You have no idea what you are talking about, Carsten. Allow me to address your points with some actual facts.
That doesn't mean that devs should'nt try to tweak and improve existing control standards! But even with some improvements and changes the player must have the feeling that "he comes home" when he starts playing. That's the reason why we would never use a keyboard/mouse thing without any menu in a party based RPG. Nobody would "feel home" controlling the game.
Do you think you can honestly compare a mouse and keyboard driven game with a turn-based control set up and call it the same thing? As I recall, we were discussing the merits of a turn based system over a real time system and nothing else. Do stay on topic.
In any case, there is a big difference between adding improvements to a pre-existing system versus reinventing the wheel. Just as the old adage goes,
if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
However, I can't develop games based on my personal taste. A good example for a new (and great!) TB game that isn't selling is Silent Storm. All reviews are between 80 and 90 % and everybody was talking about it, but nobody except the TB fans buy it. The game is really huge fun, but nobody cares. The dev may go broke.
This is highly illogical and what you say has absolutely no bearing in reality. Silent Storm has only just been released in the United States so sales figures aren't available right now. It might not be selling as well as the Sims games do, but I don't think that anybody can actually expect to compete with a game that's sold over 16 million copies thus far so comparing Silent Storm with mass market games like The Sims is hardly fair and to be realistic and to the point, it isn't as if your own game could ever hope to achieve what Silent Storm has not.
It should also be noted that Silent Storm sold out on the first day of its release in the United Kingdom and several other European countries which still amount for a very large portion of the market. While I do not have the sales figures with me, I can safely say that the sales figures were high enough to warrant not only an expansion for Silent Storm (Entitled Sentinels) as well as a sequel. I ask, would a company that you claim is about to shut down due to lack of funding have the budget to make these games? It sounds like you just pulled that one right out of your ass.
We compete with bigger developers using the quality of the game. Th... *snip hype bullshit*
Good luck! None of your older games have proven to be worth more than twenty minutes of most peoples' attention so I don't see why all of that is about to suddenly change just because you suddenly hired a former QA guy from the now defunct Black Isle Studios to work on your title.
Like I said, we're not the ones who develop FPS #1.000.000. We go for some risk developing for a difficult genre. What game would you compare to The Fall from the scenario, the technical side, the story etc.? Keep in mind that millions of games are developed each year, but you won't find that much games that are comparable to The Fall.
That's because most games don't have the same propensity for 'sucking' as much as the ones you make. You are truly unique in that area so I'm sure you're really proud of that.
It was advertised very well and it got big articles, but even 60% RT combat simulations with less marketing sell better than this great game.
Pulling more figures out of your arse? You should realize that there are not very many TB games on the market so it's hardly fair to compare a TB game with a shoestring budget and absolutely no PR like Massive Assault with an Electronic Arts juggernaut like C&C Generals. I can almost guarantee you that an EA-produced turn based game would sell just as well, or possibly even better than their current strategy lineup. The point is that they aren't making any so your comparison is completely fallacious.
The younger gaming generation just prefers RT (with or without pause)and I can't see anything one could do to change their minds. It's as hopeless as convincing core TB fans of RT.
Why would you hope to convince the younger generation (presumably teenagers) to buy your games when the majority of the market consists of gamers aged 18-25 years of age? If you did your research (and I'm implying right now that you are utterly clueless, should it escape you) you would know that women aged 18-25 consist of a large percentage of the gaming market... so why don't you make a game that's female or social oriented, like The Sims if you're so bent on winning the market over to your side?
Statistics:
http://www.womengamers.com/interviews/idsa.html
Also your last statement makes no sense from the business site. Name just one real successfull TB game of the last 3 years that sold at least 300.000 units worldwide. You can't name one, because a) you don't have accesss to any industry related numbers and b) there's none.
If you would have access to industry numbers you would see that it's no problem to name dozens of RTS games that sold 500.000 to 1 mio. copies.
Don't ask questions if you intend to answer them yourself.
The Heroes of Might and Magic series has sold over a million plus copies and I do not think I need to mention how well Civilization and its sequels have sold over the years.
Civilization 3, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri and Disciples 2 have sold more than 300,000 copies - and these are games released in the past 3 years. I for one am completely certain that Civilization 3 managed to break the barrier you imposed by selling over 2 million or more copies.
Any more words?
