AnarchistSpaceDad on Nostr: Until the kids started using the Xbox again I had no idea how many games these days ...

Until the kids started using the Xbox again I had no idea how many games these days are networked and "multiplayer" except that the presence of other players seems to add very little value to the game, because even though the game might show them, you don't actually interact with them in any way. The networked nature of the game doesn't change the gameplay at all except for leaderboards or whatever. It's like in The Sims where other Sims from the same install (perhaps belonging to other players) would occasionally interact with yours.

Kids who grow up loving these games aren't going to be able to play them later, because many of them won't work at all when they're not networked even though being networked didn't really matter to the game, all in the name of "engagement" or encouraging in-game purchases or whatever. And that's before even considering DRM.