Single Player or Multi Player

Over the past few years game developers decided that multi player was the way forward, with games like the Call of Duty series producing unimaginative single player experiences and focusing more on online play.


A surge in cooperative play has also risen with games like Uncharted 3 and Dead Island having drop-in drop-out online co-op. The popularity of social games has also helped elevate multi player beyond its solo play counterpart. Games such as Farmville linked themselves with Facebook and introduced features that make, what could have been a classic single player sim game, much like Harvest Moon, into a game that is made easier and more fun by playing with friends.

Over the past year Massive Multiplayer Online games have gained much popularity due to titans of the industry, like Ever Quest 2 and The Lord of the Rings Online, moving to a free to play pricing model. This was a further boost to the multi player crowd and some could have been wondering if the single player game would last much longer.

But single player games have something that multi player games have a difficult time reproducing: immersion. Sitting down on your couch and playing COD with 14 other people you don't know may be the best gaming experience for some, but it can never emulate the feeling that can be found by getting lost in a rich and exciting world all by yourself. It's similar to comparing watching a movie with friends to reading a book alone. Both are escapism and have similar aims but one has much more depth than the other.

Recently The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim proved that the single player game is far from dead. It has become the fastest selling game in Steam's history, selling more copies in less time than any other game. It has also taken Christmas number one in software sales here in the UK.

Other games have also gone a long way in proving that people still love a good single player experience. Batman: Arkham City was met with critical acclaim and who can forget the latest instalment in Nintendo's Zelda franchise, Skyward Sword.

Games like Call of Duty and Farmville have done a lot for the gaming industry, bridging many gaps, making gaming much more accessible and carry less stigma. The classic gamer brings up images of a loner sitting in a dark room for hours on end with no friends. Multi player games have done much to break that stereotype making gaming a much more social experience. Maybe that can allow single player games to have a new chance to shine as new gamers are introduced into the hobby through more social games and then find that they don't mind picking up a pad without the need of friends.