Traditional Single Player Experience Gone in 3 Years?!

[Asuka Soryu]

Cool. I now can save money by not buying games anymore. My PS3 doesn't do online. We don't have Wi-fi, we won't be getting wi-fi and I have yet to find a USB cord long enough to hook my console up to the internet, so if somehow "single player" requires you to be online at all, consider me not buying it.

 

[Xaio30]

I'll be graduating in 5 years. If SP is gone by then, I will put it back for you.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Tell that to little indie developers who can't afford to mess around with Social media connectivity and multi-single player. This prediction needs more fine tuning and modifiers.

 

[StrixMaxima]

Only if we, the consumers, let them get away with it. Companies are trying really hard to sell this shift as a "good thing" which it isn't. Sadly, gamers are easily led by candy, so prospects are grim.

For my part, I will not buy any game that goes aggressively in this direction (besides MMOs, obviously), such as Diablo 3. My gaming buck will find a better home elsewhere.

 

[orangeban]

I dunno, I've always liked single-player and I don't understand why people keep trying to make it less "single". It seems weird to me, why can't they just recognize the difference between single and multiplayer? Everyone understands the difference between reading a book and watching a play.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

So...in 2014 we can look at this article and say, "Didn't happen." I highly doubt single player is going anywhere.

 

[Vault101]

ehh all Im reading is "blah blah blah blah facebook...blah blah blah deamons souls"

actually when he said "facebook" I said "fuck off!" out ould :/ I dunno I think that kind of shit doesnt sit well with some gamers

my main problem is A. the internet issue B.having single player feel empty/or your missing out

 

[Macgyvercas]

Didn't Valve recently say something about Portal 2 being the last 'truly single player' game they were going to make?

I hope not. They still have to get Episode 3 out.

OT: Piss off Sony. You may think single player is the way of the past, but I personally prefer not to be dicked around by random passersby while I'm gaming unless I'm specifically i the mood for a multiplayer game. If you were Activision, I'd be yelling at you right now for treating single player like an afterthought. Now shut up and give me more stuff like God of War.

 

[-Dragmire-]

I imagine the Indy developers who can't afford to host servers will cover the traditional single player experience regardless of what the main console developers do.

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

Ah, the classic "someone says something, so it must be true" scenario.

Indeed. If some guy somewhere says so, it will come to pass. Search your feelings. You know it to be true. I doubt it will happen to every game. Even if it does, I guarantee it won't happen remotely near that quickly. I am curious to see what kinds of things people will try doing along those lines, though. There will be plenty of bad ideas that don't really add much to games, some really bad ones that manage to make them worse, and the occasional brilliant one that's so good that everyone copies it for anything they're making that it applies to, and we can't imagine what we ever did without it. Same as with anything else.

You keep your multiplayer the hell away from my Zelda! I don't care how much you think ANY form of multiplayer would benefit the game, keep it away. I don't want to play with other people, if I did, I wouldn't be playing Zelda.

Three words for you: Four Swords Adventures [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Four_Swords_Adventures]. Kind of underwhelming in single player, but with four people together in the same room it's ridiculously awesome. That they have failed to follow up on that (and the handful of other GC/GBA link games like FFCC and Pacman Vs.) on the Wii using DSes as controllers has made me very sad, and the Wii U only being able to use one of the fancy new controllers is criminal for that very reason.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

we'll see, if its executed like DS, it will only be a passive feature

 

[SixWingedAsura]

NOOOOOO!

I like my single player games! Screw everyone else! Stay out of my games! I hate people in general. They're a bunch of morons who refuse to work together with anyone, take the game too seriously (or not seriously enough), revel in my misfortune and generally ruin my gaming experience! I refuse to play with anyone not within head-smacking distance!

And if you're angry about the above post, then just realize I don't mean YOU specifically. I mean humanity as a whole.

People ruin my day to day life, stay out of my vidja games! D:

 

[Zeh Don]

These are, essentially, the same people who believed 3D Televisions would achieve total dominance by the end of 2013. Clearly, the adoption rate is incredibly low, and the number of 3D enabled homes can be counted without taking off your shoes*.

Take a look at the buzz surrounding The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Read some of the previews for the game. They almost all begin with something along the lines of:
"I have to say, it feels refreshingly freeing to be playing a single player only game without any shred of multiplayer."
The industry is clearly already nearing 'saturation', if I can use that word in this instance, for multiplayer-centric titles.

While 'being connected' is something publishers seem to think the vast majority of players want, it's really not. Starcraft II's Facebook intergration adoption numbers are something less than 5% - you'll need to Google the exact figure - so, even among the hardcore, 'being connected' isn't something the market is pushing for.
Bringing that into the single player component is simply the disguise that Online Only DRM systems will take in order to push themselves onto single player titles.
Fable II's orb system was basically ignored because, frankly, what the hell was the point?

If I want to play a multiplayer title, I'll buy a multiplayer game or play the multiplayer component of whichever game tickles my fancy at the time. Then, I mute all in-game voice chat, disable the chat box, and pretend I'm playing with smarter-than-usual bots.
If I want to play a single player title, I'll buy a single player game. Then, I'll enjoy a game experience centred around me.
Trying to mix the two together gets you Command & Conquer 4, Resident Evil 5 and Call of Juarez: The Cartel. Need I say more?

*Its more, but I like to exaggerate for effect.

 

[chase miller]

D: noooooooooooooooooo

 

[AtheistConservative]

I absolutely agree that the collapse of pure single player is certainly not going to happen within 3 years.

While I don't like multiplayer in general, including some aspects of it single player would not be an awful idea necessarily. Imagine for instance in Oblivion being able to see builds that your friends have done, especially if you got to "test run" them? Also one of the number one complaints in video games is low quality AI. Even good development companies run into getting AI controlled characters to never act like complete idiots. An obvious solution to this is to have either the players friends or strangers control enemies or friendlies.

I think I heard about them doing that in a game recently. Mindjack? From what I understand the idea was good in theory until the highly trained spec ops squad in your way stops to take turns teabagging your corpse. Kinda breaks the illusion a bit.

I'm not sure what you mean by "builds" though. Do you mean their character with their stats and stuff? Why would I need another person though? What's stopping me from just rolling that kind of character?

I don't have anything against multiplayer modes, but I don't see how it can really add to a single player campaign. Best to just keep em separated if you ask me.

Well if random idiots are ruining your game, that's why I did mention having friends control enemies. I absolutely love Oblivion, in fact its my favorite game. That said having enemies keep saying "Must have been the wind." when they have a couple arrows protruding from their face also ruins my immersion. I personally would be willing to play as bandit or a flame atronarch.

As far as builds, I do mean others people characters, with stats and possibly equipment. You wouldn't "need" to see your friends' characters, but for many new players they have no idea what they want, or what will actually be useful, seeing a character that's had hundreds of hours of gameplay answers those questions.

 

[Aircross]

There are games that should be single player only.

There are games that should be multiplayer only.

And there are games that can be both.

Now, the trick is knowing which is which.