EA Turns Its Back on Single-Player Games

[daibakuha]

Hmmm..

The name EA in the title? Check.
People basically not even reading the article and jumping to hate filled conclusions? Check.
Me not being surprised? Check.

I really have no issue with this as long as the connected content is thoughtful and well done. While I don't feel that the changes made to Dead Space are good, the always connected nature of a sports title or FPS is great, the multiplayer in ME3 was very fun (though tied into single player in a bizarre way), and having a facebook connected experience to supplement DA1/2 was kind of cool.

You and I have similar opinions on the matter. The title of the article is blatantly nerdbaiting. This is more like something I would see on Kotaku rather than The Escapist.

The market is heading in this direction, whether people like it or not, most games are going to be launching with at least SOME form of multiplayer. This isn't a bad thing. The Mass Effect 3 multiplayer was actually pretty good, and I look forward to seeing how it's implemented in Dragon Age 3 (I hope it's a co-op, like in BG).

 

[Sartan0]

"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?

What he meant was "We can't cram a $10 online pass to a single player game."
Relevant craptsha: two left feet

Or push the values of the great concoction Origin.

 

[Frankster]

*looks at thread* Heh seems im not the only dinosaur who can't get into social media and socialness sneaking into their games

Well guess I won't be buying an EA game any time soon then.

 

[Jeff Grigsby]

I really hope that every action I take in my single-player experiences can be posted to twitter. That's what I've always wanted from my vidya games!

 

[dementis]

We all saw this coming, their single player games have been getting worse whilst having unnecessary multiplayer stapled on for the past few years now. It was all just a matter of time.

 

[Nimcha]

I'm not surprised by this. It's all fine by me, the multiplayer aspect generally adds something to the game. And I can choose to ignore it.

 

[Metalrocks]

ok ?A, i do enjoy BF3 but now you are really stepping over board. i hope this will lead you to your doom and we can bury you and forget you that you ever existed.

 

[Vkmies]

Ah well. Fuck you EA. I hope you get super cancer-AIDS and die.

 

[Krantos]

Didn't Valve say the exact same thing a ways back

Well, I haven't bought a Valve game since Half-life 2, so what does that tell you?

Also, the problem with EA doing it is they're a lot bigger. The idea that games have to have multiplayer is "a cancerous growth" on the industry right now. Valve can only do so much to further it, EA can (and apparently plans to) do a lot more.


Btw, most people only like Valve as the people who run Steam. Valve's game record isn't really that impressive. Portal was OK, imo. But the last REALLY good game they made was HL2. And that's almost a decade old now.

 

[F-I-D-O]

"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?

Yeah, this.

I'm fine with adding in MEANINGFUL multiplayer/online capabilities. I never played DA:Legends on facebook, but being able to tell an extra story in that way can be cool.
Hell, who said they wanted co-op in Portal? And Portal 2's co-op was some of the most fun I've had online.
How about the online component of Assassin's Creed? That turned out to be pretty fun
Another example would be Xcom's multiplayer. Necessary? No. Could it be awesome? Yes.
Or the horribleness that was Command and Conquer 4.
I don't want to play deathmatches as Commander Shepard. I don't want to fight off waves of darkspawn as an Inquisitor.
Turning Dead Space into a co-op shooter doesn't work though. Dead Space is a survival horror game. Sorry, but if I'm joking with a friend while cutting off necromorph limbs, I'm not scared, I'm laughing. Oh, and holding FIFA up as the prime example of your company's catalog....Mass Effect's storytelling, Mirror's Edge's innovation, or FIFA's yearly iteration.
Saying that you're no longer focusing on single player when we're waiting for news on the next Mass Effect (because there will be more stories in that universe), Dragon's Age 3 has been all but announced, General's 2 is on the horizon, and TOR is going F2P, doesn't show great timing.
Online capabilities I'm excited for comes from Watch Dogs. Being able to mess with the game on a smartphone or computer fits in that universe, would work nicely, and give the game a boost of life. Online for online's sake (Spec Ops) doesn't work well.
But there's also a sector of the population that doesn't have ready access to online. They just want to play a Human Revolution, Final Fantasy, or an Arkham City. Seeing as you're spending money to develop a product that a sector of the population can't use, I say it's only viable to focus purely on single player games.
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Yeah, I don't see that happening either.

 

[lancar]

Words escape me... I mean... WHAT!? Seriously!?

I don't even....! ugh...

Every single sentance in mr Gibeau's statements fill me with contempt and disgust. I think EA is now the physical representation of everything I DON'T want out of videogaming, all concentrated into one bloated and disfigured being, begging for someone to put a bullet between its eyes to end its suffering.

Seriously.

What. The. Fuck. ?

 

[Naeras]

This isn't quite as bad as the headline makes it's sound. It's still the dumbest statement I've heard all week.

Seriously, I don't care about social tie-ins in all my games. I just want them to be good, dammit!

captcha: little bobby tables [http://xkcd.com/327/]
Can someone do this to EA? Please? :<

 

[dangoball]

*deep inhale*
Skyrim
Deus Ex: HR
Witcher and Witcher 2
Spec Ops: The Line
Batman: Arkham Asylum/City
Prince of Persia: Sands of Times series
EA's freaking own Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect
*exhale*

Uh, guess there is just no game that can carry itself on single-player. Silly me for liking those above-mentioned games, clearly they are sub-par to marvels like CoD/BF and FIFA 20XX.

I mean, yeah, some multi player can be and certainly is fun, I myself enjoy stuff like Tribes: Ascend, Dungeon Deffenders and MP in Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, but lets face it. Even though ME3 MP is better that expected before lunch, wouldn't those of you who played ME3 be happier if they dropped MP and did Extended Cut as the release-day ending? (I know, I shouldn't poke sleeping dragons). And everyone agrees on Spec Ops: The Line multi-player being cancerous blob.

 

[fix-the-spade]

The day they pull the plug on Bad Company 2 is the day I stop playing any games EA have made. It's the only one left that I can be bothered with.

They more or less have, the last update for it was a year ago on Sunday.

BF 2 was supported for five years, aside from sales it made a hell of a lot of money from ranked server rentals (only available from EA naturally) and in game advertising. It's a shame they've lost sight of that.

 

[theblindedhunter]

"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?

In EA's defense (oh god, what did I just say), the statement seems to be meant to say that they plan to not have a secluded single-player experience. Skyrim, while single-player, had a notable focus on encouraging the modding community, and it could be argued that it has other similar elements that encourage communal activity.

So it's possible that they would greenlight something akin to Skyrim that is single-player, but also encourages some level of community involvement.

Except it is EA, so they probably mean exactly the worst thing they could mean. Because it's EA.

 

[Jandau]

I'm fascinated that the man states he's proud of this. That's like a dog pooping on the carpet and then feeling proud about it while everyone looks on in disgust...

 

[redknightalex]

Not surprising but leaves a big ol' hole in my gut at the idea of single-player games dying out, even if this is EA we're talking about. There are people out there who solely play single player, for various reasons, or those who hate the idea of constant connectivity, a la Diablo III, because of DRM foolishness.

There's also the other fact of having all of my gaming habits detailed out on Facebook or another social media outlet of doom. Yeah, no thanks, my family (or future employers) doesn't need to know about this.

I'm hoping this s just trash talk and EA will grab a few more brain cells to use when producing games. *sigh*

 

[Sis]

There is only one answer adequate enough for this madness. I.E.:

BHUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[loa]

So half the resources spent developing future games are for something you can only use on an xbox if you pay microsofts cash-grab-fee and otherwise you're left with the "obsolete" deemed half of the game?
How about no.