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Paula · 03-04-2004, 01:38 PM

I hope you don´t mind if I share my letter here, too? I guess we don´t need more threads for this.. Anyway, here goes:

---

Dear LucasArts,

I found out recently about the cancellation of the latest Sam&Max adventure game. I don´t know know if that was a good decision or not. I´m only confused about the reasons behind this decision.

I am aware that PC games are not as hot sellers as many PlayStation2 games. However I believe, and I´m not the only one with this opinion, that PC games are making a comeback. Console games always sell good at the beginning of their life, when they represent the latest technology. But sooner or later, PCs will always become the cutting edge game machine. Right now the consoles of this generation are becoming slow compared to PCs --especially PlayStation 2. Doom 3 and Half Life 2 are going to be published soon. PC is going to be the hottest game machine again, like it always has.

And adventure games --this is the best time for years to publish a game of this genre. Many other companies have published new adventure games, and they are satisfied enough with the sales to make sequels. Some of the best adventure game designers are working on new, promising titles. Moreover, more and more people have computers at home. More of those people are women, who have traditionally been very interested in adventure games. There are more female gamers than ever before. There are more mature gamers than ever, and adventure games appeal to adults. There are more and more people who are interested in games that are easy to get into, and don´t have much violence or hard controls. I have always had a lot of confidence that the adventure game genre could become a true "mass market" genre. Not for the typical young male audience, but the true mass markets. I have shown your old adventure games to several people who have had no previous experience in games, and they have *all*, without exceptions, became interested in your adventure games. I even gave my old copy of Monkey Island to my husband, and he played the first two games of the series with great enthusiasm, and now he is starting the third. He was previously interested only in 3D shooters. How can over a decade old adventure game still attract new gamers, if this genre is not viable?

I´m sure you know from your own experience that adventure games are steady sellers, and bring profit for years, even a decade after the initial release. I hope you are more interested in long-term profits, rather than quick and unpredictable cash flows. I have became worried that LucasArts is going the same way as Disney. The company that was previously know for quality, is now known for trying to pump cash from their best-known brands. By lacking vision, letting their best talents go, and making short-sighted decisions at the expense of quality, Disney has suffered great losses of profit. Their current management is unable to see that the Disney legacy was not built upon calculated products, rather than art created by talented people. They are unable to see that with every mediocre product they produce, they chip away some of their reputation that is the reason for their previous success.

Your quality games were the reason for your wonderful reputation. Every mediocre Star Wars game is eating your own reputation. I hope you are still able to remember that your success and reputation wasn´t built upon calculated, "risk-free" clones of succesful games. Please don´t make the same mistakes as Disney did.

03-04-2004, 01:38 PM	#14
Paula Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 25	I hope you don´t mind if I share my letter here, too? I guess we don´t need more threads for this.. Anyway, here goes: --- Dear LucasArts, I found out recently about the cancellation of the latest Sam&Max adventure game. I don´t know know if that was a good decision or not. I´m only confused about the reasons behind this decision. I am aware that PC games are not as hot sellers as many PlayStation2 games. However I believe, and I´m not the only one with this opinion, that PC games are making a comeback. Console games always sell good at the beginning of their life, when they represent the latest technology. But sooner or later, PCs will always become the cutting edge game machine. Right now the consoles of this generation are becoming slow compared to PCs --especially PlayStation 2. Doom 3 and Half Life 2 are going to be published soon. PC is going to be the hottest game machine again, like it always has. And adventure games --this is the best time for years to publish a game of this genre. Many other companies have published new adventure games, and they are satisfied enough with the sales to make sequels. Some of the best adventure game designers are working on new, promising titles. Moreover, more and more people have computers at home. More of those people are women, who have traditionally been very interested in adventure games. There are more female gamers than ever before. There are more mature gamers than ever, and adventure games appeal to adults. There are more and more people who are interested in games that are easy to get into, and don´t have much violence or hard controls. I have always had a lot of confidence that the adventure game genre could become a true "mass market" genre. Not for the typical young male audience, but the true mass markets. I have shown your old adventure games to several people who have had no previous experience in games, and they have all, without exceptions, became interested in your adventure games. I even gave my old copy of Monkey Island to my husband, and he played the first two games of the series with great enthusiasm, and now he is starting the third. He was previously interested only in 3D shooters. How can over a decade old adventure game still attract new gamers, if this genre is not viable? I´m sure you know from your own experience that adventure games are steady sellers, and bring profit for years, even a decade after the initial release. I hope you are more interested in long-term profits, rather than quick and unpredictable cash flows. I have became worried that LucasArts is going the same way as Disney. The company that was previously know for quality, is now known for trying to pump cash from their best-known brands. By lacking vision, letting their best talents go, and making short-sighted decisions at the expense of quality, Disney has suffered great losses of profit. Their current management is unable to see that the Disney legacy was not built upon calculated products, rather than art created by talented people. They are unable to see that with every mediocre product they produce, they chip away some of their reputation that is the reason for their previous success. Your quality games were the reason for your wonderful reputation. Every mediocre Star Wars game is eating your own reputation. I hope you are still able to remember that your success and reputation wasn´t built upon calculated, "risk-free" clones of succesful games. Please don´t make the same mistakes as Disney did.