Will single-player games die out?
May 29th, 2008 |
Infogrames & Atari boss Phil Harrison told videogaming247 and Eurogamer that he thinks the end of single-player gaming is on the horizon, and that games like the upcoming Alone in the Dark will be among the last in the industry.
“I don’t think the industry is going to make many more of those. I just don’t think consumers want to be playing games that don’t have some kind of network connectivity to them, or some kind of community embedded in them, or some kind of extension available through downloadable content.”
I’d have to disagree with that statement. First of all, downloadable content doesn’t mean a game isn’t signle-player. Mass Effect, for example, has done quite well as a single-player title, with only a little bit of single-player downloadable content. Fallout 3 is another upcoming game that’s single-player only, although it may have updates and expansions like Oblivion. At any rate, those are single-player games with little networking involvement.
Yes, many traditionally single-player games are adding in more multiplayer and networking features — Grand Theft Auto IV is a prime example of this. But that’s not to say that consumers are losing interest in playing alone.
Myself, I enjoy playing on Xbox Live quite a bit. Between GTA IV, CoD4, Halo 3 and Texas Hold’em Poker, as well as MMO games, I spend a good fraction of my gaming time online. But there are times when it’s fun to kick back with a single-player campaign or an RPG.
Online gameplay is great, and yes, having more online games means we’ll play single player games less opften (or sleep less often), but that’s not to say that we consumers aren’t interested in playing them.
What do you think? Are single player games on their way out? And if they did disappear, would you miss them?
#1 Robert K.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:19 am
Single player games surely still have a future in my opinion. As much as people enjoy the multiplayer aspect of gaming, there will always be the need for the experience of enjoying a good single player game. One genre especially that will keep the single player movement alive is the RPG, but I think discussion of that is better left for that other blog you run, lol.
#2 Crazykinux
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I’ll agree that there’s a tendency within the industry at this moment to build multi player games. Does this mean that single player games are going the way of the Dodo? Nonsense!
Most games out there could be both single player and multi player games, especially FPS. That doesn’t mean they’re exclusive to each other.
CK
#3 dan
June 4th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
The first indicator that shows he doesn’t know what he’s talking about is saying they are on the “Horizon”. Which typically means that they are in the future. But anyway, it’s simply not true that single player games will die out, how else do you display a storyline etc.
#4 Colin Temple
June 4th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I think “on the horizon” was my wording, paraphrasing his of course.
But yes, I think it’s kind of an absurd idea. Perhaps he mostly means that games that are exclusively single-player (i.e. no multiplayer/online component) are on the way out. I disagree with that, too.
#5 maharet
July 9th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
actually i have to agree. only slightly of course, but personally the game would have to be a big title for me to take the time to go out and buy it. games like bioshock or mass effect for example. alone in the dark is also a title i’ve been waiting for and itching to buy, but when times are this tough and you have other people to think about when purchasing a game a sp is a last resort.
i’ve felt that way for a really long time now and when i was introduced to halo on xbox and then xbox live i’ve since purchased very few sp games.
i’m constantly on the look out for great multiplayer games with a nice fps twist so the more the industry focuses on those games the happier i’ll be. will there really be no market for single player games??? no, i don’t believe those games will die out any time soon. i mean really, how many people do you know with 2 playstations, a psone under her desk, a ps2, 2 xbox’s, 2 360’s and a wii on the way? no most households have one or two kids or one adult gamer. single players are great for them so they’ll always be a market for them.