Are Single-Player Games Dying Out?

Many people believe that very soon there will be no single-player games. This is mainly due to the popularity of games like the Call of Duty series, Battlefield 3 and even some casual games like Draw Something. These games heavily rely on having entertaining multiplayer aspects to keep people interested.

These games are very popular with the majority of people because they allow them to interact with their friends and have fun, without leaving their own homes. There is also an extra sense of competitiveness in multi-player games. Anyone can be good at a single-player game, because they are playing against an A.I. but multiplayer games require more skill to be good at. This is because you are playing against other people who think the same way as you. This results in competition amongst friends, all curious to see who the best player is.

It is clear that Multiplayer games are popular from the amount of money they make. Call of Duty was constantly the biggest entertainment release of the year between 2007, when Modern Warfare was released, and 2011 when Modern Warfare 3. It is also likely that Black Ops will follow suit. However it has heavy competition from the feature film “Marvel Avenger Assemble” which had the largest opening profit in cinema history. Even if it does not become most profitable of 2012, it will no doubt come second. This shows that these games are incredibly popular, as people constantly buy them, year after year. Another heavy hitter in the multiplayer market is World of Warcraft (WOW). WOW is one of the most popular games in the world. It is a massively multiplayer online, role playing game (MMORPG) and is played by more people every day than any other game in history. So clearly there is a high demand for multiplayer games.

This evidence most certainly suggests that single-player games are dying, but they will not go down without a fight. 2011 saw some of the biggest and most popular single-player game releases in history. Games like Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Batman Arkham City, Mass Effect 3, and Assassin’s Creed Revelations. Some of the most loved games on this generation of console.

One developer that definitely doesn’t want single-player to die and fights to keep it alive, is Rockstar Games. Rockstar have made some of the most popular Single-player games in history and continue to do so. Games like, Read dead redemption, one of the most critically acclaimed games ever made. Grand Theft Auto IV, which made $400million upon its release. If a single-player game can still make that much on release, it is clear that single-player games are still as loved as ever.

Another company that constantly creates popular single-player games is Valve. Their list of Single-Player games includes; Portal 1-2, half-Life 1-2 and Left 4 Dead 1-2. Games that are very highly rated in the gaming community

This gaming season (Aug 12/Aug 13) is also shaping up to be a great season for Single-Player games, with the release of Assassin’s Creed 3, Dishonoured, Metal Gear Solid 5, Splinter Cell: Black List. There are also rumours of Half-Life being a release title for Valve’s new console whenever it’s released. There is also the platform transfer of popular single-playing games to the WiiU this season. Games like Mass Effect 3 and Batman Arkham City are being released on Nintendo’s newest console. Then of course, we have one of the most anticipated games of all time, Grand Theft Auto V. There is strong evidence to suggest Grand Theft Auto V Will be the most money making game in history. In July 2012, they released screen shots of the game. Within 20 minutes the images had gone viral and they were trending on twitter within 30, under 3 different hash tags; #Grandtheftauto5screenshots, #GTAVscreenshots and #GTA5Preview. This level of attention from just a few simple screen shots shows just how anticipated this game is. Furthermore, people aren’t interested in this for the simple multiplayer aspect. They have been heavily investigating the main protagonist of the single-player story, examining every miniature detail to discover everything possible about him and the story. Just this game alone is proof that people still care about single-player games and that they will never lose their allure.

So to conclude, there is a definite increase in the popularity of multiplayer games. This however, does not mean a decrease in the popularity of single-player games like GTA and Assassin’s Creed which people constantly go back to. Multiplayer games may give the players a chance to make new friends and have fun times with existing ones, but they will never provide what a single-player game does; Great characters and a fully immersive story. 

Wii-U Marketing

The Wii-U is the latest console to be release from Nintendo. The system was announced during Nintendo's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (E3 2011) on June 7, 2011, and is scheduled for released on November 18, 2012 in North America, November 30, 2012 in Europe and Australia, and December 8, 2012 in Japan. It will be the first entry in the eighth generation of video game consoles.
There are several release titles for the Wii-U, including classic IP's like Mario's latest release, "New Super Mario Brothers U" and some unexpected ports, such as: Mass Effect 3 and Batman: Arkham City. They are also schedualed to release Call of Duty: Black Ops II (COD9/BLOPS2) and a first party game called Zombie-U.

Releases like these suggest that Nintendo is either trying to reach a new target market, of more hardcore gamers, rather than their usual casual market. Or they are trying to get the more Casual gamers interested in a variety of games. However considering that the Wii was aimed at younger children and the elderly, I highly doubt it's the second reason.

The Wii-U will cost around £249.00 for a basic 8GB console, or if you want one 32GB it will around £90 more. There are also bundles available for £40 extra.

There is also a new controller for this console.

The Wii U GamePad is the main controller for the Wii U. It features a built-in touchscreen, which can either add to or replicate the gameplay shown on the main display, and can function as a standalone screen without the use of a television screen.(which does the beg the question, why not buy a handheld? -_-')
 The controler has analog sticks, a built-in microphone, and supports near field communication (which can be used for, among other uses, figurines that can interact with the console and wireless credit card payments with compatible cards). The console will also be compatible with the Wii Remote Plus, Wii Nunchuk and Wii Balance Board, as well as a Wii U Pro Controller for more traditional controls.Two GamePads are supported per console.
Shigeru Miyamoto promoted the idea of the GamePad, stating that he supports being able to use a secondary screen while someone else is watching the television. Wii U is said to offer asymmetric competition, where the player using the GamePad has one experience and wins in a certain way, while competing players have different ways to play and win.

The History of GTA: IV

Grand Theft Auto 4 (GTA:IV)  was developed and published by Rockstar Games for $100Million. \
It is Available on X-Box 360, PS3 as a physical copy (disk). and on the Steam Store, as a digital download for PC.  However, certain DLC is not available on PS3 or PC, after X-Box bought exclusive rights to DLC for $50Million
The game cost £42 (/$60) on release day. It currently costs £19.99 (/$37) on the Steam Store.
The X-Box 360 exclusive DLC, "The Lost and the Dammed" cost 1600MSP (/$19.99/£12) and sold a lot less than was actually expected. Despite this,  the game made $400Million.
It was released for PS3 and X-Box worldwide on April 29th 2008, and for PC it was available for download on November 18th in North America and November 21st in Europe.

The History of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

Sonic the Hedgehog was released in 1991 as the release title for sega's latest console (the genisis/ mega drive).

It was developed by the division of sega known vas "sonic team" and then published by sega themselves. Making Sega a 1st party delevoper (at the timne)

Originally it was avaliable exclusively on the sega genesis, then latewr when sega stopped maki9ng their own consoles, sonic the hedgehog was a featrure on many ps2 sonic games e.g. sopnic mega collection.

It is now avaliable on all online stores as a downloadable game. e.g. XBL arcade, PSN and Steam.
It was reasonably cheap to make, because before Sonic was a game character he was the mascot of Sega.
As a result it made $150,000,000 minus the cost of production In it's first year. Mainly because it was the release title for the Sega Genesis (/mega-drive). If you wanted to buy the Cartridge individually it cost $40.
The game was distributed by all major electronics stores in Japan, and then in the USA. After the huge success in both countries, it was distributed through out Europe 

Introduction

Video games have change who i am as a person. As an only child living in an apartment with no other friends in the area, I had to find something else to entertain myself with during my spare time. 
Then my cousin gave me my first console, the SEGA Mega Drive (/Genesis), The first game I ever played on it was Sonic the Hedgehog, which is still one of my favorite gaming franchises (minus sonic the hedgehog2006 -_-'). So from then on I used Video Games to entertain myself.

About a year after I was given the Mega Drive, I bought myself a Play Station (PS1). I also bought my favorite game of all time, Spyro the Dragon 3: Year of the Dragon, the first game i ever 100% completed (or 127% completed in that game's case).
So I spent my spare time for the next few years playing and completing various games on the PlayStation and Mega Drive. Then i discovered the world of PC gaming. 
PC Gaming opened up an entirely new world to me, a world of much more beautiful games, games than run faster; games like Portal and Half-Life.

Then I was introduced to online multiplayer gaming. Multiplayer games have changed my life more than any other advancement in gaming, I have met so many wonderful people and so many new friends by playing games like, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Counter Strike: Source. Thanks to games like them I now have; 3 friends in Canada, 3 friends in Ireland, 1 friend in Germany, 1 friend in Ukraine, 2 in Scotland, 1 in Plymouth, 2 in Australia, 5 in USA, and many more from all corners of the world.
I have also had the pleasure of meeting a large number of these people in person at gaming conventions, such as; Games-Con, E3 and  PAX East. Thanks to the popularity of video games, conventions like these now exist and have given me the opportunity to meet friends, who i had I only known through a PC monitor in my bedroom, in person.

In short, Video Games entertained me when i didn't have many friends, Helped me make new ones from all over the world, enhanced the experience we all had together and gave us the opportunity to meet in person. 
Thank you Video Games :)