• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

Lack of online couch multiplayer on Switch

FreddeGredde

FreddeGredde

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,905
There was a time when I could hang out with a friend/partner, turn on the Wii (of all things!) and play online with my brother and his friend/partner. Four people playing together on two consoles, voice call on Skype or messenger. It might only have been Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii, but I have extremely fond memories of these nights.

Fast-forward 10-13 years, and my brother has gotten a Switch, and we want to play together like we used to.

Except the games we're excited about don't even support this! Super Smash Bros. Ultimate only allows one player per console, and now that Mario Maker 2 finally lets you play online with friends, it doesn't let a second player join in either.

The only game that has come close is Duck Game, where the host console can have 2 players, but the person joining cannot. So we have to be 3 players only and take turns.

Anyone else have the same problem, or are we really the only ones who'd enjoy this?

And could you recommend fun games that DO support 2-players-per-console online multiplayer?
 
Lumination

Lumination

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,483
Mario Tennis Aces is my go-to couch online multiplayer game. Doubles is a tooon of fun with someone next to you.
 
RKasa

RKasa

Member
Jul 28, 2019
680
New Jersey
Haven't played the Switch port (yet), but Diablo III is a blast as far as couch co-op goes, and it seems like you can do that + online.
 
Robin64

Robin64

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,625
England
Yep, I play three player Diablo III with a pal and his wife playing on the same console, and it's an absolute blast.
 
MP!

MP!

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,198
Las Vegas
I never understood why this is such a hard concept for Nintendo to grasp... I want to play online. With my friends. Sometimes in the same room.
 
Error 52

Error 52

Banned
Nov 1, 2017
2,032
The thing with SMM2 is that a lot of the fundamental rules in multiplayer (like how power-ups come out of question blocks) change depending on if it's local or online.
 
Piccoro

Piccoro

Member
Nov 20, 2017
7,099
I don't own Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, just the Wii U one, but doesn't DX have the 2 player local online, like MK Wii?
 
Jaded Alyx

Jaded Alyx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
35,378
Stopdoor

Stopdoor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,778
Toronto
Pretty sure this was super rare on the Wii as well, only Mario Kart and maybe Smash Bros.? Mario Kart 8 definitely supports it so it's only on Smash for changing things up.

Though, good news, it seems Luigi's Mansion 3 is going to have a mega cool wireless multiplayer mode for 8 people, 2 across 4 consoles (ie. 4 Luigi's and 4 Gooigi's), which fits your bill exactly. I'm hyped.
 
RadicalDreamer

RadicalDreamer

Member
Jan 20, 2019
260
Piccoro said:
I don't own Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, just the Wii U one, but doesn't DX have the 2 player local online, like MK Wii?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yup! It is a great game to play with a local friend online via split-screen...as long as your screen is large enough :) I've tried playing tabletop mode with someone else, and it's pretty rough for my eyes.

Same with Mario Tennis, it's another well-implemented co-op game that can be played online with only one system.

But I understand the topic. I wouldn't call it a total fail, but it would be nice to see more first-party games that allow another player to join in online gameplay.
 
Prattle

Prattle

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
995
It's shocking that Mario 3D World isn't ported.

It's the perfect showcase of the Switches multiplayer chops.

Tabletop mode would work perfectly.
 
Piccoro

Piccoro

Member
Nov 20, 2017
7,099
RadicalDreamer said:
Yup! It is a great game to play with a local friend online via split-screen...as long as your screen is large enough :) I've tried playing tabletop mode with someone else, and it's pretty rough for my eyes.

Same with Mario Tennis, it's another well-implemented co-op game that can be played online with only one system.

But I understand the topic. I wouldn't call it a total fail, but it would be nice to see more first-party games that allow another player to join in online gameplay.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
So MK8 does support it. Same as Mario Tennis and Smash Ultimate (albeit limited).
OP was complaining but only two games supported this on the Wii.
 
RadicalDreamer

RadicalDreamer

Member
Jan 20, 2019
260
Piccoro said:
OP was complaining but only two games supported this on the Wii.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
In that regard, we have not come that far (at least with first-party titles). But as has been pointed out, there are other games like Diablo 3 and Trailblazers that do support these play modes, and I'm sure there are plenty of other smaller titles that do as well (I mean, have you looked at how loaded with games the eShop is? So many games!).

I think that the level of connectivity most of us enjoy has probably made local co-op online elements less of a priority for developers, all the same. And let's remember Nintendo's goal of putting as many Switch units into hands as is possible! Allowing people to play together (online) on one system isn't very congruent to that sort of ideal, right?
 
Mr. Blue Sky

Mr. Blue Sky

Member
Oct 25, 2017
366
Stopdoor said:
Pretty sure this was super rare on the Wii as well, only Mario Kart and maybe Smash Bros.? Mario Kart 8 definitely supports it so it's only on Smash for changing things up.

Though, good news, it seems Luigi's Mansion 3 is going to have a mega cool wireless multiplayer mode for 8 people, 2 across 4 consoles (ie. 4 Luigi's and 4 Gooigi's), which fits your bill exactly. I'm hyped.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Has it been confirmed that it's an online mode with a local player enabled? I still got worries it's either going to still be one player per console or only an option for local wireless and not online, or with friends.
 
Stopdoor

Stopdoor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,778
Toronto
Mr. Blue Sky said:
Has it been confirmed that it's an online mode with a local player enabled? I still got worries it's either going to still be one player per console or only an option for local wireless and not online, or with friends.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


This page says 8-player across 4 consoles, and the whole Luigi and Gooigi conceit makes it seem clear it's 2 players per console. Hard to say if they'll let you organize with non-randoms online, but Next Level Games have had some really fleshed out online/wireless multiplayer modes in Dark Moon and Federation Force so I'm much more confident than usual.
 
Nacho

Nacho

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,115
NYC
Yeah, this is an industry wide problem more than just switch.

A workaround may be, if you're digital and not physical, you install the games on his console using your profile, and you should be able to both play the same game at the same time just not on the same profile.
 
blueredandgold

blueredandgold

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,637
Does Mario Tennis split the screen when four people are playing?

Having a good time with Diablo 3 myself but struggling to think else would be good fits for the combined method. Shooters, I get it. Rocket League, no question. So most racers/sports titles that don't already have the functionality.

The four player local stuff (Mario, Castle Crashers, scrolling fighters etc) are great because they've catered to that strength. It's be nice for online assist there, but to me it sounds counter-intuitive. It's hard to put into words. Profiles on consoles as previously mentioned sometimes are a pain too.
 
SapientWolf

SapientWolf

Member
Nov 6, 2017
6,565
The upcoming Killer Queen Black supports couch vs couch online multiplayer. The only rule is that everyone on the same screen has to be on the same team.
 
Polioliolio

Polioliolio

Member
Nov 6, 2017
5,397
I'll never forget how disappointed I was when at a school gaming event, my friend and I hooked up both our ps2s to tvs next to each other, put in our two resident evil outbreaks, and then connected them with two network adapters and the proper cable, and we weren't able to play together. We'd have to both be on the internet and even then the game only plays you with randoms. I was shocked.

I miss the LAN future it seemed like we almost stumbled into.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.