I suspect WWI's an unpopular genre for the following reasons:
-More primitive technology. Tanks, jet fighters, & automatic weapons are "cool" & "exciting" to modern gamers. These machines were either primitive or entirely absent from the Great War.
-Few first-hand participants survive. There are still quite a lot of WWII vets out there, and of course more for Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, etc. "Aces of the Deep", "WWII Fighters", and other sims had the attraction of technical advice from men who had really been there. Because nearly all WWI combatants are dead, this is not feasible for WWI simulators.
-Little American participation. The US didn't get involved in WWI until 1917 and incurred relatively few casualties. The Great War never had the pop-culture impact of the American Civil War, WWII, or post 9/11 military campaigns. Like it or not, America is a huge market for games and most Americans nowadays don't know much about foreign history. Flying for the Royal Flying Corps or sailing a Kaiserliche Marine sub is not going to appeal to many modern PC gamers, who like FPS's where you are an American combatant.
I have several friends who like to game, but none of them (aside from people I know from Subsim) have any idea about my modding work. Their idea of fun is shooting "terrorists" in a modern war game or tossing a ball in a Madden NFL or NBA game. And MAYBE, once in a great while, playing a World War II FPS as an American GI. But World War I simming? Not a chance.
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