Crytek: FPS Games Need Multiplayer to Succeed
Have gamers merely come to expect multiplayer in FPS games?
Monday Crysis 2 executive producer Nathan Camarillo told CVG that generally first-person shooters actually need multiplayer features in order to succeed on the market today. Other gaming genres typically don't require that particular component to have longevity.
"I think there's plenty of titles that don't have multiplayer that do quite well, but that's more of a genre specific decision," he said. "For an FPS game yeah you really have to have it unless you're a very unique kind of FPS depending on what you're delivery platform is and what market you're going into."
Naturally he goes on to describe the multiplayer aspect of Crytek's upcoming shooter, Crysis 2. After all, the game hits shelves in two months.
"It's different from other FPS games in that you are this ultimate super solider that has the ability to cloak at any point in time, so it's different than modern military shooters, it's different to Halo," he said. "You have the maneuverability, you're in an urban environment, you can jump, you can slide, you can climb. There's so much you can do in that first-person experience that the other multiplayer games don't offer."
But why is the multiplayer component such a necessity for FPS titles? As pointed out, other genres don't rely on pitting players against players online and/or offline. That said, it's quite possible that multiplayer is merely expected from shooters because the feature dates back to the early days of the genre itself thanks to id Software, Epic Games, Bungie and other developers. Gamers may have simply grown accustomed to testing virtual weapons and vehicles against friends. Besides, no challenge is the same when facing human opponents.
"Generally yes for FPS games you have to have awesome multiplayer and that's what we're making with Crysis 2," Camarillo said.
Camarillo also added that FPS titles require high review scores in order to stay afloat, admitting that Crysis 2 will struggle against other FPS titles if it doesn't receive a score in the 90s.
Crysis 2 lands on Microsoft Windows, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 22, 2011.
I know I have seen this 50 times before but I now just put two and two together, Microsoft = Xbox.
They have managed to account for two massive gaming platforms, thats insane.
In that case you should be as pumped as I am for Deus Ex: Human Revolution, despite the fact that it's not entirely an FPS...
/Off-Topic
Anyway, Can't wait for Crysis 2, either... Man, this is going to be an awesome year. We've got TES:V coming out, We've got Crysis 2, Deus Ex, DN:F (Maybe...), and I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting to list...
If DNF comes out this year i will cry and ask my wife if i can name our son (if its a boy) Duke.
Well there's your two problems right there.
Best single FPS and didn't need Multi-player and still playing with that game
Play one linear single-player shooter and you've played them all.
Both Half Life 1 and especially Half Life 2 were also sold because of multiplayer. Wanted to play counter strike back in the day? You had to buy Half Life. Wanted to play Day of Defeat? Buy Half Life....
The HL series is not like the COD modern warfare series, where people only care about the multiplayer, but multiplayer definitely improved Half Life sales.
FPS games need good gameplay and a good storyline to succeed. The time crytek learns that is the day that they make a successful game that is known for more than just graphics
adding multiplayer to a crappy game wont make it better. All it means is that you have a crappy game but now many people can now play the crappy game together and be disappointed together, it still doesn't make the experience pleasant.
Focus less on graphics and tacking on multiplayer, and instead make a game with a good story line and good gameplay that is creative and not monotonous.
So really it depends. There's tons of examples around for games that are in the FPS genre but do or don't need multiplayer (CounterStrike vs Half-Life).
Thats one of the main problems that hurts multipleyer games today. Weapon unlocks, unless you get the game early on and play constantly, you will end up in a situation where you are fighting against people who not only have more experience, but also much better weapons.
FPS need multiplayer because it fills in the gap from a 4 hour single player campaign.