Quote:
Originally Posted by avistew
Probably it wasn't worth the financial risk? If adventure games are a smaller market to begin with, and the games themselves have a higher chance to be hit-or-miss, it might make them decide to focus on what they know will sell, what's safe.
So yeah, maybe they thought "okay, let's give it a last chance with Escape and base our decision on that. If it doesn't sell then it means people don't like adventure games anymore". And when it wasn't received as well as the previous ones, they concluded there wasn't market for it anymore?
I don't know, it's just speculation. We can see it as a bad move from our point of view, but from theirs? Not necessarily, they could focus on games that might make them more money.
Adventure games probably cost a lot to make. They're dialogue heavy so if everything is voiced that's a lot of actors to hire, for instance. And in the end it might not sell that well, especially compared to some of their other games such as Star Wars games, that are pretty much sure to sell.
So, from a business point of view, it might have been a smart move.
|
This is what happened. Around that time all adventure games took massive hit and were not seen as being profitable. The rise of the internet didn't help, walkthroughs etc..
As an old adventurer I remember playing text Scott Adams adventures on my vic-20 - almost no hints possible. Once a month I bought C&VG and there was one adventure page with some hints on it (upside down) and maybe, just maybe if you were lucky the adventure game you were playing was featured. In those days you really did tear your hair out trying everything, but it was better.
It's the same with the start of WOW (blasphemy to mention..
I don't play any more) - when it hit everything was just adventure and discovery. Now we get screenshots, all quests, objects etc laid out before we even get to play the patch/expansion, ruins the experience - you even get markers on screen (through addon) telling you where you need to go so you can play with your eyes closed. Shame... It's up to player's discretion though of course.