So, instead of insulting someone whose views are far more grounded in reality than you will ever realize, consider that maybe they know something that you clearly don't and, in that light, you might possibly learn something from them.
Most defintiley not and the reason is simple,it seems niche has been a term associated with cheap game development.
I will point to Eve,i think without question millions would love to indulge in a good action space /sci-fi type mmo game.I have seen many call CCP's game a niche product,i would definitely not cal lit that,it is just designed in such a cheap fashion that it does not cater to mainstream gamer's.
How many games can we actually call niche? Most every type of game now has 50 or so versions of it,so it's not niche anymore.Even the TCG's have several versions out there or been done in the past,so they are not niche anymore either.
To me now a days i look at niche as in game design and systems not the genre.I look at simple things like no hand holding or no yellow markers to follow around as being niche,since 99% are all doing it the same.It is so bad maps in games are not even treated as maps but more like magical tablets that update every time you get a quest and that of course is to follow the hand holding trend.
Oh perhaps even natural realistic travel would be niche as everyone is going the "i am too lazy to hold my arrow keys or mouse button ,so i need auto travel".
I am not sure if there is even a niche idea left out there for some developer to explore,it would have to be an incredibly odd idea.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Call me jaded, but I don't have a lot of hope left, unless someone that is well known takes on a project that brings a 'old school' mmo to life. The last fantasy mmo I played for a long time, despite its faults was VG. IT just ran horridly for many people (ran good for me, sinc eI had a new high end computer) and turned them off quickly.
So if a 'niche' project can bring a EQ/UO/VG/SWG/DAoC game out, I will jump on board. I also do not buy that they cannot make good money. The market is much larger now, so if a good quality mmo was made, even if it had a limited audience, I think they could achieve 500k, to maybe 1 million paying subs. Eve has 500kish, and I believe that the space genre is smaller than fantasy. The problem is if you are targeting a niche game, you have less room for error, and it is not as attractive to someone supporting it with money....So will it happen? Who knows.
People said that sandboxes were finished, and no one would possibly put good money into one....Things change.
Comments
Good advice for all "teams" in these "debates".
Most defintiley not and the reason is simple,it seems niche has been a term associated with cheap game development.
I will point to Eve,i think without question millions would love to indulge in a good action space /sci-fi type mmo game.I have seen many call CCP's game a niche product,i would definitely not cal lit that,it is just designed in such a cheap fashion that it does not cater to mainstream gamer's.
How many games can we actually call niche? Most every type of game now has 50 or so versions of it,so it's not niche anymore.Even the TCG's have several versions out there or been done in the past,so they are not niche anymore either.
To me now a days i look at niche as in game design and systems not the genre.I look at simple things like no hand holding or no yellow markers to follow around as being niche,since 99% are all doing it the same.It is so bad maps in games are not even treated as maps but more like magical tablets that update every time you get a quest and that of course is to follow the hand holding trend.
Oh perhaps even natural realistic travel would be niche as everyone is going the "i am too lazy to hold my arrow keys or mouse button ,so i need auto travel".
I am not sure if there is even a niche idea left out there for some developer to explore,it would have to be an incredibly odd idea.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Call me jaded, but I don't have a lot of hope left, unless someone that is well known takes on a project that brings a 'old school' mmo to life. The last fantasy mmo I played for a long time, despite its faults was VG. IT just ran horridly for many people (ran good for me, sinc eI had a new high end computer) and turned them off quickly.
So if a 'niche' project can bring a EQ/UO/VG/SWG/DAoC game out, I will jump on board. I also do not buy that they cannot make good money. The market is much larger now, so if a good quality mmo was made, even if it had a limited audience, I think they could achieve 500k, to maybe 1 million paying subs. Eve has 500kish, and I believe that the space genre is smaller than fantasy. The problem is if you are targeting a niche game, you have less room for error, and it is not as attractive to someone supporting it with money....So will it happen? Who knows.
People said that sandboxes were finished, and no one would possibly put good money into one....Things change.