You're all wrong!
Ok, now that I've got that out of my system, here's what I think-
The problem isn't with the games we've got (or rather, beyond a case-by-case basis it isn't) but rather with getting the product we've got into the hands of those who'd like it. Let me use a game I bet we all could agree will be both playable by anyone and fun- the Bust A Move series. It's your basic Tetris clone, making it popular with a huge segment on non-traditional gamers, it's really Japanese-y, making it popular with the import crowd, it's got great multiplayer ans is totally family-friendly, making it good for the family crowd. So why is it only marginally popular?
Answer- crap marketing, as bad as any Gitaroo Man (another game with the same qualifications) got. Where was the ad for it in one of those hideous supermarket magazines like Woman's Day or whatever? Why are games with broad-audience appeal being marketed specificaly toward such a narrow demographic? I can get (and have been meaning to) Bust A Move PS2 for $20 at Circuit City. I'd have to knock the layer of dust off before I snagged my copy, and there's no reason for that. $20 is a good price for it, a mass-market price in fact, but at this point nobody remembers it exists any more. And the cover is possibly my all-time least favorite cover ever, including Mega Man NES and ultra-scary Bomberman Turbografx.
Thing is, as long as companies think games like The Sims or Gynecologist Tycoon are mysterioius flukes of nature, and who knows why their popular among so many different kinds of people, quick clone off more, then true mainstream acceptance of games won't happen. It wouldn't be such a frustrating condition if the answers weren't so blindingly obvious.
I think I hit a new low with Gynecologist Tycoon. WooHoo!
James
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