S.T.A.L.K.E.R. misunderstood in US News
PC News by Robert Purchese
GSC Game World has said S.T.A.L.K.E.R. struggled across North America because no one cared about a silly old nuclear disaster in Russia.
Developer mouth Oleg Yavorsky was speaking exclusively to Eurogamer, and said finding a topic to interest distant cultures was tricky.
"We've never had problems with getting Europeans to understand our games, and we have had problems with North America and Asia," said Yavorsky. "We've always tried to find local topics that will be relevant and interesting to people all over the world.
"Also, we've always created hardcore games, and the mass-market audience is now pretty much casual. Big companies always want you to make your game as easy as possible, so that any really non-intellectual person can play it. They want all sorts of tutorials to guide the player through, and this is something we've always been very resistant to.
"But then, everything, even up to the colour spectrum and how bright your game is, can be an issue. It seems that to appeal to North America you need really flashy, bright games, and you can see that every Eastern European game is very dark," added Yavorsky.
However, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. did review universally well, and sits at a very favourable 82 per cent on Metacritic.
Head over to our full interview with Oleg Yavorsky to hear what he had to say about the six years it took to make the game and why the Russian and Eastern European PC market was so appealing.
Alternatively, head to our preview of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. prequel Clear Sky to see how it's shaping up.
Are you excited about S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky on PC?
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Comments: 1-19 of 19 in total
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So in a few words, the European market is more sophisticated and demanding, while the north-american market is dumbed down to a bare minimum. I'll add that I enjoyed most of the games that came out from Russia(Blitzkrieg, Silent Storm, Rage of mages - just to name a few). I understand that Gothic 4(made by the german Jowood) will come out in two vesions, due to the mentioned fact that the US market wants flashy, bright colors: one version which will have a bright palette of colors and a second version in the usual dark colors made for the european market.
But the real prize for the game developpers from Europe it's to penetrate the US market dominated by corporations like EA or Activision/Blizzard. So you can't blame them if they try to do just that.
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most recently on 16/06/08 @ 14:59
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I'm European, and I was put off by the first STALKER because of the bugs, the problems with several gameplay mechanics and the sheer slog of the first 10 or so hours. Many of my friends highly recommend this game, telling me that I just need to grit my teeth and get past the first 10 - 15 hours.
Just saying it might be better to check your game is bug-free and unannoying before deciding that certain nationalities are unsophisticated. If they've made it run better for this prequel, I'll be giving it a go. |
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PearOfAnguish
16/06/08 @ 14:32
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"will come out in two vesions, due to the mentioned fact that the US market wants flashy, bright colors: one version which will have a bright palette of colors and a second version in the usual dark colors made for the european market. "
Incorrect. Gothic 4 will have a choice of colour palettes that you can change any time through the options, it's not two different versions. |
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thedaveeyres
16/06/08 @ 15:29
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Of course it's true... Americans are all stupid, english people have bad teeth, black people can't swim, eastern europeans are so soused on vodka it takes them 6 years to make a run-of-the-mill fps... it's all true.
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cyber_nicco
16/06/08 @ 15:48
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Yeah, like Americans didn't buy Gears of War...
If anything, maybe it has to do with marketing. Almost always there are different marketing folks behind marketing in the different regions mentioned in the article |
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RazorObsession
17/06/08 @ 02:45
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I just hope that both stalker and its sequels come to ps3 and 360 at some point.
I have a PC for work and internet, and it does both fantastically, as low specced as it may be, but I cannot justify forking out thousands of bucks on upgrades just to play fewer and fewer PC games each year. if they are serious about hitting mainstream target audiences, then consoles will have to be the way to go. /misses the days when he had a ninja PC |
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manic_mouse
17/06/08 @ 09:14
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I think the main problem is that there's no console version. A PS3 and 360 port would be awesome, I'd buy it!
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None of you beat the game in that time?
You're kidding, right? I spent about 8 hours just exploring n stuff. Don't get me wrong, I loved the game environment, I was just put off by a lot of the bugs, the interface and the 'quests'. But finish STALKER in 10 hours? Nah, I don't buy it. Edit: Or maybe I'm a very slow gamer!
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 17/06/08 @ 19:29
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Comments: 1-19 of 19 in total
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