EA's Gibeau claims it isn't neglecting single player games after all
"I still passionately believe in single-player games and think we should build them."
EA Games president Frank Gibeau has clarified his statement that the publisher would no longer publish entirely single-player games.
He previously stated, "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."
He also said he was "very proud of the way EA evolved with consumers."
This caused an uproar from concerned fans that this emphasis on multiplayer would ruin tried-and-true single player experiences like the Dead Space franchise that was predicated on feelings of isolation and dread that came with playing solo. Its upcoming sequel Dead Space 3 adds optional co-op, which many feel is taking away resources that could be better spent fine-tuning the single-player.
Gibeau addressed these concerns in comments to Kotaku, where he stated what he meant was "anything that [doesn't have] an online service," not single-player specifically.
"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,' he explained.
"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."
"I'm not suggesting deathmatch must be in Bejeweled," he added. "You need to have a connected social experience where you're part of a large community."
He also noted that games like Sim City, Mass Effect 3, FIFA and Madden could be played entirely solo without their social features interrupting your experience.
"I still passionately believe in single-player games and think we should build them," Gibeau continued. "What I was trying to suggest with my comments was that as we move our company from being a packaged goods, fire-and-forget business to a digital business that has a service component to it. That's business-speak for 'I want to have a business that's alive and evolves and changes over time.'"