Electronic Arts (EA) Labels president Frank Gibeau is not a huge fan of the single-player experience, which he apparently feels has no real future in the next-gen console gaming landscape.
“We are very proud of the way EA evolved with consumers. 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,” Gibeaue said in a brochure for the Cloud Gaming USA Conference and Exhibition cited by MCVUK.
”One of our biggest growth opportunities is Play4Free titles that allow customers to play at no cost and make purchases via micro-transactions. We see this as a huge opportunity, and one that’s powered by our hybrid cloud model.”
Gibeaue also reiterated that EA would not abandon console publishing as it explored the rather lucrative social and casual gaming sectors.
“We think EA is better positioned for success, and for serving consumers than other companies that are marooned on one platform. The investments we’ve made in mobile, social, and in creating a platform that connects consumers across multiple devices is going to allow us to provide a much better experience for game players,” he explained.
“For all the investments we’ve made in mobile and social, we never abandoned consoles. We are working closely with the console manufacturers and we are VERY excited about the Gen4 consoles that will be launched in the months and years ahead.”
Earlier this month, Gibeau confirmed EA wasn’t actively working on any new franchises or original series for the PS3, Xbox 360, or Wii. Meaning, the only EA titles you’ll see on the above-mentioned platforms moving forward are sequels and other titles that leverage the franchises and characters you already know.
“The time to launch an IP is at the front-end of the hardware cycle, and if you look historically the majority of new IPs are introduced within the first 24 months of each cycle of hardware platforms.
“Right now, we’re working on three to five new IPs for the next-gen, and in this cycle we’ve been directing our innovation into existing franchises,” he added.
Update:
Gibeau provided the following clarification to Kotaku late Wednesday evening.
“What I said was [about not greenlighting] anything that [doesn’t have] an online service. 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.
“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. Everything that we do, we see the telemetry coming in telling us that’s the best way to build our business and that’s the best way to build these experiences and be differentiated from others.
“I still passionately believe in single-player games and think we should build them. 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.”
