EA: multiplayer now an "expectation"

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 4 November, 2011

But single-player only isn't dead.

Multiplayer is now an "expectation", according to EA - but single-player only games are not dead.

Multiplayer is of particular importance to shooters, Jeff Gamon, EA Partners executive producer on Syndicate, told Eurogamer.

"It's a matter of scope and value for money," he said. "We have to think in terms of our customers and the product. I don't think online and social modes are absolutely a requirement. It depends on the game. But it's rapidly becoming an expectation because it's becoming more and more common.

"We are making a first-person shooter with Syndicate. The kinds of people who play that want to play online with their friends."

Gamon denied, however, that the addition of co-op to Syndicate was a business decision designed to increase the value of the product in gamers' eyes. Instead, it was an attempt to recreate the feel of the first Syndicate game.

"When we're thinking about what kind of online game we wanted to make, co-op seemed the only way to go based on the original games," he said.

"Co-op for us was always equal partners in this. It wasn't about, we need to tick a box here. This is Syndicate. We're Starbreeze, so we're going to do a single-player campaign with a great narrative, really immersive, but it was a given to us this was going to be equal partner in the billing, with the co-op mode recreating that experience of the original game."

The issue of multiplayer in games was thrust into the limelight when BioWare announced a co-op mode for action role-playing game Mass Effect 3.

Some fans have complained about the mode, which sees players team up online in an attempt to boost their Galactic Readiness, saying it detracts from what has traditionally been an involving, epic single-player series.

When Eurogamer asked BioWare Edmonton general manager Aaryn Flynn whether single-player only games are dead, he replied: "I wouldn't go that far.

"For us, we looked at it and thought it would be fun to make a multiplayer game. Then we said, well, what's the right way to do it? This is what we hit upon as our solution to that. I hope fans agree."

Last year then EA Games label boss Frank Gibeau said 25 hours and you're out single-player only games were "finished". The future, he said, was "connected gameplay".

At Gamescom this year veteran video game consultant Mark Cerny, who has worked with Sony on games such as Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, Spyro and Ratchet & Clank, echoed Gibeau's comments, saying the traditional single-player only game experience would not exist by the end of 2014.

"Right now you sit in your living room and you're playing a game by yourself - we call it the sp mission or the single-player campaign," he said. "In a world with Facebook I just don't think that's going to last.

"A game without the presence of other players in it - you go out three or five years, I believe that is unthinkable given how connected we're becoming."

Resident Evil: Revelations assistant producer Tsukasa Takenaka, however, disagreed - despite the fact that his game includes a two-player co-op Raid mode.

"No I don't think that single-player only games are dead at all," he said. "I definitely think that depending on the experience the designer is trying to create the game they want to present, a single-player only experience is absolutely valid. I fully believe we're going to see single-player experiences moving forward.

"But in the case of Resident Evil: Revelations, we felt like we were lucky enough to present both of those experiences, with the campaign mode and also Raid mode. The great thing Raid mode gives the player is a bit of longevity for the game. It lets you come back to the game again and again with friends or even just by yourself and get more out for your money."

And another dissenting voice is that of Thatgamecompany's Robin Hunicke, producer on the upcoming PlayStation Network exclusive Journey.

"Games were always multiplayer for a long time and then they became single-player," she said. "The novelty of a single-player experience is still there. I love busy box games like Machinarium and I'm going to totally play it. I love that kind of experience where you go through this world and experience it, especially when it has beautiful art and sound. I don't think that's ever going to go away. It's like how a beautiful album you can listen to on your own is different than a concert. It's just different. But they're both really valuable. Being able to play your own music on the piano is different than listening to a record, but you still experience the composer through that act."

Journey takes place in a big, orange landscape where players can walk, glide and fly as they probe to uncover the history of an "ancient, mysterious civilisation". The online element means that you'll be bump into other people now and then and get to share the experience to some extent.

"Games are a medium that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways by a variety of people and it's really exciting to me that because of multiplayer games more people are now able to be brought into the experience," Hunicke continued. "You can play with someone else and they can bring you along. Maybe Journey will be that for a few people - a way to get over the initial barrier of performing in an online space."

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (48) Latest comment 7 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • CheesecakeBobby #1 7 months ago

    It's a shame single player is also considered an expectation *cough*Battlefield 3*cough*

  • orangpelupa #2 7 months ago

    yeah hoping those game with strong narrative will still exist as long as possible.

    but then maybe the developer founded a breakthru that able to make CoOp game that strong story and coop good

  • menage #3 7 months ago

    I think batman just proved you're wrong.

    And the DS2 MP was shite. Noone bought it for that.

  • Murton #4 7 months ago

    Multiplayer may be an expectation nowadays but it's often a disappointment as well.

    No dedicated servers, p2p host dropping, shit net code, no sense of balance, poor level design, really bad exploits/glitches.


    Single player immersive, engaging and enjoyable, multiplayer on the other hand is often frustrating, broken and simply not fun. If all games must have multiplayer, then make sure that they all have co-op, I have no interest in player competitive multiplayer until a developer turns up that is willing to do it properly.

  • jefranklin18 #5 7 months ago

    Here's the thing: I have no sodding interest in multiplayer* and I hate it when it is shoe-horned into a game. I dread a multiplayer version of Mirrors Edge, which I can unfortunately see happening.

    *except multiplayer only games only such as MAG

  • gooner77 #6 7 months ago

    I've barely touched SP on Battlefield 3 as I'm enjoying the MP so much (now thats its running smoothly). However if EA believe that MP is of such importance then why are their servers generally so shit (FIFA 12 etc)

  • barkertron #7 7 months ago

    I am quite glad that I'll be able to enjoy Skyrim without watching a bunch of other players running into walls and doing the running man on Max von Sydow's head.

    Also, "the single-player campaign... In a world with Facebook I just don't think that's going to last." Bleurgh. Get the fuck out of my face.

  • Slipstream #8 7 months ago

    Well yes, of course it's expected when it's tacted onto most of your releases, and you'll know you get sales if you buy up companies whose IPs have series potential and add it to them too.

    My opinion on this is if the multiplayer is of decent quality then I don't mind, as long as the single player doesn't suffer due to this, I really don't mind. Unfortunatly there aren't many developers who can get this right...yet.

  • arcam #9 7 months ago

    "In fiscal 2011, every one of EA's releases will have an online component, both downloadable content and online play," he told investors during a conference call"
    http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/all-ea-games-to-feature-online-dlc

    That is not someone basing decisions on what suits a game, or trying to recreate the feel of old classics. This is clearly policy for EA. That is someone making business decisions for business reasons and to pretend otherwise is just the usual PR BS.

  • Wizard83 #10 7 months ago

    I dread games becoming generic to the point where they are all SP & MP even if it doesnt fit!

    BF 3 SP is rubbish and nobody buys it for that so why not take that wasted energy and have more and better co-op missions?!

    AC2-B and now ME3 have totally seperate MP that doesnt even involve the main charactors - why?? These are story driven games!

    If your game is 25+ hours long thats value for money, no need to shoe horn MP in!

  • bad09 #11 7 months ago

    It's an expectation as in I expect you to shoehorn it in as well as some rip off DLC but that's about it.

  • Batfink #12 7 months ago

    I only plug the network cable into my xbox when there's a system update or patch I need. Multiplayer holds zero interest for me.

  • 32768Colours #13 7 months ago

    "We are making a first-person shooter with Syndicate. The kinds of people who play that want to play online with their friends."

    Really? A franchise that harks back to a time before online gaming, and you think that's what Syndicate fans want more than anything?

    Or are you just talking about people who play first person shooters? Because for me, you're wrong there too, given that I've played almost every fps worth playing but have probably clocked less than 10 hours playing online in all the time I've been playing games (about 27 years). In no way has it depreciated my enjoyment of the genre.

    I'm not against multiplayer, but I'd take split-screen over wearing a daft headset any day.

    Personally though - as if you couldn't guess - I much prefer single player campaigns. Not because I'm not social but because I enjoy immersing myself in the game world; something that doesn't come as easy when you have a friend chatting away or - worse - some random idiot mouthing of at every opportunity.

    They can say its not about ticking boxes and perhaps sometimes it isn't. But let's face it, multiplayer is only popular with publishers because when it takes off its a good cash cow. £10 map packs are probably an awful lot easier and cheaper to churn out than a whole new single player campaign.

  • Sikosh #14 7 months ago

    Multiplayer now an "expectation"

    No. No it's not.
    Edited by Sikosh at 04/11/11 @ 12:42

  • Armoured_Gideon #15 7 months ago

    Please go away with this. I don't want to play multiplayer. I really do not like it.

    Look, it's a personal thing. In my experience, venturing online into public multiplayer leads to frustrating hours spent enduring homophobic or racist rants, being repeatedly killed by American school children who are blessed with a preposterous abundance of time to play a given game to the extent that they are unbeatable; or at best desperately trying to co-ordinate group actions with ambivalent or just plain stupid strangers.

    I have so little free time these days, for what possible reason would I burn it on so unpleasant an experience?

    No, it's single player all the way for me, an experience I can control and take at my leisure, without having my ever-burgeoning sense of disappointment in the human race compounded by a ceaseless legion of frustrating strangers.

    If you like it, good for you. But the fact that 'death of single player' is something that can even be considered and discussed is terribly depressing.

  • evild_edd #16 7 months ago

    @Wizard83: "If your game is 25+ hours long thats value for money, no need to shoe horn MP in!"

    I don't think you can measure SP value in terms of game hours. You may be able to romp through some SP titles in 6-8 hours, but if they're great then you'll want to return to them. Replayability can be induced in a number of ways (score tables, challenges, bonus modes etc) as well as just encouraged by the game being so enjoyable that it warrants multiple play-throughs.

    Personally I'd rather have a fantastic but shorter title than feel as though I'm wading through a padded experience just so developers can claim a 20+hr SP campaign.

    That said, I agree that titles should be free to focus on their SP or MP strengths. No point shoe-horning in pointless modes that will get ignored or quickly abandoned by your customers.

  • Ranger101 #17 7 months ago

    "Multiplayer is now an "expectation" - Someone should tell Bethesda they're doing it wrong.

  • Yuroko #18 7 months ago

    Multi player is an expectation of the publisher (EA) so they can get the most out of their project 10 dollar.

  • Ranger101 #19 7 months ago

    @gooner77 The Campaign disc has yet to leave the case, might as well not exist for me.

  • TONYgr #20 7 months ago

    With the exception of sfiv's and the motorstorm games i haven't played anything online.Single player all the way lol!

  • -cerberus- #21 7 months ago

    What a sad gaming gen this is...

  • butler` #22 7 months ago

    welcome to 1998 EA

  • SheffAl #23 7 months ago

    Don't get me started on these bozos..

  • intpleeus #24 7 months ago

    Sure, I expect multiplayer like I expect a tacked on piece of crap that people only play for the achievements. I also expect bugs, bad voice-acting, and stupid box-art, but don't confuse such expectations for suggestions.
    Edited by intpleeus at 04/11/11 @ 14:28

  • MattEdWithCheese #25 7 months ago

    Because LA Noire was a massive failure wasn't it...?

  • sega #26 7 months ago

    I use games to challenge myself - beat a previous score, to reach the end, solve a puzzle and see what's behind the next door.

    In multiplayer I'm just shooting a bunch of foul mouthed American kids who I don't know and wouldn't want to know. No satisfaction. Well, maybe a little satisfaction.

  • arcam #27 7 months ago

    I don't understand how you can all play against people from the other side of the world. Even on console 'matchmaking' does it not pair you up from people nearby? If I had to play on laggy American servers I don't think I'd play online either.

  • StooMonster #28 7 months ago

    Multiplayer is now an "expectation", according to EA

    Expected by whom? Your marketing department? Your management team? Your shareholders?

    Here's the rub, single player games can be played and replayed forever (ish).

    Multi-player games can only be played as long as the servers are live.

    How long do EA keep servers up? Couple of years? Eighteen months?

    Ergo they've made games have a shorter life -- that is finite and fixed -- so you buy another one.

    Especially useful for getting people to buy the latest version of sports franchises.

  • v.profane #29 7 months ago

    Multi-player is only expected by the lowest common denominator 'nothing but FIFA/Madden and COD/BF crowd'. It's like a movie studio saying "people expect tits and explosions" to explain why their Miss Marple movie is so shitty.

  • Daeltaja #30 7 months ago

    Sigh.

    Nobody expected or wanted multiplayer with Dead Space 2. You THINK they expect it, but truth is, the don't. Tacking it onto established single player games doesn't increase sales.

  • Madder-Max #31 7 months ago

    Frontlines had dedicated servers where there were genuine 64 player matches and they were fucking awesome.....and that was three years ago. fairplay to Kaos for keeping them going for as long as possible. Sadly no more but still get the odd 24player + match

  • Toothball #32 7 months ago

    Ah, I came into this article expecting it to mostly be competitive multiplayer, which has never been a big draw for me. Co-op on the other hand I enjoy a great deal on the whole, so would be more than happy to see more of that in games.

  • Pumpatron #33 7 months ago

    "Right now you sit in your living room and you're playing a game by yourself - we call it the sp mission or the single-player campaign," he said. "In a world with Facebook I just don't think that's going to last."

    Fuck off! Just fuck off! not everyone wants or needs to be connected to other people when playing games, some games just don't need that shit. What is wrong with sitting in your living room and playing a game by yourself?

  • StooMonster #34 7 months ago

    "In a world with Facebook I just don't think that's going to last."

    I just don't think that Facebook is going to last in the world.

  • electrolite #35 7 months ago

    Let's hope single-player gaming isn't going anywhere. As soon as it does, I (and I suspect a lot of others) am out too.

  • Doctor_What #36 7 months ago

    What a bunch of twaddle.

  • Inmediasress #37 7 months ago

    I don't find word for this I seriously hope the whole industry crashes some time in the near future.
    Many said this before me so I don't need to re formulate it THIS IS SUCH A F***ING PR bullshit that anybody who buys into this deserves his MP infested future of gaming with watered down unrecognisable generes.
    I'm starting to hate gaming altogether.

  • Madder-Max #38 7 months ago

    i really hope that facebook gets destroyed

  • Inmediasress #39 7 months ago

    @Madder-Max
    Yep that's one of my other whishes.
    Don't need besdies the government other companies to keep a trackrecord of my nude photos and whom I associate with and why and when and where cause that's the only thign it's good for.
    I would say that's the sole reason for why they try to push this facebook mania so hard.

  • Spiders #40 7 months ago

    So now we see who is behind the absolutely absurd decision to put multiplayer into Mass Effect 3. I am glad EA haven't got their hands on the Elder Scrolls series.

    Any game were the gameplay depends upon other people playing is not a game I'll bother with.

  • danidrums #41 7 months ago

    My best times playing games, years ago, no internet connection at all.

    Edited by danidrums at 04/11/11 @ 23:04

  • Daikon #42 7 months ago

    Last year then EA Games label boss Frank Gibeau said 25 hours and you're out single-player only games were "finished". The future, he said, was "connected gameplay".

    I thought EA said that 3DO was the future?

    Does this also mean that they'll keep their multi-player servers running indefinitely or just until the next version of the same game comes out?

    "A game without the presence of other players in it - you go out three or five years, I believe that is unthinkable given how connected we're becoming."

    I don't need any screaming teenagers running around in my games. I like my gaming as a solitary experience thank you very much.

  • potatoes #43 7 months ago

    @Armoured_Gideon Couldn't have put it better myself

  • potatoes #44 7 months ago

    @evild_edd I totally agree. I just finished ico in just over 5 hours and it's still one of the best games I have ever played

  • jimr9999us #45 7 months ago

    uh, Skyrim anyone?

  • megalomaniacs4u #46 7 months ago

    Jeez i thought it was obvious. MP only games are fine as are SP only games just don't tack on a worthless MP mode onto a SP game and vice versa...

  • DwarfyP #47 7 months ago

    Exceptional single player games don't need a multiplayer (Batman for example). EA doesn't make those kinds of games though so multiplayer IS expected because that doesn't rely on the dire attempts at doing a story.

  • stryker1121 #48 7 months ago

    The one point I think people are getting a little twisted is that these industry folks are not saying SP games have no place in the market, it's just in a few years most every game will include some kind of social component. There will always be a place for campaign gaming, but you're gonna get that co-op/multiplay mode option, too. How successfully and consistently devs can strike a solid balance between the two modes remains to be seen.
    Edited by stryker1121 at 07/11/11 @ 00:12