So uh...time for a TCY Update?

[CraigSca]

So...I was about to break out a new TCY universe, but I decided not to because of the conferences being one year out of date (for some reason, accurate conferences are really important to me). A look at the Solecismic website shows Jim updated TCY on Sept 14th last year. Not to start the 5,000th conspiracy thread here - (and I know this has been repeated before) but can we expect some kind of conference/schedule update for TCY this year?

I would imagine new customers would be interested in this, too.

[WrongWay]

Not to start the 5,000th conspiracy thread here -

Too late.

[GoBuckeyes]

I'm looking for the update too, still playing with TCY but a little half-heartedly and hoping that an update would be coming soon. I'll have my fix for a while when that happens.

[cuervo72]

I've been putting off purchasing the original TCY in anticipation of a new version.

Since Dec. 2002.

[cthomer5000]

I've been thinking for about a month that the lack of update was evidence of something. Now, I'm not so sure, but I hope.

[CraigSca]

I agree, CT. I'm not so sure either...that's why I think a conference and schedule update SHOULD be something Jim considers.

[Raiders Army]

Two words: pipedream

[gottimd]

one word: rhubarb.

[sovereignstar]

one word: rhubarb.

Don't be spoiling this thread, brother.

[Anthony]

Solecismic Software is vaporware. doesn't exist anymore. enjoy Grey Dog.

[CraigSca]

Two words: pipedream
You think? I don't know how hard it is for Jim to do this - but it should almost be standard issue.

[GoBuckeyes]

You think? I don't know how hard it is for Jim to do this - but it should almost be standard issue.


I'm not so sure about that one....you have all those conference moves along with two new teams, which, if he left the SOL8 in there might make for serious coding changes to come up with schedules and rivals and stuff like that. I can't imagine it being something "mindboggling" but I can't see it being all the easy either.

I'll just keep my fingers crossed :p

[Solecismic]

It's a shame people don't read what I write in response to these issues. I'm glad people are excited about the prospect of an update, I really am.

But I wish people would understand just how much work goes into just a conference affiliation switch. If it were something I could do by waving a magic wand, it would have been done in August, regardless of what I'm working on.

As always, I do not release information about future projects until it's time to release them, so no one here is going to have any news before I do.

Stallings must be loving the incessant flow of new items like this.

[Cringer]

http://www.horizon.ab.ca/vhs/8bonline/MAGIC_WAND_Animation.gif

[Tekneek]

Stallings must be loving the incessant flow of new items like this.

You lost me here. I guess I'm not as in touch with that part of the soap opera.

[Celeval]

No one here is going to have any news before I do.
If anyone knew Solecismic was going to be releasing a product before Solecismic, I'd be impressed. :-D

[timmynausea]

So you're saying we need to bring in a psychic. Interesting.

[HomerJSimpson]

Stallings must be loving the incessant flow of new items like this.



No, no, Jim. It is "if you keep making threads like this, then the terrorist have already won."

[Airhog]

So you're saying we need to bring in a psychic. Interesting.


Paging Maximus! Paging Maximus!

[Dutch]

No, no, Jim. It is "if you keep making threads like this, then the terrorist have already won."

"Personal Foul...15 yard penalty...pulled the 'partisan card' in an on-topic thread. Remains first down..." :D

[HomerJSimpson]

"Personal Foul...15 yard penalty...pulled the 'partisan card' in an on-topic thread. Remains first down..." :D


I'm not partisan. I hate all politicians. :D

[Anthony]

jim's act is getting tired now. the guy completely leaves his fan base out in the dark, no news of any forthcoming games for the last 2 years. the fact that people still even *care* about his small company after all this time is funny. i don't even come here for Solecismic nonsense anymore. FOFC is so beyond being the quasi-official site for FOF that is originally was intended to be. if i were jim i'd stop the finger wagging admonishing of fans who want to see the company come out with this or that. at this point the next time jim posts something it should be about Solecismic news, rather than saying how foolish some people are for asking for an update.

[Chubby]

look at me. look at me! LOOK AT ME!!!:rolleyes:

[cthomer5000]

when you get rocked by Chubby you know you have been...



http://www.lovetohate.us/jokes/NES_PWNED.gif

[Young Drachma]

when you get rocked by Chubby you know you have been...



http://www.lovetohate.us/jokes/NES_PWNED.gif

ROFL

[lighthousekeeper]

So...I was about to break out a new TCY universe, but I decided not to because of the conferences being one year out of date (for some reason, accurate conferences are really important to me). A look at the Solecismic website shows Jim updated TCY on Sept 14th last year. Not to start the 5,000th conspiracy thread here - (and I know this has been repeated before) but can we expect some kind of conference/schedule update for TCY this year?

I would imagine new customers would be interested in this, too.
well if there's one thing you should have learned it's that threads like this don't spur solecismic into action. http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?t=42679

[kcchief19]

Usual pointlessness There's the door over the. Don't let it hit your ass on the way out. If you're such the critic, why waste your time here?

[kcchief19]

Two words: pipedream Gold.

[Solecismic]

You lost me here. I guess I'm not as in touch with that part of the soap opera.

Just frustrated with competitors coming in here and causing trouble. Craig works for OOTP. He should know better.

[Noop]

Just frustrated with competitors coming in here and causing trouble. Craig works for OOTP. He should know better.
Hmm Jim only makes football games so why would he refer to OOTP as competitors. Well I guess baseball it is then....

[JeffNights]

ya know Hell Atlantic does have a point....

[Noop]

Oh and I do agree with HA....

[cthomer5000]

Hmm Jim only makes football games so why would he refer to OOTP as competitors. Well I guess baseball it is then....
That's like saying Taco Bell isn't a competitor of McDonalds.

Oh and I do agree with HA....
Yes, I'm sure HA knows better how to run Jim's business then Jim does. I agree as well.

[Dutch]

You agree with HA that Jim shouldn't post here anymore except for news about his next game??? :rolleyes:

(EDIT: Not at you, Corey)

[st.cronin]

Dear Solecismic,

Please do NOT udpate TCY. I would prefer TCY2.

Thanks,

st.cronin

[cuervo72]

It's funny. On one hand, I can understand how one can wonder if Solecismic is an active company. From an *outside* point of view, you could compare with FBB, and see a similar original release schedule - FOF2004 was released Nov. 2003, FBCB Aug. 2003. Solecismic put out a college product sometime in the distant past, and I *think* FBB had an old pro game once upon a time. As far as I know, FBB is defunct though (even though they still have a web site). And if any major sofware company attempted to sell a game as old as TCY for $29.95, they'd be skewered.

But, obviously Jim *does* still update and release his games - TCY was updated in late 2004, and FOF was updated on June 14. Both for free. From that standpoint, Jim is too loyal to his customers. I mean, look at OOTP, charging for 6.5 (but then what do I know, I only own OOTP5 anyway). I'm sure Jim put in as many improvements in the free patches to FOF2004 as OOTP did to 6.5.

*shurg* Seems to me we're going to be on Jim's case either way.

(that said...if I had known when I first bought FOF4 that TCY2 wouldn't be out now, I would have bought TCY then. Ah well. :) )

[Noop]

That's like saying Taco Bell isn't a competitor of McDonalds.


Yes, I'm sure HA knows better how to run Jim's business then Jim does. I agree as well.
"jim's act is getting tired now. the guy completely leaves his fan base out in the dark, no news of any forthcoming games for the last 2 years"

I agree with that statement. I however have decided not to press the issue I just leave it be and continue to enjoy NCAA 06 despite its flaws.

[sovereignstar]

So Jim if you read this I want to say sorry for acting like you owe me anything. You don't and you should take as much time as you see fit.

.

[Tekneek]

Just frustrated with competitors coming in here and causing trouble. Craig works for OOTP. He should know better.

Ah. I get your point now. I forget those things pretty easily.

This thread is a bad one. One thing I hate about the 'text sim community' is how it turns on itself. Eventually, the community eats the people that brought them together.

[gottimd]

Eventually, the community eats the people that brought them together.
Or they just eat their wifes brownies.

[Cringer]

Hey, beer has arrived in my house. Lets end this thread. :)

[Noop]

.
He doesn't owe me anything. I however still agree with what HA said... (I quoted it earlier) I wish him them best...

[JonInMiddleGA]

the fact that people still even *care* about his small company after all this time is funny.

"Funny" isn't the first word that comes to my mind. It's on the list somewhere, but it isn't first.

[Raiders Army]

Or they just eat their wifes brownies.
I likey the thread tie-ins.

[timmynausea]

"Funny" isn't the first word that comes to my mind. It's on the list somewhere, but it isn't first.


I would put "a testament to the quality of the products" at the top.

[Dutch]

Hey, beer has arrived in my house. Lets end this thread. :)

Nothing like chuggin down some brews after a two-mile run! :)

[Cringer]

Nothing like chuggin down some brews after a two-mile run! :)

Thats what I thought. :D

[CraigSca]

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Jim, you misunderstand completely. I'm asking as a HUGE fan of your games. I've bought every iteration of FOF and TCY from the moment I set eyes on it.

If you consider me a competitor due to my work at OOTP, you completely over-estimate my input. Markus is a great guy, and he's been nothing but top-notch in my book. I helped him a little with DIPS in OOTP6 (pretty much the extent of it), but since he was bought by SI, I've had next to no communication with him. Even if I was in daily contact with him, Markus has no intent in making a football game (he's pure baseball) nor does SI (though I have absolutely no knowledge of how they do business over there).

Maybe you have to be vigilant when it comes to outside developers - and maybe people like Joe Stallings have left a sour taste in your mouth (join the club), but you can, without a doubt, leave me out of that cesspool.

I was asking only as a fan regarding TCY. If my request for a conference update leaves a sour taste in your mouth, that's on you. There is no alterior motive here. Just consider myself yet another avid customer of Solecismic and your damn addictive games.

[WSUCougar]

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Jim, you misunderstand completely. I'm asking as a HUGE fan of your games. I've bought every iteration of FOF and TCY from the moment I set eyes on it.

If you consider me a competitor due to my work at OOTP, you completely over-estimate my input. Markus is a great guy, and he's been nothing but top-notch in my book. I helped him a little with DIPS in OOTP6 (pretty much the extent of it), but since he was bought by SI, I've had next to no communication with him. Even if I was in daily contact with him, Markus has no intent in making a football game (he's pure baseball) nor does SI (though I have absolutely no knowledge of how they do business over there).

Maybe you have to be vigilant when it comes to outside developers - and maybe people like Joe Stallings have left a sour taste in your mouth (join the club), but you can, without a doubt, leave me out of that cesspool.

I was asking only as a fan regarding TCY. If my request for a conference update leaves a sour taste in your mouth, that's on you. There is no alterior motive here. Just consider myself yet another avid customer of Solecismic and your damn addictive games.
I just want to point out that the first letter of each line in the above post spells out the word: "WJIIOTTCNHMMCIUMA"

[cuervo72]

WhatchotalkingaboutGindin?

[MizzouRah]

Eventually, the community eats the people that brought them together.Nicely said. However, a little information would be nice.. NOT "do it or else", but as this site is an incarnation that is Solecismic, it would be nice to at least talk about an upcoming game from Jim.

For me, it's been too long since we've had something FOF related to talk about... I think the last thing was Yabanci's roster for this season, which had about 72 replies, which means to me, this community is REALLY starving for some information.

Edit: Fixed # of replies.<!-- / message -->

[DaddyTorgo]

Nicely said. However, a little information would be nice.. NOT "do it or else", but as this site is an incarnation that is Solecismic, it would be nice to at least talk about an upcoming game from Jim.

For me, it's been too long since we've had something FOF related to talk about... I think the last thing was Yabanci's roster for this season, which had about 10 replies, which means to me, this community is REALLY<!-- / message --> starving for some information.
i hear there's some good brownies around here somewhere. Mmmmn...brownies

[Anthony]

"Funny" isn't the first word that comes to my mind. It's on the list somewhere, but it isn't first.

i was thinking of another word, also. i decided not to cause jim's panties to bunch up.

[Chubby]

i was thinking of another word, also. i decided not to cause jim's panties to bunch up.
whiny bitch?

oh wait, that's you.


I must have missed the press release where Jim stated that he was now going to release info simply because some twat on a message board wanted some...

[Anthony]

whiny bitch?

oh wait, that's you.


I must have missed the press release where Jim stated that he was now going to release info simply because some twat on a message board wanted some...


your mother is a whore with STDs.

i missed the press release where it's wrong to wonder if there will be an update to a several year old game. not like the guy was cursing and calling for Jim's head, he asked rather non-chalantly.

[Chubby]

your mother is a whore with STDs.

i missed the press release where it's wrong to wonder if there will be an update to a several year old game. not like the guy was cursing and calling for Jim's head, he asked rather non-chalantly.
wow, that's a good one attention whore.

how many of these threads do we need? besides, as Jim said, Craig should know better as he is well aware of Jim's release/info habits. these threads do nothing but bring you out of the woodwork there coolroy.

[Young Drachma]

This thread has gone on...waay too long. Geez. I leave, come back and this thread is like the song that never ends.

[Dutch]

Just in case anybody else missed this the first time. I have no idea where I was, because I completely missed this entire thread. I buy it as good sound fair logic.

I think he'd be right if we were dealing with a different sort of product. There are factors he ignores that are very important...

/begin non-controversial information dump

It's much better to kill bugs than hit a release date.

The average bug rate in a professional (and I hope I've reached that standard after 14 years as a programmer) software release is 1 in every 140 lines of code. FOF 2004 has about 250,000 lines.

Therefore, it's hard to predict a release date with any kind of accuracy in this business.

The big publishers use static release dates because the retail environment forces them to reserve shelf space. This causes quality problems for the reasons I stated above.

Therefore, big publishers tend to spend much of their budget on artwork and sound, which are far friendlier to schedules. The games aren't much more complex than they were 15 years ago, they're just prettier.

There are notable exceptions for hit franchises, like GTA and The Sims. There are very few of these.

Big publishers make most of their sales in a tiny window of time immediately after release. If they don't make a lot of sales, retailers stop carrying their products.

Therefore, big publishers need to publicize the hell out of their games.

/end non-controversial information dump

I have no interest in going retail. A long time ago, I did, for reasons purely related to the ego, but researching the retail market thoroughly cured me of that.

It's better to have money in my pocket than an ego-boost on a store shelf. And it's not as if chicks are impressed by seeing your name on a box in a store they wouldn't enter if Jimmy Choo himself were selling his shoes half-off.

This is an important point, so I'm bolding it. It makes no difference to me whether I sell a huge amount on release day or several months from release day.

In fact, spreading sales out may help, because the servers get pretty overwhelmed during a release. Anyone remember the TCY release, when my wife and I had to pack boxes non-stop for two solid weeks, and people were freaking out because they had to wait so long?

My product is what they refer to in sales as an "evergreen." I don't get a huge percentage of my sales on day one. And even four years after its release, TCY is still bringing in income. Not enough to keep food on the table (well, maybe if you're doing one of those weird "documentaries"), but noticible.

The polls confirm my suspicion that advertising for this type of product is a waste of money. I can't advertise enough to build brand awareness, because the cost of maintaining a presence is so much higher than it used to be.

People are going to hear about the games over time. This is not a product that everyone's going to enjoy. I have a tiny art budget. More complexity in the game is better than less. It's a true niche product in a very large industry. I am never going to become a billionaire doing this.

So I want to ease new customers in. If you look at my web site, it's very low-key. That's intentional. I want to encourage people to try the free demo before they buy the product. I consciously avoid language like "the best football game ever." It's better if customers make up their own minds, which they will do regardless.


All this tells you why I don't advertise, and I don't make specific release dates. But it doesn't tell you why I don't name the next product.


I used to do that. I started on TCY back in 1999, right after FOF 2 was released. I talked openly about that, said I was aiming at a mid-2000 release at first.

But the whole EA/Gigawatt/FOF 2001 thing took precedence because of what EA was trying to build here. They couldn't have cared less about TCY, and they pay for development in advance. Things were going well with EA, and we had big plans (some people here noticed EA had reserved the frontofficebaseball.com and frontofficehockey.com domains, among others, and still renew them for some odd reason I've never been able to determine). TCY was on hold.

I got back to TCY in early 2001, and released it in the summer. By then, people had been talking about it for nearly two years. The release didn't go well. This was a huge product - by far my largest to date at that point - and it had its share of bugs.

People seemed to get more upset because they had been waiting for it so long. I patched quickly, but the damage was done. Reviews weren't as good as the FOF reviews were.

Ultimately, my understanding of this problem is that two years of waiting caused people to build TCY into something it wasn't. That just anticipation itself equalled hype. People fill in their own blanks while they wait.

With FOF 4, I went back to a shorter development cycle, but the same thing happened. Now part of that was due to my spending a lot of development time rewriting key pieces of the game - something you don't see until you've played it a long time and isn't obviously new - but again, people were filling in their own blanks, and were resentful when features they preferred didn't make the list.

So, at that point, I finally figured out that my worst enemy was perceived hype. What good does it do to tell people what I'm working on? In fact, my experiences tell me it actually does harm.

What good does this knowledge do for you? The game isn't available until it's released. I can't even tell you the release date, because I don't know myself. All this knowledge does is lets you slowly believe, over time, that I'm building exactly the game you personally want. This leads inevitably to disappointment.

Right now, I'm convinced that the shorter the time between announcement and release, the better for this type of product.

I'm not trying to be coy, or secretive, or obnoxious. From experience, I believe this is the right approach.

[Anthony]

wow, that's a good one attention whore.

how many of these threads do we need? besides, as Jim said, Craig should know better as he is well aware of Jim's release/info habits. these threads do nothing but bring you out of the woodwork there coolroy.

so if this is the same old same old then Jim shouldn't get in a tizzy everytime one of these pop up. he can't have it both ways, can't keep his lips shut AND expect people to just twiddle their thumbs waiting for his retarded golden announcement.

[Chubby]

so if this is the same old same old then Jim shouldn't get in a tizzy everytime one of these pop up. he can't have it both ways, can't keep his lips shut AND expect people to just twiddle their thumbs waiting for his retarded golden announcement.
Who said he's trying to have it both ways?

It is however counterproductive for people to bitch and whine about his information practice when it's been explained (see Dutch's post above) several times especially bitching from people who should know damn well by now why things are the way they are.

[Anthony]

Who said he's trying to have it both ways?

It is however counterproductive for people to bitch and whine about his information practice when it's been explained (see Dutch's post above) several times especially bitching from people who should know damn well by now why things are the way they are.

well i guess he's just gonna have to deal with the bitching, now, ain't he. he can run his business any way he wants, doesn't mean i have to agree with it. if enough people disagree and make their opinions heard then a possible result will be Solecismic will decide their approach perhaps isn't the best way and will release more information going forward. at worst, his life is a little more inconvenient.

[cthomer5000]

well i guess he's just gonna have to deal with the bitching, now, ain't he. he can run his business any way he wants, doesn't mean i have to agree with it. if enough people disagree and make their opinions heard then a possible result will be Solecismic will decide their approach perhaps isn't the best way and will release more information going forward. at worst, his life is a little more inconvenient.
It's an extremely vocal minority of what is already a minority (this board). Keep screaming, but I don't think you're going to have any effect. Perhaps you could really send him a message by permanently boycotting this message board.

[Anthony]

It's an extremely vocal minority of what is already a minority (this board). Keep screaming, but I don't think you're going to have any effect. Perhaps you could really send him a message by permanently boycotting this message board.

i wish you'd send a message by slicing the veins in your wrists. :)

[st.cronin]

cowboy up

[Chubby]

well i guess he's just gonna have to deal with the bitching, now, ain't he. he can run his business any way he wants, doesn't mean i have to agree with it. if enough people disagree and make their opinions heard then a possible result will be Solecismic will decide their approach perhaps isn't the best way and will release more information going forward. at worst, his life is a little more inconvenient.
and people will continue to tell you what a moron you are. I guess you're just going to have to deal with it now, ain't you.

Perhaps if reading comprehension were a skill you possessed, you would see why no matter how much bitching the few of you want to do, it "ain't" going to do any good in changing his mind.

[JeeberD]

Chubby sticking up for Jim...what is this world coming to? ;)

[JonInMiddleGA]

It's an extremely vocal minority of what is already a minority (this board). Keep screaming, but I don't think you're going to have any effect. Perhaps you could really send him a message by permanently boycotting this message board.

Or, if reading it bothers him so much, maybe he could boycott it.

Sorry ct, but HA or anybody else here has as much right to comment, bitch, praise, or whatever they want as you do or Jim does ... which is to say, as much right as the admins give them, no more-no less.

[Anthony]

Or, if reading it bothers him so much, maybe he could boycott it.

Sorry ct, but HA or anybody else here has as much right to comment, bitch, praise, or whatever they want as you do or Jim does ... which is to say, as much right as the admins give them, no more-no less.

dammit ct/chubby, now, for one thread at least, you've made Jon and I agree on something. i hate when that happens, cuz now i have to like him (albeit temporarily) aaargh. :mad:

if jim don't want to read about people who disagree with his no-news strategy then he's just gotta suck it up. comes with the territory when you opt for this tactic.

[Chubby]

dammit ct/chubby, now, for one thread at least, you've made Jon and I agree on something. i hate when that happens, cuz now i have to like him (albeit temporarily) aaargh. :mad:

if jim don't want to read about people who disagree with his no-news strategy then he's just gotta suck it up. comes with the territory when you opt for this tactic.
it's not about Jim not wanting to read about stupid people like yourself bitching about his policy. last time I checked, this wasn't an official solecismic site/message board.

it's about stupid people thinking they are going to change something that they have no prayer of changing. hell, let's have 500 "Bring back QOTM" threads!

you can bitch about Jim not releasing info while we can tell you why (again) and tell you that you're a moron for doing so.

[Dutch]

Jim:

we've had our rough moments together for a while now, i became so jaded on Solecismic that ididn't purchase FOF4. i felt you didn't make enough of a commitment to giving the people what they want. however, with the announcement concerning FOF 2004 and all the features you've added in, i'm going on record as i will be buying this game. i haven't even read all the feautres yet that SkyDog posted from your site, i stopped around the combine part. the multi-player caught my eye as i'm sure it caught everyone else's. i just gotta say good job, you finally got the point. it's nice to be back on the Solecismic band-wagon.

now that it's official, can you say what your original game was gonna be?
http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showpost.php?p=259257&postcount=195

Another quaalude and you'll love Jim in the morning. :)

[lighthousekeeper]

last time I checked, this wasn't an official solecismic site/message board.


remember when he did have a message board? that didn't last long.

[Anthony]

http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showpost.php?p=259257&postcount=195

Another quaalude and you'll love Jim in the morning. :)

that post, made 2 years ago, is as outdated as Jim's games. when it comes to Solecismic i'm a "what have you done for me lately" kind of customer. the honeymoon is over.

[vex]

remember when he did have a message board? that didn't last long.Because no one would read the FAQ.

[Noop]

Chubby=Troll

[Chas in Cinti]

Threads like these are what makes me keep coming back to this message board... I loved TCY (in streaks), but I haven't enjoyed FOF since FOF2. But I couldn't get by without this message board...

:)

Sorry to interrupt, let the vapid discussion continue...

Ole!

-Chas

[Samdari]

I must have missed the press release where Jim stated that he was now going to release info simply because some twat on a message board wanted some...

Jim has no obligation to give advance information on any future releases. However, he comes across as a whiny bitch when he complains about people engaging in speculation that is in part caused by that policy. Amazing he has not figured out that people talking about/eagerly anticipating his games is a good thing.

[mtolson]

I think some of y'all are missing the point. Yes, Jim have every right to keep silent about future products and I respect that. However, at least to me, it may actually hurt his sales if he is truly working on a upgrade or the sort. I for one come here mostly to find out info about FOF and TCY. My visits are starting to be fewer and far between because of the lack of info. I kind of feel like there is nothing to look forward to, which decreases my need to come to the site. I could very well miss Jim's next product simple because I stopped looking for it and his advertising doesn't get to me any other way. Can't buy something if you do anticipate it coming or know about it !

[dunkem]

Along mtolson's line of though, while I respect Jim's decision to remain quiet about his upcoming projects, it should be noted that the environment is different now compared to that of several years ago.

Although the football sim market is still slim, when more companies like Grey Dog Software come out with a relatively competitive product for both college and pro football, the market data that Jim based his decisions on will be totally different. He may not have the luxury to wait to the very end to announce his product and he may need to promote it more since he's not the only product in the market anymore.

If the football sim market ever gets competitive like the video game market with the EA/ESPN/(not so much 989), the dollars won't come as easy and he may not be able to collect on products more than a year old like TCY. If other companies keep improving and producing quality products which raise the bar, things such as "hype" and building up excitement for a game will become key to success. You'll always have people who are able to buy both games, but there are also a good amount of people who only want to choose one of them.

Fortunately for Jim, even after 8 years, no one has put out a competitive product until the anticipated Bowl Bound product that's coming and Total Pro Football. If the market environment stays the way it is, Jim does not need the hype, marketing, or anticipated release date to push his product.

[Anthony]

Along mtolson's line of though, while I respect Jim's decision to remain quiet about his upcoming projects, it should be noted that the environment is different now compared to that of several years ago.

Although the football sim market is still slim, when more companies like Grey Dog Software come out with a relatively competitive product for both college and pro football, the market data that Jim based his decisions on will be totally different. He may not have the luxury to wait to the very end to announce his product and he may need to promote it more since he's not the only product in the market anymore.

If the football sim market ever gets competitive like the video game market with the EA/ESPN/(not so much 989), the dollars won't come as easy and he may not be able to collect on products more than a year old like TCY. If other companies keep improving and producing quality products which raise the bar, things such as "hype" and building up excitement for a game will become key to success. You'll always have people who are able to buy both games, but there are also a good amount of people who only want to choose one of them.

Fortunately for Jim, even after 8 years, no one has put out a competitive product until the anticipated Bowl Bound product that's coming and Total Pro Football. If the market environment stays the way it is, Jim does not need the hype, marketing, or anticipated release date to push his product.

very keen observations. well done.