The State of Adventure Gaming

By Randy Sluganski

Whoa, Check out That Figure!

From PC Data, the official sales figures for adventure games in the month of December, 2000. The first number is the total sold for the month. The second number is the total sold for the year 2000. Figures do not include online purchases or sales outside of North America.

Hmm…can those figures be correct? How can a "crappy" Dreamcatcher game like The Crystal Key outsell a fan favorite like LucasArts' Escape from Monkey Island? Not that LucasArts would ever ask my opinion, mind you, it's not like anyone at Just Adventure would know anything about adventure games or gamers, but maybe it has something to do with knowing your audience and appropriately marketing to them. Of course, I'm sure that LucasArts honestly believes that they should have run more two-page color ads in PC Gamer. Maybe LucasArts should study the Dreamcatcher business model. Or maybe it's just easier to transfer the blame elsewhere and attribute your poor sales to a lack of support by adventure gamers. I guarantee that LucasArts will eventually issue a public statement that there is no support for adventure games. Tell that to the 176,690 adventure gamers who have bought copies of The Crystal Key.

400% Bigger--but It's Not the Size That Matters

If you need any further proof that adventure games are on the upswing, then how about this: according to a press release, Dreamcatcher experienced a growth of 700% for the year 2000. Just Adventure, during the same period, experienced a growth of 400%, and we have already attracted almost 40,000 new readers for the month of January alone thanks to an article in Access Internet Magazine. All of which provides a nice segue to our next headline ...

Action Games Are Dead!?

In a shocking move, the ISDA has declared February to be "Action Games are Dead" month. Citing the low sales figures much anticipated releases of Daiktaina and Unreal Tournament, combined with the three-year production cycle of Duke Nukem Forever, the ISDA has decided that action games are not the hot item they once were.

Industry spokesperson Duke Nukem was overheard complaining, "I used to chew gum and kick ass and now I spend my days knitting sweaters and playing bingo and I'm all out of bingo chips."

You can support the "Action Games Are Dead" movement by writing to your favorite gaming magazine or webzine and letting them know that you support the "Action Games Are Dead" movement. Buttons will also soon be available nationwide. Wear yours proudly.

Look Mommy, Boobies!

Just when you start to believe that the gaming community as a whole is beginning to mature, something like the following happens: Next Generation editor Tom Russo writes a thoughtful article concerning a lack of maturity and adult material in our games, and what does he complain about the most in his lead-in editorial? That he was advised to not print a cover parodying the infamous Janet Jackson/Rolling Stone issue that had a pair of hands covering Janet Jackson's nude breasts. Instead, Next Generation's parody has Duke Nukem's hands covering Laura Croft's naked breasts. In all honesty, it is very well-done and humorous. But if that is your idea of what a mature gamer wants--the freedom to see Lara Croft's boobs--then, Tom, with people like you as industry spokespersons, it will be another decade before we have any mature games.

Take a Letter, Maria

It seems Eidos has finally quit pretending that it isn't marketing their products to the T&A crowd, and if you need any further proof, then just take a look at this advertisement for Fear Effect 2 from the February issue of PSM (Playstation Magazine). Subtle, huh? Two women hugging (ooh ... maybe they're lesbians) and the tag line, "These Two Ladies Put the Ass in Assassin."

We at Just Adventure have decided to jump on the bandwagon and produce a game for Eidos. The first of our projects will be aimed at the ever-growing female market segment and will feature two male secretaries who must save the world using only their throbbing pectorals and stiff six-shooters (and their guns won't shoot blanks!). Our tag line for advertising--"These Two Big Boys Put the Dic in Dictation." Look for a feature article on the cover of Next Generation.

I Would Never Belong to Any Club That Would Have Me as a Member

AGOTM. Rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? Adventure Game of the Month Club. No membership fee, no monthly dues. Nor do you have to buy four games in the next two years to complete your membership. All you need do to belong is to visit the JA Forum to discover the title of the Game of the Month and then play along. This month's game is Jeff and Karen Tobler's popular Riddle of the Sphinx. Jeff and Karen were also kind enough to provide some prizes for five members of the AGOTM. No, I will not tell you what the prizes are--you have to visit the JA Forum and find out for yourself. Join Rumpy, Orion, Orb, and other bizarrely named adventurers from all over the globe as they put their heads together to form one big, strange-looking adventure gamer.

Just Call Me "That Guy from Just Adventure"

Some insider info for JA readers: PC Gamer has for some time now been working on an article debating the future, if any, of adventure games. When last I spoke via email with PC Gamer editor Rob Smith, he expressed concern that everyone who had so far been interviewed for the article had been very negative. It was at that point that I suggested that maybe PC Gamer was interviewing the wrong people. That instead of interviewing the people who used to and no longer are working on adventure games, maybe they needed to contact the people who are presently working on projects and would have a more positive outlook on the genre. In other words, out with the old guard and in with the new. Seems they were receptive to the idea, for the April issue of PC Gamer will feature an article that they are advertising as, "Adventure games: we found a pulse. We didn't think we would. We didn't think we could. But by jiminy, if we didn't actually discover that rumors of adventure gaming's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Out with the old guard and in with the new: there are stores to tell, and talented people to tell them. All will be revealed."

Ubi Still Be Clueless

Can someone, anyone, please explain to me in an intelligent manner why companies like Ubi Soft continue to run two-page advertisements for adventure games that cost tens of thousands of dollars in magazines like Next Generation (or as they now so coolly call themselves, Next Gen)? This magazine has not given a positive review to any adventure game for at least two years now (the puzzles give them headaches). Why would you continue to run advertisements in a magazine that does not support the adventure genre? Wouldn't you think running an advertisement in Next Gen would hurt, rather than help, sales? I could understand if it was a sports game or an arcade game. But this is a magazine that has done nothing but ridicule adventure games and point-and-click games.

It's not like Just Adventure has not contacted Ubi Soft. We have emailed their marketing department, we have offered to present our statistics and prove that we have almost as many readers as Next Gen. Strangely enough, all of our readers are adventure gamers. Not to mention that we had over two million hits last month. Many of our readers visit every day, as compared to a magazine that is looked at for one or two days and then forgotten.

So what do you think the result has been when we have contacted companies like Ubi Soft and LucasArts and Mattel and asked them to support the adventure genre by advertising on Just Adventure, or any adventure site for that matter? Asking them to help keep us afloat. Asking them to show support for the adventure community that supports them by purchasing their products. They don't respond. Not a one of them. Don't fool yourselves, these companies don't give a damn about adventure gamers and they don't give a damn if the genre survives. They only know how to do things they same way they have been doing them for years, pumping thousands of dollars into numerous magazine ads and then blaming the adventure community when the games don't sell. As for me, I'm at the point where I don't give a damn if some of these companies survive, and I think we as a whole need to quit supporting them until they begin to show some marketing savvy.

Oh by way, the new issue of Next Gen gave Stupid Invaders 2 stars out of 5, and the new issue of PC Gamer gave it a 52%. Shocking, huh? The reason for the bad reviews--c'mon everybody, you know the routine--the puzzles don't make sense, pixel hunting, blah, blah, blah.

Free Stuff! Look Here! No Obligation!

I have two brand new copies of 9: The Last Resort that I will give to the first two people who answer the following 10 questions correctly. Please mail answers to me at randy@justadventure.com. Ready? Let's go:

1. Which game does not feature the voice of Tim Curry? Gabriel Knight 1, Gabriel Knight 3, Frankenstein, Rocky Horror Interactive Show

2. Below are the titles of three games that were released in Europe. What were these games renamed for their US release? Dementia, Aztec, Broken Sword

3. Who wrote the book version of Starship Titanic?

4. Which of the following games was not converted to console in the United States? Riven, Myst, Chronicles of the Sword, Broken Sword, The Neverhood

5. Which game is not somehow tied in to the movie of the same name? The Arrival, City of Lost Children, Congo, Titanic

6. Which game does not have a rat puzzle? Jonny Quest, Nightlong, Bad Mojo, Orion Conspiracy, Martian Gothic

7. What best-selling adventure game was banned by Comp USA?

8. Who is Larry Laffer's great, great grandfather?

9. What two Dreamcatcher games' box covers were chosen by Just Adventure readers?

10. The following rock stars all appeared in a different adventure game. Can you name the adventure game that each rock star appeared in? Queen, Arrowsmith, Cher

Survey Says!

During the month of February, we will have our annual adventure gamer survey online. Please take a few minutes to complete it. The results will be compiled to provide information to adventure game developers and distributors as to what adventure gamers want in their games. All information will be separated from its email address, so there will be no questions about confidentiality. Plus all who complete the survey will be eligible to win one of ten brand-new copies of Dreamcatcher's newest hot release, Dracula 2. But if you would rather not complete the survey, that is understandable, and we will just continue to allow the action-oriented magazines to dictate the future of adventure gaming.

Forum Is a Jolly Good Fellow

Okay, guys and gals, listen up, Just Adventure's readers kick butt. We have over 100,000 unique visitors a month from over 75 countries. But when it comes to the JA Forum and the JAVE, you people are a major disappointment. If just half of the readers who lurk around the JA Forum were to post a message, we would easily have the largest forum on the Internet. The same goes for the JAVE. The largest adventure encyclopedia in the history of the civilized world, and how many visitors does it get a month--well, I could count the total on 720 hands. C'mon people, get with it. You want adventure, and we're trying to give it to you. Now put down those chips and soft drinks and start posting on the forum.

Our Semiannual Cheap Attempt to Obtain Extra Hits Through Search Engines

Dragonball Z, Survivor, Playstation 2, Pamela Anderson Lee, N Sync, WWF Wrestling, J Lo, XFL, Valentine's Day, Hannibal, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, The Rock, Baltimore Ravens, Buffy, Gladiator, Pepsi, Spider-Man, and the Backstreet Boys.