Single Player Gaming Prevails
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with Drew sent me a link to Raph Koster’s Are single-player games doomed? “just to rile me up” and it did just that. Although his original post is from a year and a half ago, he made some ridiculous claims with such faulty logic that I still feel the need to respond to it here.
At the top of my list is his statement that “the console market will be 99% connected gameplay by the end of 2008 or so”. Of course, he didn’t supply any reference or evidence for this, so let me dispel it for you. This fall is perhaps the biggest release season for games in the past three years (Doom 3, Halo 2, and Half-Life 2 and all came out in the fall of 2004). And while there are some big console blockbuster releases that are anticipated for the multiplayer - like Halo 3, Team Fortress 2, and Unreal Tournament 3 - there are also some huge games that are entirely single-player - like Bioshock, Portal, Assassin’s Creed, and Mass Effect. Do you think that in one more year will that number change so that 99 out of 100 games will be in the multiplayer category?
Also, his definition of multiplayer is ludicrous: solitaire is multiplayer because “the large crowd playing Solitaire is doing it online, whilst chatting in a chat room.”
Whilst?
He claims that just because people are talking while playing a game, or talking about a game, that makes it multiplayer. If you and I are in a book club and we talk about the book, does that mean that my reading it was a multiplayer experience? Other people participated in my reading a novel because I discussed it? I’ve heard more sense about life and shared experiences come out of high existentialist hippies.
Although there other things I could mention, the last point I want to focus on is this: “These four Myers-Briggs types [of people who prefer single-player games] represent only 33% of the American population.” Let that sink in for a minute…
Holy crap! That’s much higher than I thought! Saying that this percentage is low enough to indicate the end of single-player gaming is like some movie industry executive saying, “You know, only a third of our viewers like dramas. The rest watch actions and comedies. Hmmm…that must mean that dramas are going the way of the dinosaur! No more demand for them! We should never make another drama. What money we’ll save!” Of course, if his studio followed the advice then the other studios who kept making dramas would just have a higher market share and rake in more dough. Just because a majority of people don’t watch or play a particular genre does not mean that there isn’t demand for it, and that there won’t be continuing demand in the years to come.
Finally, we all know that the Playstation 3 sucks right now (other than as a cheap Blue-Ray player, of course). So what is going to prop the system up, keep it alive, and actually get millions of people to buy it? Games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII. Single-player games with rich stories that you can’t get anywhere else. Will I talk about these games with my friends? Sure. I already do. Does that make them multiplayer? I don’t think so.
Single player gaming will not just survive alongside multiplayer gaming - it will prevail.
1
I agree with everything except for the last sentence. Games — like movies, music and other media have done before — will become more and more fragmented into niches and genres. High-end, low-end, surreal, artsy, mindless bloodbath, narrative, free-form, etc. It’s already well on its way.
To say that a single style of gaming will prevail is ignorant. Raph was correct to mention the increasing number of players from the other 66% of Myers-Briggs types. Most likely, these people will increase the demand for multiplayer games. However, we introverts aren’t just going to disappear. As you mentioned, we are the ones that drive the market, and there will always be demand for games like Halo from 33% of the population.
I also disagree with his assertion that forums and high score lists make a game multiplayer. That’s like saying sports like skiing, figure skating, skateboarding, long jump, hell, even golf are multiplayer. Sure, we can all marvel at the mad 1080s or the holes-in-one or the world record discus throw. There are forums and conferences for all of these sports, but when it comes down to it, it’s just one player against the framework of rules. Nothing anyone else does can affect what goes on.
2
(Trackback)
University Update - UN Studio - Single Player Gaming Prevails
[…] the Webmaster Single Player Gaming Prevails » This Summary is from an article posted at alwaysBETA on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 Drew sent me […]
3
I think this conversation is blending multiplayer games with what I’d refer to as conversational gaming. I tend to say I prefer multiplayer games, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy 1P games, especially if there is an element of discussion involved. Growing up my cousin and I would alternate playing the same content in Earthbound on different save states. If I go to watch a baseball game, I go for the beer and the conversation. I harass Brian *daily* about Starcraft strategy even though Battlenet sucks too much to allow me to actually play with him. While its rare that I’d buy a game I wouldn’t want to discuss with my friends, I’ll still play both ‘genres’ indiscriminately. Both are good fun in my book.
4
Good God, Battle.net still exists?
Also, discussing an article from 1Q2006 is a bit odd. Has Ralph written anything on the subject since then?
5
(aβ Member)
He said a little on the subject recently: http://www.raphkoster.com/2007/07/17/single-player-singularity/
I personally would *prefer* to play multiplayer games over single player (and I think the majority of people are in that position), but I don’t see single player games going away any time soon. He revised his statement and said that “Very soon, all single-player gaming will happen within a multiplayer context of connectivity, persistent and publicly visible profiles, and awareness of other users.”
Not sure if _all_ single player gaming will evolve in this direction, but I can see it happening for several games. Think Spore. Actually, don’t think Spore. I know you hate Spore.
But whatever, I’m still playing Dwarf Fortress till the cows come home.