I have to disagree because of overwhelming evidence:
Crystal Dynamics even said they decided integrate an Online Mode into Tomb Raider (For Xbox360 and PS3) but the game had primary focus on single player only. One of the two main reasons they wanted to add an Online mode was due to the HIGH re-sell percentages for Single Player Only games, such as DMC, Dead Pool, Lost Planet 3, and many others.
They realized most gamers play a single player game, completely beat it within a week, turn around and re-sell it to the store and buy a new game. But if they have online modes, people actually play the game longer, invest time into online accomplishments, and overall the re-sell rate is lower. Call of Duty's may be high ONLY because the statistic is biased because like 17 million people buy each CoD game, so of course there will by default be a high re-sell number compared to smaller selling titles.
There are barely any clones, maybe out of a 45+ character roster, 5 will be similar clones of each other. SC5 has like 3 Mokujin characters, out of a 25+ roster. SC1's original roster only had less than 15 characters.
So basically you think interacting with other players across the globe in a 1v1 fighting game isn't an asset over a game where you can't? Lol... Games like Tekken, BlazBlue, Killer Instinct, and others actually have amazing netcodes, they play online just like they do offline.
Honestly, if a player takes their game TOO seriously that a little online lag makes them never player online, then they're too competitive for their own good. =P
1) none of those single player games you listed are spectacular. a solid single player game will not get re-sold because it will have enough content and replay value to make it last a long time. look at for example, skyrim, or dragons dogma.
the problem with modern games is that you CAN beat them in a week. a good solid game should have at least a months worth of content for hardcore gamers to complete, or for an action game, 2-3 weeks + good replay value.
and call of duty resale value is also high because a) it has essentially zero singleplayer content, and b) there is no point for people who actually take call of duty seriously to stick with the older games. of course, there is no reason to buy whatever the new call of duty is, because the game is so damn recycled, it is exactly the same as the previous installment, with all the same problems.
a) there are still clones, and b) tekken surely isnt my idea of a balanced game - at least the way it is right now it isnt. c) the number of characters doesnt at all make a fighting game good - what makes a fighting game good is how a combination of how balanced it is, and how fulfilling it is during competition. lacking bugs and glitches helps alot too. besides if i wanted to play a 2D fighter with 3D graphics, i might as well pick up the latest generic street fighter 4 title, since that will always pretty much be the biggest game out there.
and no i dont think fighting people across the globe is an asset especially in the context of fighting games. if anything else i think it hurts the community by attracting the wrong kind of people to it. also NO GAME plays the same online as it does offline. there will always be 5 frames MINIMUM of lag no matter what. even in a SCV 5 bar this can mean the difference between dropping a 1 frame punisher, or blocking a borderline unseeable low, or even hitting a grapple break window, a just frame, or a 1frame link combo. you must have no idea how huge the difference is if you are willing to make such a bold statement. its a completely different game on there. you played SCIV - certainly you still remember what lag tactics are? they are still a factor in SCV, they just arent as obvious or severe as they were in SCIV. and these same things also apply to Tekken and Blazblue just the same.
if you're taking a game seriously in terms of competitiveness, then fuck yea offline is the only way to go because it doesnt put up artificial skill barriers in terms of latency - offline is the option that is true to the way the game was designed, and is honest to the players who participate in it. better yet fighting games are competitive by nature - if you dont wanna play competitively, then you want to find a different genre to play, because competition and challenge is all a fighting game can offer you. but if you just wanna feed your ego and be an online casual, you got no place talking down to others who actually have made a serious commitment to go offline making a competitive commitment to bettering themselves and learning more about the game. And, unlike online calibur players, alot of them actually have tried to make a contribution to this community, instead of arguing about who's sausage is bigger.
