Are computer (PC) games dying?

[Urban Ranger]

Those are great games, I'd take them over the FPS and RTS any day.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by Lord_Davinator
btw Tassadar 5000, you mention RoN as being a revolutionary hit in RTS, what is RoN for one thing and why?

RoN is going to be the new game by Big Huge games which was founded by Brian Reynolds blah blah blah.....

Check here for more info

[St Leo]

What is needed is a working committee of PC hardware designers and PC game designers to hammer out some sort of set of standards that will reduce incompatabilities.

We shall call the end product Ada in honour of the language designed on the same principles.

[Asher]

What is needed is a working committee of PC hardware designers and PC game designers to hammer out some sort of set of standards that will reduce incompatabilities.

Why do you think new video cards coming out are being labeled things such as being a "DirectX 9" card and the like? To get the certification they must support standard sets of features implemented in the same way.

The problem isn't necessarily competing standards, but the pure variety of hardware combinations possible.

[kring]

Originally posted by ADG


Well yes, it helps on the sales, if people know that there'll be patches for the game, but let's make a quick poll:

Wich game do you prefer to buy:

GameA - made by a company who always makes patches for their buggy games...

GameB - made by a company who's only famous for making bugs, but no patches...

Given those two choices, I would opt for:

C - not buying either game. I have adopted such tactics against companies that produce shoddy work. The expectation by both companies and consumers is: buy it buggy, that's okay. Maybe for most people, it is. But, for me, it isn't.

I have notified several game companies that I won't buy any more of their games until and unless they start putting them out fairly bug free. I have mentioned the titles I own from the companies as well as what I would buy if they cleaned up their act. I realize that there are potential system issues, but when the problems are not system issues, just a rush to beat a deadline and profit margin, that is where I draw the line. I have also used this in my regular shopping as well. I have some companies I don't buy from because they want my money, but don't want to put even a half decent effort in providing a decent product.

I would agree with the ones that say it is the buggy games causing the reduced sales.

[Hueij]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Those are great games, I'd take them over the FPS and RTS any day.

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/

Try this, there are some great games there

[Urban Ranger]

Thanks

[Lancer]

I recall I felt the same way about board wargames going down the tubes in the 70's. It seemed that role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons were stealing the the customers. My friends quit getting together for the latest release from Simulations Publications or Avalon Hill and started doing D&D, which I never had any interest in. So, now if you can even find a true hobby store you won't find many board wargames like you used to. They are in the cabinet under the flexible Darth Maul dolls with 'life like' light up light saber..."you can look but try not to mess up the Star Wars display". Hobby stores used to have racks upon racks of wargames.

So now we have consoles eroding the customer base of the computer game genre. This means that folks will never graduate to strayegy games from shoot em ups...and that might be the end of computer games, or at least relegate them to the same cabinet as the board wargames...

That said, I almost bought myself an X box for Christmas, that mech assault game looks awsome.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Lancer
I recall I felt the same way about board wargames going down the tubes in the 70's. It seemed that role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons were stealing the the customers. My friends quit getting together for the latest release from Simulations Publications or Avalon Hill and started doing D&D, which I never had any interest in. So, now if you can even find a true hobby store you won't find many board wargames like you used to. They are in the cabinet under the flexible Darth Maul dolls with 'life like' light up light saber..."you can look but try not to mess up the Star Wars display". Hobby stores used to have racks upon racks of wargames.

So now we have consoles eroding the customer base of the computer game genre. This means that folks will never graduate to strayegy games from shoot em ups...and that might be the end of computer games, or at least relegate them to the same cabinet as the board wargames...

That said, I almost bought myself an X box for Christmas, that mech assault game looks awsome.

You know Lancer, there is a game store here in K'ville that specializes in board games, especially military games - their shelves are just crammed with the things. If you are interested in a title, but can't find it in that backwater called "Oregon" ( ), please PM me and I'll go look for you.

- - - -

Oh, I do agree that PC games will never die as long as there are PC's. But what I'm really bemoaning is the fact that PC games are no longer the standard, the industry leaders in design and playability. Sure, console games might have always sold more than PC games, but for about a decade PC games were king - and being a PC gamer, I grew used to such affairs. Now, like a 30-year GM man in 1986 who grew complacent with American industrial dominance, I find my team immersed in mediocrity and repetition, while the other guys seem to be having all the fun and making all the money.

I'm missing the 90's more and more.

[JohnT]

Yeah, I'm thinking of getting an X-Box or Playstation 2 as well. My 3 big concerns and reasons for not getting one are:

1. My kid is 1 year old and in a few years (with some prodding by Daddy, of course) she will likely want some game system. So why not wait until the next gen?

2. Time. Work: 60 hours. Family: 60 hours. Sleep: 42 hours. That leaves about 15-20 hours a week to do what I want to do and what I usually want to do (computer related) is search the net. There's another 10-15 hours a week.

3. Guilt. "Damn, I've got better things to do than play Starcraft and better things to spend my money on than an X-Box" is something my mind whispers a lot. Nothing y'all can do about this one.

[Lancer]

John, thanks for the offer of picking up a wargame for me, but my real problem is playing with myself.

I guess I could move to Tennesee...*rednecks* *shudder*

I haven't had that mass market, on the winning team feel for so long now I can't recall. Even in comp games in the '90s I basicly felt like a strategy guy living in a role playing/ shoot em up world, and I drive Fords...

[SpencerH]

I dont see why people keep commenting words to the effect that 'you cant play strategy games on a console'. An X-box has a faster processor etc etc than many PC's that people currently use to play games (including me). Last time I looked CIV3 had mouse-activatable buttons for every command.

[JohnT]

Conversely Spencer, nobody seems to think about the fact that somebody might develop a keyboard/keyboard equivalent for the consoles for the purpose of playing strategy games.

I think the reason that people think that strategy games, RPG's, etc... won't work for the consoles is that people still consider them to be for kids, and kids don't play strategy games do they? No!(sez the marketing department).

[Lancer]

John, I played Civ2 on my Playstation 1 in the Philippines for 6 months. It didn't use a keyboard, just the usual hand held game controller. There was no random map generator either, just a bunch of stored maps on the game CD.

[SpencerH]

Yeah, that would be a difficult task. I see that microsoft is pushing their new netTV which includes a wireless mouse/keyboard for $99.

Its strange logic alright. Sure theres a difference between civ and Duke Nukem, but how much of a jump is it from Zelda to 'strategy' games?