EA: Single Player Only Experiences "Finished"

[MentalIlness]

http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/8239.html

It's a hot-button issue amongst veteran gamers, many of whom remain convinced that the multiplayer boom has had a noticeably negative effect on single-player adventures.


Many - including yours truly - dreads the day that single-player campaigns become obsolete and everyone only cares about online multiplayer. And although many designers and developers say there will always be a place for the solitary gamer, EA isn't buying it. In speaking with Develop, EA Games president Frank Gibeau said his company will remain focused on "connected gameplay experiences," and that the era of single-player entertainment is slowly dying away. Said Gibeau:


"Online is where the innovation, and the action, is at. I volunteer you to speak to EA’s studio heads; they’ll tell you the same thing. They’re very comfortable moving the discussion towards how we make connected gameplay – be it co-operative or multiplayer or online services – as opposed to fire-and-forget, packaged goods only, single-player, 25-hours-and you’re out. I think that model is finished."

Gibeau does clarify that he's not merely talking about multiplayer gaming, but other forms of "connectivity" with interactive entertainment. An example of that might be Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, which doesn't require online connectivity but with the Autolog feature, it certainly encourages a player to be online. But of course, there are still plenty of quality titles out there that don't bother with multiplayer, including the recent Vanquish and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, as well as premier, measuring-stick titles like God of War III and Heavy Rain.


But what concerns many is that the most popular games tend to be very multiplayer-driven; Call of Duty is only one example. Furthermore, the sheer amount of time players put into online multiplayer is reminiscent of...well, obviously, of the MMO mentality, which contains certain addictive elements.



This may be what's driving the multiplayer explosion these days, but there's one thing of which we're certain: if EA is right (and we don't think they are) and the single-player campaign dies...millions of gamers - yes, millions - might stop playing tomorrow. Including me.

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

If I might posit an analogy:

Single-player scripted experiences are to multiplayer gameplay as scripted television is to reality TV.

The sad truth is that content generation takes a lot of manpower, and in many cases, even high-quality content only sees a single playthrough. For example, I did my playthrough of Mass Effect 2 before the non-Cerberus DLC was released, then never bothered to pick up any of the additional DLC packs, even though I loved the game -- I just don't have the time to sink into another playthrough with other games waiting in the wings.

Compelling MP experiences (co-op or competitive) can avoid the "one and done" effect by providing cheap (i.e. free) new "content" (i.e. a varied player base) and use that to sustain interest in the franchise with DLC packs. If you were really cynical, you could even argue that they can reduce their development costs by reducing the amount of writing, A.I., etc. talent required for the project, but we wouldn't buy those games, would we?

That being said, I think that a lot of highly popular franchises have built their fanbases by providing a storied environment that players can become highly involved in (e.g. Halo, Modern Warfare). There's definitely a role for the single-player campaign, but I can certainly understand the economics behind why someone would say they're secondary. I can only hope that fewer companies go this route and instead commit to providing high-quality experiences for both (e.g. Starcraft 2).

 

[Kabob]

Damn, apparently Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Elder Scrolls, Metal Gear, Grand Theft Auto (might as well be SP), God of War, Super Mario, and Final Fantasy didn't get the memo...

 

[dougp]

Damn, apparently Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Elder Scrolls, Metal Gear, Grand Theft Auto (might as well be SP), God of War, Super Mario, and Final Fantasy didn't get the memo...

I think this comes down to dual-mode games. I'll be honest, if it wasn't for achievement points, I'd probably not play single player FPS - most of the time the story lines suck balls. They're getting very played out, and none of them are bringing enough innovative changes to the game. The most recent games would be the BioShock series - even then, the MP portion of BS2 feels incomplete.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Damn, apparently Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Elder Scrolls, Metal Gear, Grand Theft Auto (might as well be SP), God of War, Super Mario, and Final Fantasy didn't get the memo...

That's what I was going to say! And Mass Effect and Dragon Age are both published by EA. Then again, those games have longer SP campaigns than your typical MP-oriented shooter and also encourage multiple playthroughs. There are only so many ways you can play Call of Duty, but an immersive SP RPG lets you take many paths and also use different character classes.

I think they just see how much people play Call of Duty multiplayer vs. single player and see dollar bills, but quality single player games that actually have decent staying power have their place. I wish game developers would spend more time on making their single player games good.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Falloiut New Vegas aims an Anti-Material Rifle at EA and gently squeezes the trigger.

- Sneak Attack Critical on EA -

 

[RedRooster]

If I might posit an analogy:

Single-player scripted experiences are to multiplayer gameplay as scripted television is to reality TV.

The sad truth is that content generation takes a lot of manpower, and in many cases, even high-quality content only sees a single playthrough. For example, I did my playthrough of Mass Effect 2 before the non-Cerberus DLC was released, then never bothered to pick up any of the additional DLC packs, even though I loved the game -- I just don't have the time to sink into another playthrough with other games waiting in the wings.

Compelling MP experiences (co-op or competitive) can avoid the "one and done" effect by providing cheap (i.e. free) new "content" (i.e. a varied player base) and use that to sustain interest in the franchise with DLC packs. If you were really cynical, you could even argue that they can reduce their development costs by reducing the amount of writing, A.I., etc. talent required for the project, but we wouldn't buy those games, would we?

That being said, I think that a lot of highly popular franchises have built their fanbases by providing a storied environment that players can become highly involved in (e.g. Halo, Modern Warfare). There's definitely a role for the single-player campaign, but I can certainly understand the economics behind why someone would say they're secondary. I can only hope that fewer companies go this route and instead commit to providing high-quality experiences for both (e.g. Starcraft 2).

Great great point! Good analogy too.
Sadly, with the wealth of options to play nowadays, gamers' attention spans are shortening. And as much as I love the epic storytelling games, you're totally right. I think I might be one of those people, who yearns for a flood of new content all the time.

 

[Beev]

Co-op modes I love. Competitive modes can go away please. I bought Modern Warfare 2 for the single player and spec ops missions. I probably won't buy any other CoD's in the future. Didn't buy Black Ops. I feel sorry for EA if they want to cater to the teenage and early 20's crowd that just wants to rage online and call each other fags.

Thanks for proving you're still a pile of shit, EA.

 

[DrunkenSano]

Singleplayer games that don't have a lot of replayablility are finished, since people will just trade them in when done and/or buy used copies. Those that do, like Mass Effect, will do just fine.

 

[Queasy]

EA is probably correct for those marginal non-AAA titles. Everyone is focused in on how much game they are going to get for their money to the point where if it is a single-player experience that lasts 6 to 8 hours it isn't worth their $50-$60. I look at the lack of sales for games like Enslaved and Vanquish and can see that. They both provided decent to good single-player experiences but were 6-8 hours long but weren't mindblowing.

So in other words, if you are going to make a single-player game, it better have an awesome story, awesome gameplay, and/or provide a really good length to make gamers feel like they are getting their money's worth.

 

[exar333]

EA is probably correct for those marginal non-AAA titles. Everyone is focused in on how much game they are going to get for their money to the point where if it is a single-player experience that lasts 6 to 8 hours it isn't worth their $50-$60. I look at the lack of sales for games like Enslaved and Vanquish and can see that. They both provided decent to good single-player experiences but were 6-8 hours long but weren't mindblowing.

So in other words, if you are going to make a single-player game, it better have an awesome story, awesome gameplay, and/or provide a really good length to make gamers feel like they are getting their money's worth.

Maybe sell the game for what's it worth then? Lots of games (SP and MP) are not worth $50.

 

[exar333]

If you believe MP is "the future" read this thread. You also will be supporting this cost model, like it or not.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2126400

 

[dpodblood]

If you believe MP is "the future" read this thread. You also will be supporting this cost model, like it or not.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2126400

Yeah... Gotta say Pachter is wrong on that one. The majority of players are not going to pay for online unless it's an MMO; I doub't even the most die-hard COD fans would be willing to pay for it monthly.

Back to the original topic; there is room in the market for both kinds of games. As long as a SP game offers good content, has decent length, and re-playability it will sell.

 

[Queasy]

Maybe sell the game for what's it worth then? Lots of games (SP and MP) are not worth $50.

Yeah, that's a different argument though.

 

[KentState]

I hate MP so I hope that SP campaigns remain. Half the time I don't get to the new COD or MW games until months after release and by that point I'm so far behind the curve to have fun. I enjoyed Halo 3 when it came out, but like any MMO, you have to keep up with it or you are left behind. I just don't have time for that level of dedication.

 

[lupi]

sounds like a way to wreck a buisness. i'll play a real good mp title a bunch, won't touch not so good ones. i'll play any sp title through at least once.

 

[Malak]

There's a big difference between single player and campaign, keep that in mind. Campaigns can be multiplayer. Single player is boring as hell and I wouldn't miss it. Rainbow Six: Vegas for instance had multiplayer campaign, and it was awesome. If CoD had co-op campaign I'd care about the campaign. Otherwise I'm just playing through once and I'm done.

 

[gorcorps]

EA can say what they want, but there's still a huge market for games like Mass Effect, Oblivion, Fallout, Assassin's Creed, etc that usually are entirely single player based.

 

[MentalIlness]

Devil May Cry would have been great with Co-op. Will never happen though. I just hope the new DMC will be good. But I have my doubts.

 

[Baasha]

money hungry bastards!

This is clearly the case when they made Assassin's Creed MP... it's okay but the SP is orders of magnitude better! And, AC is a SP game anyway.

 

[Lotheron]

...

So in other words, if you are going to make a game, it better have an awesome story, awesome gameplay, and/or provide a really good length to make gamers feel like they are getting their money's worth.

ftfy.

 

[magomago]

i feel like piracy is part of the reason why - if you can get them online and authenticate, you can keep away pirates. Make the game online only and you've done a lot to mitigate the pirates....they'll still find a way to crack the authentication to play on PRIVATE servers, but then you simply chase after the private servers once they get big enough to get on the radar. Kind of like WOW...

 

[Zargon]

of the 30 games I have bought this year, only BC2 was bought for the MP

i got con'd into black ops by the promise o freal campaign coop that dried up.

coop is why I buy games, there always a new hot MP game that i dont need anywhere close to them all

 

[Chapbass]

Yep, so many devs dont care about coop, its saddening I spend a ton of time looking for solid, quality coop games.

 

[smackababy]

I am kind of glad they are doing away with "the single player experience" because, frankly, I can't remember the last EA game I played where that experience wasn't a bad one. Leave the story telling to the raconteurs and the bards of our generation.