Statements like the one from the Sims City guy are what makes me very weary of so many of the big named western developers. They're so quick to use marketing to tell us what we want. Rather than trying to actually identify an untapped or viable market they would rather convince you that you're playing the wrong games. Marketing and game development is to chummy and its ruining the industry.
There is a market out there for light RPGs in the vein of JRPGs, or some good, old fashion hack and slash games but as the presence of Japanese developers slips away from the US market rather than trying to tap into a demographic with little, or no, competitors the US industry leaders would sooner belittle you for playing those games in the first place, rather than waste a cent trying to make a game that actually appeals to your demographic.
It all boils down to these, big budget, AAA games, those soulless, one size, fits all experiences. Companies like EA and Activision would sooner make a single game that everyone buys than have to pander to various interest groups and thanks to the power of marketing that's exactly the sort of industry we're looking forward to, one where publishers won't greenlight anything remotely different or new. When you starve so many demographics and genres for so long it's no wonder that everything but a few sure things shrivel up and die.
There is a market out there for light RPGs in the vein of JRPGs, or some good, old fashion hack and slash games but as the presence of Japanese developers slips away from the US market rather than trying to tap into a demographic with little, or no, competitors the US industry leaders would sooner belittle you for playing those games in the first place, rather than waste a cent trying to make a game that actually appeals to your demographic.
It all boils down to these, big budget, AAA games, those soulless, one size, fits all experiences. Companies like EA and Activision would sooner make a single game that everyone buys than have to pander to various interest groups and thanks to the power of marketing that's exactly the sort of industry we're looking forward to, one where publishers won't greenlight anything remotely different or new. When you starve so many demographics and genres for so long it's no wonder that everything but a few sure things shrivel up and die.