A Single Player Gamer's Lament

I can't remember a time when video games weren't a part of my life. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of afternoons spent in my parent's basement playing their Atari 2600. I've owned at least one console from each generation since then. My closet full of video games is a constant reminder of the countless hours and thousands of dollars I've invested in this hobby over the last 3 decades.

That's why this current trend of shoehorning online multiplayer into every video game regardless of whether or not it actually makes the game better saddens me. I don't care for multiplayer, and devoting resources to that feature means a shorter and less polished single player portion of the game. More and more often recently, I have found myself questioning the wisdom of game purchases that would force me to pay for online multiplayer features that I will never use in order to enjoy single player experiences that are getting shorter and shorter. I understand that online multiplayer is very popular, and there is certainly a place for it in gaming, but must there be a place for it in *every single game*?

According to Frank Gibeau, president of the EA Games Label, the answer is yes. He recently declared that single player only games are finished. Here's my favorite portion of the article I just linked to:

Asked as to whether EA demand that their studios add a multiplayer component to every game, Gibeau said his job is more to "inspire" developers to consider the commercial ramifications.

Translation: Yes, EA is demanding that their studios add a multiplayer component to every game.

I can't imagine what "commercial ramifications" Gibeau could be talking about. Though single player only games are becoming a smaller and smaller portion of overall game releases each year, I can still point to recent games with no multiplayer content that have sold quite well. Games like EA's own Dead Space, Dragon Age: Origins, and Mass Effect 2 have sold several million copies each. This proves there is still an audience that wants games completely devoted to the single player experience. So why shut them out? Shouldn't a giant publisher like EA want to reach the broadest audience possible instead of catering solely to players who want mulitplayer? Gibeau's statement reads like a message for me and gamers like me. That message is "We don't care about you anymore. Take your disposable income elsewhere".

I should have been happy with last week's announcement of Mass Effect 3. As one of the few game franchises left where I could enjoy the entire game, the Mass Effect series holds a special place in my heart. But after reading about EA's policy of pushing multiplayer on its studios, my anticipation for this game has turned to dread. The announcement of a multiplayer add on for Mass Effect 3 seems inevitable. The only question is whether they will get my hopes up by delaying the announcement until we're near the game's release or kill my enthusiasm immediately by showing the press the multiplayer mode early next year. These days, delayed bad news is all I can hope for.

The day when the major publishers abandon single player games and force me to give up the hobby I have enjoyed for almost my entire life is coming. EA has made me more sure of that then ever.

Ive just been on and they have just said
"the new EA Card Game of Solitaire is now availible online with deathmatch multi player"
They are also adding a bonus weapons pack after completing each level!

sad eh? well if its going to get that bad it just might come true!