So for a while now the trend has been towards the dominance of multi-player experiences, from MMOs to Halo these are the titles that are at the top of the industry right now. Even games that you couldn’t imagine moving towards a multi-player stance, like Dead Space or Assassin’s Creed, are having success with integrating a multi-player component. We’re at the point now where EA are on record as saying they don’t see a place for single player only games going forwards. So the question is simple, is this the end of the single player experience?
As someone who rarely plays online I feel like I should say I really hope not, but then again my two biggest picks from last year (Halo: Reach and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood) had compelling single player campaigns that were simply expanded by multi-player experiences if you chose to logon. I didn’t do that much, or at all with Brotherhood, but I didn’t really feel like I was missing out on anything by focusing on the solo experience. I still loved the titles; even without Brotherhood’s multi-player I still invested a good twenty to thirty hours in it.
I am, however, perfectly aware that my attitude to multi-player modes certainly makes me an outlier in modern gaming, the number of hours that players are now putting into multi-player games makes that pretty clear. Gamers collectively invest tens of millions of hours into multi-player gaming, so even though I bare no real love for going online with my games I can certainly understand why it’s cropping up in more games.
The real question is why do developers want you online with their games? Most titles are free to play from the developer’s point of view; although you may pay Microsoft for an Xbox Live Gold account that’s not being channelled to the developer or publisher when you play one of their titles. Of course the obvious answer is multi-player DLC. New maps, costumes etc… can easily be added into online modes without needing a huge amount of work put into getting it to fit with the single player campaign. Rather than writing a new story and making it work with what already exists, you simply slot in new content without worrying about how it interacts with the rest of the title.
The other reason, one that may actually be more important but is often overlooked, is to do with the “long tail”. Developers and publishers want you to still be playing their title months or years after release, even if you’re not giving them any money for the privilege. Why? Well firstly even if you’re not paying them anything, you’re helping to keep the game thriving and others may well buy something. Secondly it keeps the game fresh in your mind, and makes it significantly more likely that you’ll buy another one of their titles in the future.
Given these factors it seems logical for developer’s to focus on multi-player content over single player content. However I don’t think single player gaming is dead quite yet, more that it’s going through an evolution. It started with titles like Gears of War implementing drop-in, drop-out co-op throughout the game. Now titles like Mindjack and Brink are taking it a step further, with other players able to become not just your comrades but also you’re enemies.
This integration of multi-player into single player modes seems like it’s the natural next stop in gaming. Not abandoning single player altogether, but just pulling multi and single player experiences together into one cohesive experience. I don’t think we’re seeing the last hurrah of solo play, we’re just starting to see hints of what may come next.
matthangzhou
I much prefer the single player aspects of games but I don’t mind online multiplayer as long as they don’t have ridiculous online trophies to drag out play.
cc_star
Multiplayer is the key loyalty driver, it is also the key means for add-on sales.
Money makes the world go round, ergo more single player experiences will be leveraged for multiplayer components until all big budget games have some way of earning additional revenue (the best way for this is some form of multiplayer component)
So whilst single player may not die, people will find publishers investments in them decrease over the remainder of this gen, as online co-ops, team & vs multiplayer take the big-budgets.
reduced costs of online distribution will go someway to solve this problem, although the ‘long tail’ of multiplayer component will encroach here more & more too.
elpablo79
A good point, 3 mates in a room with you on a multiplayer game is a fantastic experience and the best form of multiplayer, still surprising his some games don’t have split screen this generation
Voganlight
Nothing beats local multiplayer in terms of fun.
fattyuk
No,
Single player is going no where.
Spence1115
I can’t stand online multiplayer with anyone other than friends. Were single player to vanish, then no new games for me.
lenn117
thats a good read mate…some very good points!!
PoorPaddy89
Single player is certainly nowhere near ‘dead’. Gaming is finally being taken seriously as a medium and we’re going to see much more interesting stories in single-player games as creative types find games a better outlet than film. Look at Heavy Rain – we’re going to get even more unique experiences as time goes on.
I too play single-player about 99% of the time. I dipped into Killzone 2 for the first time in a long time recently and enjoyed it, but I really need the story there for me to keep me interested. I think I would pay online more if there was more co-op – Resistance 2 on co-op was probably my favourite online experience and I didn’t find reaching the highest level a slog at all. The 10,000 kills trophy I abandoned a quarter of the way through as competitive online just doesn’t float my boat.
For me the only way to play multiplayer is locally. Joking about with friends on LittleBigPlanet, abusing each other on Call of Duty, or shaming family on Buzz! is a fantastic experience, and one you simply can’t replicate with online even if you have a headset.
PoorPaddy89
*play online more
Also I forgot to mention I play a bit of LittleBigPlanet 2 with online multiplayer, but again that’s due to the (largely) co-op nature of the game.
moshi
I am a very antisocial social man and the single player is 100% essential for me and mutliplayer does seem to be creeping into every game possible, I can see the benefits of it all but most times I just want to play by myself.
Phil_E
As long as the single player doesn’t suffer from adding multiplayer then I think it is OK. Also different online experiences like what AC:Brotherhood offers are a good change from the rest of online FPS
lukieboy1981
I don’t think single player is dead it is going to evolve I think as suggested in the article. Personally I spend most of my time with playing games using the MP parts. I love CoD, I have mega amounts of fun on MAG with the clan I am in (MAG does really well for an online only game) and even my most recent purchase of LBP2 is largely online based.
I like playing with/against other “real-life” people, great laughs can be had when you play with the same people regularly. With Portal 2 just around the corner we are seeing more and more of it’s co-op mode which looks fantastic and will really encourage prole to work together and talk too.
@BG123 what did you mean when you said MP is “one of the biggest things wrongs with games today”. I agree MP should not just be tacked on for the sake of it (Bioshock 2 anyone?) but I think that it mostly enhances the whole experience.