4 Popular Game Series We Think Need Split-Screen Play

By Kevin Lewis On Mar 3, 2016

The age of on the couch split-screen/shared screen gaming seems nearly over as major studios are building bigger online-only games, which certainly has its advantages, but for many gamers, hardcore and casual alike, the option to play old-school style on the same screen is one many wish were more available.

So what is split-screen/shared screen play? If you’re not a gamer, or even if you are and haven’t heard the term, split-screen is exactly as it sounds, the screen is divided into two or more sections where players play as normal but in a smaller space. Depending on the game, players interact and either compete or work together. Shared screen is when two or more players share the same game space at the same time.

Split-screen has been around for decades, but was dominant in the 90s as shooters came into prominence. Titles like Rare’s Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64 led to even bigger hits at the turn of the century with the introduction of the Halo series. Sitting in the same room and playing together instead of watching and waiting for your turn became the new best thing ever. Online play was a natural extension and there can be no denying how much it changed the way gaming is done, connecting fans from all over the world. But, the dramatic reduction in titles offering an offline multiplayer experience has may gamers frustrated. Seriously. Have you ever invited people over to play games, only to have to play racing or fighting or sports games? What if you’re not into those titles? People are now buying games they don’t necessarily like just to be able to play on the couch with a friend. That has to change. Developers, pay attention. Here are four ideas for great games with a split-screen/shared screen option:

SKATE 4: ULTIMATE

Skate 2 had couch co-op (splitscreen). Skate 3, while an AWESOME game, was made horrible in the aspect that ALL co-op had to be done ONLINE. So, introduce Skate 4: Ultimate Skating. Here, you get all the cool moves and modes of Skate 3, plus new and improved ones (someone think of something, we can’t think of EVERYTHING), PLUS you can do it all in either single player OR split-screen. Ollies!

TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: DUALITY

Splinter Cell: Blacklist (Ubisoft Toronto)

Yes, we know that both Conviction and Blacklist in this series had some co-op split-screen play, though Conviction was only a side campaign and Blacklist was fun but not what we are after. We want a full-fledge co-op story. In this one, we would shy away from the original main character in a sense, and focus on an elite team created by Sam Fisher to take his position (Sam’s getting old, even in the series). The game would still deal in stealth, and would require a headset to receive communications (which would NOT play through the television). Each player would receive their own instructions, which also leaves open the option for inception, because one player’s communication could be that the other player is a mole, and the instructions could be to take him out in a specific fashion. Do you follow the order, or do you inform your partner? That would be a great concept.

BATMAN: GOTHAM MULTIVERSE

Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios)

Yes, Batman is notoriously a solo kind of superhero (in video games especially). But what if a cataclysmic event or a mad scientist toying with the space-time continuum changed all that? Both players could be a different incarnation of Batman from different dimensions or universal timelines, OR just from different story arcs that include Batman. This would also open up the Villain characters as good guys because of the ever so backward Bizarro characters, where personal favorites like Harley Quinn could be used to fight alongside Batman, or even Nightwing. Imagine the possibilities for storylines and character pairings (and toys).

STAR WARS: THE GRAY FORCE

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts)

This would be an AWESOME split-screen option. EVERYONE, at some point in their lives, has wanted to be a Jedi. This game would introduce the ‘Grey Side’ of the Force, where not only can players get their wish to be a Jedi, but the game could work in a fashion similar to Skyrim in which a player’s allegiance and actions determine how the game is revealed. So, one player could ally with the Light, while the other allied with the Dark, and so they could never be in the same area without either having to fight each other or help each other out of challenging situations. The premise for this one is the Grey Jedi trying to combine the total force of the galaxy (Jedi, Sith, Rebels, Empire and all aliens races) to fight an even bigger, more destructive force from a sister galaxy. And then would come the movies.

So many currently or soon-to-be released games have great potential and their sales would surely INCREASE with a split-screen/shared screen play option: FarCry: Primal, Tom Clancy’s The Division, even Halo 5 are just a few. All of those could and would have benefited from split-screen co-op play.

What do you think? Are you are fan of on the couch play with friends? What are some titles that you’ve played that would be better with split-screen? Let us know in the comments below.