Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!ogicse!qiclab!nosun!techbook!tsouth From: tsouth@techbook.com (Todd South) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Your Ultima Quote Message-ID: <1991May3.173048.8986@techbook.com> Date: 3 May 91 17:30:48 GMT References: <14795@darkstar.ucsc.edu> <854@seer.UUCP> <10920@hub.ucsb.edu> Organization: TECHbooks of Beaverton Oregon - Public Access Unix Lines: 79 In article <10920@hub.ucsb.edu> 6600prao@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (Parik Rao) writes: > > Just out of curiousity... have you bought Dragon Wars GS? Or Immortals GS? >or Cryllan Mission 2088 GS? or Space Ace GS? or Rastan GS (ok, granted, >that ones a little tough to get ahold of). See below... >Here's a neat little story. Dragon Wars GS has sold around 600 copies >(it was 500 about a month ago, hopefully 100 have been sold by then). >Will harvey is very disappointed with the sales of Immortals GS, I'd expect >it to be around 1000. Even Victory Software hasn't had a smashing success >with Cryllan Mission (the first or second scenarios), and their game is a >Ultima style game. Nor has space Ace GS done well. Taito dumped all their >computer games, so they're sorta irrelevent. >The point - all these professed users don't seem to be buying games. >Accolade dumped the IIgs when their game sales didn't even help break >even (TDII, Grand Prix, etc). One thing that I'd like to state about sales is that somethings are worth it, and some aren't. The above-mentioned are well worth the purchase prices, but were VERY hard to find in my area. Dragon Wars has just recently come to an Egghead store in the area (bought it), I have yet to see a copy of Immortals in any of the software stores in West Portland and I did find Cryllan Mission and purchased it. Space Ace was a pretty lame game for its SIZE. Nine disks to go through a game which last at best about 2 minutes. Does this sound like a worthwhile product to you? Maybe I'm not the norm, but every major software package (game) for the IIgs which I've deemed as worth the purchase price I have bought. >BTW, these aren't numbers just off the top of my head, Bill Heineman >posted the #s on a service a while back, and Accolade/Taito/Sierra/ >Brian Greenstone (who is now doing Super Nintendo games, btw), Readysoft, >etc, etc all have come onto chats on other services and stated the >above. And as someone said a while back, in 1989 Origin released all >their games on AII format 1st (remember a ton of 128k dblhires games?) >and almost went bankrupt. That sorta thing wakes up a company I guess. >This is not to be a negative "god, we're all dying like rats" message, >just a observation that things aren't completely rosy. my suggestion - >pick up a couple games AND SEND IN THE WARRANTY! Buy from a local >dealer so he at least stocks stuff on the shelves. Get your friends to >buy cool games (Immortals GS is *AWESOME*, I even bought it directly >from EA for $50 - 18002454525) and perhaps publishers will >realize that there IS a market! But they've been burned too often >to commit themselves to GS development anymore...:( Can you pass that address/phone for ordering Immortals to us again! :) I honestly did not know that you could order directly from EA. I wonder just how much of the _general Apple IIgs_ populous knows this, either. I sure would like to see games like Populous for the IIgs, btw. Has anyone played that on a 386 with SVGA. Pretty impressive. Maybe, one of the problems with sales today is marketting. Most II and IIgs users do not see the good programs on the shelves or being demon- strated on their machine in the stores. I can't remember the last time I saw a store employee running a game on a IIgs for people to watch but they sure as hell are playing those IBM games left and right when >-- >Apple II Forever | 6600prao@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu | IBMs get the job done >Parik Rao | Amiga - for the creative mind | Class of 1994 Sorry to ramble, but for the record I do support publishers to the best of my ability. Considering that most programs aren't really marketted well it can be hard at times, though. Comments? Todd... -- -- tsouth@techbook.COM ...!{tektronix!nosun,uunet}techbook!tsouth Public Access UNIX at (503) 644-8135 (1200/2400) Voice: +1 503 646-8257 Public Access User --- Not affiliated with TECHbooks