c197# THE FIRST ONLINE RELEASE

[MarkG]

197# THE FIRST ONLINE RELEASE
It's a new internet age and Civ3 is the first civ game of it, says Rasbelin

[Rasbelin]

Thanks for publishing my column!

BTW, the e-mail address in it is wrong, so instead ask right here, send a PM or check out the correct address in my ACS Profile.

[Michael7586]

Online release

A nice article, but the writer clearly has never heard of SimCity3000 or The Sims, two very successful and much anticipated games that have been released around well organized and active online communities. In this respect, Civ3 can hardly be considered unique or "first".

Michael7586

[FalloutBoy]

When I was a freshman in college I was a member of Prodigy's online service. This was before AOL existed, and long before the internet became mainstream. I remember surfing the message boards there everyday reading posts from people who were anxiously awaited the release of Wing Commander 2. And I remember thinking then that this must be the most highly anticipated game ever. Whether or not it was is not something that can really be determined. But we all knew it would be great and the longer the game was delayed, the more we all wanted it.

[Hoek]

He meant that of the Civilization series, it was the first online release. That isn't entirely true (AC, CTP, ToT, etc.), but it is indeed the first true "Civilization" title to use the internet as it's primary marketing tool.

I think that what is perhaps most interesting about this internet release is that it may, in fact, end up harming the Civ legacy. For me, I discovered Civ II and the internet simultaneously, and my experience with Civ was largely shaped by the internet community. The problem now is that you've got alot of veteran players who have spent the last 5 years fantasizing about a Civ 3 that fell well short of any realistic expectations, and it's entirely possible that the ACS forums will quickly become the domain of newbies as disaffected fans such as myself give up on our expectations.

[Ironwood]

Of corse, the problem with this column was the obligatory pre-emptive nose-thumbing at "The Americans." Yes, I am an American. Yes I had an email address 5 years ago. But back then, it wasn't quite the same situation; now, "everybody who's everybody" has an email address.

I'm tired about hearing about "Arrogant Americans." So, what are you? A "Rude Frenchie?" A "Pretentious Brit?" An "Imagination-Hostile German?" A "Backward Spaniard?"

[FNBrown]

Is it arrogance if we really ARE better than everyone?

[Alexander's Horse]

How can Civ III be a game of the internet age when it doesn't have multiplayer?