasty information on a site, and easily upload highlights and stats. NCAA football did that really well, and allowed me to have my own online dynasty. I wish MLB The Show and NBA 2K would add this to the feature set. But I have no interest in playing people online; I just love the offline RPG-like aspects of offline sports gaming.

[JMP]

This is a very nice piece. I think the romance of online gaming is built on an ideal of connectivity that either isn't attainable or isn't sustainable.

In addition to the issues of intimacy and community, there's the real practical issue of functionality. Online modes often don't have as robust or as polished a set of features as their offline counterparts, and this makes the online experience much less compelling than it could or should be.

I may write a companion piece to this one ... great topic and well said!

[superbus]

It's like I always say: never play against someone you can't punch in the face.

[xITSxDAWKINSx]

i love playing online for the competition. theres only so much a "cpu" can do. saying that i only use my mic with poeple that i know. i will join parties and lobbies but i dont care for them.

[Craigsca]

Quote: Originally Posted by DaveDQ

You make a good point about how it's not just "cheesers" but also the guys that have a hard time losing. That's the root of it all (when it comes to exploits and quitting). Most of the participants are highly immature and can not properly deal with losing. I think though that a strong case can be made for getting together with friends across the country and just having a good time with a preferred game. From when the Dreamcast introduced online console gaming, I have about 5 guys that I routinely game with online. There's something to be said for that.

Ironic, considering the way the Lakers lost so graciously to the Mavericks a couple days ago.

[nolan273]

Like the OP, I rarely ever play online. Nor am I a big social media guy. All the people that I want to talk to, I have their telephone numbers, and I know where they live. Whenever I do play online, it's usually against my brother. I do have several friends on PSN that I play against once in a while and real friends who come over regularly, so I wouldn't say that I'm a complete gaming isolationist, but I have very little interest in listening to strangers curse and spew slurs during my gaming episodes.

The joy of gaming for me is that it's my escape. I play games to 'get away' for a little while. Being married with two active kids leaves little time for genuine relaxation, so gaming provides me the "me-time" that everybody needs and deserves.

[MINATAURO]

Agreed, as I'm a new father of a 3 month old baby my gaming habits have changed quit a bit as of late. Although I have been in online leagues before you just need to find the right group of friends. I've always played offline for the most part though.