Split-screen... Is it worthwhile?

Remember yesteryear, when a night of gaming meant eight freinds in a dark basement yelling profanities at each others mothers? How about LAN parties at the your rich friends house, remember those?

Zambies!!!!

The answer for most gamers is a resounding yes. It is because of this fact that I pose yet another question. Why then in this era of onile multiplayer has the industry abandoned splitscreen. The majority of multiplayer games now require each person to have their own console, disc, and gamertag in order to play one another.

worst split screen ever.

Don't get me wrong, I love being able to play online with my friends any time regardless of where they might be. The real issue I have is, what happens when we all get together at one home for some game mania? Are we expected to lug around tv's, a console, games, and controllers every time we get together?

The answer: no. This is a misconception that the industry has. They believe that if we are forced to by our own copy of said game in order to play with friends it will rake in more money. What they don't realize is that this actually limits their audience and can often discourage people from buying the game in question.

How so? Consider this, would you rather A: sit and watch others play, or B: join in and play with them? Any sane person would go with option B.

Making players "sit and watch" is punishment if not pure torture. This turns the prospective buyer off because they arn't allowed instant access. It also makes said game the last choice for a party, ensuring that no one who comes to your house will get to experience it.

On the flipside if four friends can all play at once this is a "reward" or positive. If you want to go one step further there should be play online fourplayer split-screen. This method ensures that your game not only receives the target audience, but also their friends as well.

Mongoose mania

Split-screen online co-op is the method bungie has chosen and is one of the reasons they have been so successful. Bungie has created a way for players to experience a full Game demo by simply having fun at their buds house.

So why then does the industry as a whole adopt the one player per disc option? Well, companies don't want to spend the extra time it takes to make a game split-screen compatible; it's much easier to just have an online option. There isn't enough space for co-op. They think more sales will result in forcing everyone to buy a copy.

Whatever the reason may be it hurts both the industry and the consumer. They say online gaming is bringing us together by keeping us in our own basements cursing into a headset. Surely this would not be the case. Wait, it is if you play CoD or Bad Company 2.

So I ask of you game developers to make split-screen options for your games. This will bring us the players together (face to face), act as it's own marketing device, expand the target audience, and create a positive feeling towards your game.