Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an "Endangered Species"

[Oct 03, 2012, 8:07 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

GamesIndustry International has an excerpt from their in-depth interview with Blizzard's Rob Pardo where the World of Warcraft lead designer expresses skepticism about the "endangered species" of AAA single-player games. "I don't see there being a great business model for it these days. It's really sad, there's just a lot of elements out there that conspire to make those games difficult to make now," he says. "Between pirating or the ability for people to rent games, it's hard for publishers to pour millions and millions of dollars into a game and not necessarily see the return they need to make those budgets realistic."

View

65 Replies. 4 pages. Viewing page 3.
< Newer [ 1 2 3 4 ] Older >

25.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 23:17

mlw

One word to debate this idiot: Skyrim

24.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 23:13

Riker

This is as much bullshit as "PC gaming is dead." Keep fucking that chicken.

23.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 22:47

Dev

Slashman wrote on Oct 3, 2012, 20:39: Yeah I mean look how crappy the sales for Torchlight 2 were. And Skyrim totally cratered in the sales department too. Everyone just pirated that one or rented it... The Witcher 2 was a flop. The Batman: Arkham games tanked hard. Xcom: Enemy Unknown will probably be a failure. Dues Ex:HR, The Fallout series, Bastion, Dragon Age: Origins. So much single player fail. How does the industry stand it? ZOMG you are right! All of those show how much PC games are dying! Maybe he's confusing the death of single player games with the death of PC games in general! No one buys PC games anymore!

22.

Re: More Big Picture Details

Oct 3, 2012, 22:47

HorrorScope

And that is ok, that is why we are counting on the independent movement to take us forward. We understand your budgets and timelines are too drawn out and your bureaucracy is too large to make affordable games. We got the memo a while ago now. The big companies in gaming may start becoming endangered.

21.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 22:06

Bhruic

I wanted to give this guy the benefit of the doubt and say that he's talking about single player only games, which rules out a lot of the games mentioned here - although ones like Skyrim are still notable successes, but then I realized that doesn't make sense. Blizzard doesn't make single player only games. I'm not sure they've ever made a single player only game. He's welcome to his opinion, but that's all it is, it has no real bearing on anything else. Blizzard is focused on multiplayer (or a significant multiplayer component), and wouldn't likely be changing that regardless of the atatus of AAA single player games.

20.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 21:48

jdreyer

The Half Elf wrote on Oct 3, 2012, 20:31:
Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim. Over 100k mods. Yes Single Player games are an endangered species. Not to mention GTA 4, Fallout 3 and New Vegas, Just Cause 2. I'm sure there are more but hell I have to go to bed in a few hours.

My thoughts exactly. Skyrim alone puts the lie to that. Build it, and they will buy it.




Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed.

19.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 21:36

Prez

"Between pirating or the ability for people to rent games, it's hard for publishers to pour millions and millions of dollars into a game and not necessarily see the return they need to make those budgets realistic."

So Skyrim was just a figment of my imagination then? Please just go back to milking your fake MMO wannabe.




Prez on Soundclick http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=604888

18.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 21:35

TheEmissary

I think this is a case of trying to say the same thing enough times and hoping it becomes true in the long run. What he said might be true for the modern Blizzard but not for the industry as a whole. They are a bit biased as they are pretty much in the epicenter of the subscription gaming model. There are way too many games that can't be given the same polish and attention if they were made as online games. MMO games for instance no matter how good they might be technically will never be able to match the storytelling of a good single player game. You shouldn't be trying to force gameplay elements that simply don't belong or not appropriate. I think Pardo needs to stop and look again at what games are truely beloved by their fan base. I think he will be surprised that a good chunk of them will be single player games.

17.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 21:30

Parallax Abstraction

GamesIndustry International purposefully making stories out of cherry picked quoted to generate clicks through controversy? Sounds like just another day for them.

And yeah, like everyone said, there's single player games doing well all over the place. With the exception of Elder Scrolls Online, virtually every major Bethesda success story have been primarily single player games. They're just about to release Dishonored which has no multiplayer at all. Sorry Pardo, I know you can't over-monetize single player games the same way but not all of us want everything to be competitive online stuff all the time.




Parallax Abstraction Geek Bravado \| Retro Flashback \| All Together Now

16.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 21:26

Lokust

Skyrim called. They said you're full of shit.

15.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 21:20

deqer

"I don't see there being a great business model for it these days." A great business model is not our problem. It's yours. "It's really sad, there's just a lot of elements out there that conspire to make those games difficult to make now," What... like, the element of not making enough money? Yeah... Maybe you shouldn't be making games then.

14.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 21:19

zombiefan

I guess when you've grown fat off duping millions into a pay-by-subscription model, it would be impossible for you to imagine making any other type of game. "It's just too hard...." What an incompetent fuckhead.

13.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 21:18

Paketep

Single-Player Games an "Endangered Species" said the idiot that destroyed the Diablo series

12.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 21:07

Creston

Fuck that loser. Creston

11.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 20:55

rist3903

This is Blizzard saying that the money they expect to make from these stretched out episodes of Starcraft won't pay off the amount they put into them. They can't really sell the expansions based off the strength of the multiplayer since it is basically the same as it was in the first with an additional unit or two.

10.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 20:53

Cutter

Oh yes, heaven forbid there's a one time exchange. No, they have to continually keep on squeezing every dime out of you they can.




"Are you crazy? Is that your problem?" - Jack Burton

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 20:47

Dades

There is always a great business model for good singleplayer games, I thought Rob of all people would understand that. This leaves me little hope for future Blizzard games like Warcraft. The RTS, not the MMO.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 20:41

BobBob

Pondering Blizzard's failed philosophy and Jay Wilson while playing SINGLE PLAYER Torchlight 2.

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 20:39

Slashman

Yeah I mean look how crappy the sales for Torchlight 2 were. And Skyrim totally cratered in the sales department too. Everyone just pirated that one or rented it... The Witcher 2 was a flop. The Batman: Arkham games tanked hard. Xcom: Enemy Unknown will probably be a failure. Dues Ex:HR, The Fallout series, Bastion, Dragon Age: Origins. So much single player fail. How does the industry stand it?

Re: Blizzard's Pardo: Single-Player Games an

Oct 3, 2012, 20:35

Acleacius

Just checked, I've been on Steam less than a year (Dead Island release) got 37 games and of those 35 offer single player.

The two games are ones I didn't buy that came in packages HL Deathmatch and TF. So in theory I buy only single player games, some of which offer online.

Edit:It's been a year Dead Island, Sept 6 2011.

This comment was edited on Oct 3, 2012, 21:01.




Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history.....and they are stupid. Dwight D. Eisenhower

65 Replies. 4 pages. Viewing page 3.
< Newer [ 1 2 3 4 ] Older >