[color:"orange"] I once had the idea or an "opinion article" in mind (I thought I would write it for my small series at RPGDot), which should be named : "How US companies harm US customers". The idea was, that we often see US-based companied preparing for the US first - "first, bigger and better", that's the general rule. Take 2 even managed, for example, to publish Age of Wonders : Shadow Magic in the US first, although the game was developed in het Nederlands, here in Europe.
This behaviour of US-based publishers ("bigger, better, first") leads to some sort of anti-amricanism within Europe : european customers (gamers, that is) tend to feel like being treated as "second class customers" or generally speaking, to be inferior than US citizens. [/color]
You know, Alrik, this would be an interesting article and would, at the very least, offer food for thought among the gaming community. I live in the US and even I am sometimes put off by the 'first, bigger and better' image. Selling any kind of product in the US usually creates an extremely competitive environment. And that stems from the capitalistic nature of our government. In fact, that atmosphere has spilled over into many areas of our culture - education included. But I digress.
For instance, Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic is a product of Take2 Interactive. They are headquartered in New York City, with international offices based in London. Sales and marketing offices are located in Cincinnati, Toronto, Paris, Munich, Vienna, Milan, Sydney, Amsterdam and Auckland. I know nothing about Take2 as a company and can only guess since it's US based, its European branches (sales and marketing) take direction from the headquarters in NY. In other words, the Amsterdam office may not have had as much say in how the game was marketed in Europe or if it did, the NY headquarters decided to take a different route. (Which, in large US corporations, is often the way).
Btw, if you do write the article and need help with any research, don't hesitate to give me a shout. I'm not saying that I am more knowledgeable about the gaming industry. I am saying that I love to do research. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/delight.gif" alt="" /> If the article is well-researched, I think it could make some impact on the way games are developed and marketed in the future.
(Just a few thoughts from an American who hasn't had her normal quota of morning coffee!) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shhh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/silly.gif" alt="" />
Faralas <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mage.gif" alt="" />
