Due to the wonders of the YouTube recommended algorithm, I came across this recently:
The "Death" Of The Real Time Strategy Genre
For anyone wanting a TLDW, basic summary would be:
- 1. The genre was on a roll well into the mid-2000s, then it kind of broke down.
- 2. "The RTS business model is out of date". Instead, game developers nowadays use various alternatives such as "a free-to-play model, subscriptions, cheap development costs, or season-based content". These "smaller entry fees and incremental purchases seem to work much better in today's cutthroat economy".
- 3. "A lack of innovation" meant "RTS didn't evolve much through the years", whereas "action games, RPGs, and shooters underwent massive transformations".
- 4. "A small subset of veteran RTS fans ... is out there somewhere in the fog waiting for their favourite genre to make a comeback".
Seeing as we are that small corner of the internet, are his premises and conclusions correct? If so, will AoEII DE and AoEIV be more of a foolish risk than a wise gamble? It's a given that AoEII DE will be cut from the same RTS cloth as before, but with a vigorous spit shine. Will AoEIV, however, attempt to revive the RTS genre somehow, or will it simply be a last hurrah reliving former glories one last time?
The "Death" Of The Real Time Strategy Genre
For anyone wanting a TLDW, basic summary would be:
- 1. The genre was on a roll well into the mid-2000s, then it kind of broke down.
- 2. "The RTS business model is out of date". Instead, game developers nowadays use various alternatives such as "a free-to-play model, subscriptions, cheap development costs, or season-based content". These "smaller entry fees and incremental purchases seem to work much better in today's cutthroat economy".
- 3. "A lack of innovation" meant "RTS didn't evolve much through the years", whereas "action games, RPGs, and shooters underwent massive transformations".
- 4. "A small subset of veteran RTS fans ... is out there somewhere in the fog waiting for their favourite genre to make a comeback".
Seeing as we are that small corner of the internet, are his premises and conclusions correct? If so, will AoEII DE and AoEIV be more of a foolish risk than a wise gamble? It's a given that AoEII DE will be cut from the same RTS cloth as before, but with a vigorous spit shine. Will AoEIV, however, attempt to revive the RTS genre somehow, or will it simply be a last hurrah reliving former glories one last time?