Bethesda Softworks vice president of marketing Pete Hines is critzing publishers and developers who shoehorn multiplayer into their games that doing such a thing is “a waste of time” and advises, “Just drop it, don’t bother…it’ll make for a worse game.”
In an interview with Next Gen BIZ, Hines states that using online multiplayer as a tool to prevent used game trade-ins and rental simply doesn’t work, and robs developers of valuable man-hours.
Hines stated:
“(People ask us) for a game like Skyrim or Prey 2, why doesn’t it have multiplayer? Well, our question is always the opposite when we talk to a developer. If you’re doing multiplayer, why are you doing multiplayer? What are you trying to accomplish?
“If you’re doing it just to check a box or because every other publisher says you’ve got to have multiplayer, then just drop it, don’t bother, it’s a waste of time, a giant distraction and it’ll make for a worse overall game.
“We want the best game possible. If that’s a singleplayer game that’s 15 to 20 hours, then make that! Don’t waste your time on features that don’t make the game better.”
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Prey 2 are two Bethesda properties that will lack multiplayer, but one of the tools to encourage games to keep both games will be downlodable content and, even more important, good communications with the game communities and nurturing the fandom for both games.
@Wii U sells 1.2 games per console
Hmm, lemme see, what would that be … I say it is that the bundle was so very compelling. Yep. Trust me.
Not!
While we’d all like to make our choices based strictly on the experience we’d get from a product, price does matter.
@BioWare was planning spy action title in 2009
Oookay … so? I also wanted to buy an SUV in 2009, but that doesn’t mean I now own one.
I did hear and play NOLF around 2007, but mainly to see what the LithTech engine could do; back then I was into modding, and the game I was interested in used the same engine.
@Hitman Facebook app removed for off-color joke
The app is actually funny! I guess if they just re-worked the hit message things would have worked out differently.
@Activision: Black Ops II grossed $1 billion in 15 Days
This is ridiculous. This will definitely shift the focus from movies to games, for all major entertainment companies. I mean come on, 1 billion bucks!
Regarding SP versus MP, I do play the campaigns. I guess it’s a scar of my internet-less past :P. Thing is, even now I prefer a good SP story over a good MP.
@What’s the most offensive thing you’ve seen in a videogame?
Hmm … dunno. I mean since it’s a video game, I don’t really think of them as offensive.
I guess me. I’m the most offensive thing I saw in STALKER Clear Sky. The god damned guide kept asking me “What’s with the stalling?” and “Is this a starring contest?” while I was minding my own business investigating my inventory . So I pulled out the handgun and put a bullet in his head.
@Nintendo Weakness
Since I missed out last podcast, I never read Nintendo Power. I used to read the Official Nintendo Magazine which was aimed at the UK gaming market. Since we only get like a 1/4 of Nintendo games that come out in US, there was no point in reading an import mag.
@Wii U tanking harder than Titanic
I read the Famitsu report. 7th best launch in Japan. Just to tell you how bad it is, PS Vita was 6th. In UK every store bundled the Wii U with a whole bunch of games. You can’t buy a premium unit for £300. You have to buy it for £400+ with a boatload of games you probably don’t want. Because there is only one game worth of anyones attention. The Mario game which is a remake of a remake of a remake of a remake.
@Hitman
This is a blatant publicity stunt. No way can I believe that serious men sitting around a table would decide that this app was a good idea.
@Record breaking
“And now in other news of 2015, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 grossed $3 billion dollars from pre-order deposits alone.” I don’t expect this record breaking to persist. Call of Duty is running out of steam. At least that’s what it feels like.
@QOTW
Since I am Russian I get a little offended when shooting games portray us as low-intelligent over-violent trigger happy brutes. Then again, it’s less of an issue these days since the US started an open season on Arabs.
One thing I do remember was when I was playing House of the Dead: Overkill on the Wii. During the first level cutscene you are introduced to the main bad guy talking to a paralysed kid in a wheelchair. The bad guy smacks him on the face with his cane and calls him a cabbage. I know that this game was specifically built to offend the soft audience of the Wii. But there are some jokes that are just in poor taste.