Gabe Newell is excited about the future of single player games. He believes they can make a comeback against multiplayer thanks to the advancements in the AI space.
First, I never knew single player games went away. Second, playing a game exclusively with AI...isn't that already the definition of a single player game?
Well there's still that prediction by Ray Kurzweil who thinks we're gonna have human level AI by 2029, i think he meant we'd actually be able to communicate as if it's a real person. Some think that's too early but.. Who knows
Now that we're having machines design machines the pace will pick up. 2029 might be a little early but it won't be that much longer. Probably just a few years after that.
I graduated high school in 1992. The internet was not mainstream. Most people did not have computers in their house. Phones were still something you "hung up". Cartridges were plugged into consoles. Fast forward 10 years. Internet is huge. Computers in every household. Cell phones in everyone's hand. Discs used to play games. It's not going to take long where Ai is easy to communicate with. The biggest advance will be talking to an Ai assistant in our car or house as if we're talking to a person.
I think Gabe meant to say - 'Thanks to Sony and Nintendo for not abandoning SP for the potential riches of GAAS and MT's' - yh, that's definitely what he meant to say.
Once Quantum computing becomes a full fledged reality, that's when AI will be able to get itself out of the stone age era. We are only at the very early stages of tinkering with quantum computing which still relies on traditional hardware. Classic computers uses 1 and 0. Quantum computers changes the fundamental rules entirely with something else I can't understand(bunch of scientific words used to describe it)
I feel like AI is much scarier than we can imagine right now once it reaches a certain point of singularity. We're going to inevitable open up pandora's box
making a comeback ?, sorry Gabe but you need to inform yourself like a lot, Single Player games never left in the first place, want to know why ?, well that's simple , PS4 100 + million consoles sold, if people doesn't understand this well that's their issue. :)
lol starting to think about it but, I wonder if this article isn't an april's fools joke :D
You're deluding yourself if you dont believe Destiny, CoD, Battlefield, GTA Online aren't massive drivers for PS4 hardware. Besides he's not saying singleplayer games disappeared he is saying they aren't drawing the same crowds they used to because they aren't.
The top searches on the playstation store are 14 day plus trial, warzone, Fortnite, fortnite celebration pack, persona 5 royal, cod modern Warfare, gtav, moden warfare ps+, modern warfare 2 remaster, minecraft. I'm not sure if this list varies by region, but that's the top searches in Canada right now.
Those games are the biggest yeah, but saying that single player games aren't drawing the same crows they used to is just blatantly false. Single player games are growing in popularity just as multiplayer games are. Many single player games are breaking records. DMC5 best selling DMC game, Resident Evil 7 and 2 Remake on track to become the best selling Resident Evil games (RE2 Remake already surpassed the original's sales), Dragon Quest XI the best selling Dragon Quest, God of War PS4 the best selling God of War game, Spider-Man PS4 best selling Spider-Man game of all time, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order best selling single player Star Wars game of all time, GTAV best selling GTA, Red Dead Redemption 2 surpassed the original's sales, Metro Exodus best selling Metro game, Doom Eternal selling better than DOOM 2016, etc. etc. etc.
Single player games are more popular than ever, it's just that the biggest multiplayer games are even more popular than that, but that doesn't matter because both are growing.
"they aren't drawing the same crowds they used to because they aren't"
So explain why most single player sequels are selling more than the previous ones in the series? You're right, they aren't drawing the same crowds. They are drawing bigger crowds than ever.
"they aren't drawing the same crowds they used to"
That's completely false. The entire industry is growing, and so are single-player games. Here's a small list of newest entries in single-player series' that have sold more, or are on track to sell more than any other game in the series thus far:
Doom Eternal Devil May Cry 5 Red Dead Redemption 2 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Super Mario Odyssey God of War 4 Marvel's Spider-Man Batman Arkham Knight The new (old) Crash Bandicoot games The new (old) Spyro games Resident Evil 2 Remake Resident Evil 7 Sonic Mania Pokemon Sword & Shield Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order (when it comes to single-player Star Wars games) Trails of Cold Steel 3 Nier Automata Dark Souls 3 Grand Theft Auto 5 Witcher 3 Monster Hunter World
And many, many more. By your logic none of this should have happened.
They definitely crack the top 10, but they always get usurped by some multiplayer game on that list inevitably. He's just pushing the same old story of why the PS4 sold as many units as it has, that it's all because of the exclusive software. The notion that it's been driven by regular more casual users to play CoD, BF or Destiny pokes holes in that argument, and they cant have that.
You and timotim should form a club, you'll scream into the wind even while the truth is slapping you in the face.
The vast majority of console sales, and game revenue has been driven by multiplayer for years now. That's not to say SP games haven't been excellent or haven't sold well, it's just not the predominant driver for revenue or hardware sales right now. The steam top 10 is also dominated by multiplayer games, so no I think my list of the top 10 searches on the PS Store is indicative of the playstation market. I dont have an Xbox to check but I would guess it's also similar.
Gabe is saying that improvements in AI may bring about more exciting and varied experiences from single player games. Improved AI has been very high on a lot of peoples lists for what they'd like to see from the PS5/Series X, this isn't an observation being made in a vacuum. I would also wager that someone like GABE NEWELL has more insight into the game market, game development, next gen hardware than some fanboy on N4G that punctuates with "XD" like a toddler.
"'console sales, and game revenue has been driven by multiplayer for years now, just not the predominant driver for revenue or hardware sales right now."
hehe sure whatever you say buddy, the Nintendo Switch definitely sold out on release day cause fortnite or Call of Duty, or PS4 sold out in release day cause MP games , like I said if people doesn't understand what I meant in my first comment is not my fault, oh and XD yeah this is funny. :D
"Gabe Newell is excited about the future of single player games."
I know what he means, I understand what he is saying in that MP games generally have a wider reach than SP games.. but i will confidently argue that single player games have been of far higher quality, and have more substance than most, if not all multiplayer game released this gen imo... and by quite a large distance. I mean common, there is just no comparison if you look at games like Red dead, doom eternal, bloodborne, sekiro, nioh, devil may cry, Dishonored 2, Horizon zero dawn, god of war , BOTW, etc. vs what? Fortnight? Overwatch? Cod online? apex legends? PUBG? LOL dont make me laugh.... im sorry, to me, Multiplayer games are all one in the same, shallow experiences "there's a guy, shoot him With a gun (then pay extra to unlock a power up earlier than others to get an advantage).
I might be biased, and i dont know i might be in the minority here being a single player only guy, but for me there just aren't any multiplayer games that hold a candle to the best single player games releases this gen, not even close.
Every game can be boiled down to the simple interactions with it. It's also not necessarily an exclusionary thing, just because I play Dota 2 (a far more complex game than 99.9% of games) doesnt mean I can't also enjoy Persona 5 or God of War.
You're also being very reductive with most of your argument, and it doesnt really stand as it is. Do you think people are paying for advantages in Apex or Warzone? That's clearly false.
Hahaha yea that was reductive of me to say all MP games are the same, i take that one back sorry about that. There is a place for both, and you cant actually compare sp vs mp like for like.
However, i still do feel Sp is stronger than ever before and does not need to do any "catching up" of sorts to Mp titles
I don't think he is being way to reductive like you think he is. Example, most online games are action based (Do one basic function over and over) Single player games give you more of a complete experience, From Story, to level design, voice acting, sound track and environments.
I've always wanted to make a multiplayer game where characters could grow over time, new stories could unfold as you where playing. Most not all are just load map and shoot. No plot, no new objectives, no stories. There just not on the same level as single player games quality and experience wise.
My 2 cents. Single player are by far better thought out games.
I agree for the most part with you. I think a lot of gamers do MP for the social aspect. Kind of like going to the arcade in the past. Go with friends, test your mettle with them, spend a bunch of quarters, and have some laughs.
I prefer SP games because I'm searching for a good story and some puzzles to work on.
This guy, just goes to show how out of touch his fat ass is.
Like did he not see an entire console generation dominated and won by SP games?
Did he not see greedy companies like EA concede single player games are successful with SW Fallen Order
Did he not see the trail of dead corpses of failed blood sucking MP scams like his own Artifact
And after a decade of masterbating his steel rods instead of making games, he still thinks the SP "can", not have already, make a comeback....but not because of devs passion but with AI.
Yes, the social aspect is important but so is playing against a person that is far more intelligent than any AI and reacts in a way that is unpredictable. That's what keeps people playing online games for a long time while singleplayer games are often one playthrough and done if they finish the game that is.
I am not sure what is more important to growth in SP games. Gabe says AI, but to me the growth is more from Game Streaming/Subscription services like PS Now and XB GamePass.
With these services a lot of the games are SP and a lot of people would not have played them had they not been in the Subscription Service. Microsoft went out and purchased a bunch of Studios... Almost all were SP centric studios and are now going to be delivering their games through GamePass.
Sorry, but don't know where else to ask this. Is anyone else receiving PMs here on n4g asking "is this your account?:" With some bullshit website which includes your username? I've had 3 today.
I thought I was the only one, I've recieved two so far asking if this is my profile with coolxxx.pw or some crap like that. I actually responded to the PM saying no and a little more. Then I realised it was a spam account who only posted five times since 2013.
The next day I recieved another PM by someone else but the is this my profile was slightly different, this account was older and only two post none were spam but seemingly real comments on n4g.
Someone probably got a new stay at home job which many are doing in the current climate.
Ive had 3 more in the time since I posted. It's becoming a joke. Whatever you do, don't follow the URL they use. Guaranteed it's military grade malware. Goes to show, even in a pandemic there are always ppl trying to steal data.smh.
Exciting and yet.....kind of scary too.
I agree, Gabe. Now, where´s HL3?
Co-op is the best of both worlds.
Can someone link to an article that explains A.I tech in gaming?