Guarini: Single-Player Games Are Too Expensive

Massimo Guarini, director of recent third-person thriller Shadows of the Damned, has said that the current price point for single player games is simply too high, especially compared to those titles which include multiplayer features. During an interview with GameSpot, Guarini explained that, while single player titles "are nowhere close to being doomed," they must evolve and adapt to the digital space. "The problem lies in how they're produced, through which channels they're sold, and at which price points," he noted. "I can't see in any way a single-player experience being less engaging or interesting because of the absence of multiplayer. Instead, I can definitely see how players who pay 60 or 70 bucks for a game can be quite sensitive to the lack of additional features that can justify their investment." He said that developers must consider lowering the cost of a game, rather than "struggling to pack games with features, extras, bonuses, achievements, in order to barely justify that price tag, which is given by excessively high development and licensing costs." He added, "We must learn our lesson from the huge, epic failure the music industry is still suffering nowadays for not being able to adapt to the digital revolution." Guarini left developer Grasshopper Manufacture earlier this month to set up his own company Ovosonico Productions. He was quick to note that his decision to leave had nothing to do with the low sales of Shadows of the Damned. "I'm still in very good relationships with both Grasshopper and Electronic Arts," he explained. "Leaving Grasshopper has just been a consequence of some events and private reasons that led me and my family to consider moving back to our country."