JRPGs seem to be sticking to single-player, with the exception of the new handheld Kingdom Hearts games which are coming out eventually. Figures, because I personally think that having a party full of human players in co-op would be a blast, but I'm not complaining.
Is this the generation the end of quality single player games?
- Thread starter Insomniac Gamer
- Start date
I think everyone is making too large of a distinction. Just because games have multiplayer modes in them does not make them an essentially multiplayer game. I think it gets divided up a little bit more than that, to be frank.
First off, to clarify, let's look at wholly multiplayer games. MMO's are, by definition, multiplayer games, so they dominate this category, but are not the only games here. Stuff like World of Warcraft, EVE Online, City of Heroes, Team Fortress 2, and the like are all games that were designed from the bottom up to be played with other people, with absolutely no single-player mechanics anywhere to be found.
Then you have games that have a single-player aspect, but the multiplayer is the main promotion. Stuff like Resident Evil 5, Army of Two, Halo 3, Gears of War 2, Left 4 Dead, LittleBigPlanet, Demigod, Sins of a Solar Empire, all sports games, and so forth.
Then you have games that have single-player campaigns with an equal share in multiplayer gameplay. Games like Call of Duty (yes, even Modern Warfare), the original Gears of War, the original Halo, Killzone 2, F.E.A.R., Command and Conquer 3, and generally most first-person shooters. You know, games that have a compelling single-player campaign that is enjoyable to play through, but also have multiplayer modes that people enjoy to play.
And then, yes, we have the wholly single-player games, such as inFamous, BioShock, God of War, Ghostbusters, Fallout 3, Prince of Persia, Uncharted, Dead Space, Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy, Mass Effect, Half-Life 2, Portal, Shadow of the Colossus; the list goes on and on. All games which don't have any multiplayer functionality at all, and all of them powerhouse games with a very large number of sales. Hell, even games with extremely limited multiplayer functionality, such as Metal Gear Solid 4 (with Metal Gear Online) and Grand Theft Auto 4 sell better than games that tout their multiplayer as big selling points.
In fact, I daresay, with the exception of companies like Blizzard and Turbine, Epic and Bungie, most game developers these days bank their profits on single-player games. Sure, some developers look to be expanding out into the multiplayer scene, such as BioWare with The Old Republic, Valve with Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead, Square Enix with Final Fantasy XIV, and so forth. But that doesn't mean that they're going to kill off the existence of good single-player games. All three of those developers are known for their amazing single-player products, after all, and they still promise to have more of that sort of product coming out in the foreseeable future. The industry is expanding, is all, growing in all directions, which means that developers are putting out new products to keep up with the growth. It doesn't mean that they are abandoning something that is so integral to the community of gaming.
Truth be told, my problem with games these days is that not enough of them have multiplayer. I look through my collection of games, looking for a good multiplayer game, and have severe difficulty finding one that I actually have any desire to play. Sure, a lot of FPSes are cashing in on the online gaming scene, but I've always been a fan of couch co-op, or at least same-room multiplayer. It's always more fun to game with others when you know who they are and can have a conversation on the side, which is a trend that has steadily died over the last few years. And I think that's the bigger crime.
Long story short, though, the single-player game industry isn't in any threat of being killed off. It's thriving as powerfully as always, and keeping the pace with this new outburst of MMO's and what-not in terms of collective sales. I can't give any numbers to back this fact, of course, and World of Warcraft is a monster in terms of sales, but the fact that we still have so many quality single-player games is evidence enough for me to feel confident in that statement.
First off, to clarify, let's look at wholly multiplayer games. MMO's are, by definition, multiplayer games, so they dominate this category, but are not the only games here. Stuff like World of Warcraft, EVE Online, City of Heroes, Team Fortress 2, and the like are all games that were designed from the bottom up to be played with other people, with absolutely no single-player mechanics anywhere to be found.
Then you have games that have a single-player aspect, but the multiplayer is the main promotion. Stuff like Resident Evil 5, Army of Two, Halo 3, Gears of War 2, Left 4 Dead, LittleBigPlanet, Demigod, Sins of a Solar Empire, all sports games, and so forth.
Then you have games that have single-player campaigns with an equal share in multiplayer gameplay. Games like Call of Duty (yes, even Modern Warfare), the original Gears of War, the original Halo, Killzone 2, F.E.A.R., Command and Conquer 3, and generally most first-person shooters. You know, games that have a compelling single-player campaign that is enjoyable to play through, but also have multiplayer modes that people enjoy to play.
And then, yes, we have the wholly single-player games, such as inFamous, BioShock, God of War, Ghostbusters, Fallout 3, Prince of Persia, Uncharted, Dead Space, Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy, Mass Effect, Half-Life 2, Portal, Shadow of the Colossus; the list goes on and on. All games which don't have any multiplayer functionality at all, and all of them powerhouse games with a very large number of sales. Hell, even games with extremely limited multiplayer functionality, such as Metal Gear Solid 4 (with Metal Gear Online) and Grand Theft Auto 4 sell better than games that tout their multiplayer as big selling points.
In fact, I daresay, with the exception of companies like Blizzard and Turbine, Epic and Bungie, most game developers these days bank their profits on single-player games. Sure, some developers look to be expanding out into the multiplayer scene, such as BioWare with The Old Republic, Valve with Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead, Square Enix with Final Fantasy XIV, and so forth. But that doesn't mean that they're going to kill off the existence of good single-player games. All three of those developers are known for their amazing single-player products, after all, and they still promise to have more of that sort of product coming out in the foreseeable future. The industry is expanding, is all, growing in all directions, which means that developers are putting out new products to keep up with the growth. It doesn't mean that they are abandoning something that is so integral to the community of gaming.
Truth be told, my problem with games these days is that not enough of them have multiplayer. I look through my collection of games, looking for a good multiplayer game, and have severe difficulty finding one that I actually have any desire to play. Sure, a lot of FPSes are cashing in on the online gaming scene, but I've always been a fan of couch co-op, or at least same-room multiplayer. It's always more fun to game with others when you know who they are and can have a conversation on the side, which is a trend that has steadily died over the last few years. And I think that's the bigger crime.
Long story short, though, the single-player game industry isn't in any threat of being killed off. It's thriving as powerfully as always, and keeping the pace with this new outburst of MMO's and what-not in terms of collective sales. I can't give any numbers to back this fact, of course, and World of Warcraft is a monster in terms of sales, but the fact that we still have so many quality single-player games is evidence enough for me to feel confident in that statement.
Most of the games mentioned in the original post seem to be FPS titles, not my cup of tea at the best of times. I tend to play stealth, action, and western RPG titles, and in these games at least I've continued to see quality single player story modes. Mass Effect, for instance, had one of the best written stories in gaming and no multiplayer support. Assassin's Creed also had a good story and was a single-player game. If you want more single player, look outside the FPS genre. There's plenty here.
Hooray for Metroid Prime! You guys seem to have left out Nintendo, who seem to be coming back ever so slowly to the hardcore gamer. They have always and will always be much more focused on a single-player experience, or otherwise the Wii's online capabilities would be better. Here's hoping the next Zelda is more than just a remake of Ocarina/Twilight!METC said:
I also agree with TundraWolf's post above. ^^ Read it.
I didn't go through every post here so forgive me if it's already been said but I think that good puzzle/adventure games have died out or have been replaced with arcade/casual puzzle games. Games like banjo-kazooie, Jack and Daxter, Rachet and Clank, Psychonauts etc... maybe i'm not look hard enough but I havn't seen a new game for this genre in a couple of year.
It isn't a single player game.Raykuza said:
Upcoming single player games that look good Include GOW3, Brutal Legends, Bayonetta and Beyond Good and Evil 2.
You know I was thinking about this kind of thing but their are alot of games that don't follow this rule. Now the I'm thinking about it I want a PS3 because of it's single-player exclusives
(Infamous, The Last Guardian, Heavy Rain)so their are still single-player devolped only games but most get over shadowed by other games
(Infamous, The Last Guardian, Heavy Rain)so their are still single-player devolped only games but most get over shadowed by other games
In my opinion Gears of War 2, Oblivion, Fallout, Call of Duty 4, Crackdown was fun (not very story oriented though), and Mass Effect were good for single player.
For me, there's nothing to worry about. Not yet, atleast. Unless people decide that we should only have MMOGs to play. That would be terrible.
For me, there's nothing to worry about. Not yet, atleast. Unless people decide that we should only have MMOGs to play. That would be terrible.
No. If a developer wants to tell a story that a player cares about, you have to limit the player count pretty dramatically. Sure, some multiplayer only games have stories, but since when did someone actually care. Did anybody actually care why they were on a particular quest in WoW for example, or where we all more interested in the prospect of loots and levels?
There are stories that can be told in the context of a multiplayer environment, but they hinge largely on the actions of the players. This is much the same problem that the biggest sandbox games have - sure there's lots of stuff to do in Farcry 2, but why do I actually care?
There are stories that can be told in the context of a multiplayer environment, but they hinge largely on the actions of the players. This is much the same problem that the biggest sandbox games have - sure there's lots of stuff to do in Farcry 2, but why do I actually care?
Like any future game it represents an unknown quantity. It may be the best game ever made, and it may also be total shit. Unfortunately, if one just looks at probability it's going to end up somewhere on the unfavorable side of the spectrum. Personally, I'm more interested in Heavy Rain. Even if the game fails miserably at being good at least it's (allegedly) trying some new ideas.Raykuza said:
I would turn the question around and ask, Is this the generation the end of quality Multiplayer games?
Most games developed on consoles have Multiplayer added in as an afterthought. It is used quite often as an excuse to prolongue the longetivity of the game since most games on consoles are (I.M.O an emberrasing) 6-8 hours long.
Few games on consoles have the open-ended Multiplayer that really is good.
Most games developed on consoles have Multiplayer added in as an afterthought. It is used quite often as an excuse to prolongue the longetivity of the game since most games on consoles are (I.M.O an emberrasing) 6-8 hours long.
Few games on consoles have the open-ended Multiplayer that really is good.
all i need to say is half life, half life 2, half life 2 episode 1, half life 2 episode 2, half life 2 episode 3 (coming soon) and half life 3 (also coming soon) and im not getting into the massive pile of other games. just valve.
yeah it seems that multi player games are what it's all about now
i do prefer multi player games, but most of the time i dont bother with the story. like when i got waw i went strait to live mainly because of how great the multi was.
but i do like single player rpgs and i'd like to see a lot more heading out, but game company's make more money off of multi player because of expansions and such.
i do prefer multi player games, but most of the time i dont bother with the story. like when i got waw i went strait to live mainly because of how great the multi was.
but i do like single player rpgs and i'd like to see a lot more heading out, but game company's make more money off of multi player because of expansions and such.
I don't know what you're looking for exactly. If you're looking for a good single player RPG i suggest fallout 3 or Oblivion. If you're into JRPGs... well those are never multiplayer anyways. Sandbox games tend to have good single player, though GTA4 obviously wasted too much money making a boring multiplayer to care about a bland single player. Though you named off a bunch of first person shooters, and then you say "STOP BRINGING UP BIOSHOCK BECAUSE IT SUCKS" which it seems like that would be exactly what you're looking for. Short answer: No, probably not, but it seems like after this gen some form of multiplayer will probably be expected from games. Hell, it's happening now.