But let's face it, with all the M9 blindfiring, parties of 5, whack n' roll going on, they're not going to last.
Exactly. I'm most interested in seeing what ND has done (or hasn't, lol) to keep the newbies playing.
That being said, there's one thing that can't be changed by Naughty Dog; the ridiculous amount of gigantic assholes that play this game. Incredible trash-talking, 1v1s, unbelievable youtube drama, you name it. These are the people that play "serious" custom games, are in clans (Fragged Nation, etc), and play public matches like they own the place; taking personal offense to losing/being beaten/etc, and are just fucking idiots. Also, stat-whoring.
If you've played this game a decent amount, you know exactly the kind of players I'm talking about. Unavoidable, constantly meeting them in matchmaking. Muting them and blocking messages would be the logical thing to do, but there's just something so interesting about hearing and reading the shit they spew out.
I'm not saying these kind of people don't exist in other games, but the amount in Uncharted has a significant negative effect. Ask any former uncharted fan why they've stopped playing, I'll guarantee (100% money back) it's because either Naughty Dog is fucking retarded or the players are fucking retarded.
The enjoyment of the MP totally depends on the lobby you're in. Chances are that new players will run into other new players, have a blast, keep playing until they run into these assholes twice, say fuck it, and quit.