1Up - The Future of Single-Player RPGs

This roundtable from 1Up assembles four well-known developers to discuss the future of single-player RPGs.  Bill Roper, Alan Miranda, Marcin Iwinski (co-founder of CD Projekt) and Feargus Urquhart participate.  Here's a snip from Feargus:

1UP: Do gamers still want the big-budget RPGs like Dragon Age and Final Fantasy? Have piracy and the expense of the HD consoles made big-budget RPGs not as feasible as they once were?

FU: Absolutely. These games can offer something that many of the MMORPGs can't offer. It's the same as what we all look for when we go to the movies or an amusement park. They let us go on a big-ticket ride and enjoy ourselves, along with letting us feel like we accomplished something by actually finishing it.

As for piracy and the price of the HD consoles, I would be lying if I didn't say those were a challenge. However, I've never looked at piracy as you losing out on a sale. If they were going to pirate your game, they are going to do it -- just like with movies and music. You do need to make some effort to weed out the casual pirates, but no matter how hard you make it to pirate a game -- or any other kind of media like a game -- someone is going to get their hands on it without paying.

As for the HD consoles, that is an issue that I don't have a good answer for. However, at $299, whether someone gets the Xbox 360 or the new PS3, those are pretty powerful machines for the money.