Single Player Gaming is a "Gimmick"

[Another World]

Gogogic CEO Jonas Antonsson would like the public to know that single player gaming is just a gimmick. Antonsson was recently interviewed at thealistdaily.com, where he went on to express that single player gaming developed out of a necessity for gaming sales. He goes on to state that "the arcade was the only serious attempt" at co-op experiences.

Whether you dislike it or not, we should all agree that multiplayer gaming has made an impact on the gaming industry. Some franchises would not exist if it was not for multiplayer gaming, but others pack an amazing game into the single player experience.

As our first real debate since the forum was updated, what are your feelings about single player gaming vs. multiplayer gaming? Is Antonsson correct, was single player video gaming simply a sales gimmick for these past 30 years?

Read the Full Interview
Tweet Your Comments to Jonas Antonsson

 

[PolloDiablo]

yeah... and hair is a gimmick too

 

[Another World]

Everyone should take a moment to read the comments on this twitter.

@closetgeekshow Fair enough. English is not my native language and this was an over-the-phone interview. I could have used another word

@Shade_Shooter we don't disagree. I am not saying SP should not exist or that they are "not real games" - nothing stupid like that.

@closetgeekshow I am not a native English speaker so I might have used a word that literally means what I was trying to say but is negative

he also has mixed in tweets about his stance on single player gaming. on one hand he doesn't seem to grasp it and is willing to stand up for his beliefs. on the other he is making excuses for the interview and how people perceived the article. it says in plain english that he thinks single player games are a gimmick and then in his twitter he comments that he has no idea how they continue to exist.

i feel that multiplayer games are more of a gimmick. the online experience is still limited in my opinion, and while it grows, i know for sure that we will see a trend to more interactive experiences. but it won't become mainstream until my generation has long since moved on from gaming.

-another world

 

[Rydian]

Well given light of the updates you just posted, this might as well be the average person trying to claim NASA is a gimmick.

I don't think there's anything to discuss here, at least that I'd care for.

 

[Mr. Prince]

It's his opinion and I COMPLETELY disagree. There some really good games that have really good single-player (Dark souls, Demon Souls, Mario, Legend of Zelda, Uncharted, Borderlands 1&2)

 

[DiscostewSM]

When I think of all the pre-teens yelling out during multiplayer campaigns over the net, I also think of how great it is to have a single-player experience. If it is considered a gimmick, then it is a good gimmick.

 

[TheDreamLord]

When I think of all the pre-teens yelling out during multiplayer campaigns over the net, I also think of how great it is to have a single-player experience. If it is considered a gimmick, then it is a good gimmick.

Not all kids are like this, I sure as hell didn't do this, but when it happens, yes, Multiplayer is a terrible thing. Having said that, most of my games I play are online so... Singleplayer games can be amazing. I love Just Cause 2 right now, and The Binding of Isaac.

 

[suppow]

in an era when all games are online-multiplayer only? hell no! that's a gimmick!
i still prefer SP

 

[Ericthegreat]

So I guess Final Fantasy was just a gimmick....

 

[431unknown]

"Social Gaming" is the real gimmick. Gaming has been fucken social since Pong and now they act like its something new just like fucken 3D. It may have changed a little but at the end of the day it's still the same old shit.

 

[beta4attack]

This is the most ridiculous thing a 'gamer' said I have ever heard... (Assuming he's a 'real' one)

 

[Forstride]

While I prefer multiplayer gaming (Well, depending on the game), it's always fun to just relax and play a good singleplayer game.

 

[Satangel]

It's his opinion and I COMPLETELY disagree. There some really good games that have really good single-player (Dark souls, Demon Souls, Mario, Legend of Zelda, Uncharted, Borderlands 1&2)

Assassins Creed? Skyrim? TES in general? Fallout?

 

[Issac]

I disagree... SP is for me the perfect way to enjoy games, in my own pace, experiencing a story.. much like reading a book, but a bit more interactive.

I don't want to be tied to playing with others, I want to play when I want to play.

And that SP would be a gimmick? Eh? Judging by his name, he's swedish, just like me.. and I don't understand what he tries to say.

 

[Qtis]

This is quite valid in one way. On the other hand, the opposite is just as true. Now that there are more and more people connected to the internet, it's possible to make single playerish games which in one way or another are multiplayer games (item prices in-game vary with other people's purchases etc).

Sometimes it's just so much more relaxing to play a game single player or two player co-op (split screen). Some of the best times I've been playing a game like CoD has been Split screen with a friend. Online on the other hand...

 

[FireGrey]

in an era when all games are online-multiplayer only? hell no! that's a gimmick!
i still prefer SP

To be fair, not that many games only have online-multiplayer and mutiplayer is pretty much the main point of gaming i guess.

 

[Fazermint]

I cannot fathom how someone can believe such a thing. But people are entitled to their own opinion, I guess.

For single player mode to be a gimmick, it would have to complement multiplayer mode. The opposite is (almost) always the case. Given he's not a native English speaker, one could assume he doesn't know the meaning of the word, but I think this was more of an excuse to fend off the angry replies.

Games like Final Fantasy can't be enjoyed in multiplayer mode because of the nature of the game. Implementing a multiplayer mode might be plausible, but it would, ironically, appear gimmicky.

 

[DSGamer64]

Online multiplayer games have ruined the quality of single player modes in many games over the last several years. Single player isn't a gimmick, and arcade multiplayer games were so limited in their capacity compared to today's games.

 

[gamefan5]

...

I have nothing to say. He's not worth arguing.

 

[zerofalcon]

If guys like these are meant to be the future gaming developers, well, expect A LOT of social networking crap games. These kind of "gamers/devs" makes me sick, I'm sure a lot of people like him never enjoyed a single player game in all it's glory, from A to Z, hours and hours searching every corner, reading every dialogue and discovering everything from the game itself, history and gameplay. Trying harder to improve skills in those hard games and again spending hours and hours in the process. Today devs (not all of them) are very weird.