Hard core gamers have different tastes in games than the mainstream PC gaming market of game buyers. I don't want to suggest we get treated poorly by game magazine and web sites (not just because I fear them - which I do), we got good preview coverage on Sins, just not the same level as one of the "mega" titles would get. Imagine what our sales would be if our games had gotten game magazine covers and just massive editorial coverage like some of the big name games get. So we certainly try.īut we still don't get the editorial buzz that some of the big name titles do because our genre isn't considered as "cool" as other genres. Lack of advertising? Open up your favorite PC game publication for the past few months and take note of all the 2 page spreads for Sins of a Solar Empire. Lack of marketing on our part? We bang on the doors for coverage as next as the next shop. Neither of these titles have CD copy protection.Īnd yet we don't get nearly the attention of other PC games. It's the highest rated PC game of 2008 and probably the best selling 2008 PC title. With a small budget, it has already sold about 200,000 copies in the first month of release.
I still can't find my hedge trimmers.Īnother game that has been off the radar until recently was Sins of a Solar Empire. And you should see Jeff Green's (Games for Windows) yard. I practically have to agree to mow editors lawns to get coverage. So even though Galactic Civilizations II sold 300,000 copies making 8 digits in revenue on a budget of less than $1 million, it's still largely off the radar. Making games for customers versus making games for users And that means looking at the market as a business not about trying to be "cool". The hard part is coming up with a game that we can actually make that will be profitable. So when it comes time to make a game, I don't have a hard time thinking of a game I'd like to play. And I won't even get into the hours lost in WoW. My two favorite games of all time are Civilization (I, II, III, and IV) and Total Annihilation. I love Company of Heroes and Oblivion was captivating. I think the Orange Box is one of the best gaming deals ever. So when I make a game, I focus on making games that I think will be the most profitable.
I'm a gamer who happens to know how to code and also happens to be reasonably good at business.
I've never considered myself a real game developer. What game can they make that will get them glory with the game magazines and gaming websites and hard core gamers? These days, it seems like game developers want to be like rock stars more than businessmen. PC game developers seem to focus more on the "cool" factor. They base what they want to create on the size of the market they're developing for. So here is the deal: When you develop for a market, you don't go by the user base. If you want to talk about piracy, talk about desktop enhancements. Our most popular desktop enhancement, WindowBlinds, has almost 14 million downloads just on. According to CNET, 6 of the top 10 most popular desktop enhancements are developed by Stardock. But in the desktop enhancement market, Stardock owns that market and it's a market with many millions of users. And we certainly are tiny in terms of game development. Most people who know of Stardock in the gaming world think of it as a tiny indie shop.
People who never buy software aren't lost sales. But arguing that piracy is the primary factor in lower sales of well made games? I don't think so.
It really bugs me when I see my game up on some torrent site just on the principle of the matter. And if you listen to game developers, it apparently is a foregone conclusion - if a high quality PC game doesn't sell as many copies as it should, it must be because of piracy. Recently there has been a lot of talk about how piracy affects PC gaming.