Gamers Say Gogogic CEO is an "Idiot"

The CEO of social gaming company Gogogic dropped 50 IQ points when he said that all games are meant to be played with others.

Reykjavik-based Gogogic specializes in casual and social gaming, so it does have a certain bias about how people play games, but even so these comments by CEO Jonan Antonsson are pretty dumbass. In a recent interview, he effectively dismissed single-player gaming, saying that while there's a "strong audience for hard and unrelenting games" like Demon's Souls, games are meant first and foremost to be played with others.

"The single player mechanic is a gimmick - games are meant to be played with others and it doesn't matter if it's in-person or online," Antonsson said. "The first games were designed as multiplayer experiences, but when computer and console games became a thing there was a need to construct an antagonist and/or a protagonist for commercial purposes. You couldn't depend on people coming together to have a synchronous experience over a game. That would have simply stifled sales. And since there was no reasonable way to connect people in other ways - the arcade was the only serious attempt - it became an industry need to project the game as the other player."

"Playing a game is a multiplayer activity and can easily be seen as such when you watch young toddlers play by themselves," he added. "They invent someone to play with, someone that they talk to and interact with."

Naturally, he is being insulting stupid - historically, especially as children, people have avoided each other due to fear of bullying - and videogames have changed the definition of "play." You don't read multiplayer books, after all, and listening to music or watching television isn't an inherently social activity either. Antonsson made himself look like the George Bush of the gaming industry somewhat by stating that "score board = multiplayer" but he then went on state something even stupider.

"Now we can connect people in and around a game through real time PvP and PvE mechanics and the need for pure single player games had gone down. We have multiple plots and stories and build the meta-experience for the entire audience. The premise for making games has changed - reverted back to building multiplayer experiences that are true to the game form," he said. That was not thestupid part, what he siad next is. "This doesn't mean that we have run out of room when it comes to great single-player titles or games that make you sweat and curse every couple of minutes. It means that those titles have to be very appealing and cater well to the hardcore audience."

Jonan was last seen being pulled into a basement by Skyrim, Deus Ex, Bioshock and Ocarina of Time, all of them wielding baseball bats. We hope that when he comes back, he has gained some perspective.

Source: Common Sense

I think he was social around the bong one too many times.

I'm amused the only wikipedia page I found was one sentence long and in icelandic.

Lol, I wonder what his employees think of him now.

ha ha ha ha ha ha haaah NO

Ignore the introvert market, ignore 30-40% of humanity. Way to go!

"Mr. Antonsson, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

This just in: An Escapist forum poster thinks that Gogogic CEO Jonan Antonsson needs to remember what the word "gimmick" means. Because I'm that Escapist forum poster is sure that the word "gimmick" shouldn't apply to the majority of games that allowed for such a large market to develop. The large market, in which Mr. Antonsson is trying to make a a living.

Also, that poster thinks Gogogic CEO Jonan Antonsson should stop drinking alcohol through straws.

Folji:
Gogo-who-the-hell? Never ever heard of them before, although that's not so strange when their apparent focus is Facebook and iOS (not mobile gaming in general, just iOS). He's just making himself sound like another case of a self-labelled know-it-all over-analysing something he's never ever involved in, which makes his opinion really hard to take seriously.

Exactly.
Its another lazy CEO from some hack company no one has heard of "producing" a bunch of "games", who wants attention for himself. So instead of bothering to try and make a name for themselves by making something worthwhile, they say some jumbled mess of garbage full well knowing news sites online will eat it up for the hits.

I don't believe I could do justice in writing to just how wrong this random man is. I will let Dr. Cox have that honour.

The bait is strong here.

I am giving this guy two weeks before the High Overminds of EA have him in their ranks.

Single player mechanic is a gimmick he says...

Very well I counter. Multi-player is a gimmick. MMO's are an even bigger gimmick cause it contains all of them usually.

If you want me to say it fine.
Every single game is a big fat fake gimmick that stole ideas from other things.

Leaving of course only pong, being the original video game. And still thats pushing it! It did steal tennis, or badminton.

See the spoiler for my reaction to this mans dumb asshat'ery

Yeah? And I say this guy is a "douchebag."

EDIT: No, that was not intended as an intelligent well thought out response. I can't think of one ATM.

Ugh, I thought Angry Joe was the only person with that mindset.

I'm one of the millions of people who play MMOs solo. Why? Because it's cheap & the world is huge. The other players are just there to make the world look realistically populated.

Company unknown, CEO unknown, make outrageous statement publicly....get media attention.

Lather balls, rinse, and repeat.

I hate all these leeches that have latched on to the "gaming" industry.

Yeah, yeah singleplayer games are totally a niche market.

Like, those independent guys who developed that game, god, what was it called, Skyrin I think it was?
And those guys who made Dragon Rage and Mass Affect or something like that.

I mean, yeah totally. Singleplayer games, completely niche market; barely any audience to speak of really.

Andy Chalk:
Reykjavik-based Gogogic specializes in casual and social gaming

Wow, it's almost like this guy has an incredibly heavy bias and no qualifications to talk on how video games are "meant" to be played!

Come now, my fellow Escapists. Be nice.

Mr. Jonan is free to think whatever he wants about games. He's wrong, completely and totally in a very laughable way, but he's free to have his own thoughts on the matter.

He's also free to kiss the fattest part of my ass if he thinks anyone gives two shits and a fuck about what he thinks, given that he's the CEO of a "Social Gaming" company.

PR stunt.

Move along, nothing to see here.

I can't imagine how this obvious PR stunt was considered newsworthy enough to post in the first place.

Azuaron:

Solo-Wing:

First of all: Skyrim; your argument, Antonsson, is incorrect according to FACTS.

And MMO's are definitely the best investment, as a business decision, yes?

He seems to be unable to think of a game as anything other than a contest. Videogames go way beyond simple contests.

The only multiplayer game I've played in months was Mass Effect 3's multiplayer (speaking of gimmicks), and I only did that to get my galactic readiness level up for the single player.

I enjoy ME3's Multiplayer!

I'm sorry what company did you say you worked for? Gogogic? Nope never heard of you if you'll just wait there a second security will return you to your secure unit.

This guy has never owned a video games console in his life.

Single player mode is best mode.
Multiplayer is...well, it gets boring really fast. Because all you're really doing is playing the same couple of matches again and again. And even in games with cooperative features, there're only so many ways you can play with other people.

Well.. Seems like everything that's needed to be said is already said by other people, so I'll just go with the good ol fashioned FUCK YOU.

So I guess his company is about to die or something? Guess he wanted to get known as "that CEO who made an impact" while he still exists as a CEO and not "some unemployed who said something".

So a dude no one knows... from a company no one's heard of... says something obviously retarded. And we care why? We all KNOW he's full of shit, there isn't really much to talk about.

Well that's just silly now isn't it you silly bee. Seriously. He's really silly.

likalaruku:
Ugh, I thought Angry Joe was the only person with that mindset.

I'm one of the millions of people who play MMOs solo. Why? Because it's cheap & the world is huge. The other players are just there to make the world look realistically populated.

I'm sorry but...

What kind of drug are you on that makes you think Angry Joe has that mindset? Seriously here. What, when he's talking about MMOs? That has absolutely nothing to do with this article. The hack in this piece is saying that Single-Player is a gimmick, not single player in MMOs but single-player as a game in general. You know, Skyrim instead of The Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout 1 instead of Fallout Online, must I go on?

I mean god dang, its specified right damn near the beginning of the article that they are speaking of single-player games. NOT playing single-player in an MMO.

And I'll say it again, in case you missed it. Angry Joe doesn't have that mindset. He doesn't complain and say single-player only is a gimmick, nor has he ever. And heck, even when he is talking about MMOs he doesn't complain about people playing it like a single-player game, so put down those psychotropic drugs buddy.

I'd agree with him, if multiplayer wasn't being used as the gimmick now. How many games shoe horn it in to try and make the game laster longer, and skimp out on the actual single player experience of the game. Call of Duty is the only game that comes to mind with a single player where THAT part feels like the gimmick. People think of CoD and think of multiplayer. Halo is the first game that comes to mind where they feel like equals, and if you think about it, while online matches are thought of a lot, who's the face of the franchise? Random Spartan/Elite created by what's his face, or the single player Master Chief himself?

I could see where he was coming from if we lived in a different world, but right now, multiplayer is the bigger gimmick between the two.