Former Ensemble head Bruce Shelley not happy with Microsoft...

[shio]

mysticD said:

shio said:

mysticD said:

I can see their reasoning (although shortsight) as PC market is shrinking (last Age of Empire did just so-so) and RTS genre is not what it once was.   Still, this is the studio with good track records and produce many hit.  If Halo Wars turn out to be console RTS, MS would loose out on turning out sequel and other RTS.

The PC market is healthier than ever, but Microsoft just wants to concentrate on Xbox. To be honest, I think it's idiotic that they had to close Ensemble so they could shift support for other devs since MS has $ billions laying around, but I guess you gotta have to please the share-holders.

Age of Empires 3 sold over 2 millions copies and had a couple of successful expansions... definitely not "so-so". Infact, I'd argue that RTS games are more popular than ever, especially if you consider the awesome lineup coming in 2009 (year of the RTS?):

Starcraft 2
Empire: Total War
Demigod
Dawn of War 2
Anno 1404
Majesty 2
Society
Company of Heroes Stand-alone expansion (rumored)
Halo Wars (Xbox 360)
Stormrise (PC/X360/PS3)

Only game on that list that will sell by the boatload is Starcraft 2.  (Not to say others are bad, Dawn of War and Company of Heroes are both excellent series and I can't wait to play sequel).

I am not saying RTS is dead, but it's definitely not at the top of PC list these days.  Remember how big deal it was when C&C released the last one barely got noticed.

I understand MS decision but as you can see I don't agree with it.  But to MS it's always about the bottom line in the end.

What are you basing your opinion on? Sales or Quality? 2009 there will be 3 Huge RTS games (Starcraft 2, Dawn of War 2, Empire: Total War), 2 respectable RTS (Demigod, Anno 1404) and Majesty 2. Society is a free MMORTS, and COH's standalone is a rumor so far.

Starcraft 2 will sell atleast 10 millions, Dawn of War 2 will get a couple of millions sold. Empire Total War, Demigod and Anno 1404 will all reach the 1 million mark. And knowing Paradox Interactive, it will probably be a success if they sold 400k of Majesty 2.

And I thought C&C3 was a success and is over 1 million sales. Not bad for a game with an "outdated" gameplay.