Industry insiders

[Cardinal Sin]

I've no axe to grind with any folk working for the gaming industry who frequent this board. I regularly lose money on various quiz machines, and aside from the spoilers and occasional bugs, have no complaints about losing.

I don't expect lists of permissible words from The Game Which Cannot Be Mentioned to be posted. I'm not looking to see reams of answers to obscure questions to help me attain that elusive £1 prize on Monopoly. Furthermore, I do not want anyone who is involved with the industry to compromise their position.

However, I gather there are quite a few "insiders" often visiting this forum to gain a better understanding of what quiz players think of their products and ideas. It would therefore be interesting, not to mention appreciated by people like me who regularly play your games, to learn about your opinons on the various topics appearing on this forum.

[Weyland]

Fair enough. But it could be said that by posting regularly on this board, we expose ourselves as hardcore players. Now, any entertainment industry is far more likely to be concerned with the casual user, as there's so many more of them, and they provide most of the revenue. So therefore, our opinions are unlikely to match that of the vast majority of users... :P

I mean, how many times has a machine been vilified on this forum, only to stay near the top of the charts for weeks on end?

[David Healy]

Apart from David Healy, I'd put money on more than one of you having links with the other side...

I'm going to do some investigating. You mark my words...

Sorry cardinal, I am confused - does this mean I am an industry insider or not. It would be nice to know which side of the fence I am on.

For what it's worth, I don't understand some of the hostility to Millionaire on the forum (can't comment on the new version as I have yet to see it). Certain people have said it is boring - surely you shouldn't be playing that many games in a session for it to become boring, should you? It's not as if you're standing there answering question after question with no prospect of a (decent) prize.

In fact, can anyone give me an example of a poor game developed by JPM?


ps Sorry to interrupt your Word Up discussion forum with a mention of a quiz machine. Please continue to discuss who has the largest dic (tionary).

[WaterGate]

Copped! I work in the pub industry! Hic!

[Cardinal Sin]

Sorry cardinal, I am confused - does this mean I am an industry insider or not. It would be nice to know which side of the fence I am on.

Sorry David, you just seemed like a shadowy figure, lurking around the quiz machine forum . just having a sly dig. I know there are loads more folk who don't really post, I'm not suggesting people post if they have nothing to say!

In fact, can anyone give me an example of a poor game developed by JPM?

Apart from the new Millionaire, JPM's have generally been pretty fair (and profitable). I never liked Cluedo, but I think most people feel differently.

[Nil Satis]

by posting regularly on this board, we expose ourselves as hardcore players. Now, any entertainment industry is far more likely to be concerned with the casual user, as there's so many more of them, and they provide most of the revenue.

I agree partly with this, Weyland, but also feel that we regular players (and hopefully regular winners!) do have a role to play in that we 'test' a game much more intensively than the average casual player and quickly spot its flaws and strengths. OK, these sometimes relate to how easy/difficult a game is to win serious money on, which isn't usually the concern of the casual players who are normally delighted with a £1 win, but we can also identify when a game will be a success generally or not.

Which brings me to...

For what it's worth, I don't understand some of the hostility to Millionaire on the forum (can't comment on the new version as I have yet to see it).

I have probably been responsible for about 50% of both sides of this! - supporting and praising the previous versions of Millionaire and also vilifying the 2006 version. If this was a brand new game I would have simply played it a few times then either discarded it in disgust or left it for my 'reserve list' of games to play with the odd 50p or if there is nothing else available. The fact that someone has seen fit to take a classic game however and destroy just about everything that made it a classic is for me mystifying - it's like the worst type of Hollywood remake (Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes anyone?).

N.B. I don't believe JPM are actually the culprits here - I think QuizMaster can confirm this...

Which brings me back to my original point. I would have LOVED it if some industry insiders had asked me or a few of the other serious players to have a look at Millionaire 2006 before its release. OK, they may have disagreed or chosen to ignore our advice but they would at least have been informed in advance of what a cowpat their new game was!