Meh.
That guy is pretty obnoxious, I couldn't watch him on a regular basis. But I watched this one so I could throw in my .02.
I hear this kind of thing a lot it seems, how the industry is no longer making single-player games, how everything's going multiplayer or free to play, and how free to play = Candy Crush and there's no such thing as a "good" free to play model.
But none of it is true.
First, are there some companies/CEOs/etc that have this mind set? Without a doubt. But to make out like it's dominating the industry is kinda silly. Let's take them one at a time:
1) The industry is no longer making single-player games. So far this year we've had inFamous, a AAA Sony release that was single-player only. Rocksteady has announced that there will be no multiplayer in Batman: Arkham Knight - another AAA release. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor - also no multi. The Order: 1886 - another Sony PS4 tentpole release this year - also confirmed no multiplayer. These are all AAA big budget games, I could list many more "smaller" games that are single-player only. But what about those that do have multi? There's a multiplayer mode in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag...I think. I'm not sure. I mean, it's not like I've played it - no one holds a gun to my head when I bootup the game forcing me to play it. Same with other big releases such as Tomb Raider & The Last of Us. Does it matter that they have a multiplayer option? Can anyone honestly say the single player modes of these games suffered as a result?
And maybe your thinking "well, that's true FOR NOW, but....
2) ...everything's going multiplayer or free to play." I know, someone will say "Titanfall". It's multiplayer only! So that spells the end of single player, right? Umm...why? It caters to one specific audience. I do agree with part of what Mr. Sterling said, these big companies want ALL of the money. EA knows that there are people like me out there who have no interest at all in a multiplayer shooter, or a football game - so even tho these are probably their *biggest* games sales-wise they're still working on other titles such as Dragon Age: Inquisition for people like me. Ubi Soft gets thrown under the bus
a lot, and it baffles me. They put out yearly AC games, true. They also put out a lot of Tom Clancey stuff (tho I must say, The Division looks awesome from what little I've seen). But these guys are also responsible for putting out things like Farcry 3 (and the insane stand-alone expansion Blood Dragon), Call of Juarez: Gunslinger - the best FPS in ages that most people ignored because it was a
single-player only $15 downloadable, and the upcoming Child of Light - just to name a few.
3) There's no such thing as a "good" free to play model. Not every free to play game is a blatant cash grab like Candy Crush. There's a little game on the PS4 that kept my system humming for months when there were no releases coming called Warframe. Now if all you know about Warframe is from reviews, you might think it's a free-to-play cash grab as well. But that's because most reviewers didn't know how to play the game & didn't understand what it was doing. Warframe is what would happen if you combine PSO with a 3rd-person shooter. Yes, you grind levels for parts/blueprints to make better guns & frames. That's the point of the game. There are tons of us who find this kind of gameplay incredibly addictive & rewarding. You *can* just buy the guns or frames for cash - but that's defeating the whole point of playing the game. The only things you HAVE to buy with real money, besides possibly additional inventory slots, are cosmetic. I gave them some money still, because y'know what? They earned it. I probably spent $30-$40 on the game total, and to date I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 150+ hours playtime in it. How many $60 games give you that kind of return on your money?
And they're not the only ones doing this. The fact is, many of the GOOD companies have realized that you can garner more goodwill & players which will in turn lead to more money by not trying to fleece your audience.
So sorry for getting up on my soap box this early.
I just don't really care for the whole "doom & gloom" schtick. Is every game great? Nope. Are there crappy games out there that are just trying to make a quick buck? Yup, a bunch of them. But then again, there always *have* been.
