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Yeah, that interview throws hope out there and hints at actual work going on behind the scenes, but for some reason executives in this industry have the impression they should muzzle their developers and not let them talk about what they are doing. There are a number of reasons for that, all of which are wrong.
We do not know what is taking place of a material nature, but this interview statement does give real hope and a clear intent.
On a scale of 0 to 10, I rate the game 10, a real treasure, but the marketing of the Wizardry 8 game (that the company can actually get profit from) was and still is being handled extremely poorly. I give the marketing efforts a 1, or maybe less. The exclusive given to Electronic Boutique alienated all other retailers and greatly surpressed initial sales of the game, perhaps by a factor or 4 or 5. Many other retailers boycotted the came, at least for a month or two, after the exclusive ran out. The whole thing with an advertisment for another product entirely, right inside the game itself, raised "tacky" to new levels.
The current marketing is still downgrading the game further, treating it just like any "come and go" action game. Some versions even do not come with a printed manual now... really shortsighted stuff like that. Wizardry 9 will need far smarter marketing and executive decision than Wizardry 8. Some retailers might boycott it (W9) anyway, just to make a further point about their displeasure over the way W8 was marketed (EB exclusive).
Excellent marketing can sell total garbage, or turn sales for an excellent game into garbage. W8 sales were good, but only a small % of their potential.
[ 07-27-2003, 06:17 PM: Message edited by: EEWorzelle ]
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