RANT #7

Couch Co-op! Can we have it back now, please?

It's time enough for the big game studios, developers and publishers to get it together and bring back Couch Co-op games. Co-op games can be simply defined as: games where 2 or more players work together. (THIS explains it in more detail) Couch Co-op would then encompass the playing of a co-op game on the same screen and by extension, sitting on the same couch. (Hence the name).

These games are littered throughout my memories and recollections of my gamer childhood. Many a weekend were spent together with friends (and sometimes rivals) glued to a TV, controller in hand, barking orders and asking "Yo, wha chupidnis you a do?" (My local dialect for "What nonsense are you doing?"). Some sessions ended in tears, some ended in joy, some ended in frustration, some ended in celebration, some ended when you "bang/read-off the game" (Local dialect for "completing a game"), some ended when you were tired of losing, some ended with "Me an you pan side next time jack cas he cyar play" ("We should team up next time because this guy doesn't know how to play well") and some ended with "Me nar play wid you again nah! You too badminded!" ("We won't be playing together anymore. You're too selfish!") But most often, sessions ended with the group planning the next session.
Couch Co-op gaming was always an affair. Allegiances were made and reneged, rivals were created and defeated, tempers flared and subsided, friendships were tested and proven. The entire spectrum of emotion could be experienced in one sitting, depending on how long that particular sitting lasted.

For me, the 2 things that stood out the most with Couch Co-op were the camaraderie and the rivalry!

The Camaraderie!
I fondly remember, 14 year old me, waking up early on weekends ("Early" being around 7am) to go out with my father. He was a baker and normally delivered freshly baked bread to customers around the village. One of his many customers was a well-to-do guy named Mike. Mike lived in the house on the hill (Both literally and figuratively) and had 2 kids. Most importantly, Mike's kids had an NES! They had a bunch of games too. Super Mario Bros 3, Duck Hunt, Contra, and Battletoads to name a few. My dad would drop me and the bread off and we (The kids and I) would play for hours on end. We would take turns playing a stage and if you died or lost then the other person would get a turn. We each knew our strengths and weaknesses and we wouldn't hesitate to hand the controller to another player in the session and say "Pass dis part yah fu me" ("Do this section for me"). This acknowledging of each other showed that we were a team and that the whole unit was greater than the sum of its parts. We all worked together for the greater good and we shared in the elation of success and the agony of defeat. Dad would make his delivery rounds before picking me up to head home. I can still feel the sadness of leaving my "comrades-in-arms" (The kids, whose names I can't remember) but I relished the thought of seeing them, and the NES, again the following week.
Another one of my fond Couch Co-op memories is of me and my cousin playing Sonic and Streets of Rage on his Sega. Many of the same sentiments are repeated from before i.e. us playing together and having fun as a team when we played. However, even when we played together (as a team of 2) there was more of a competitive edge to it. We would team up to beat up the baddies but we would also play to see who got the furthest in the game or the highest score. Eventually when we both played it enough so that we could beat it. We switched it up to "Let's see if we can beat it in less time. Or in the lowest death toll. Or without getting hit!" The battle for bragging rights started out that way and we made sure to claim those rights when we earned them even as we helped each other out.
"HA HA HAHAHAH HA. You dead pan stage 8? Lemme show you how real man play game!" (HA HA HAHAHAH HA. You died on stage 8? Let me show you how it's done!) This quote was a favourite of mine to use after sitting for 15 minutes in silence, secretly, wishing for my cousin's demise. A second line used would be "EH YOU LUCKY SEE!" (That was pure luck!) after he just made a jump or had dodged a hit that should have killed him. His reply was usually "Wha luck you a talk bout! A skill man skill!" (Luck nothing! It's all skill!) but we both know what really happened. (He died a few months back after a battle with an autoimmune disease. So now, he's setting highscores in heaven) He was my teammate but I didn't want to lose to him. This leads me to my next point.

The Rivalry!
I also (not so) fondly remember taking up the challenge of any one foolish enough to face me, head to head, in combat. (Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Killer Instinct, Top Gear 2, Pokémon, Tetris, You name it) On one occasion, some random dude came up to me while I was in the arcade. "You tink a now me a wait fu see you! Dem say a you hab all de wicked Pokemon an dem. Mek ar we battle nuh? So me cyan bang you!" ("I've been waiting to meet you! I was told you have some strong Pokemon. How about we battle? So I can beat you!") I snickered to myself, thought "Foolish Mortal" and invited him to the nearby bench for a quick match. We both owned a copy of Pokemon Blue and we started the battle on our Game Boy. I easily ran through his first 4 Pokémon with my Alakazam. However, when he brought out his Mewtwo, that was that. He demolished my team of 6 without breaking a sweat. I left feeling a sense of loss and I was determined to make up for this travesty. There was no way I was letting him beat me and get away with it. The rivalry had begun! I went home and started to execute my plan (Operation "Mewtwo-late"). I created a new team and devised 3 strategies (for 3 separate scenarios) that I would use to defeat him. I met him about a week or so later and asked for a rematch. He didn't want to battle but I convinced him. I said, loudly enough for on-lookers to hear, "A fluke de man win by last time and now me come show he up, de man a punk out?" ("Your last win was a fluke and now I'm here to prove it, you don't want to battle?") He wasn't having that so he got his Game Boy and we went at it. It was a long battle but I eventually beat him (I had a Mewtwo of my own now *devious grin*). I will always remember my Pokémon Rival... Gary. I mean Kevin. His name was Kevin. 

Then there are those summers spent with my "God-Siblings turned Cousins" I mentioned in my "Becoming The World Warrior" Post. Goddy Jos' (My God-Mother) house was ALWAYS FULL. There were kids, grand-kids, neighbourhood kids, kids' friends and any other kids who could fit. Like I said FULL. So it was paramount that we find something to do among ourselves other than "run roun, mek naise and mash up de sudden an dem" ("Run amok") [Her words, not mine]. We got our hands on an SNES with Killer Instinct, Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat 3 and Goddy Jos never had to worry about any problems from us after that. She allowed us to use Uncle Ben's (Her husband) TV in the Living Room and we were all set. We started our own little tournaments and had "Winner stays on" Game Nights that turned into a regular attraction. Even the old folks from up the block would come down to see why their grand-kids were always down by Goddy Jos. When they saw it was good, clean fun (with the occasional outburst) they didn't bother to worry anymore. It got to the point where if you couldn't find your kids/grand-kids they were most likely at Goddy Jos' house. (Some kids would even use this as a "Get out of jail free" card. When an irate adult asked "A way you min deh so long? [Where have you been?]", the smart kids would announce [with pride] "Ova by Jos! [I was at Jos' house!". The crisis would be averted and no tears would be shed.)
The better players would play for extended periods while the... not so good players would hand over their controllers after one bout. The rivalry was strong between me and Emil. He played Chun Li and I played Ryu (I still do). He won some, I won more.          
  
Couch Co-op was a BIG thing back in the day. It still exists today but it has been largely taken over by Online Co-op. (I have another rant about everything being online, read it HERE) Online Co-op is where I stay at home (on my couch) and you stay at home (on your couch) and we play together. Separately! (You never looked at it that way did you?) I'll let that sink in for a bit. *pauses for emphasis*
No more sitting in the same room vybing off of each other. No more being able to grab the controller and help each other out. No more handing the controller over if you lose. No more glaring at your opponent. We've been relegated to faceless voices over a headset who play by ourselves, with "friends" (Most likely, random strangers who we are matched up with) and hope that we complete the objective, have a good K/D spread or get through the next stage. 
And don't get me started on the EXCELLENT job the gaming industry has done on boosting sales. All they had to do was convince us that we all need our own screen and BAM. Instant sales. It used to be you would buy a game and 4 people would play it together. Now, each person buys that game and plays together. Separately. (3 additional sales. Achievement Unlocked!)
You know what else is strange about not having Couch Co-op anymore? The fact that we FINALLY have TVs/Monitors perfectly suited to it. We have 60 inch screen with 4K resolution, 2 millisecond input delay and 120 Hertz refresh rate but do we use them to play split screen? Nope!!! (Please don't say "I don't want my opponent to look at my screen". #justgetgood) We all want our own screen and our own system and our own game. So we can play online. Together. Separately!    

"But T.A.G, Online-Play offers the same benefits as Couch Co-op, with the exception of the proximity aspect, and more. It's actually superior since there's also the added benefits of: always being able to find people to play with online AAANNNDDD it's way less taxing on the hardware which provides its own set of advantages. *smug grin"

That's true but I didn't ask you, did I? (How did he get in here? Who keeps letting this guy into my posts? *looks at EvilAngel888... changes password and adds secondary security feature*) Don't get me wrong. I understand the appeal of Online Co-op. I get wanting your own screen. I agree with not having to share with your friends/opponents. But it's just not the same as a Couch Co-op session. Trust me! Just try it and see. What me and my boys do is: pick a day, buy some eats and drinks, take our systems to SSG (preferably after hours or on a day when customers are absent), pay a nominal fee and we all play online together. Together! Arm's length from each other. In the same room. (On separate screens, of course. Sometimes on headsets. Don't Judge us!) 
Of course we, sometimes, have issues where that one guy does some crap and makes it hard for us but we can, in this case, actually help him out (by physically helping him out. Not just telling him what to do and hoping he does it).      

All I'm saying is...
Now is the time for Couch Co-op to be in full swing. There isn't anything keeping us from having that experience again. We have powerful hardware, optimized software, proper screens and ready players!

Couch Co-op!! Make it happen!!!     


Want to see some good Couch Co-op games? Click HERE or HERE. The lists are relatively old though! They were compiled a while back (This alone give credence to the fact that we need NEW Couch-Co op Games) but not much has changed since then. I could add Borderlands 3 but that's it!