News Will Wright prefers high sales to high scores

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/09/08/wil-wright-prefers-high-sales-to-high-scores/1

Will Wright set out to make Spore as casual as possible apparently, preferring high volume of sales to critical acclaim.

 

When it comes to Spore, I spent most of my saturday afternoon playing it, I'd consider myself more towards the 'hardcore' end of the gamer scale. A friend of mine came over on saturday night, and spent most of the time playing it - He picks up a game when he's at mine, or when there is nothing (Up to, and including, sitting on the toilet) else to do. I'd say the game succeeds in that sense.

It frustrated me when I got to the space exploration stage, as there was no ****ing save option thanks to the endless ****ing tutorials that told you crap you had already worked out if you have more than half a brain cell.

The Spore forums made up for that, though, with the hundreds of people whining and screaming "omg keygens have given out our legal keys?!Oneoneone11eleven". Never laughed so hard in my life. Good ol' forums.

 

Fixed

 

There's no way Psychonauts failed because it was too "hardcore"! Presumably it just didn't have the right marketing push, magazines/websites didn't give it front page news splashes and games stores didn't put copies on their main display shelves. Just a string of unfortunate coincidences. It had everything in it to make it popular and successful with all types of gamers.

 

Yeah, it's a casual game alright.

 

The Sims = Marriage designer for scary often overweight 15 year old girls

Half-Life = A game that will be remembered, discussed and compared amongst gamers (i.e. people who actually care about games) for many years to come.

I know which I would rather have designed, irrespective of profit margins.

 

Greetings!

"Will Wright prefers high sales to high scores"

Guess he wont be happy with Amazon.com customers reviews:



Link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FKBCX4

 

^^ XD ^^

 

Ah that's harsh. For someone like me who doesn't care about DRM (really, I don't, I'm so bored with people going on and on about it I no longer care either way) none of the reviews are remotely accurate.

 

Maybe I should tell him that he lost my money, because of the DRM. I was going to buy it, then went and pirated it.

I would easily take >3 installations over online function.

 

It's not very fun anyway, I've just returned my copy, It's not what I'd define as a 'Game', more of a sim, but an incredibly dumbed down quasi-world/creation sim, overly simple, limited by the DRM that turns it into a rental, essentially, as when EA takes servers offline, £40 paperwieght,

Just don't bother

 

You're an arse.

 

Echoing: You're an arse.

I don't like the fact that Tim's TV is so shiny - and I wouldn't buy it for that reason. That doesn't give me the right to steal it however.

 

While I don't agree with the OP's decision to pirate Spore can we please stop with the stealing analogies?? Copyright infringement does not equal theft.

 

Yeah stop stealing ones and zeros Jambo.

 

Wow no way I'll be buying this as I like to clean up my computer every now and again when I havn't played a game in a while.

 

DRM DRM DRM, how yawnworthy

 

Wow, all the reviews on Amazon are regarding the DRM, so can hardly be a legitimate review if a reviewer hasn't bought the game and actually played it, just gave it a one start and complained about the DRM....

I can understand Will's reasoning for more casual-ness and more profits than a crazy amazing game, it just won't be as memorable as half life, but he'll have more money? So what? More people playing the game cant necessarily be a bad thing....

 

This is a subject that i get very iffy about. I like to have my rights, I'm in the same mildly pissed off state as when i heard the UK version about Fallout 3 could have censorship influenced by Australian board of censorship.

 

Explain how it's different then without resorting to the flimsy "It doesn't equal a lost sale" arguements.

A team of people has elected to make something over a period of years.
To protect that creation they have added DRM.
You don't agree with DRM, so you decide you won't buy it.

All well and good until you add onto the end the bit where you illegally download the creation without paying for it on the basis that you don't agree with DRM.