The Future of Simulations - 2010

This is a big article (7 pages) with lots of insight
how developers view our simulation hobby.

Our discussion centers around six major topic areas:

Consumer Simulations
Software Development
Controllers and Peripherals
Multiplayer
Distribution and Publishing
Copy Protection and Intellectual Property

Our participants in the roundtable are well known individuals in consumer simulations:

Babak Nobary - XSI
Dante De Patta - Thunder Works
Jason Williams - 777 Studios
Julian "Buckshot" Leonard - XSI
Mark "Polovski" Rogers - OBD Software
Nils "Ssnake" Hinrichsen - eSim Games
Oleg Maddox - Maddox Games
Richard "Flexman" Hawley - Tricubic Studios
Vladimir Zayarniy - Graviteam

http://www.simhq.com/_commentary/all_106a.html

Wow that was enlightening and a joy to read. Great to see 'inside' as it were.

Thanks to all that participated.

Thanks very much for the read - lots of perspective included.

Very interesting and very informative. Great article.

Very good read and a great way to spend an hour.
It was interesting reading each participants views on the different subjects.


Wheels

Outstanding!

Great summary from the major players. One of the best things I've seen in our community. Articles/Interviews like that are what keep me coming back here.

Questions developed for this effort are particularly noteworthy. DRM - Consoles + PC's - nature of development considerations/limitations - were particularly noteworthy.

I only hope that most serious community posters/members actually read the entire interview.

S!

Gunny

Very interesting read, thanks to all concerned.

A brilliant interview, thanks!

Geeze, sim development sounds like a tough business! Yea, it's a tough job, but someone has to to it I am thankful for the guys (and gals) who, against all odds, stick with it, work hard at it, and bring me the experience of combat flight simulation!

As a simmer and end user I really am appreciative, and I hope that everyone involved in furthering the genre has a long and prosperous career. That way I am assured of flight combat sim goodness for years to come!

It may be tough, but it's more rewarding at the same time (if you compare it to a paper-pushing nine to five cubicle chore). I suspect that the simulations market is about the same as it was ten years ago. It's just that the rest of the computer games market grew tenfold in that time. What used to be 10% of the market back then is now 1% even though the actual turnover is still comparable. Which makes it difficult to sell the concept of a (serious) simulation to a normal publisher.
Well, I'm not really the most competent guy to make statements about this as our business model is notably different from that of traditional computer game development. I'm just trying to say, there's still money to be made in the field but it's difficult to find someone to finance the development. If you pay things out of your own pocket that will either seriously limit what you can do or have you risking all your personal wealth including home and whatnot. Given that success with a game title cannot be planned, that's an extraordinary risk.

So we need different ways of getting development funded. Like a "pay for public beta" deal, or DLC/add-ons, or developing first for armies and then have a trickle-down effect where the work results are sold to the general public (like what we at eSim Games are doing). But you can develop for the military only if you actually produce something of value to the military, so this doesn't work for everybody (especially not in the combat flight sim and (historical) land combat area).

Who is this guy? It's only a myth that the PC piracy is killing the PC community. There was an article posted on the Steam forums that had a marketing research firm that said PC game sales are up 19 percent and consoles were a whopping 32 percent down. Even the Tripewire interactive says PC gaming is very alive and they are making a profit selling a realistic based game.

Gabe Newell on piracy, what makes a good game, and microfinancing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLC_zZ5fqFk

Who is Nils "Ssnake" Hinrichsen of eSim Games? I don't think you know as much as you think you do if you don't know who is probably the premier developer of armor combat simulations.

Anyway, I again want to thank all our roundtable participants for taking part and for investing a lot of their time and effort into their responses.

As Doug pointed out, it's a big article at seven pages, but I think it's well worth your reading time. You'll gain a ton of behind the scenes insight into what a developers world is like, how they see the simulation market, now and in the future.

That's a really good point, when the focus is on units any cross-platform list shows up PC titles as relatively bad performers unless there's a World of Warcraft expansion being launched.

I'll add that it's not all doom and gloom. The sale of virtual items within the PC market alone is now measured in the billions of dollars and rising. How much more successful FSX add-ons might be if there was a built-in store and aircraft were the price of a budget DVD with a few premium items.

Actually, can I add something about FSX. Recently we set to work on developing some gauges for FSX using the provided SDK and tools. The official documentation is wrong in many areas, example code needed to be significantly altered to work, in the end we had three versions of a simple gauge that did one thing in three different ways. Microsoft Flight really needs to pick up the ball with the SDK documentation if it's to become a catch-all simulation.


P.S Gabe Newell is the voice of reason in an angry room.

One of my favorite articles I've read ever here at SimHQ. Thanks, gents.

That was a great read... Very interesting.

A very good article. It was enlighting to read some of the thoughts of the leading simulation producers.
Thankt to SimHQ and the flightsim producers for this interview.
Stuff for the little gray cells

Thanks for that link, said everything I was trying to say, but much better, lol

Only followers and sheep care what the suits and marketing people say.

I can't help it if my opinion isn't liked. Do you want to read opportunistic sweet talk or find out what we really think? The Developers' Roundtable is just that - soliciting the developers' point of view.

Beyond this banality however there are indicators that piracy does harm the market if you care to take notice. The PC used to be the platform for which AAA titles were developed first. The PC used to be the leading platform for the whole computer games industry because it was the most profitable one. Publishers will prefer whatever platform/market offers the biggest profitability. The simple fact that there have been no AAA titles in the past few years that were made for the PC first (and eventually ported to consoles) speaks volumes to those who can read the market.

I don't care whether some think that my opinion as a "marketing suit" is irrelevant. I don't insist that I am always right. However, I'm representing those who take responsibility for the long-term economical success of a simulation software developing company. I have done so for the past decade, and I intend to do so for another. It is the developing companies' opinions - be they right or wrong - that count when it comes to decide what will get developed and how. You may not like the opinion, but the simple fact is that it will shape the supply of future simulation games. You represent the demand for these products. Ideally we come together with products for which you are willing to pay money, no matter what our personal opinions are about the relevance of piracy for the market. But it is foolish of either party to dismiss the other side's point of view of the situation.
In this specific case it comes down to hard facts - are enough people buying a certain category of computer games or not. We can write in forums 'til the fingers bleed; in the end, cash-flow is the final arbiter. The developing companies know better than anyone else whether the cash-flow suggests a sustainable business. If they indicate that something's wrong and if you are interested in the long-term perspectives of the market, you better listen. May the analysis be wrong, the ailment is real.

Thanks for the insights and opinions to all who participate! I missed some one from Eagle Dynamics (i.e. Matt) on the roundtable, though. I guess no one had the time to answer?
PLS don`t give up on us PC Simmers, we need you to enjoy our hobby.