rk0123msp@mindspring -> RE: Amazing game!!! (9/1/2010 3:42:01 PM)
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I generally agree with J HG T, strategy games in general appeal a smaller number of gamers. However, while there's a pretty clear distinction between first person shooter & roll playing type games which dominate vs strategy type games which are fewer, the definition of what a "strategy" game is less clear (since games now all involve real-time, and turn-based is virtually non-existant). Occasionally there are exceptions like Civilization, but in general FPS games dominate. I think there's enough of a strategy game fanbase to maintain the industry though, which is the good news, and frankly all that matters to me since I'm not a FPS type game fan. I think in the 80s/90s it was more 50/50 but since that time FPS & RPGs have clearly dominated over strategy. I decided to do a little research on the subject to see how accurate my last assertion was, so I copied & pasted the following list from wikipedia. It's the top selling PC games in history for windows/mac/unix: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_PC_video_games (list is incomplete though, MOO2 is not listed, apparently that page is under debate). The Sims (16 million shipped)[1] The Sims 2 (13 million)[2] The Sims 2: Pets [expansion pack] (5.6 million)[3] The Sims 2: Seasons [expansion pack] (1 million)[3] World of Warcraft (12 million)[4] StarCraft (11 million)[5] Half-Life (9.3 million,[6][7] may include PS2 version) Half-Life: Opposing Force [expansion pack] (1.1 million)[6][7] Half-Life 2 (6.5 million,[6][7] may include Xbox version but does not include Steam sales) Guild Wars (6 million in North America, Europe, and Asia; includes Factions, Nightfall, and Eye of the North)[8] Myst (6 million)[9] SimCity 3000 (5 million; includes Sim City 3000 Unlimited edition)[10] Doom (5 million)[11] The Sims 3 (4.6 million, includes PC and Mac sales)[12] The Sims 3: World Adventures [expansion pack] (1.2 million pre-order)[citation needed] Riven (4.5 million)[13] Battlefield 1942 (4.39 million BF1942 2.47 million, BF1942:RTR 0.64 million, BF1942:SW 0.49 million, BF Deluxe 0.37 million, BF Anthology 0.42 million)[14] Counter-Strike (4.2 million,[6][7]) BioShock (4 million)[15] Cossacks: European Wars (4 million)[16] Diablo II (4 million)[17] Diablo II: Lord of Destruction [expansion pack] (1 million;[17] 2 million shipped)[17] Populous (4 million)[18][19] Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (4 million) [20] RollerCoaster Tycoon (4 million in North America)[21] Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (4 million including expansions)[22] Battlefield 2 (3.57 million BF2 2.25 million,BF2:SF 0.8 million,BF2:EF 0.2 million,BF2:AF 0.13 million,BF2 Deluxe 0.1 million,BF2 Complete Collection 0.09 million)[14] Doom 3 (3.5 million)[23] EverQuest (3.5 million)[24] Theme Park (3.5 million)[19] Dragon Age: Origins (3.2 million,[25] may include PS3 and Xbox 360 versions ) Age of Empires (3 million)[26] Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome [expansion pack] (1 million)[26] Civilization IV (3 million,[27] may include Mac OS X version) Command & Conquer: Red Alert (3 million)[28] Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (3 million)[29] Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne [expansion pack] (1 million)[30] Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (2.9 million)[6][7] Age of Empires III (2.5 million)[31] Anno 1503 (2.5 million)[32] Anno 1602 (2.5 million)[33] Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars (2.5 million)[34] Diablo (2.5 million)[17] Counter-Strike: Source (2.1 million)[6][7] Baldur's Gate (2 million)[35] Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2 million)[35] Black & White (2 million)[19] Civilization III (2 million)[36] Doom II: Hell on Earth (2 million)[37] Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven (2 million)[38] Neverwinter Nights (2 million)[39] Ragnarok Online (2 million North American subscribers)[40] S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (2 million)[41] The 7th Guest (2 million)[42] Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (2 million)[43] Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (2 million shipped)[44] Sacred (1.8 million)[45] Dungeon Siege (1.7 million)[46] Quake (1.7 million)[47] American McGee's Alice (1.5 million)[48][49] Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (1.5 million)[50] Crysis (1.5 million)[51] Duke Nukem 3D (1.5 million)[52] Star Wars Galaxies (1.5 million)[53] Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1.5 million approximately; 1.3 million in US,[54] 200,000 in UK)[55] The Orange Box (at least 1.5 million)[56] StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty (1.5 million)[57] Half-Life 2: Episode One (1.4 million)[6][7] Battlefield Vietnam (1.36 million)[14] Zoo Tycoon (1.3 million approximately; 1.1 million in US,[54] 200,000 in UK)[55] Monopoly (1.274 million)[58] Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (1.2 million;[59] 1.5 million shipped)[60] The Witcher (1.2 million)[61] RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 (1.14 million approximately; 940,000 in US,[54] 200,000 in UK)[55] SimCity 2000 (1.136 million)[58] Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (1.1 million approximately; 900,000 in US,[54] 200,000 in UK)[55] Hellgate: London (1 million subscribers)[62] Age of Mythology (1 million)[63] Blade Runner (1 million)[64] Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars (1 million)[65] Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT (1 million)[66] Dungeon Lords (1 million)[67] Shneckell's Department Store (1 million)[68] Empire Earth (1 million)[69] Microsoft Flight Simulator X (1 million in US)[70] Glory of the Roman Empire (1 million)[71] Hidden & Dangerous (1 million)[72] Hotel Giant (1 million)[73] Imperivm III: Great Battles of Rome (1 million, distributed only in Italy and Spain)[74] Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (1 million)[75] Patrician III: L'Impero Dei Mari (1 million, distributed only in Italy and Spain)[76] Phantasmagoria (1 million)[77] Quake II (1 million)[78] Railroad Tycoon II (1 million)[72] Return to Castle Wolfenstein (1 million shipped)[78] Return to Zork (1 million)[79] Runaway: A Road Adventure (1 million)[80] Supreme Commander (1 million)[81] The Legend of Sword and Fairy 3 (1 million)[82] Tropico (1 million)[72] Unreal (1 million)[83] Unreal Tournament (1 million)[83] Vietcong (1 million)[72] Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (1 million shipped)[84] Deer Hunter (1 million shipped)[85] Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (1 million shipped)[28] Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1 million shipped)[86] I see 31 games that are flagged as strategy games in this list (after clicking the game link) out of 105 total: sims, sims 2, starcraft, rollercoaster tycoon, age of empires, theme park, civ IV, cossacks, populous, c&C, warcraft 3, age empires II, anno 1503 & 1602, cossacks II, civ III, ae II, C&C TS, starcraft II, zoo tycoon, rollercoaster tycoon, simcity 2000, age of mythology, c&c tw, empire earth, glory of roman empire, hotel giant, patrician III, railroad tycoon II, supreme commander, tropico, c&c re. That's about 29.5% strategy games, which was higher than I'd originally thought, although the top selling game of all time with 16 million sold "sims" is classified as a strategy game. I can't dispute this, as I've never played the sims. If a player wants to define a "pure" strategy game as turn-based (no real time element) such as civ series and MOO1/2, then strategy game presence would almost be non-existant except for MOO2 & civ, but under this classification even DW is not "pure" strategy. So the genra has evolved to have a "real time" qualification as to being defined as "strategy", some of which are less strategy than others. For example: I've played starcraft and I would classify its strategy element as minimized & real-time element maximized, while on the other hand DW has its real-time element minimized and strategy element maximized. DW is definitely more of a strategy game than starcraft, but technically both are defined as real-time strategy. So, I guess after doing this research I think strategy games have a stronger presence than I'd originally thought, but the modifier "strategy" is used in a very broad way. I can see a lot of players debating games that should qualify for this modifier or not. A lot of games flagged as "strategy" here I'd agree with as I've played them, such as the two anno game, railroad tycoon, age of mythology, age of empires both versions, empire earth, but I think the "strategy" is minimized to some extent in these games (some more than others).
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