Veteran video game consultant, Mark Cerny, who has worked with Sony on such titles as Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, Spyro and Ratchet & Clank, recently stated during a Sony panel discussion that he believes single-player games will be all but dead in three years.
I believe the traditional single-player game experience will be gone in three years…In a world with Facebook I just don’t think that’s going to last.
Cerney stated single-player games are becoming more and more intertwined with social networks and that sooner rather than later single-player games will die out.
He also pointed out that currently there’s no name for such type of a games, they aren’t single-player and they’re certainly not multiplayer, but somewhere in-between. Maybe Nintendo got it right with their recent trademark of the phrase “massively single player“.
When I first saw the title I thought, no chance, some people just aren’t into the whole multiplayer aspect of gaming, but now that I’ve had some time to mull it over, I completely agree. With gaming services like Steam, Xbox Live and PS Network, where players are already connected to a gaming network with their friends, why not introduce additional social connectivity for those game?
Think of it like Farmville on Facebook where you’re playing a single-player game, but can visit other people farms and interact with them. Now translate that to a game like GTA where a friend of yours decides he’s going to jump in and take the role of a random pedestrian while your continuing your single-player game, that seems pretty cool.
“A game without the presence of other players in it – you go out three or five years, I believe that is unthinkable given how connected we’re becoming,” Cerny concluded.
I’m not much of a Sony fan, but I’ll try to stay civil. :P
Sounds like More Sony speil to me. What he really means is all games will go the online route for their DRM scheme.
Maybe all THEIR games will be online required, but not all games. Maybe even a large portion of AAA games from big publishers like Sony/EA/Ubisoft will be. Since it was a Sony discussion panel, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on speaking for their games only. Although it’s very like Sony to think of themselves very highly and therefore able to speak for all games in general.
There will always be indies going against the grain regardless, and with the upward trend of hugely popular indies, they can’t be discounted as minor anymore.
August 17th, 2011 at 6:59 pmQuote
This is horribly wrong propaganda.
1.) Facebook sucks, and, like myspace, will one day be cast out. It is a blue and white (non customizable) Grocery list of life events. It just managed to secure contracts with Apple, before Myspace did, hence, myspaces eventual death. It is not the future of gaming, and the only games it supports are browers based games, and by support, I mean it just asks other people to share pigs from their “Farmville”. So… STFU stupid article.
2.) THE MASSIVE money game companies pull in is through single player titles. MMOS are a boring genre to most, it is usually for the oerson with no life who can sit for hours on end. SIngle player games give the other (and most populated market) the opportunity to enjoy quality at their total control. For example. I have played and quit every mmo ont he market due to some kind of poor feature, cash shop, class desgin etc… But I ALWAYS replay Mass Effect, and FALLOUT 3!! Awesome games for single player. Also, Single player games allow, like fallout 3, MASS GORE. Heads come off, bodys explode. You can’t put that in ANY OF SONYs games. So the answer to this crap is, NO SONY you are a dying gaming company due to your horribly management and titles. Please die quietly, your oppinions in the market are off and just filled with marketing ideas by macho minded japanese guys that prefer to cut thier own throats to make a profit.
August 18th, 2011 at 2:40 amQuote
And why is Runes of Magic the photo here? *fce palm*
August 18th, 2011 at 2:41 amQuote
yeah, I think its the wrong image hehehe
August 19th, 2011 at 1:42 ambut I really love your review here.
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ButtLord needs to get the shit out of his eyes. Japan has technology years ahead of us, therfore making better games and look at how many blockbuster games there are for the ps3 compared to xbox 360 and not to mention the advanced graphic engine ps3 has. Just look at the facts.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:36 amQuote