It’s a hard life, isn’t it? So many games these days, so little time, and all of them so cheap! When a game like Monaco has a four-player deal going, it’s a great opportunity – but more and more, everyone wants to play different games, and it’s harder to get everyone together.
Back in the day, when there were only a few major options in each genre, it was an easier choice. We’d go to a net cafe, we’d open up Counter-Strike if we wanted FPS action, Starcraft or Warcraft or Age of Empires for RTS, Diablo 2 for some click-em-up…
The actual games will vary from group to group, but it sure was easier to get everyone playing the same game. Nowadays? Suggest the group plays some FPS and one person will want to load up CoD, one person Tribes, one person TF2… One person will probably want a retro romp like UT2K4, and yet another will probably suggest an obscure indie title no one’s heard of. And so on, and so on. It’s hard to even get people to agree on which version of MarioKart they should be playing.
It’s a product of so many games being made these days, there’s always a perfect game for you. If you find, it, great, but chances are your friends won’t find it just as perfect – which leaves only the reliable internet as a source of people to play with.
The only sure way to get it done, as tournament organisers will tell you, is to put money on the table. And even then, there’ll be whingers asking why you’re playing LoL instead of DOTA 2, or the other way ’round, instead of just being happy competitions with money exist.
It’s become a genuine first-world problem of gaming. So how do you guys do it? How do you get your groups of friends all playing the same game? Do you use different techniques with your families, as opposed to your friends?
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27 responses to “Tell Us Dammit: How Do You Get Your Friends To Play The Same Game?”
Announce “we’re gonna play Tetris DS!”
Then everyone plays Tetris DS.
The title of this article sounds like a creepy ‘marketing survey’.
Co-ordination and planning certainly helps, and twitter has been the best solution so far on that. Having a group with a ‘weekly multi session’ around the same day and time has worked well in the past – depending on whether it’s a drop in, drop out sort of game, numbers needed, etc.
Board games make it rather easy.
When people are trapped in my apartment, it’s hard for them to go off and play something different.
Next time I come over I’m bringing my 3DS!
“Hey wanna play game *****?”
“Sure”
Internet randoms FTW!
Trying to get everyone on the same page for Borderlands 2 was a nightmare. We would all have to be available (3 of us) and hope and pray that no one jumped ahead. Trying to co-ordinate this was pretty hard, and now trying to get people into the DLC so far after release is almost impossible. I blame Siegey.
This is the only thing I like about the recent F2P trend. When it’s free to get a game, it’s easy for everyone to agree to at least give it one try.
It’s a lot harder to get everyone online at the same time than it is to get them into the same game.
My solution is to not have friends and just play single player games.
Seriously though, I tend to have friends that have the same interests as me in terms of multi-player so we naturally gravitate towards the same games anyway.
Exactly, who needs friends.
I don’t :'(
The Simpsons has the answer.
I… don’t? I’m the wierdo that doesn’t like competitive multiplayer games. Occasionally played coop with a friend at their request when a new game came out they were interested in, but I prefer solo, for the most part.
Hassle them on facebook until they buy animal crossing, send them a text demanding they visit my town.
… I might’ve done this several times, although I’m fairly ashamed of my shanty town
wait for a steam sale on older games, eg Torchlight 2 only $6 or something crazy
I’ve given up on the direct approach as the games we like are very different. Send them the odd link to an awesome video once and and while showing them what they’re missing. 🙂
Steam gift shaming… if you buy them a copy of the game they “have” to play it with you.
I don’t, none of my mate are into gaming.
On a side note WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH SAINTS ROW 4!!!!!!?!!
Welp, I’m normally the one that has to get prodded into it and my friends usually resort to blackmail because they’re terrible people and it’s a surprisingly good mitivator
“Hey, come play this game with us”
“Eh … maybe another time, I’m kind of busy watching all these things/I’m just lazy and feeling antisocial”
“I see. Say, do you remember that time you got horribly drunk and made this massive ranting argument about how moose are actually just 5 midgets in an elaborate suit?”
“… not entirely”
“Well, I do and I have pictures. Start up the game or everyone gets to see it”
“You win this round, one day I’ll either stop drinking or just take away my keyboard”
Then I proceed to have fun playing games
I play the everloving shit out of it using the Steam overlay. My friends see that I’m ‘always playing that game, what’s it about?’ and then they decide to give it a taste when I say it has me hooked.
Then they get super into it around about the time that I’m getting bored, and I go skip off to play something different, leaving them behind and they wonder why I don’t play with them anymore.
…I am a horrible, horrible person. Which is probably why guilt doesn’t work on me. Or I am horrible BECAUSE guilt doesn’t work. Either way.
Things that work:
– Advertise it in my steam group channel. Preferably with youtube links.
– Do the same on Facebook. TotalBiscuit works, or just official trailers.
– Talk about games months in advance, so people know to look into something. I’m doing it right now with Wildstar, Splinter Cell Blacklist, and Starbound.
– 4-packs on Steam. Best thing ever. PayDay 2 is already sorted.
– Finally, play the game. A lot. On Steam so people can see. Tell them to come and play it with – you. Send them game invites.
– Organise times to play something. After PAX, I had League of Legends codes. Despite having never played it before, I found seven other people I know who were willing to give it a shot or already played, and we did 4v4 last night.
– Ask about games you see your friends playing. Has to be a two-way street.
– Link sales or discounts. People are usually wary of anything $30 or above, but if you can snap it up for $5, most of my friends will give it a crack.
Things that do NOT work:
– Just yelling at people to buy something. You have to actually advertise it to each person individually. Scattershot doesn’t work.
– Referral signups (WoW-style) or beta signup links. Noone likes being used, and noone likes having a ‘chance’ to play something.
– In fact, avoid betas in general. Buggy games give poor impressions.
Play what i want and usually there’s someone out there in the mass network of steam mates who’ll join me.
It does get very hard though! Especially when i don’t have as much time to game as some of my old mates from brissy, and by the time I get into the game they’re already over it and moving on. Happened on WoW, SWTOR, SC2, Diablo III, COH2 (already I know) etc etc. Gives me the shits sometimes!
Me and my mates take a different tack, where we pretty much try to play low-value games and we buy each other the games, I guess like shouting rounds at the pub.
Seems to work, since one of us at a time will decide which game we want to play, then buy it, then someone else does the same.
“EVERYONE PLAY XENOBLADE! PLSPLSPLS”
I’m the sucker that buys it all while the friends mooch! :p Not a problem. I get my monies worth and then some when you can get a few people around for party goodness like Rock Band.
I’ve only found one sure fire way, and although the world has moved on, my friends and I have not.
Alcohol, followed by Guitar Hero/Rock Band. I have spent waaaaay too much on dlc to extend our playlists while drinking.