The way I read the tea leaves, BFC is plenty worried and they should be. They see a light at the end of the tunnel and they know it's a bus with "Matrix" painted on its side.
Back in about 2003 BFC was the gorilla on the block in 3D tactical wargaming. This was especially true in the WW II market, by far the most important of any historical era. True they had lost (or were about to lose) their distribution contracts, such as the the one with Panther Games, which brought them important secondary income. But they were solid in their core business and had established an outstanding reputation with their customers and in their professional community. There core customers anxiously awaited the CM x 2 engine, which was to take CM x 1 into the next generation of computing; add features; fix the (relatively) few weaknesses and limitations of CM x 1; and be a construction kit that would allow them to enter not only other historical eras, but new genres, such as fantasy war games involving space lobsters.
But somewhere along the way BFC got greedy and also failed to properly access their limitations as a small company capable of developing only one significant game engine every three to five (or more) years. The decided that the money in PC games, both in terms of commercial volume and in government contracts was in RT play and more in the direction of FPS games. To attract a military contract they had to put themselves into the near future and into the next hypothetical war in which the U.S. military forces would be likely to engage. Their customers had virtually no interest in such a concept, but it could also appeal to the RT/FPS market to which they wanted to migrate because CMSF would feature powerful modern weapons and lots of bad guys could go "boom" in new and exciting ways. Further a desert environment with limited scope and not a drop of water in sight would be the easiest to create. BFC could lead their customer base on with "CM x 2", which was not really CM at all. They would give BFC pre-order money based on a mostly hidden design of what CM x 2 was to be (a single player RT game), and provide the cred BFC would need to secure a distribution deal with a major game distributor. Hopefully the CM x 1 players would follow BFC into their RT SP small unit world, but ultimately they were expendable because BFC planned shift its core market to military and young men who enjoy RT and FPS games.
Then the wheels started falling off the BFC wagon, despite whatever Steve is still trying to sell about how rosy things are with BFC and CM x 2. No military contract was secured. The RT/FPS market found CMSF boring and very forgettable. BFC's distribution deal caused a late alpha or early beta public release of their first game using the CM x 2 engine. This early release; deception of their pre-ordering customers; misrepresentations and spin lacking credibility resulted in the loss of their unique and positive reputation and good will with their customers and in their industry. BFC's core customers, as expected, did not like CMSF and CM x 2 very much. They liked the way that they were treated by BFC much less.
Enter the big dog on the block, Matrix, with a product that looks far more like what the CM x 1 players were expecting CM x 2 to be than the CMSF that BFC produced.
So now BFC is at what might be their final crossroads. Do they continue with their master plan and design for CM x 2, or do they try to move CM x 2 into something that really is more of a next generation CM x 1 +? Based on Steve's post, it appears that they might be trying to go in the direction of the latter course. Matrix is making them brown their drawers. If Matrix becomes the big dog in the market BFC ruled not too long ago with CM x 1, BFC know it's toast with a gaming engine that really appeals to almost no one and more importantly to no significant or long term market.
What I expect to see is that BFC will make a halfhearted attempt to woo back its CM x 1 customer base with some changes to CM x 2 in its WW II releases. I also suspect that these changes will not be enough to win back their once loyal customer base. BFC will not move CM x 2 close enough to the core CM x 1 features of WeGo, QB's, improved campaigns, force size and variety, modability, friendly map, battle and op editors, real PBEM and improved MP play (to name a few) that are needed to win these customers back. Further the smallish scope of their games and necessity to buy additional modules, even to get you through the summer of months of of 1944
in France will weaken their effort--especially in Europe. If BFC is not successful upon its return to WW II, turn off the lights--the party will be over. It will be over very quickly if Matrix is successful in filling the void that BFC intentionally left in this market.
I can say only one word: NONSENSE.
It's not Matrix at all that driving Battlefront.com to changes something but
their customers. I told them myself that I will not buy CM: SF and I am
certain that many others did not buy this because it is a modern.
What I do mind is this so called analasys and in any analasy of this kind -
it is this apocalyptic feeling. As a one side shot at the market - I doubt
that CM: SF was a commercial failure as someone wants to say. Until somebody
present me with sales data I am saying: bollocks.
I would really like to see that thriller in what PALE COPY of Combat Mission
manages to win over fans of Combat Mission BB. Then we can expect end of the
world.
If Matrix bus of leading is that they urge their developers to copy paste
popular designs from another succesful company then that really says it all
about miserable state of wargaming "market".
What I would like to see a new original designs... Of course War in Russia
by Gary Grisby will be influenced by his earlier games but it will be new
game with new features.
And I don't like too much Combat Mission anyway.
The guy who wrote this article really should take a chill pill. He is
digging grave to put Battlefront in there while they are still alive.
Every succesfull game has it's copy. There was Age of Empires for example
and later there were dozen of copies, and nobody dig a grave for Ensemble
Studios. So again, this is nonsense, I woul like to see that wargaming
companies orientate themselves and hear what public wants not what they can
easier make. That's why there is absolutely nothing from Matrix Games that I
would buy this year. That line up wanna make me puke
Until 2009. I will wait that bus with Matrix logo LOL
Mario
