Simulations a dying breed... No says Paradox Interactive

[Sonarman]

Simulations a dying breed... No says Paradox Interactive (publisher of East India Company & Ship Simulator Extremes), they may be right it was recently announced by Ubi the SH series had collectively sold over 1.5 million copies, whilst this doesn't compare to the GTAs of this world these are apparently healthy numbers for niche markets like simulations.

[Dowly]

I believe it when I see it. The dying thing that is. Few years back, they said PC gaming was dying, point+click adventure games were dying (they might be on life support, but they arent dead yet!) and yaadiyaa.

[August]

Originally Posted by Dowly

I believe it when I see it. The dying thing that is. Few years back, they said PC gaming was dying, point+click adventure games were dying (they might be on life support, but they arent dead yet!) and yaadiyaa.

Yeah baseless rumors propagated by console companies who would love to see the death of a competitor.

[Wolfehunter]

Originally Posted by August

Yeah baseless rumors propagated by console companies who would love to see the death of a competitor.

You said it right August.. Console wars against the PC world. Its all about that. Nothing else.

[August]

Originally Posted by Wolfehunter

You said it right August.. Console wars against the PC world. Its all about that. Nothing else.

It's a rat race out there and market share is king.

[JMV]

There are some very good game on the XBox 360, of course, like Oblivion, Fallout 3 etc... but an XBox controller can't and will never equal a PC keyboard in terms of numbers of controls avaliable and modding potentialities...

I think a time is coming for XBox 360, ( and others ) that is not so far away, that it will be more and more difficult to innovate, just because of these limitations.

But people go for the not so cheap ( after all ) but easy. Plus a PC is more sensitive to CTD, or at least should I say, not everybody is a computer geek, or even less than that... As a comparition, I'd say there's as much difference between them as there is between reading a book, and watching the TV....

As for Microsoft FSX, I have 250 planes installed, and is a permanent resident program on my PC ( excuse me !! ).

[Sea Demon]

Originally Posted by Dowly

I believe it when I see it. The dying thing that is. Few years back, they said PC gaming was dying, point+click adventure games were dying (they might be on life support, but they arent dead yet!) and yaadiyaa.

PC gaming better never die. I hate consoles and their clumsy controls.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by Sea Demon

PC gaming better never die. I hate consoles and their clumsy controls.

Agreed. I'll take a keyboard and mouse over a controller any day.

[Sonarman]

It does make you wonder why Microsoft & Sony et al are so afraid of attaching a keyboard & mouse to their consoles to allow things like simulation games. Especially when you look back at the massive success of machines like the Amiga and C64 etc which provided a stable, level playing field for developers instead of the configuration nightmare of the modern PC. Do they really think that the addition of a keyboard & mouse would stop people buying consoles? They give their audience very little credit indeed.

[Max2147]

Simulations aren't dying off, they're just changing shape.

Before, simulations were designed by small developers, then distributed by big publishers like EA, Sierra, Ubi, and so on. The big publishers have moved on, but the small developers are still there. Instead of getting big publishers to distribute the game, they do it themselves now. The result is fewer copies sold, but also higher quality games.

For example, EA published a series of F1 sims made by ISI. When EA lost the F1 license, they cut ISI loose. ISI stayed together and made rFactor. Similarly, Papyrus made NASCAR sims for Sierra. When Sierra lost the NASCAR license, Papyrus became iRacing.com and produced their own sim.

[Blacklight]

Attatching a keyboard would make it seem too complicated for their "target market".
I still think that simulation games are in a SERIOUS decline as the younger players seem to "prefer" first person shooters and simple action games. Every year, I see less and less hardcore simulations being released and more of that action crap for the attention deficite disordered non-thinkers being released to fill in the gap.
Most people, even the older gamers tend to gravitate toward those action, arcade type games. Of all my friends who I grew up gaming with, I can't name a single ONE who enjoys simulation games, yet they all LOVE their Playstation 3's and Xboxes to the point where using a PC to play a game doesn't even cross their radar.
MOST people today don't want to take the time to LEARN anything complex. I've seen a perfect NON-video game example of this as well over the past years. I've been to various game conventions (board and miniature wargames, Dungeons & Dragons and other RPG stuff, etc..) and the people there are all old like me. There is very few younger people coming in to fill in the gaps left by the older crowd because these games actually require you to do a LOT of reading to learn to play. You have to put EFFORT into learning the games. The first thing the people I know ask when I toss a game out on the table is "Am I going to have to think ?" which prompts me to just sigh and pull the game off the table and shove it back in it's box. Everything is so instant gratification now, that people are missing out on a LOT of rewarding and entertaining stuff !

The market is unfortunately following this "mindless game" trend that the people seem to want.

[Spike88]

Originally Posted by Sonarman

It does make you wonder why Microsoft & Sony et al are so afraid of attaching a keyboard & mouse to their consoles to allow things like simulation games. Especially when you look back at the massive success of machines like the Amiga and C64 etc which provided a stable, level playing field for developers instead of the configuration nightmare of the modern PC. Do they really think that the addition of a keyboard & mouse would stop people buying consoles? They give their audience very little credit indeed.

Mouses and Keyboards both work with the PS3. The issue is that no one codes games in which you can use them.

As for console Simulations Gran turismo counts, especially if you get the steering wheel and pedals. Plus you have ARMA II supposedly making a console appearance along with Operation Flaspoint Dragon Rising.
Plus there was one for the original Xbox that simulated a battle mech, called steel battalion, which used its own controller with joysticks, pedals, and a lot of buttons.

Here's a picture of the controller.

[Jimbuna]

Well it certainly looks like it is still a profitable area otherwise Ubisoft wouldn't be working on SH5 and I know the Ship Simulator is very good because my son has them both.

[SteamWake]

Well they better do better than the previous ship simulator or they will be dead :rotfl:

The east india trading co. is a title I have been considering however my disposable income is pre-disposed.

I dont think the simulator market is 'dead' but it is at best a niche albeit a large one.

But the signs point to a decline... Microsoft Train simulator (dead), Microsoft Flight simulator (in a coma), Microprose (dead and buried), the list goes on.

I really hope for strong success for UBI and their upcoming title. Maybe it will show the gaming industry that there is still a profitable market in this 'niche'.

[Sonarman]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

But the signs point to a decline... Microsoft Train simulator (dead), Microsoft Flight simulator (in a coma), Microprose (dead and buried), the list goes on.

On Microprose...
I actually think Microprose failed because they moved away from simulation and over reached themselves.

On Microsoft...
Microsoft on the other hand I think actually want to kill off PC gaming all together in favour of the XBOX. They buy out good PC gaming studios and spoil them as highlighted just today here. Then they start the "Games for Windows Live" initiative a buggy and ill-supported pile of poo that has all but killed off the fledgling "Battlestations Pacific".