Tekken

WHO Bans Local Multiplayer Banned

Multiplayer is a beloved element in video games. The removal of local multiplayer from all upcoming games is a controversial, yet necessary decision. New World Health Organization guidelines include video games into social distancing rules. Therefore, the WHO has banned all developers, worldwide, from including local multiplayer in their video games. Since it has been a staple for so long, video games must evolve.

The Future of Gaming

Since party games have been a fan favorite for decades, these games will be missed most. Some examples include Mario Party, Super Smash Brothers, Jack Box Party Pack, Overcooked, the list goes on. Especially for video game giant Nintendo, their games will need major overhauls. The New Super Mario Bros series, known for multiplayer side-scrolling platforming, must now be solely single-player. In addition, Super Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, and Mario Party are only allowed to have online play. Even Nintendo’s sequels to popular single-player games had multiplayer additions. Luigi’s Mansion and Pikmin must remove all local multiplayer functionality.

In recent years, local multiplayer has surged with indie games. Jackbox, Gangbeasts, Overcooked, and Cuphead are some examples of indie games that succeeded because of their local multiplayer. With social distancing rules, these games are a thing of the past. Indie games must evolve to abide by these new guidelines.

Fighting games will never be the same. Street Fighter, Tekken, and Mortal Kombat can only have online multiplayer. This is the trend of move game genres anyway, but it seems like it will have a negative impact on the fighting genre in particular. With online multiplayer becoming the new norm, it’s suspected all games will create “battle royale” modes to keep the younger audience engaged. A 100 player free for all in Street Fighter sounds pretty unbearable, but we’ll find out.