EA Consigns Offline Gaming to the History Books

[thethingthatlurks]

EA Games label president, Frank Gibeau, said that the model of "fire-and-forget, packaged goods only, single-player, 25-hours-and you're out" was finished, and that all the innovation was taking place online.
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I'm sorry, but the guy's a moron. Tell that to the 400 or so hours I've probably spent in Morrowind, or the 150 in Oblivion. If the single player game has quality, or good lifespan, it can destroy multiplayer length.

Amen! When I compare the time I've spent in true single player games to the most time I've ever spent in a true multiplayer game (Battlefield: Vietnam, ~150 hours), it is pretty damn clear that I prefer to play alone. Well, and the 12 year old dipshits whose balls haven't yet dropped but screech at the top of their ridiculously high voice whenever you kill them do the rest to dissuade me from playing online.
Now that we've covered multiplayer mode, let's talk online things in singleplayer. Firstly, it is paradoxical that that I should have to be online to enjoy a game with a good story ALONE. It reeks of that Ubisoft DRM bullshit, and that alone is enough for me to boycott EA till Ragnarok. What about achievements? Well, I do not give a flying fuck, generally. Sure, they can be fun in over-the-top shooters like Serious Sam, but are they ultimately more than some stupid counting mechanism? I remember getting a ton of them in Fallout: New Vegas, by simply doing what I would consider normal gameplay. The little message at the top of the screen telling me that because my character has taken X stimpacks doesn't exactly motivate me to keep playing.
But I guess everybody has different tastes. It seems I'm a member of a dying breed of gamer, one who can appreciate an excellent story, pardon a few bugs in the name of innovation, and recognize the giants of the industry (about a decade ago, obviously) by name and their magnum opus. I may just be getting old, and with that comes the inability to understand today's youth. But is playing samey brown/grey shooters online with at best loose connection to realism really such a grand improvement? Hell, I'd rather play Deus Ex again than to even try the latest CoD malarkey.
TL;DR: Screw online things, give me a good story instead.

 

[ActionDan]

I must admit, I get much deeper in a game in my mind that is Single Player rather than Multi. Co-op however is wonderful and should be used more.

 

[Brotherofwill]

I consign EA to the history books.
How long will that company still hold itself above water?

You know, if by 'connectivity' they mean Project 10 Dollar then they can shove their games.
Really now: the innovation is happening online? What innovation are we talking about? That you can play the GK in Fifa 11?

The reason single player games are so piss poor nowadays is that noone tries to push innovation through gameplay. Indie developers still do, and their DLable games tend to sell well for the production standard...well atleast the innovative ones. Ahh damn, I hate talking about 'innovation', but I blame EA for bringing it up. A game doesn't have to innovate to be good, it just has to be good, which EA games tend to not be.

Anyway, the reason the single player games are 'out' for EA is because they can't make enough money off them. I mean even if it was the most amazing, jawdropping and critically acclaimed piece of software ever, everyone would only buy it once. EA wants online subscriptions, baby. DLC, 10 Dollar, monthly payments, microtransactions that's where the pie is for EA.

 

[mrF00bar]

Oh god, I hate it when games force me to login to play a single player game. Its like being stuck with a platform like Steam.

 

[mattaui]

This is the problem with the amounts of money they throw down to create AAA titles these days. Now they've got it in their heads that they can make less of them monetize each of them more through online fees and DLC. While I think we've all had a game or two we would have paid to have more of, I agree that not every game should require you to log on and register as part of the game itself.

Of course, I buy everything I can through Steam and enjoy always being online while I'm playing, so it's not something that's going to impact me as much. However, I don't see why it's got to be something they force everyone to adapt to.

 

[moretimethansense]

Am I the only one who disconnects themselves from the internet so they can play a single player game without anyone bothering them? I don't believe this should be the future for all games (but probably will be). I dislike the whole leaderboard idea as it seems like a bit of a cop-out by the developer to keep people playing, rather than adding unlockable content (not the DLC type).

I do that as well, but (on the 360 at least) there is an option to turn off notifications.
I had to do it since all those god damn popups every time I got an achievment was ruining the dramatic tension.

 

[Delusibeta]

Ultimately, he's right, in terms of AAA games. There's going to be no more AAA games with (at the very least) room for DLC. It's a simple fact.

The big glowing problem is that the Wii, the console most reliant on local play, is the biggest seller. But that dun count, riiiiiiiiiiiiight?

 

[Zhukov]

I an reading the words, but the only message coming through is "bend over".

 

[Desworks]

I want to be angry with EA for saying this, but with all the rumours of a new SSX title being in the works, I just can't be.

 

[MorteSphere]

I fucking hate online multiplayer.

 

[z3rostr1fe]

They should, instead, provide a solid single-player experience and a well-balanced multiplayer aspect, if ever there is need for such. If they wanted to update or add additional features to the game, they should put it as an option. I believe they are doing this so that they could push on with the "Always-online DRM".

I say they are JERKS!

 

[Serenegoose]

I'm unsurprised that they've said this. Since when has a megacorporation ever had their finger on the pulse of anything? Not that I don't think they won't try and make it so, or maybe even succeed. I'd be naive to think they didn't have the financial clout to push their nonsense onto everyone.

 

[Aeshi]

Utter Garbage.


If I wanted to put up with half a dozen miserable slobbering inbreds whining at me while trying to have fun/do something I'd just go outside.

 

[Seneschal]

Then I'm not buying any of their games.

It's like selling me a book that can only be opened in public. You can keep it.

 

[dubious_wolf]

If EA would get a better online support system.... I would still be against it. Wow EA leader boards. SO INNOVATIVE AND CINEMATIC!

 

[permacrete]

The dude is really showing a limited perspective on video games. People like social activities, sure, but they also like their alone time. Video games do not just compete with ping pong, chess, and dominoes - they also compete with books, comics, porn, and origami. Everyone sometimes gets into the mood to be entertained alone.

If I could, I would disable all the leader-boards, achievement publishing to profile, etc. on my single player games, because I never even check that crap. That's just burning processor cycles and bandwidth for no reason whatsoever.

 

[Mr. Omega]

Funny how the top selling system (the Wii) has the worst online service, and is almost completely dependant on local multiplayer and single player.

On the other hand, the top-selling game (Black Ops, correct me if I'm wrong) is completely dependant on multiplayer, with a token single player.

 

[latenightapplepie]

I worry for Mass Effect 3.