Dead Space 2 Developer: Market ‘Not Rewarding’ Single-Player Only Games

Persistantthug5681d ago

And it doesn't have to be competitive online...Co-op could work.

You could even do some things like Demon's Souls did.

But yeah...I want something other than the same ol same ol, otherwise I'm likely to rent or trade for said game with someone on Craigslist (I don't really like Gamestop).

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-Alpha5681d ago (Edited 5681d ago )

Demon's Souls multiplayer wasn't tacked on, it was legitimately integrated. Games like Dead Space weren't initially built for that and the MP system now is just another boring, typical game.

I sympathize with this guy. This is the problem devs are facing-- either make a MP component or expect gamers to rent your game instead of buying it.

Realistically, games are much more expensive than ever before. Why pay $60 for a short game that you will end up putting away after you beat its really short Single Player component?

The masses stick to games that offer longer content because they can't drop $60 every other week on a new game.

And it's really too bad, because single player games, though short, tend to have much more originality and are worth playing.

As long as the Multiplayer doesn't bring down the Single Player I can care less with devs putting resources into achieving higher sales. But I often wonder how much better a SP would have been if not for the MP.

Personally, I can't afford short single player games if I need a new game to entertain me for a good while. However, I usually buy a lot of older short games for cheaper, like Bioshock 1, etc.

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zeeshan5681d ago

I don't agree! Assassins Creed franchise has done great and so far, it hasn't had multiplayer at all. Same goes for GOD OF WAR. It sold great!

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badz1495681d ago (Edited 5681d ago )

you know, the service that makes paying for it not worth it if your games doesn't have online. it makes good games without online sold badly and mediocre games with online sold great! although some earlier games like Bioshock 'survived', but nowadays it's no more! recent victims: Dead Space, ME2, AW, Enslaved etc. I know game could be a bit cheaper and with 60 quid, people are expecting more but this lead to shorter games and people like Kotick manipulating the mentality to its fullest with annual crap and over-priced DLC knowing that gamers WILL pay!

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AAACE55681d ago

I don't feel bad at all! It's hard to justify buying a single player game at full price. I'm sorry, but they don't put enough effort into games these days to make them feel worth the price. I don't have the time or patience to play the same game several times because I take advantage of everything the first time through. And because I have a life, I can't see myself wasting time doing it all over again.

I like games with multiplayer, because I can jump in, get a little play in, and move on. I don't have the patience to sit and play games for several hours at a time anymore.

I remember games used to be so much fun that you almost felt like you had to play through them again, but the way they are making games today... there are very few that are worth the effort!

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Enate5681d ago

You had the same idea as me and my friends. A separate co-op mode could have been pretty cool. Though after playing the beta the multiplayer felt tacked on like I knew it would. I wish devs would realize that like you said competitive online is not the only way. Could have had like I co-op horde mode through out the colony or something cool like that. Up to 4 players with the custom gear and layouts.

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ct035681d ago

Multiplayer in Dead Space is completely pointless. I won't touch it.

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Solidus187-SCMilk5681d ago (Edited 5681d ago )

but for dead space 2 Id like a co-op survival mode against waves of monsters. As you get credits/xp you can get upgrades and fight harder monsters.

that would be cool, but I dont really want a vs in this game.

Im sure DS 2 will sell more than DS 1, even if it didnt have multiplayer.

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NYC_Gamer5681d ago

so lets force mp into all of our games?if this kind of thinking keeps going on i'll buy less software

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rbanke5681d ago

I agree to a point, I typically dont play MP in games more than a few days with a few exceptions. However, these dev's are in a hard place. So many people swear off single player only games or just rent them or buy them when there at bargain bin prices. I'm ok with them adding (imo throwaway) MP to their games as long as it does not detract from the SP. And so far, there really hasn't been too many games that I can tell where the SP suffered from a tacked on MP.

Blaster_Master5681d ago

I was in the Dead Space 2 beta and the multiplayer didn't seem forced at all. If anything I was really addicted to it. It was more than fun, it was freakin awesome.

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NecrumSlavery5681d ago

I was in there too, but I thought it was horrible.

I would love to see a survival/horde mode against the creatures, but the balance was horendous.

HolyOrangeCows5681d ago

"but the balance was horendous"

Agreed. The Necromorphs could spawn too quickly.

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IMChampion5681d ago (Edited 5681d ago )

Put it like this, its the first beta I've ever deleted off my PS3...and I was in the Socom Confrontation beta.

EDIT: Seriously though, they'd rather mar their game with a forced mp add-on just to please the masses? You can't come back from something like that.

Look at the state of Sonic franchise today.

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HolyOrangeCows5681d ago

"its the first beta I've ever deleted off my PS3"

Same here.

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Blaster_Master5681d ago (Edited 5681d ago )

Well if you didn't like it, doesn't mean other people wouldn't. Also its not like Visceral are working on it. They are outsourcing it to another third party dev. So why is it an issue again?

@Imchampion

name one game that is as good as Dead Space to have a tacked on mp that destroyed the series?

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IMChampion5681d ago (Edited 5681d ago )

You are missing the point. It's not about me its about the whole and really, how many people knew Visceral wasn't working on it? I didn't nor do I care.

It's an issue because it can put irreparable harm on the franchise and make it irrelevant. If you don't know that fact then you must be new to gaming.

@Blaster_Master I'm not trying to start an argument, I'm just stating my opinion. If I had to go from recent memory though I'd go with Bioshock 2. You don't hear anyone raving about the mp in that one. Though not totally tarnished since Infinite looks superb.

The movie coming out now, thats a whole different league.

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A Cupcake for Gabe5681d ago

This is also an issue because trophy hunters such as myself get jipped by tacked on MP. Example: No one plays Singularity, so it's nearly impossible to get a platinum. Bioshock 2 had enough people to get online but it was a nightmare to grind XP sometimes.

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Blaster_Master5681d ago

OMG, what a noob? Bioshock 2 wasn't made from the original creators of Bioshock 1. Irrational games let 2K Marin make Bioshock 2 by themselves. I understand that you dont have to know much about the game development to love the games, but I suggest you do some research before you start talkin out your butt cause you are obviously behind when it comes to knowledge of who makes what and why in regards to making video games this gen.

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LumpsRGood5681d ago

I think it's about people looking for more bang for their buck, honestly. A game with single player loses out to a game with multiplayer in my book, even if I never touch the MP part.

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Neckbear5681d ago (Edited 5681d ago )

Tolerance to play the same 5-10 maps over and over and over with slight variations on the insults kids use against you isn't getting "more bang for your buck".

Hell, did you think the first Dead Space needed multiplayer? Of course not.

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Greek God5681d ago

BACK in the old ps1 ps2 times nobody needed mp
well atleast dont rush the sp
im buying Deadpsace 2 for the sp only

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darkdoom30005681d ago

It's true... but some SPonly games find some success

Uncharted did quite well, uncharted 2 did better, even though most people didnt touch MP (which was awesome BTW)

god of war 3 sold 3 mil. :)

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Ducky5681d ago (Edited 5681d ago )

Depends on what form of multiplayer they're going.
If it's a VS mode, then... meh, it doesn't really fit.

Though a lot of games nowadays have the capability of weaving Co-Op into the game, which would be a welcome addition. Might not work too well in a horror setting (ResidentEvil5, I'm looking at you) but it can still add some replay value.

Either that or you just toss the fear factor out the window and go for a L4D style approach for the multiplayer part of the game. As long as it's something new and makes sense, instead of the generic TDM pathway.

Coolmanrico5681d ago

I think it's possible to have Co-Op in a horror game and it working. The "Lost in Nightmare" expansion was a pleastant surpize, because it had a diffrent feel from the main game or the other expansion. I have replayed RE5 more than any other game in the series, just because I can experience it with my brother. RE VS mode didn't intrest me one bit and from the looks of it I might be stay clear of Dead Space 2's Multiplayer mode.

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Replies(3)

Ether5681d ago

Atleastt he's being honest about why they decided to include MP. This is a very unfortunate turn of events for the gaming industry.

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SSKILLZ5681d ago

so true , uncharted 2 is a blast online , just so much fun, plus co-op.

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360nPS3rTheSAME5681d ago

'agree' and 'disagree'. I like sp and don't want a short sp campaign as a result of too much focus on mp. In survival horror games co-op mode I think the difficulty should be old school hard. Like if there's no true teamwork then winning should be nearly impossible. Maybe it wouldn't be as scary but the intense feeling of relying on your buddy woul make up for it. Ds2 doesn't need mp but if done correctly without the sp campaign suffering then I can't complain

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El-Fenemeno12135681d ago

Nowadays alot of people won't purchase a single player game only, unless it's used. They want multiplayer, i know it's sad.

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vickers5005681d ago

No, what's sad, is that most of these sp only games only offer a very short experience, and also cost the full 65. Most people tend to only play a campaign twice through(and that's only if they like the game).

What do you expect when they jack up the prices with the next gen and offer LESS content? Why in the hell would people pay full price for a game that they are most likely only going to play through once? Why not just WAIT for the game to drop in price and wait for inevitable "goty" version which has tons more content for the same price as it originally launched?

Times are tough money-wise these days, and most of us don't have enough money to lend support to the devs, even though we may want to. There are plenty of games I wish I had enough money to buy brand new launch day, but ended up having to buy later on at like less than half price, due to the expensive prices of games today. It's either buy the game when it first comes out and have that one game tide you over for a long time, or wait for it to drop in price and buy more games. Most of us cannot afford the whole "I did a good thing today by supporting a small time dev by buying their product at launch" thing.

As for multiplayer, well some people just think it holds more replay value than sp. In mp, matches are never quite the same, because you are going up against an actual human who is unpredictable (well, most of the time). In sp, it's pre-programmed AI that once you learn their strategy, you know every enemies strategy from their on out, and it just makes you feel like you are playing the same thing over and over again. That's just my opinion though, I know it's different for some people.

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Aclay5681d ago (Edited 5681d ago )

Like NecrumSlavery mentioned, I hope there's some sort of "Horde Mode" in DeadSpace 2, that's something I think I'd enjoy. But based upon the Multiplayer Beta footage of DS2 I've seen, it doesn't really look all that great to me...I'm just not totally sold on the idea of playing as the Necromorphs in the Multiplayer.

I'm buying DS2 for the Single Player component. I just hope the Single Player portion in DS2 is just as strong as the first...I'm hoping DS2's Single Player is around the same length as DS1 too, although I doubt it.

He does have a point when he says the Market isn't rewarding Single-Player Only games because the recently released Castlevania:LoS and Enslaved have gotten pretty lukewarm reception sales wise even though they both got pretty good review scores.

Single Player RPG's still continue to sell pretty well because people know they'll be able to get lots of playtime out of them without Multiplayer, but it's games that are SP Non-RPG's that seem to be having the most trouble sales wise...but I think Heavy Rain and God of War 3 would be an exception because IMO they've sold well for being only on one system, for being Single Player only and for being not really long games.

NewsForMe5681d ago (Edited 5681d ago )

The first Dead Space had a good amount of replay value. If the multiplayer ends up just being tacked on then its just as bad as not having it. It looks good so far though. Had they announced a generic, competitive human versus human shooter multiplayer I would have died laughing. So far both Brotherhood and Dead Space 2 seem to have a good multiplayer component that will be played for more than a few weeks.

thesithfreak5681d ago

on selecting if rumors are true or not, please change the system, just because i believe something is true, doesn't mean i hope it is true!
Apple coming out with new console, i say probably true, you turn it in to hopefully, even though i dont want it to happen!

ngecenk5681d ago

you guys can disagree all day long, but the sale numbers supporting this guy.

bananlol5681d ago

Its sad developers cant make the games they want out of fear of renting and the second hand market(those are fare worse threats to the idustry than piracy). But if you make a sp game thats good enough people will keep it and replay it. For instance i got a friend who have finished lylat wars 50+ times. That said, Uncharted didnt need mp and any way but it turned out great, the same might happen with dead space.

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lzim5681d ago

Time was a single player game was something that could be played for endless hours and not get boring.. not 8 hours and count yourself lucky if you aren't brain numbe by then of backtracking and you still have a thumb from mashing the skip cutscene button (mass effect).