It’s undeniable that there are some definite positives of live-service games. For as long as the devs keep putting time and effort into them, the stream of new content can be endless. It’s the perfect recipe for games that fans just can’t put down.
An excellent example of this is GTA Online. Although it’s now been almost a full decade since the release of GTA V (and admittedly, the fanbase is understandably getting very impatient about the wait for GTA VI), the live service game seems pretty much as popular as ever, and is still getting constant new updates. Just last week, the devs added a bunch of new stuff specifically for 4/20, because of course they did.
Take a look at some hilarious wins and fails from GTA V below.
On the other hand though, live service games can only last for as long as the devs are willing to put in the effort, and once they’re shut down, they’re gone for good, which seriously sucks for those who’ve put time into it. Thankfully, it seems that PlayStation sees these downsides, as in an interview with The Guardian, the head of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Independent Developer Initiative (and former president of SIE Worldwide Studios) Shuhei Yoshida said that although video games are great at making every technological advancement fun, it’d be “a bit boring” if we only had live service games.
“The games industry will never cease to be a fun place,” he said. “The industry keeps growing and growing, and I hope it keeps supporting and chasing creative ideas and people who try to work on new things. You don’t want to see the top 10 games every year being almost the same, all games becoming service games… That would be a bit boring, for me.”
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I’m sure most of us can agree that that’s quite a relief. Keep the story-driven single-player games coming, Sony.
Topics: PlayStation, Sony