KingofGnG: I think there is space for everyone on the PC platform. And the so called "casual gaming" shit
isn't where the big money is ... Who will still play the damn World of Warcraft ten years from now
Yeah I don't think that there's a big money pile on the casuals, most of it are the publishers/companies hyping the little games to make bigger sales, and keep the cycle going, since the games are simple to develop and likely to profit from. Once the player gets the basic idea of the market, he/she either waits for the games get discounted or evolve to purchasing in steam/whatever.
But there's a separate talk, about the DS, iPhone, iPad, etc...
And no way that MMOs are dying soon... WoW is 5+years old already and still sells a lot on retail IIRC even competing with The Sims and MW2, along with the river of money that Blizzard gets monthly from its subscriptions.
They are really smart about their business, the MMO's devs, and they won't be dumb by letting it die so easily. And it's not just the game quality that matters, it's also the human psychology being used to exploit the players and make them feel rewarded, etc.
I dislike MMOs too, but they are here to stay, much more than the casual and the indies. Some people really love their MMOs, you have to admit this. :/
Wishbone: Since when is Microsoft coming back to the PC? Links, please.
chautemoc: Here.
I've posted about alan wake some posts above, it's just a site release date and nothing confirmed.
And about fable 3, IIRC it was an employee who said shit. So we must still consider it as a rumor, not word already.
einexile: If we're lucky, someday every game released will be an MMO. And if you don't like it? You uncheck a little box, and I disappear from your screen. This future is well on its way already.
Err, I wouldn't feel lucky... I want my single-player story-driven games back! And of course, still continue developing some MP games.
But I do agree with you, everything now tends to be
social, developed in mind with a hub or o a network of players.