Civilization Goes Console

[purpledaddy 6]

I'm admittedly one of those who've unwittingly come to work bleary eyed after a full night into morning of world conquest with the Civilization series (uh gee I was out drinking not playing computer games, yeah that's the ticket. .)  It, and Sim City until Sim City Societies, were the only franchises that I eagerly bought sequels head-on w/out reading the reviews first.   I am glad other potential fans have the chance to experience the game under the video game consoles. But...  candidly, the last sentences of this article disturb me.   So I guess the giant EA Games (if the takeover is successful) really does modify their products to attract casual fans at the expense of taking their hardcore fans for granted, again???  Oh well.  

An Old Favorite PC Game Adapts to the Xbox Era

By Mike Musgrove

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, June 27, 2008; Page D01 

This summer marks a milestone for Civilization -- or, at least, a computer game going by that name. The local game studio Firaxis is taking aim at a new market with its venerable PC game franchise, called Civ for short: the Xbox and PlayStation crowd.

The Civ games, in which players take a young society and guide it to world domination through careful balancing of resources, diplomacy and firepower, are famously cerebral and complex. This is not a type of game that has been a hit on the Xbox or PlayStation, where the blockbusters tend to be more focused on action. Firaxis, based in Hunt Valley, Md., is hoping to change that with its upcoming title, Civilization Revolution, coming out next month.

The video game industry is so young and growing so quickly that it always seems to be in a state of reinvention. This week, for example, Sony announced that a movie download service for its PlayStation 3 console will start this summer. The idea is that PlayStation 3 owners will be able to buy or rent video via the system's built-in wireless Internet connection. Microsoft has a similar online store already in operation for its Xbox 360 console.

By re-crafting its flagship computer title for the console market, Firaxis is similar to any company keeping stride with the latest technology. Apple is now a music store and a phonemaker that also sells computers, after all. Google is developing a phone operating system, and the cable guy now also installs home Internet connections.

Games designed for consoles like the Xbox have grabbed an increasing share of buzz, and consumer dollars, in recent years. Retail sales for PC games, the market where Firaxis made its fame, have been mostly stagnant. A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers projects that PC game sales will drop from $3.8 billion last year to $3.6 billion in 2012. The firm forecasts that the game market overall will grow at a rate that outpaces other entertainment sectors, from $41.9 billion to $68.4 billion over the same period.

"There's an energy to the console market," said Sid Meier, the studio's head designer. "We're seeing an explosion in the quality and creativity in console games." 

Meier is a star to gamers in an industry where there aren't a lot of marquee names. He was recently awarded a place in Guinness World Records for having won more awards than any other game designer.

Meier designed his early games by himself; the first Civilization debuted in 1991 on floppy disk and CD-ROM. Counting three sequels and a few add-on packs, the franchise has sold 9 million units.

Firaxis, which now employs 85 people, was bought by Take-Two Interactive Software in 2005. Take-Two has made headlines this year as the target of a hostile-takeover attempt by publisher Electronic Arts, one of the world's biggest game companies. The studio did not comment on the matter.

For Civ fans, the ones who stay up all night playing the game, the latest hot topic hasn't been the prospect of EA owning their favorite studio, however. The question has been whether Firaxis has had to dumb down its game to appeal to a more mainstream audience that doesn't have a long attention span. Previous versions of Civ could take more than a dozen hours to play. The Xbox and PlayStation versions will take only about three hours to complete.

Meier calls Revolution a "more gentle, more entertaining introduction" to his game franchise.

Designing a version of Civ meant to be played by punching a game controller's triggers and thumb sticks required a different approach than designing another version for the PC's keyboard and mouse, he said. The shift required him "to go back and focus on the fun parts." 

Wilson Gan, the proprietor of an eight-year-old Web site called CivFanatics.com, said the fans who frequent his site tend to be the ones who will miss the intricacies Meier has taken out of the new version of the game.

"People are definitely complaining," Gan said. He plans to pick up a copy for his PlayStation 3, even though he hopes Firaxis has another old-school version of Civ in the works.

"There's no way to please everybody," he said. Firaxis is "trying to bring more people to the series. It's always good to have more players."

This style of strategy games has not been popular on consoles, said Mike Hickey, a game industry analyst with Janco Partners. But, he said, Civilization is a powerful brand and Meier is a famous name.

"Sid Meier is one of the most respected developers in the industry, and this one of the biggest franchises in the world for that category of game," he said. "I think it has a shot of doing pretty well."

The early reviews have just started to come out -- and so far they've been favorable to the studio's new take on its famous franchise. At Metacritic.com, a Web site that tracks reviews for video games, TV shows and movies, the game has gotten an average score of 82 out of 100.

"It's still as life-suckingly addictive as ever," one critic wrote.

Another put it this way: "Old diehard fanatics will no doubt shake their fists at the slight console-friendly tweaks of the original formula . . . but hey, it's successfully infecting a whole new generation of gamers with Civ love, so get over it." quote>

 

[Easy Bakes 253]

Messing with a classic. 3 Hours?

But then again on a small world several enemys on Nobel setting you can lose awefull fast on a PC too.

[GMT 389]

well, I played the demo, and it's not that bad at all. A little cartoony maybe but definitely fun to play, that's for sure.

but I'm not in the position to compare it to other civ titles cuz I never played any civ before

[purpledaddy 6]

I can see any version or format being pretty addictive.

[Mr. Random 3]

I played the demo on my friends xbox and the civ 4 demo and they bth are addictive. Revolution is a bit cartoony though.... LOL

[Angus Mac Barca 0]

Bah, Civilization Revolution is pretty fun and nice to play....

[Robbert 0]

3 hours.. that's crazy talk..

Just finished a game of a total of 20 hours, spread out on a couple of days xD

[your_adress_here 11]

I don't see why die hard fans are complaining... just stick to your PC version...

[sobol 1]

It wasn't bad. Yes, it was simpler, but it was still fun.

[Da-V-Man 1]

It's ingenious. First of all, they released it on DS, which is PORTABLE, so it's civ on the go (and the full game, not a dumbed down game completely different from the console version, and secondly, it opens up the civ franchise to a whole lot of players who try the game on the console, get interested, and then go buy civ 4 for greater depth. Whether this was a planned effect or not I have no idea, but it is a good thing, because it is creating new fans who would never otherwise hear of the game.

Heck, i bought civ3 two years ago because it looked like a cool rts (or so I thought), and it was $10. Now I love the series.

[Deep Thought 0]

I don't see what's so unique with Civilization Revolution. Ironically, I'm actually a member in the CivFanatics forum, but I'm only looking at the off-topic forums.