Square Enix CEO: "We really do want to continue making single-player games"

There's a lot of good ol' gamer hate for EA floating around these days, and for good reason. There's not a lot they've done in recent memory that's worthy of praise, and they're just the worst offenders - the ambassadors for a "games as a service" future, which is a future embraced by other companies, such as Bungie, Ubisoft, and Blizzard. Fortunately, at least two of the companies have also gotten some well-deserved flack for recent actions. These companies all have the same basic vision for "Games as a Service"--multiplayer games with free updates but an unending tide of microtransactions, loot boxes, and expansions... but for some companies who like the idea of Games as a Service, that's too narrow a definition.

Specifically, Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda, who believes making games a service doesn't mean they have to be a multiplayer grindfest.

Speaking with Metro:

"Recently people have been discussing loot boxes and people not using that properly, I think that’s all linked to this bad perception people have to the words ‘games as a service’. But really, the way we’re looking at it, what it boils down to is… that idea of keeping people engaged with our games and enjoying them for longer periods of time. The way we use that expression, really… the whole idea, for a single-player game particularly, is the idea that you have the game released and you keep adding more content to keep the players engaged and enjoying the game. And that helps to make it more of a full experience, and that brings in more players to the original game. That’s the rough approach we take to the idea, and that’s why we described games as a service in that sense."

When you describe it like that, "Games as a Service" doesn't sound so bad after all. With so many people frightened over the death of triple-A single-player games, it's nice to see at least one studio put their foot down and assure people that there's more than one way to skin a cat... or milk a wallet, as the case may be. Can't forget what they did to Deus Ex, now can we?

Still, good news is good news. You're not gonna see me whine about it.