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Unlike you, I don't consider Dave Gaider a god. His word isn't holy gospel. I  think he's cool; but he's not all knowing. Not to mention how in his little speech he never mentioned JE; but 'just' DA and NWN - both PC games, and both games highly dependent on a MP component. Hmm..

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Greg Costikyan has designed more than 30 commercially published games in various genres and platforms. He has written about the game industry for publications including the New York Times, Salon, and Game Developer magazine. At present, he works for Nokia Research Center's Multimedia Technologies lab as a games researcher.

 

 

 

...

But Sales are Up!

Yes, they are; the games industry is the fastest-growing entertainment industry on the globe and unit sales increase year by year. There was a time that a million-seller was considered extraordinary, and now there are several every year. And if you believe, say, Michael Pachter at Wedbush Morgan, we can anticipate soaring growth for decades to come; surely all is for the best, in this best of all possible worlds?

 

Why is it that sales are up? The answer is very simple: Demography. Fifteen years ago, almost nobody over 20 (and almost nobody not male) played games. These days, almost nobody over 35 plays games. In other words, a much larger percentage of the population as a whole plays games.

 

Not because more people have become gamers, exactly - rather, because people's leisure time activities tend to be set in their teenage years, and they pursue the same activities as they get older. Thirty-five year-olds play games because they've been playing them since they were teens. Fifteen years from now, 50 will be the cut-off - and 30 years from now, the demographics of game players will match the demographics of the population as a whole. (And, by the way, we won't have idiot senators attacking games any more - everyone, regardless of age, will know how dumb that is.)

 

So the growth in game sales is driven by two factors: The growing portion of the population that was exposed to games when young - and, of course, the growth of the population. But what we're talking about, when you get down to it, is growth on the order of 7-10% annually.

 

Compare that to Moore's Law: 100% growth in processing power over 18 months.In other words, the growth in processing power, which drives the cost of game development, is enormously faster than the growth in the population of gamers - and while technically both are exponential curves (at least until the global population levels off), the disparity is so great that you can treat the growth in sales as a linear curve, and the growth in cost as an exponential one.

 

And what's the upshot of that?

 

The result is that the average game (not the industry as a whole) loses more and more money. The publishers make up the losses on the few games that hit.

 

In other words: There is no room in this industry for niche product. There is no room for creativity or quirky vision. It's hit big, or don't try.

 

Implications for Publishers

The field becomes more and more hit-driven. There is no mid-list. You only want home runs. And those home runs have to cover the losses on everything else.

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part 1

part 2

 

WOW! Only deecnt game mentioned is Tomb Raider, and that's stretching it.

 

Gothic series sucked thus far though G3 may be good.

 

Nope, when it coems to gaming, Europe is a weak link.

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Ultimas.

Except I'm not.  The mods already warned me.

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You've already got your child using alt accounts?!

Bioware has become too much of a leviathan to be able to please several of it's fans and still get new ones.

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No no, I am sure quite a few new shoot'em up fans were thrilled with Jade Empire..

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what I'm saying is that they make more games aimed at getting newer audiences interested in them. the games are not what the more traditional fans like (ie this board) and thus the traditional gamers start to whine.

"Ultimas."

 

Really? If so, someone finally named one great European game. Hiphiphooray! Europe has one hit!!!

Nah, you're just neglecting the others.

When did Europe make an Ultima game?

 

Origin Studios was based out of Austin, TX.

Yay now the sequal will suck!!! Seriously. If you make a sweet game and it bombs why make a sweeter sequal(which will probably bomb harder)

So, who's right? Meta or Ender? Hmmm... It's a pickle to be sure.

When did Europe make an Ultima game?

 

Origin Studios was based out of Austin, TX.

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He's probably referring to the fact that Lord British seems like he's an Englander

But isn't. How american... :D

Europe has succesful games?

Meta is usually obsessive about being right, much like myself. However, if he insisted that the Ultimas were made by a European company he is mistaken.

ll of what was once Origin Systems has finally closed for good, Electronic Arts announced today. The Austin, Texas studio, which once created classics like Ultima and Wing Commander and more lately handled the maintenance of the Ultima Online franchise, will be shut down and its resources relocated to EA's studios in Los Angeles and Redwood City, California, Reuters news service reports.

 

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_...2/ai_ziff120356

 

I was a major Origin/Utima fanboy. I can tell you all about their studios, Lord British's castle he built in Austin, the new one he is currently building, Destination Games, etc. etc.

 

When you play the opening of Ultima 9, that "park" near the Avatar's house is even modeled directly after a local park in Austin.

Europe has succesful games? 

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Europe has success?

Europe?

?

??

Oh, you mean Yurop!

There are plenty of good European games. Volourn is being particularly obtuse about it, but if Volourn wasn't he wouldn't be Volourn.

Then name one.

UFO Aftermath for one, Silent Storm for two.

Silent Storm was an excellent game!

I would love to see a Fallout styled game done in Silent Storm's game engine.

Silent Storm was an excellent game!

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The expansion, SIlent Storm: Sentinels was even better!

IL-2 Sturmovik is an excellent game too.

Hard as hell, too.