EA Turns Its Back on Single-Player Games

[Andy Chalk]

EA Turns Its Back on Single-Player Games

EA Labels President Frank Gibeau boasts that Electronic Arts no longer develops any games as single-player experiences.

Electronic Arts has made a lot of noise about the interconnected, digital future of videogames, and how the growth of the industry will come mainly via mobile devices, smart TVs and the cloud. Even so, recent comments by EA Labels President Frank Gibeau in the "Cloud Gaming Prospects for 2012" report are bold, to say the least. As he explains it, the publisher has effectively turned its back on single-player-only experiences, as it moves to make everything connected and online.

"We are very proud of the way EA evolved with consumers," Gibeau said. "I have not green lit one game to be developed as a single player experience. Today, all of our games include online applications and digital services that make them live 24/7/365."

To be fair to EA, that doesn't mean it's abandoning single-player, just that nothing is being made that can't support a multiplayer component, Facebook tie-in and/or whatever else the company can pile onto it. Thus we end up with things like Dead Space 3, which has evolved from a solo horror experience to a co-op shooter, or the Galactic Readiness gong show of Mass Effect 3, or Dragon Age Legends on Facebook. Single-player is still there, it's just no longer the focus, and won't be in the future.

"FIFA is a perfect example - available across 12 different platforms, FIFA fans can check their standings on their mobile device or tablet, manipulate their teams on Facebook or play an immersive game of FIFA on their PC or console. Everything is connected so the user can pick up just where they left off from anywhere," Gibeau explained. "We're deploying similar experiences in our other popular brands over the next year including Madden, Battlefield and SimCity and you'll continue to see more and more of this from EA."

Can't say I'm looking forward to it.

Source: Superannuation [www.cgconfusa.com/documents/CloudGamingProspectsfor2012.pdf]


Permalink

 

[seditary]

Oh god.

Fuck off EA.

Seriously.

 

[Twyce]

Can EA just die already? Please?

 

[King of Asgaard]

And they've finally come out and said it.
I've only one thing to say:

Oh god.

Fuck off.

Seriously.

What he said.

 

[esperandote]

I read EA turns back to single player games and i was pleasently surprised...

 

[webkilla]

Words fail me

EA might as well just make a statement going "We're not going to make any games anymore that aren't either mindless casual cash-ins or hardcore gamer cash-ins"

 

[Mortamus]

"Single Player games can't hold up in today's market"

Oh I'm sorry, how many copies of Skyrim sold? and are still selling?

 

[GAunderrated]

Darn I just posted this article too! As for EA future games, well I just have no interest in crap multi-player being tacked on. Its funny that Cory Davis from spec ops: the line pretty much called it. Tacked on multiplayer hurts resources from a great single player experience and is becoming a cancerous growth.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119332-Spec-Ops-Multiplayer-Is-a-Cancerous-Growth

 

[Krantos]

Seriously, WHAT?

WHAT?

EA are you TRYING to run yourself out of business?!

I especially love how he's so upbeat about it. Like it's a GOOD thing.

I mostly only play Single player games. Why would I buy your products? This MAKES NO SENSE!

Seriously, I think, more than anything this show how out of touch EA is.

 

[Jhooud]

Multiplayer experiences can be fun, but I still enjoy sitting down with a solid, single-player game. Darksiders 2 and Skyrim are currently my faves, but I'd hate to not have had God of War, Uncharted, Batman, the original Dead Space, etc etc etc.

Now if all they're saying is that they'll bolt on some sort of social bit - sort of like the gear trading you can do in Darksiders - then I'm not quite ready to grab my torch and pitchfork. If they're saying the future is nothing but Battlefield 3 experiences, then maybe I need to head over to Lowe's.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

That's fine EA, I turned my back on you some time ago.

 

[IndomitableSam]

This makes my head hurt.

... Mostly because I just got up and banged it against the wall over and over and over.

Fuck off, EA. Fuck right off. Nobody likes you and we hope you die.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Yet another reason to add to the pile of reasons to ignore anything EA has a hand in. Although admittedly I mentally scrubbed them after Battlefield 3, so really this does not directly influence any of my future purchasing decisions. It does reinforce them, however.

 

[Reyalsfeihc]

Believe it or not EA some people still have archaic internet, or dare I say, no internet at all.

Way to ostracize a decently sized portion of your market.

 

[fix-the-spade]

So basically, they intend to cram micro-transaction into EVERYTHING!

EA's disconnected from reality certainly. What makes it sad is that the combination of their exclusive licensing and aggressive marketing means a majority of users will just go with it.

It's a shame, it already damaged Mass Effect 3, it's probably going to damage Dead Space Part 3. It will damage Battlefield 3 when they pull the plug on support for it (See Bad Company/BC2) and people will keep buying it, because they're stupid.

Ah well, Planetside 2, Black Mesa Source, World of Warplanes and Natural Selection 2 are coming, you now have no excuse to buy an EA made shooter ever again!

 

[Zburator]

EA; I am trying to love you, stop making it impossible.

Ah well, I guess I can either take this as...

1. The ramblings of a mad man.

2. Dragon Age will finally have some multiplayer. Which I am actually cool with, like in the old Baldur's Gate days (Very soon to be the new BG days again).

 

[Fappy]

Hey guys, at least they are admitting this is their strategy now.

But for real... I thought Bethesda proved single player exclusive games still sell.

Silly EA.