A viral video makes people believe that video games were better before. But is this really the case? | Xbox

It is undeniable that for many years now, online video game games and voice chat have largely replaced split-screen sessions, accompanied by pizza and chips. A viral ad shared recently on Twitter and viewed more than 9 million times attempted to illustrate this point, but ultimately, was the way of playing really better before?

Halo, a sofa and friends

We often hear that video games were better before, in particular because production times were much shorter than today, or because microtransactions were not omnipresent. Here, we are not going to look at this question, but rather at how to play with your friends, which is what the video seems to point out.

This ad perfectly illustrates the type of gaming sessions between friends that were much more common until the late 2000s. Here we see a group of friends taking advantage of the split-screen features of Halo 3 on Xbox 360 to spend a Have a good evening. A contrast is then made with the new way of consuming video games today, that is to say alone and with a headset to chat in voice chat.

The tone of the ad clearly suggests that things were better before and that the player is now isolated, but is that really the case?

It's never been easier to play with friends and family

Since the previous generation of consoles, cross-play has spread across a large number of games, breaking multiplayer barriers and giving players the ability to play and communicate with their friends, regardless of the platform they are on are playing.

In addition, the democratization of Discord and its integration on PlayStation and Xbox has also contributed to the rapprochement of several communities that were previously separated. Today, a group of friends can simply purchase the same game on different platforms and join together on Discord to share a moment, wherever they are in the world.

Also, the gradual disappearance of exclusives obviously helps to bring together players from different platforms. Whether it's Sony with the simultaneous release of Helldivers 2 on Steam and PlayStation 5, or Microsoft with the recent arrival of Grounded and the upcoming Sea of ​​Thieves on other platforms, it has never been easier to play with his friends and family.

Obviously, it doesn't have the same flavor as welcoming your friends home on your couch, but the tone of such a video neglects these elements which clearly contribute to making the way of playing online better than before, but above all more accessible and without borders.

Multiplayer and local co-op still exist

Basically, have gaming sessions with several people on the same couch really disappeared? Clearly not. Otherwise, how can we explain the success of games like Overcooked, which, a bit like Mario Kart, made it possible to hate people we are used to loving.

Speaking of Mario, the Nintendo Switch is today the console we quickly think of for livening up evenings with party games or accessible games. Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Strikers: Battle League, Mario Party Superstars, Gang Beasts, etc., there is no shortage of examples!

In reality, confining these gaming sessions solely to Nintendo wouldn't be entirely fair. Even today, other games make cooperative play or local multiplayer possible.

For example, in Xbox Game Pass alone, nearly 80 games offer the possibility of playing with at least two players on a single screen. Note also that the example of Halo is rather poorly chosen in the ad since it is now possible to play Halo 3 Xbox Series split screen, at least multiplayer.

So yes, it is true that in general, players are less likely to gather to play together, but we should not neglect the fact that it has never been easier to play with friends and family. , although it is at a distance.