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[alr1ght]

Saves me from having to update my PC. I have a huge backlog as it is and I have zero interest in where the AAA market is going. Hopefully Nintendo and Sony stay the course and leave the whale hunting for the third parties.

How many of these "play forever" games can the market support? Will each publisher put out one game per year? There's only so much time.

 

[Aranjah]

I've pretty much hit the limit on GaaS games that I physically have time for, so good luck with that, to all of those upcoming GaaS games I can write off out of hand.

 

[Toxi]

Welp, looks like I'll just stop buying AAA video games.

 

[Lime]

One of the reasons why single player is less present in future AAA spaces is because it doesn’t allow publishers to continuously extract money from consumers

 

[lazygecko]

Another case of AAA tunnel vision. Article doesn't even mention Hellblade and what it means for that type of experience carving out a sustainable niche in the market.

 

[shimon]

Hey, go figure! Nintendo the last bastion of HARDCORE GAMING. Lol irony

Who would've thought, right?

 

[Strangelove77]

Thank god I'll be dead in the next decade or so. Probably.

 

[James Scott]

I think part of the reason for EA cancelling single player games is...well, that they’re bad at them.
They ruined Dead Space, they ruined Mass Effect (twice), they tried to make Mirror’s Edge open world and it sucked because of it.

 

[Lunar15]

I feel like we get this scare every couple of years. I remember back when multiplayer shooters were becoming huge on console and people lamented that single player games were going away. But they haven't yet, so I'll complain once they do. There was a time when every single player game was going to be episodic, but that trend came and passed. There was a time when everything was going to be MMO's, but that time has come and passed.

GaaS is a major trend in gaming, but I do feel like that if everyone is chasing "destiny clones", it's just the WoW chase in console form.

 

[Crossing Eden]

 

[Yonafunu]

Did you just copy-paste the entire article in the OP? That's a way to do it I guess.

Edit: nevermind!

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Fair enough, but you weren't buying the game then if you had no money? That's my point. Just like someone who will wait 2 months for Denuvo to be cracked (

Spoiler

not anymore

) was never going to buy your game.

Streaming videos/videos, in general, affect all games too. Not just SP games. Many will repeatedly point to exposure sometimes boosting sales. Especially if fan favourite streamers get ahold of a game.

Sometimes you want to wait but then you think "Well, I already saw someone else play this game. I know what it's like. I know it's mechanics. I technically experienced the gameplay, not physically, but through someone else." And then you don't buy it cuz you mentally convince yourself that you had your fill.

It's a psychological thing, and yes it also affects multiplayer games.

 

[Credo]

And when single player games go away, I go away from new games. My interest in multiplayer has dropped continually over the past few years, so I guess I should start making a giant backlog list for my 100% retro future.

 

[Aaron D.]

I can see the truth in this sentiment in regards to escalating AAA gaming budgets and the need to monetize the experience.

- Good thing that AAA gaming is a tiny fraction of the overall gaming landscape.

- Good thing that I'm not heavily invested in that market.

- Good thing that there's lifetimes-worth of good old fashioned single-player gaming at mid & lower-tier budget levels coming out each and every year.

The overall market is big enough to sustain both models. And people will naturally gravitate to those that best meets their needs.

No harm, no foul.

 

[I-hate-u]

Hey, go figure! Nintendo the last bastion of HARDCORE GAMING. Lol irony

The company that implemented paid online can also implement GAAS.

 

[Fisty]

Japan and Sony, please keep my single-player masterpieces alive

 

[ZeoVGM]

That is massively overdramatic.

So it's a Polygon article.

That's false on a factual level and not based in any truth.

 

[BritBloke916]

To be fair, he did specify linear, cinematic games.

He called out Horizon: Zero Dawn as an example of a dying breed.

 

[dark10x]

This year has become a banner year for single player games and many of them were hugely successful. I don’t think they are disappearing.

...but it’s not enough for some publishers, unfortunately.

 

[Toxi]

We see this pretty much every year....and every year we keep getting solo experiences that are some of the best games out there.

What those developers are missing is that their "open world single player experiences" just weren't awesome.

*Points at Prey* Not all the awesome games are doing well.

 

[alr1ght]

One of the reasons why single player is less present in future AAA spaces is because it doesn’t allow publishers to continuously extract money from consumers

That's the only reason.

 

[Slayven]

I’d like my royalty check, Polygon

Your take wasn't hot enough,

 

[Raven117]

*Points at Prey*

Points at Bethesda.

Edit: Though admittedly, Prey, Dishonored 2 really deserved better. They were master class.

 

[Apathy]

Come on, it's not like ea was the last bastion of single player games. This is hyperbole. Single player story driven games will continue, and sure it might be just from the companies that own the consoles, but they'll continue.

Sony has big studios dedicated to single player games and are considered The best at what they do.

 

[zenosparadox]

A single-player game with "only" 10-20 hours of content should not cost as much as these multiplayer, open-world games. The struggling economy is a red herring, imho.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

If I find a game I can play for a decade and not get sick of, and the studio continues to support it with content, bring it on.

Single player is diminishing returns financially, and I'm ok with that all going away or turning into games as a service. Glad the industry is going this route, because it fits my play style.

 

[Mutagenic]

I remember when GTAV launched and I heard the exact same thing. “It could very well be the last big single player experience”.

 

[James Scott]

*Points at Prey* Not all the awesome games are doing well.

Prey had a horrible demo that did more harm than good. Pretty sure it had technical issues near launch on some platforms.

 

[Audioboxer]

Sometimes you want to wait but then you think "Well, I already saw someone else play this game. I know what it's like. I know it's mechanics. I technically experienced the gameplay, not physically, but through someone else."

It's a psychological thing, and yes it also affects multiplayer games.

Well, just like piracy claims for "substantial loss of sales", I'd want to see some receipts on this.

Not getting at you ElBoxyBrown, just saying this is a similar kind of argument wheeled out to say piracy is the end all and be all problem. I don't want the pubs then trying to say it's all streamings fault. The same pubs who purposefully give streamers early copies to stream to their fans.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Uncharted 4 is the best (and possibly last) game of its kind

There is like no part of this line that I agree with.

 

[Trago]

That game will have multiplayer!

 

[BorkBork]

It’s mostly the death of AAA high end linear single player games more than the death of single player games in general.

There have been a ton of single player games just this year with vastly varying budgets and styles

Yup. I just won't spend money on AAA games. I can get 4-5 times the amount of great experiences for the same amount of money.

 

[BritBloke916]

I remember when GTAV launched and I heard the exact same thing. “It could very well be the last big single player experience”.

GTAV's multiplayer component generates mega bucks. It is not a single player only game.

 

[Acorn]

When we reach the point nobody invests in single player rpgs or action adventures gaming will be done for me.

I enjoy some multi games but single player games beat them in time played and enjoyment.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Well, just like piracy claims for "substantial loss of sales", I'd want to see some receipts on this.

Not getting at you ElBoxyBrown, just saying this is a similar kind of argument wheeled out to say piracy is the end all and be all problem. I don't want the pubs then trying to say it's all streamings fault. The same pubs who purposefully give streamers early copies to stream to their fans.

I think most pubs just accept the risk when it comes to streaming or YouTube. It's not something they can stop and it's still cheaper advertising for their game.

 

[RSchmitz]

You know, The Last of US part 2, we really are The Last of Us.

 

[Mutagenic]

GTAV's multiplayer component generates mega bucks. It is not a single player only game.

No, it’s not. That is correct. But it was all about the single player at launch and that’s what they said way back then, that we would probably not be getting high budget single player experiences going forward.

 

[dark10x]

That game will have multiplayer!

That’s fine, so did Uncharted staring with 2. So did Metroid Prime 2. It clearly isn’t the main focus.

 

[benicillin]

EA 2010:

https://www.wired.com/2010/12/ea-single-player/

Speaking to Develop, EA Games label president Frank Gibeau discussed the company’s new business model, which includes shying away from offline, single-player games.

“[We’re] very comfortable moving the discussion towards how we make connected gameplay — be it cooperative or multiplayer or online services — as opposed to fire-and-forget, packaged goods only, single-player, 25-hours-and you’re out,” Gibeau said. “I think that model is finished. Online is where the innovation, and the action, is at.”

God damn Frank Gibeau finally finished what he started.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

But the film is not even out yet, this is premature clickbait.

 

[Hero]

Case in Point:

but I can't speak to the Western AAA market or what AAA Western publisher want to do

Critical reception doesn't have a direct correlation with commercial success.

If the average publisher making a AAA game needs to match the quality of games like Breath of the Wild and Horizon then most of them are better off chasing the loot crate // MT action.

 

[Prompto]

"You know single player games, we truly are the last of us"

 

[TemplaerDude]

AAA single player may be, perhaps. This article is nonsense that has been repeated in some or fashion now for a decade.

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

Yeah I thought of that, God of War and several other SP games. Did Polygon forget about those games? Very odd.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Case in Point:

but I can't speak to the Western AAA market or what AAA Western publisher want to do

Exactly. This is very much a Western AAA dev phenomenon, not an industry wide problem.

 

[BritBloke916]

No, it’s not. That is correct. But it was all about the single player at launch and that’s what they said way back then, that we would probably not be getting high budget single player experiences going forward.

Sorry, I misunderstood your point.

 

[Trago]

That’s fine, so did Uncharted staring with 2. So did Metroid Prime 2. It clearly isn’t the main focus.

No, but the developer will monetize the game overtime thanks to mutliplayer though. It's gonna be a big focus.

 

[Spieler Eins]

I don't know what to tell anybody who thinks EA is the place to make a judgement on the state of singleplayer games. Especially when it is because of this news in particular. I can't remember the last time I bought an EA game, so this isn't exactly earth shattering.
How about playing Resident Evil 7, Yakuza 0, Horizon, Nier, Crash Bandicoot,...?

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Exactly. This is very much a Western AAA dev phenomenon, not an industry wide problem.

The big Japanese devs are experimenting with GAAS. The obvious one being Capcom.

 

[CanUKlehead]

Case in Point:

but I can't speak to the Western AAA market or what AAA Western publisher want to do

I don't think anyone's thinking they'll drop off the face of the earth asap, but much like a lot of trends in the industry, it's slow as companies try different things; horse armour was just a decade ago and now DLC is expected, if not demanded. In bursts, multiplayer already gets shoehorned in games where it wasn't requested, like in Bioshock or Uncharted, so whilst I still expect to get Elder Scrolls 8, I'm guessing they'll be few and far between.

Hell, Zelda already did multiplayer, who's to say the next/major release won't be an MMO?