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From: farren@sat.com (Michael J. Farren)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games
Subject: Re: Run (don't walk) to your store.  Lemmings has been released.
Message-ID: <1991Feb23.205223.28086@sat.com>
Date: 23 Feb 91 20:52:23 GMT
References: <1991Feb20.064217.26621@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <5215@vela.acs.oakland.edu> <19228@cbmvax.commodore.com>
Organization: SAT
Lines: 31

kominetz@cbmvax.commodore.com writes:
>     Software manufacturers will produce their software for the most
>common configuration of each system.  An Electronic Arts Rep said that
>over 90% of their sales (or at least those that sent in the reg. card)
>in the Amiga market are straight A500s:  no ram expanders, no external
>drives, nothing.  They will not change their policies until they are
>convinced (by their market info.) that accelerators, extra ram, etc. are
>the rule, not the exception.  Since many companies base this on their 
>registered owners' responses, your boycott not only deprives you of good
>software but insures that manufacturers won't change their behavior.

You miss the point entirely.  Certainly we (the game developers, of which
I am one) want to write our games so that they work on the lowest common
denominator systems, simply to maximize the sales potential.  However,
enabling the use of more features if they are available does NOT mean
that the LCD class will be out of luck.  It's not like I'm saying that
you HAVE to have a harddrive to run any of my games (and I put a great
amount of effort into at least one of them to make sure that such a
situation didn't apply) - but I do make sure that IF you have a harddrive,
you CAN use it.  Preventing its use is exactly the same, philosophically,
as requiring its use - either way locks out some of the user base from
full use of their machine.  Either alternative is awful, especially when
there is no need to go either way.  Lemmings could have allowed HD installation
easily, with NO penalty to those unlucky enough not to have one.  That
it did not makes it an example of poor decision-making on Psygnosis'
part, something they seem to excel at.
-- 
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| Michael J. Farren                                      farren@sat.com |
|                        He's moody, but he's cute.                     |
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