No Best adventure game in the latest PC Gamer awards!

[Mucman]

It's almost like the genre is totally dead now . Anyone think any games like The Longest Journey or Grim Fandango will ever come around again?

 

[SteelyKen]

I am not sure about The Longest Journey (which was great), but I know that Grim Fandango did not sell well. Without user support, titles released in this genre may be few and far between.

 

[JellyBaby]

<< Anyone think any games like The Longest Journey or Grim Fandango will ever come around again? >>

Like flight sims this genre is stagnant/dying/kapoot. They don't appeal to enough con$umers to satisfy the bean counters and developers aren't innovating enough to create more cu$tomers. Until that happens, no genre for you.

 

[DefRef]

People complain that there aren't any good games and the go out an buy anything with the words "Sim", "Tycoon" or "Xtreme" in the title. If I put out a game called "Xtreme Sim Tycoon", I could start ordering the MODELS from the Victoria's Secret catalog!

My g/f bought Grim Fandango when it came out because she heard it was good. She's NOT a gamer, in fact the ONLY game she has played all the way thru was (get this) Quake 2. (She also got halfway thru one of the expansion packs, too.) I had to put together a new PC for her to play it cuz the P133 I had at her place wouldn't cut it.

She NEVER played it.

I tried it a bit, and while I am far from a stupid guy, I felt like Rain Man while playing it. I had a walkthru for the beginning part and I had to refer to it for EVERY puzzle. I was able to get thru Myst with only a couple of hints, by GF was brutal, though it was funny as hell. I've got a complete walk-thru and intend to go thru it like a movie in the future.

I saw The Longest Journey for $18 at Beast Buy a couple of weeks back, but didn't get it cuz I didn't want another unplayed game on the shelf. (I have about 30, included an barely started Riven!)

 

[NicColt]

>but I know that Grim Fandango did not sell well

I never played it but didn't GF win game of the year when it came out ?

 

[slicksilver]

<< I am not sure about The Longest Journey (which was great), but I know that Grim Fandango did not sell well. Without user support, titles released in this genre may be few and far between. >>



dude, from what source have you concluded that Grim Fandango didn't do well????...........Grim Fandango won Adventure game of the year at Gamecenter, Gamespot and Adrenaline Vault......as a matter a fact it is on Gamespot's all time greatest adventure games.....guys, those of you who haven't played this game must play it..........I've never seem a better adventure game all my life........great storyline

Go Manny

Raj

 

[JellyBaby]

Grim Fandango did well in Europe but not so in the States as far as sales numbers go. Now the kickers is it sold enough, I think, to make money. Just not enough money for the bean counters.

Simplistic, fast paced games sell more units than deeper, slower paced games. At least in the US. Unless that changes they're not gonna make a lot of truly good games (those that win awards for things of substance).

 

[Mucman]

I am currently replaying Grim Fandango, since I only played half of it and lost patience with the old P150 that I played it on. It's a lot more fun when it runs fast . I still get emotional flashbacks when I hear the music from The Longest Journey! Nothing has grabbed me like that game. I ended up winning that game in about 2 weeks with only having to look for hints twice.

Is there any way that we can find sales for certain games?

 

[SteelyKen]

I am well aware of the fact that Grim Fandango won numerous awards, as well it should. Heck, I bought the game myself when the demo came out because it looked so cool. However, I have seen in more than one place that it did not sell as expected. The following is an excerpt from Computer Gaming World feburary 2001 edition's Hall of Fame section on GF:



<< As with BATTLEZONE and SANITARIUM, it's a shame that this true work of digital art didn't succeed on the money-making level. >>

 

[Vernor]

Compare the costs of making a game in 1992 as opposed to 2002, and you'll understand why it's so much more a riskier investment.


The days of a couple of guys sitting in their basement and coding wacky and innovative games in their free time are long gone.

 

[Rand]

<<


The days of a couple of guys sitting in their basement and coding wacky and innovative games in their free time are long gone. >>



Not entirely, BaseBall Mogul started off that way a few years agop and has been a tremendous commercial success despite an almost complete lack of advertisements and only being sold via the web for the first couple revisions.
PureSim baseball looks to follow in it's footsteps.
Championship Manager started off this way also.

Every once in awhile you still find the occasional extremely successful game that's coded by a single person in their spare time, albeit such games are generally sports managerial sims that arent at all graphically intensive.

 

[JellyBaby]

<< Compare the costs of making a game in 1992 as opposed to 2002 >>

And the main reason for that is the accelerated pace of video hardware power! I blame 3dfx and nvidia for helping screw things up. Not intentionally, of course, but the effect is there.

Heh, thinking back, actually this trend started before 3d acceleration existed. Titles like Wing Commander III, Strike Commander, etc. all were time consuming and expensive to make. Gotta have those visiuals!

 

[RudeBoie]

Space Quest is rumored to make a come back.

Ah, back in the days when anything Sierra = must have.

Police Quest,
Space Quest,
Quest For Glory.
King's Quest,
Indy Racing,
and even.....Leisure Suit Larry

 

[Lars]

<< Space Quest is rumored to make a come back.

Ah, back in the days when anything Sierra = must have.

Police Quest,
Space Quest,
Quest For Glory.
King's Quest,
Indy Racing,
and even.....Leisure Suit Larry >>



That would be great; I really like the Space Quest series. Any link for more information?