Connections 2000

Commercial Wargaming 1999

Lecture by Chris Weauve and M. Evan Brooks


In 1999, 74 games were published that loosly fit the wargame category (not all are historical): 24 desktop published, 17 in magazines, and 33 other professionally done games. The top topics:

    WWII: 25
    20th Century and Future: 14
    Pre-Napoleonic era: 12
    American Civil War: 7
    WWI: 6
    Napoleonic: 6
    Other 19th Century: 4

The buzz was about Totaler Krieg (WWII), War Galley (ancient naval), and Paths of Glory (WWI). Some of the series games got new life: Europa, ASL, and Great Campaigns of the ACW.

Major events:

    AH bought by Hasbro and its historical games all but dead
    Switch from store distribution to direct sales
    Rise of Desktop Published games
    Internet inspires collecting binge

In the past five years, the distribution channel has collapsed. Growing printing costs means capital outlay recaps occur in 12-15 months--too long. Distribution alternatives include:

    GMT and the 500 pre-order minimum (until a game gets 500 orders, it's not printed).
    Columbia Games and autoship new releases--much like a subscription.
    The Gamers and GR/D go all-direct (no retail) sales

DTP games are on the rise because it allows designers to publish small games on obscure subjects for low cost.

The Internet means more games are discounted, and people can find other obscure games for collecting.

Computer Games Overview

Nifty slides of state of the art graphics from 1999 games vs. 1980s games. Huge difference! The strength of computer games means smart AI (always a opponent), saves in progress (play anytime), and replay value(modify set-ups and starts).

However, games still play the same for the last 10-20 years, and the interface needs to be improved.

More Connections 2000:

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© Copyright 2001 Hal Thinglum
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
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