Former Civ2 Designer Brian Reynolds Joins Zynga

[binhthuy71]

Diablo II sold 4 million copies, Starcraft sold 12 million. Starcraft II is out soon, when it's ready. Diablo III is being developed as well, but Starcraft II will be out before it. http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3

Diablo II and the LOD expansion have been on my PC since they came out. They, along with the estimable Starcraft, outsold Civ because they're more accessible. It's possible to win those games without devoting time to minutia or micromanagement while still enjoying the possibility of understanding and applying strategy. Anyone interested in a good game can load Diablo or Starcraft and be playing competently in a few minutes whereas Civ newbies get lost even on Settler. That's not a criticism of Civ, it is to say that playing it beyond Chieftain requires a lot more memorization and thought than many would want to devote to a game. For those of us who enjoy it Civ is a joy whose fulfillment requires a degree of dedication. For others it's just bewildering.

 

[Roland Johansen]

Apparently, there was a market of over 3 million customers for civ4. That's not a niche market and there's no reason to not create more games for that market. There's also not a lot of competition on that market meaning that if you create a good game, you're bound to get a large section of the market for turnbased strategy (TBS) games.

It's well known that the Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) market is the biggest gaming market at the moment. However, competition on that market is fierce. Many developers try to get a share of that market and fail completely. World of Warcraft (WoW) is by far the biggest player on that market and other companies who try to get a share of that market will have to compete with that strong brand name. You can create a great title for the MMORPG market and still fail to get a share of that market because you fail to sell your game well. And if you can't get a good number of customers within a month of release, you'll be in big trouble because your game servers will be underpopulated and the customers you already had will start to walk away. The MMORPG game market is really tough.

So if you're a game company that's good at creating TBS games, you'll likely make a better profit by taking a big share of the TBS market than to try your luck in the fierce competition of the MMORPG market. It's like the difference between a solid investment based on past results and a gold rush based on a legend.

 

[travathian]

Difficult to top because they've gone as far as they can go in the direction they chose to take the franchise.

You state this as if it were fact, it is not. Get back to us when you've developed a game that has sold millions of copies.

I realize CivRev was made specifically for the console,

Apparently not, because if you did you'd realize the fallacy in your argument. Maybe instead of blathering on about things you know nothing about you can go read some of the interviews with developers and other documents that explain their thinking behind CivRev. In a nutshell, its a gateway drug designed to get people exposed to the series and type of gameplay, not as a replacement to the real thing nor as a prelude of what is to come in the real series.

It's possible to win those games without devoting time to minutia or micromanagement while still enjoying the possibility of understanding and applying strategy.

It is also possible to complete a game of checkers in just a few minutes, and yet chess is some how still pretty darn popular, despite its complex rules and even more complex strategies. You're comparing apples to oranges. Someone enjoying Civ4 doesn't preclude them enjoying other games. Besides Civ4 I also have the Half Life Orange Pack installed, Neverwinter Nights 1&2, Crysis, STALKER, Morrowind and Oblivion, KOTOR, Chessmaster, Dawn of War, etc etc etc. Some relatively simple games, other incredibly complex. Gamers don't play a single genre so why would game developers only make a single genre?

 

[HypnosTene]

It is also possible to complete a game of checkers in just a few minutes, and yet chess is some how still pretty darn popular, despite its complex rules and even more complex strategies. You're comparing apples to oranges. Someone enjoying Civ4 doesn't preclude them enjoying other games. Besides Civ4 I also have the Half Life Orange Pack installed, Neverwinter Nights 1&2, Crysis, STALKER, Morrowind and Oblivion, KOTOR, Chessmaster, Dawn of War, etc etc etc. Some relatively simple games, other incredibly complex. Gamers don't play a single genre so why would game developers only make a single genre?

You've got NWN, as well as Oblivion? Poor guy ; )
Also, chill.

 

[Truronian]

He's probably just building up the funds he needs to make Alpha Centauri 2...[/delusion]

 

[Varelse]

He's probably just building up the funds he needs to make Alpha Centauri 2...[/delusion]

hell yeah!