Would TSL Do Well In A Store?

[C_Guy]

Hi everyone;

I think TSL is an amazing game.  The thing that set Roberta's games apart from others on the shelf was how much heart you could feel as you played.  TSL is no different.  Phoenix is not allowed to charge anything for TSL because the game elements belong to Activision.  However, if Activision hired the TSL team to create TSL and sold the game in stores I would gladly pay for it.  I am also looking forward to Phoenix' new game, Corridor 9, and will gladly pay for it if it is not offered as a free download.

The purpose of this poll is to demonstrate to Phoenix how well a game of TSL's quality would fare on the shelf and to demonstrate to Activision how much demand there is for games just like TSL.

[KatieHal]

And I swear, we didn't put him up to this! But I'm quite curious to see the results myself.

And, thanks for the compliments and support C-Guy!

[Ultima992]

what about a someware in-be-twe-een  35-50
 

[kindofdoon]

I love TSL, but in complete honesty, I don't think it has much appeal beyond old-fashioned adventure gamers, whose numbers are relatively small these days.

[Enchantermon]

Right, but the poll is whether or not you would buy it, not whether or not other people would buy it.
The thread title is a little misleading.

[wilco64256]

C9 will be a commercial product, yes.

[Big C from Cauney island]

I would for about $50. But I have to agree that adventure games are not the same popularity level as back in the day. For US, yes, very exciting to see them back. But for adventure games to survive nowadays, like everything else they have to evolve to go mainstream. In terms of commercial opportunities, the old style sierra games from 80s and 90s (in my opinion) would only fair well with old schoolers. There IS a market. Look at nintendo wii bringing back Goldeneye, mariokart, donkey kong, and STILL mario bros.? How many generations was that? But, they re-did them with enough changes to makes them viable. But OBVIOUSLY they cater to people over 30.  So, in conclusion, there is still a market for these games, but don't expect the same commercial success, as say, call of duty.  I will save what else I have to say for another thread. But, in my opinion, TSL would be a DEFINITE buy for me, as will doom 4 whenever that comes....

[C_Guy]

what about a someware in-be-twe-een  35-50
 

That would fall under the "up to $50" - as in any amount up to and including $50.

[wilco64256]

I would for about $50. But I have to agree that adventure games are not the same popularity level as back in the day. For US, yes, very exciting to see them back. But for adventure games to survive nowadays, like everything else they have to evolve to go mainstream. In terms of commercial opportunities, the old style sierra games from 80s and 90s (in my opinion) would only fair well with old schoolers. There IS a market. Look at nintendo wii bringing back Goldeneye, mariokart, donkey kong, and STILL mario bros.? How many generations was that? But, they re-did them with enough changes to makes them viable. But OBVIOUSLY they cater to people over 30.  So, in conclusion, there is still a market for these games, but don't expect the same commercial success, as say, call of duty.  I will save what else I have to say for another thread. But, in my opinion, TSL would be a DEFINITE buy for me, as will doom 4 whenever that comes....

I dunno about that, my kids and nieces and nephews have just as much fun playing Mariokart and Mario Bros as me and my brothers do.

[Big C from Cauney island]

Plenty of kids play wii, but I think the intention of releasing those old school titles is to get the attention of people who played them in the past. Specifically, goldeneye.  Anyone who played it on N64 would want it.  It obviously struck a chord. There is a promo video on youtube for it proving just that.  And though kids play it, it could only help that adults (ones with money) would pick such a system for dual benefit.  Look how much attention TSL has gotten.  We all remember those games, thats why we are here.  I can't even recall how many hours I played goldeneye in high school. When I heard it was coming back, I was excited. Metroid as well.

[Arkillian]

I dont' know what price American games go for NZ games go for anything up to $130. Things are so expensive here >.> DS games cost $80 full retail. I'm a bad judge on this T.T

[C_Guy]

But for adventure games to survive nowadays, like everything else they have to evolve to go mainstream. In terms of commercial opportunities, the old style sierra games from 80s and 90s (in my opinion) would only fair well with old schoolers. There IS a market. Look at nintendo wii bringing back Goldeneye, mariokart, donkey kong, and STILL mario bros.? How many generations was that? But, they re-did them with enough changes to makes them viable.

That's exactly right and Nintendo is a great example.  Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 were hailed as being among the best video games ever made on any platform.  Nintendo took all the elements of past Mario games and implemented them on a brand new platform with immersive new technology and a new story.  

In a way, that's what Phoenix did with TSL.  They took elements from past games of the series and breathed new life into it.

I think the reason a lot of people claim that the adventrue genre is dead is because there is little supply in the marketplace.  That doesn't mean there's no demand and I think that TSL proves it.  Sure, there is an instant draw for those of us who grew up with the original King's Quest.  But even in isolation, TSL is a great game.  

I've never understood why the adventure genre died out so badly.  There seems to be a demand for it, there seems to be a lot of people ready to move on from the mundane cookie-cutter first person shooters that have saturated the market.  And there's just as many veterans starving for new games.  All the industry needs is a publisher willing to take the risk and a team as talented as Phoenix to make games worthy to be in the genre.  That's why I hope Activision is paying close attention here  

[Big C from Cauney island]

No doubt, TSL is a great game, though naturally I have some critiques but nothing major.  I agree, I think there is a profitable market for the genre, though I think the age range is mostly over 30.  TSL a great example of taking on oldschool concept and bringing it into a new age.  I haven't played the whole thing, so there could be new features, like a boss battle I think I heard about in previous threads.  This is a GREAT idea.  For adventure games to survive, they need new elements similar to this. I got SO MANY ideas........ but I failed programming.

As far as why they declined?  The same reason anything does. If adventures games were still around, would you really want to play them every year with no changes? KQ6 was a masterpiece of presentation. After that, what else can you do? CD gaming was still relatively new back then. People were still experimenting with how to utilize the technologies to make things better. Not to mention my first 2x cd drive was 200 dollars. Nowadays, you can probably get something comparable much cheaper.  Unfortunately, and this is JUST MY OPINION, people ingenuity and technology didn't correlate and hit that sweet spot in a way that could really blow people away. So, people looked to new things. IE, Doom. That game really changed things.

[C_Guy]

Big C you are spot on when you say "KQ6 was a masterpiece of presentation. After that, what else can you do? CD gaming was still relatively new back then".  This is why Sierra was the pioneer in their day.  Ken knew that to stay ahead he had to push new technology.  That's why he pushed soundcards (remember the letters enclosed in old King's Quest games?) and why Phantasmagoria was one of the first Full Motion Video (FMV) games available.  If this drive to push new technology had continued, the gaming market would be very different today.

Imagine for a moment what a third Laura Bow would be like using Microsoft's Kinect on XBOX 360.  You could actually take the role of the protagonist and instead of using a mouse or keyboard, you would actually do what you want your character to do and speak what you want the character to say.  This brings us ever closer to virtual reality which designer Jane Jensen predicted many years ago. 

That said, the foundation of any adventure game is the story.  Get that part right and the fans will follow.  TSL is the proof

[snabbott]

I could see it going for up to $50 - kind of like some of the Telltale games.

[Big C from Cauney island]

Imagine for a moment what a third Laura Bow would be like using Microsoft's Kinect on XBOX 360.  You could actually take the role of the protagonist and instead of using a mouse or keyboard, you would actually do what you want your character to do and speak what you want the character to say.  This brings us ever closer to virtual reality which designer Jane Jensen predicted many years ago. 

Couldn't agree more.  And I was waiting for Laura bow 3. if you could use Kinect to question suspects and walk through the museum? This is pretty much what i was saying about technology.  IE, they shock factor from EGA to VGA. They really needed a bump THAT big to keep the mainstream involved. And CDs had great potential, but you just need to know how to utilize it.  I think phantasmagoria tried that, but i never played it. By 1994, doom was that big 2-3 year jump that got people's attention, just after KQ6 in 1992. Your laura bow idea is great. Something like that could jumpstart adventure games for sure.

[Lambonius]

I could see it going for up to $50 - kind of like some of the Telltale games.

Except that none of the Telltale games cost 50 dollars. 

Let's be realistic here, people.  50 dollar games nowadays have production values along the lines of a 360 or PS3 game.  They also have to have mainstream appeal.  If you tried to sell something like TSL for that price range, no one would buy it, except for a few hardcore fans.  Adventure games just don't sell in that price range today.

$29.99 U.S. would be the best bet.  That's the about the price of a standard Telltale game.  You might even be able to milk $34.99 out of it, but that'd be it.

This is not a dig at TSL specifically.  But you guys are being naive if you think an adventure game with last-gen production values is going to sell for anywhere close to the price of today's new video games.

[Haids1987]

I'd pay any amount.

[Cez]

I could see it going for up to $50 - kind of like some of the Telltale games.

Except that none of the Telltale games cost 50 dollars. 

Let's be realistic here, people.  50 dollar games nowadays have production values along the lines of a 360 or PS3 game.  They also have to have mainstream appeal.  If you tried to sell something like TSL for that price range, no one would buy it, except for a few hardcore fans.  Adventure games just don't sell in that price range today.

$29.99 U.S. would be the best bet.  That's the about the price of a standard Telltale game.  You might even be able to milk $34.99 out of it, but that'd be it.

This is not a dig at TSL specifically.  But you guys are being naive if you think an adventure game with last-gen production values is going to sell for anywhere close to the price of today's new video games.

I always thought that'd be the price I'd stick on TSL. 29.99 for a retail, 19.99 for a download (for the full thing of course).

I personally wouldn't mind paying 50 or more if I wasn't attached to this project. I've paid that for other games I'm not as fond of.

[kindofdoon]

Right, but the poll is whether or not you would buy it, not whether or not other people would buy it.
The thread title is a little misleading.

Oh, I did misread. I'm with Haids, then; I would pay any (reasonable) amount (if I wasn't already on the team, lol).