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Multiplayer ever coming to consoles?

Hello, I’ve been a big fan of the IE games since this sunmer. I picked up the switch version of BG EE with hopes of luring my friends into it. I was wondering because through scouring the internet it says beamdog planned on implimenting multiplayer, if it would be introduced in a later patch?
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  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,752
    I don't have an answer to this, unfortunately.

    We wanted to prioritize making the 1st player experience the best it could be. Exploring multiplayer for the IE games on console is still something we're interested in, but the challenges have been significant.
  • MatrickMatrick Member Posts: 3
    bought a Nintendo Switch just to play this game multiplayer
  • EliJenkinsEliJenkins Member Posts: 3
    Everything I have seen said 6 player co op campaign. This company is going to piss off a lot of people if you do not have multiplayer, and soon.
  • WoodmbryanWoodmbryan Member Posts: 2
    There's no point in keeping this game for the Nintendo switch. I was excited to play with a group of friends. Feeling extremely mislead with the Switch version
  • GaelicVigilGaelicVigil Member Posts: 111
    edited October 2019
    Yep. This is the only reason I bought this for consoles. I have friends who aren't PC gamers and this is the only way I could entice them to play the Baldur's Gate series with me.

    Just purchased last night, how long do I have until I can get a refund? Everywhere I read, console editions were said to include coop multiplayer and cross platform compatibility. I feel misled, to put it lightly.

    You know, I've just about had enough with Beamdog. Multiplayer cross-platform was a major selling point on the PC/Mobile platforms from day one on the adverts, and it took them YEARS to actually get it working right. Your business practice of misleading people has got me absolutely fed up. $50.00 USD for a solo experience of a 20 year old game is an absolute joke.
  • WoodmbryanWoodmbryan Member Posts: 2
    Fans of this series are owed a little more of an explanation other than "challenges have been significant"
  • DoubledimasDoubledimas Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,286
    All the official stores (switch, PS4, Xbox) note that it is single player, not multiplayer as far as I can see.

    @JuliusBorisov NWN:EE explicitly said 'multiplayer' in the promotial messages for the console version. Does that mean that the console version of it also comes without MP?
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,752
    NWN:EE will come with MP. @GaelicVigil You're welcome to decide as you wish. We didn't advertise MP for IE EEs on console. $50 USD is less than BG1+SoD+BG2 cost on GOG/Steam/Beamdog.
  • GaelicVigilGaelicVigil Member Posts: 111
    NWN:EE will come with MP. @GaelicVigil You're welcome to decide as you wish. We didn't advertise MP for IE EEs on console. $50 USD is less than BG1+SoD+BG2 cost on GOG/Steam/Beamdog.

    Oh really? What is this mean then?

    Create a full party of 6 custom player characters and bring them into single player or multiplayer games. Customize your characters with expanded options for hair, skin, and clothing colors, as well as new class kits, voice sets, and portraits.


    https://www.skybound.com/baldurs-gate-baldurs-gate-ii-enhanced-edition
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    edited October 2019
    @GaelicVigil: That's posted on a different company's website--Beamdog does not own Skybound.

    I've never heard of Skybound, but I don't know why that company would promise something for a game that Beamdog is adapting. It's unfortunate that people have been misinformed, but if Skybound is issuing misinformation about a Beamdog project, I think the blame lies with Skybound... though I'm guessing Skybound wasn't intentionally misleading people, and this was a communication error because someone at Skybound didn't realize MP functionality wasn't going to be available for every platform.

    Beamdog doesn't exactly control what other companies say. All they can control is what their own website says.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,752
    A good catch, thanks. We'll pass that to Skybound.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @GaelicVigil: Are there any other places saying the Switch will have MP functionality? Because if lots of people think Beamdog is planning something that's not actually in the works, that sounds like a serious issue. You can't have other companies telling promises to customers that you're expected to fulfill.
  • GaelicVigilGaelicVigil Member Posts: 111
    A good catch, thanks. We'll pass that to Skybound.

    No problem. I'll be passing it along to the FTC for false advertising.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,752
    Our team now has added the following note to our sites:

    Note: Multiplayer mode is not available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    A good catch, thanks. We'll pass that to Skybound.
    No problem. I'll be passing it along to the FTC for false advertising.
    I do think this was an honest mistake by Skybound. It's not surprising someone at Skybound would assume that MP would be in the console versions. Hopefully they'll correct the message before too many people get the wrong idea.
  • Norman_the_BiterNorman_the_Biter Member Posts: 4
    Hello,

    I just wanted to re-comment on this page, because truthfully I had no clue that this many people would've responded so quickly.

    @JuliusBorisov is correct, nowhere had they promised multiplayer at launch, and for the most part, I'd agree it is not entirely Beamdog's fault for the misled consumers.

    But,

    I feel like when someone opens the console store, sees "single-player" and their first reaction isn't "oh it's single-player", but rather "wait so is this game single-player" in a state of consumer confusion: that is kind of a problem.

    It is also a significantly larger problem when that consumer has to scour the internet for this information (which they should never have to do in the first place, for such basic information), and they returned MORE confused than before they looked on the internet.

    Every other article is claiming it is multiplayer, not only skybound but Co-optimus, for example, lists the game as 6-player online. Now every other news article is posting pictures of either of the console version or the pc version, leaving me confused as a consumer on who to even begin to believe.

    Now here is the BIGGEST issue: throughout all of this Beamdog is completely silent. Beamdog does not own online news outlets, this is true, but they have google. They can google their own games, they can see their products are being misrepresented.

    Now I'm going to go ahead and give Beamdog the benefit of the doubt here because I don't believe they're scummy. It's consumer trust. I trust Beamdog to make the correct decisions.

    Now the trust is very, very strained.

    Here's why I purchased the game on the console: I was confused about the product, and I trusted Beamdog's better judgment. They priced the game at $50, I had assumed it would have most if not all of the same content as the PC version. I expected through all of the articles and interviews with Beamdog claiming to be working on "cross-platform multiplayer", that there would be SOME multiplayer component (even a prototype would've been helpful). I bought this to experience this story with my friends with "easier to learn" pad controls for my friends.

    Now I'll go ahead and say it: without multiplayer this game is not worth $50. You can add in as many wonky at best drive mechanics as you want. Without multiplayer, this game is NOT worth $50. $140 for the whole package, Ludacris.

    As a concerned consumer and loyal Beamdog fan, find out if multiplayer is going to work. As soon as possible. Because here's the thing about my trust for Beamdog, if they tell me they can do it: I'll believe them. If Beamdog tells me they can make multiplayer a reality, I will not be upset, and all my issues with this game will be resolved. I hope they would then get multiplayer out in a timely fashion, but as long as I know it's possible and being worked on: I'm perfectly happy waiting.

    If Beamdog cannot make multiplayer possible that's alright, but two steps must to be taken to keep consumer trust.

    1. A refund must be offered, bare minimum. Yes legally Beamdog did not "mislead their consumers" to purchase this product, but let's be genuine, complete silence on such a pivotal feature of the game, is essentially the SAME thing. The truth is I would've never purchased this game if Beamdog had been clear about the features of this game, at least not for $50. Which brings me to the second point.
    2. Lower the price. $50 for an incomplete version of a 20-year-old game is simply MAD. I will say this a thousand times if I have to, this game is not worth $50 dollars without multiplayer, nor is Planescape or Icewind Dale. I'm not sure how much, maybe $10 or $20, something to distinguish it from it's mroe complete steam version.

    To be frank, these steps should be taken NOW, but if multiplayer is coming: I can wait, but I'm not sure if everyone else can.

    Beamdog's overall silence on a feature so important makes them responsible for misled consumers. You can argue all day about how Beamdog has never explicitly stated multiplayer would be at launch, but their silence on something so important to the purchase of a consumer makes them responsible.


    Please, as someone who has loved the infinity engine games and has put 100's of hours into them on PC: do the right thing. As someone who is a consumer in a market where all kinds of triple-A companies are trying to steal my wallet: have some common decency. If not, I'll never buy a Beamdog product again, and I guarantee you a large portion of your player base won't either.

    -Just a few words from a conerned and loyal consumer.
  • Norman_the_BiterNorman_the_Biter Member Posts: 4
    Here is the Co-optimus article I mentioned:
    https://www.co-optimus.com/game/5509/nintendo-switch/baldur-s-gate-enhanced-edition.html

    I also retract my claim of cross-platform multiplayer, it is clear that it was meant for PC and MAC gamers. Although I don't believe this detracts much from any of my points, and on top of this, not many game companies use the language "cross-platform" to indicate a connection between two different computer brands (which honestly should never have been an issue, to begin with.
  • MatrickMatrick Member Posts: 3
    so the entire time people have been buying\pre-ordering this game, Skybound (the company on the cover of the game case) has been advertising it as multiplayer. it's hard to consider this as a consumer mistake
  • EliJenkinsEliJenkins Member Posts: 3
    I guess refunds are going to be handed out left and right?
  • EliJenkinsEliJenkins Member Posts: 3
    Seriously who sits down at a table and plays D&D alone? Do you just switch seats and roll the dice for each pretend friend? Lol unreal.
  • GaelicVigilGaelicVigil Member Posts: 111
    edited October 2019
    I dont know why so many think SkyBound is a third party. SkyBound is the console edition publisher. They had false advertising about their product for months. How can that be simply a mistake? Now we have journalists repeating the same multiplayer feature and we're to believe nobody in either company noticed? Please!

    Seems more likely to be deliberate to get more sales then claim, "oopsie, good catch!", when someone notices. This is the kind of shady, dishonest stuff I've noticed from Beamdog (and now their partner) from the beginning. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
  • SlepkavaSlepkava Member Posts: 2
    This is massively disappointing. I bought this game digitally from the playstation store so I have no way of returning it either.
  • GaelicVigilGaelicVigil Member Posts: 111
    By the way, SkyBound STILL hasn't taken down the multiplayer line on their web page since I brought it up this morning...
  • ZaxaresZaxares Member Posts: 1,329
    EliJenkins wrote: »
    Seriously who sits down at a table and plays D&D alone? Do you just switch seats and roll the dice for each pretend friend? Lol unreal.

    Believe it or not, I actually prefer my CRPG experiences to be solo. Don't get me wrong; I'm a long-term PnPer as well (playing since 1988), and playing D&D around a table provides a sense of camaraderie and creativity that you won't find anywhere else. It's an experience I wouldn't have any other way.

    But at the same time, I find it nearly impossible to really, REALLY immerse myself in a game world with other players around. There's always going to be SOMEBODY who spoils the mood by cracking a joke, talks about real life stuff while you're in the middle of shopping, or just insists on calling their character "JimBob the Gnome Ravisher" instead of a lore-appropriate name. As such, I much prefer playing RPGs alone, where it's just me and the story, along with whatever headcanon I want to cook up.
  • StummvonBordwehrStummvonBordwehr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,385
    I have played the games for 20 years and haven't tried multiplayer yet on any platform. Bet at least 90 % of this forum doesn’t play multiplayer either.

    If you have bought the game for the multiplayer part I can understand you’re upset. I just think the vast majority won’t mind.

    Btw. 50 $ seems a fair price - in the BG1 bundle you get SoD as well. In BG2 it’s ToB and IWD it’s TotLM+HoW.

    Overall a solid release, and I hope we haven’t seen the last of Beamdog working with the IE. Please keep it coming
  • masteralephmasteraleph Member Posts: 274
    EliJenkins wrote: »
    Seriously who sits down at a table and plays D&D alone? Do you just switch seats and roll the dice for each pretend friend? Lol unreal.

    I hear what you’re saying, but it’s important to keep in mind that this game basically was the pioneering game in terms of NPC interaction (even more so BG2). There’s a reason NPC mods are so popular, and people agonize over how many NPCs to take to Spellhold- and it’s not because of multiplayer features. Multiplayer is a great way to play if you’re into that, but the massive innovation with this series is getting interesting interactions without doing so.
  • RoudinescoRoudinesco Member Posts: 4
    I had time to tell my friends not to buy the game. We all wanted to play together. Very bad news :(
  • StummvonBordwehrStummvonBordwehr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,385
    Roudinesco wrote: »
    I had time to tell my friends not to buy the game. We all wanted to play together. Very bad news :(
    Hi @Roudinesco
    Welcome to the forum.
    Whilst multiplayer may not come to the console, it is available on pc, android and iOS. So it it possible to get the multiplayer going.

    The games where and are well known for npc interaction and not pc interaction, so I guess that part got the most attention.

    There are a few multiplayers like you on the forum. Even though most mods and players are about novel’s. Enjoy your stay at the forum

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