Re: The Death of PBM

From: "Kerry Harrison" <kerry@madhouseusa.com>

Date: Tue, 07 Sep 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Mark Grimbley wrote in message <7r2u6t$ns6$1@news6.svr.pol.co.uk>...

>You might also want to consider that with the advent of online gaming
>(Archmage)  and online worlds such as Everquest and Ultima, why bother with
>a turn based game at all?

Archmage (the web game, not to be confused with the PBM game which came
first) is nothing but a gussied up BBS Door game.  That kind of game can be
great fun if you've got the time to check in each day, but tends to get old
fast for someone used to the depth most PBMs provide, and there doesn't seem
to be much crossover between the people who play Archmage and those that
play PBMs.

EQ and Ultima are basically graphical MUDs that cater to the computer RPG
crowd and those that have time to spend on roleplaying games but don't have
groups to game with.  Now there is crossover here with PBMs and these games
seem to be pre-empting some of the folks that would have come to PBMs
eventually (and I've seen some PBMers leave PBM and go to these games) but
the impact on our business has been small.  It'll be interesting to see if
these big online games can keep players interest for decades like the
open-ended PBM games have.

Now as to the question of why bother with turn based games at all, i.e.
PBMs.  Simple - they're the most convenient form of game to play for a lot
of people that like to game but have professional careers (and those that
like to game but locked away from society due to their crimes, i.e. prison
inmates).  A survey of almost any US PBM company's player base will show
that the vast majority of their players are either professionals, military,
or inmates (and students if you're talking about UK companies).  Oh yeah,
another reason to play PBMs is that they're also fun, but the primary reason
is that they're convenient.

Kerry

References

Re: The state of pbm
Carol Mulholland <Carol@flagship-uk.demon.co.uk>
Tue, 07 Sep 1999 00:00:00 +0000
The Death of PBM
"Mark Grimbley" <doctor@grimbley.freeserve.co.uk>
Tue, 07 Sep 1999 00:00:00 +0000
The state of pbm
nospam@here.please (Evilb)
Tue, 07 Sep 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

Re: The state of pbm
Carol Mulholland <Carol@flagship-uk.demon.co.uk>
Tue, 07 Sep 1999 00:00:00 +0000
The Death of PBM
"Mark Grimbley" <doctor@grimbley.freeserve.co.uk>
Tue, 07 Sep 1999 00:00:00 +0000
The state of pbm
nospam@here.please (Evilb)
Tue, 07 Sep 1999 00:00:00 +0000