EA thinks single-player games are dead (I beg to differ)


Sorry, you’re still playing single-player games? Loooooser. Developer EA is here to tell you to get with the plan daddy-o, because guess what: single-player games are dead. That’s according to EA Games label president Frank Gibeau, who told Develop that the future is all about “connected gameplay”:

“EA is 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. Online is where the innovation, and the action, is at.”

Indeed, when EA releases Dead Space 2 in January, it will come with a multiplayer, something the original lacked. But is Gibeau right? Personally, I think he’s being harsh on single-player games.

I understand that playing games socially has become very popular in recent years, with the Wii, Kinect, PlayStation Move, and games like Rock Band geared to group play. All are good fun, of course, yet this means that lone gamers are being treated with more suspicion than ever.

Gibeau seems to be echoing recent cultural trends, which suggest that games should be enjoyed in a group, while playing alone is somehow weird or pathetic. Which is odd, because I’d say the majority of my favourite games from the last few years – Portal, Trials HD, Fallout, BioShock, Limbo – are single-player affairs. All are games that received an outstanding critical reaction.

So sorry, Frank Gibeau, I’m calling you out on this and saying single-player-only games still have loads to offer. While multiplayer can be a riot (I adore the Left 4 Dead titles), the single-player experience remains a quintessential part of videogames that must not die. Long live lone gaming!

[Via Develop]

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