Just recently, EA’s Frank Gibeau spoke out to emphasize the importance of pursing multiplayer experiences, going so far as to say that “I have not green lit one game to be developed as a single player experience. Today, all of our games include online applications and digital services that make them live 24/7/365.”
Obviously this raised concern among many gamers, especially those interested in the more single-player heavy experiences that Electronic Arts currently publishes like Dead Space and Mass Effect.
The publishing exec has since clarified his statement to Kotaku, saying that his comments weren’t directed toward single-player experiences, but rather “anything that [doesn’t have] an online service.”
You can have a very deep single-player game but it has to have an ongoing content plan for keeping customers engaged beyond what’s on the initial disc. I’m not saying deathmatch must come to Mirror’s Edge.
What I’m saying is if you’re going do it, do it with an open-world game that’s a connected experience where you can actually see other players, you can co-operate, you can compete and it can be social.
How do you feel about Electronic Art’s philosophy on online and social gaming? Let us know in the comments below.
[Via]
