Why don't Americans like text-sims?

[Tolstoy]

Football Manager has a cult-like following in Europe, and yet the best American Football text-sim we have in the states is PFS. With all the clamoring for "better franchise mode" and "better dynasty mode" in Madden and NCAA, why isn't there more demand for a football sim on the level of OOTP or FM?

God, if there was a college football game as deep as OOTP I'd never play anything else.

[LingeringRegime]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

I agree. I would love an NFL or NBA text sim.

[kehlis]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

I don't get the thread title. What does it have anything to do with "Americans"?

Text sims overall are very underrated and I don't understand what it has to do with any particular country...

[Tolstoy]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

I don't get the thread title. What does it have anything to do with "Americans"?

Text sims overall are very underrated and I don't understand what it has to do with any particular country...

They just haven't taken off here in the States. The U.S. is at least as passionate about football as England is about soccer, and yet they have Football Manager (where Football manager 2010 is just behind FM 2011 as the top two selling PC games in the country) while we have... Front Office Football 2007. You just don't see the kind of fanatic devotion to sports management sims here like you do overseas.

My question is, why?

The follow-up question is this: is the lack of demand due to the lack of a top-quality product, or is the lack of a top-quality product due to the lack of demand?

[dickey1331]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

I think it’s more that PC gaming isn’t very popular along most Americans. If they were able to bring this to the video game consoles maybe it will changed but I just don’t see it ever becoming very popular. American and European interests are very different.

[Bellsprout]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

Because I don't want to read, I want to play. Similar to how things like Manager Mode in The Show or NFL Head Coach have never appealed to me.

[dickey1331]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

Because I don't want to read, I want to play. Similar to how things like Manager Mode in The Show or NFL Head Coach have never appealed to me.

Good points. I think that the vast majority of America agrees with you.

[GlennN]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

They just haven't taken off here in the States. The U.S. is at least as passionate about football as England is about soccer, and yet they have Football Manager (where Football manager 2010 is just behind FM 2011 as the top two selling PC games in the country) while we have... Front Office Football 2007. You just don't see the kind of fanatic devotion to sports management sims here like you do overseas.

My question is, why?

The follow-up question is this: is the lack of demand due to the lack of a top-quality product, or is the lack of a top-quality product due to the lack of demand?

I disagree that football is as popular here as soccer is elsewhere in the world. Once the football season ends here, generally folks get into baseball, then hockey and/or basketball. As I understand it, outside the US, soccer is the sport no matter what. We don't have a devotion to a specific sport like that here.

[Tolstoy]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

I disagree that football is as popular here as soccer is elsewhere in the world. Once the football season ends here, generally folks get into baseball, then hockey and/or basketball. As I understand it, outside the US, soccer is the sport no matter what. We don't have a devotion to a specific sport like that here.

Alright, I guess I might have exaggerated that point. The fact remains, though, that football (college and professional combined) has a huge fan base with millions of viewers. It's strange that a quality text-sim can't find a decent market in that demographic.

[jmood88]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

Because I don't want to read, I want to play. Similar to how things like Manager Mode in The Show or NFL Head Coach have never appealed to me.

Yup. I don't care about simulating perfect stats and reading about what happened.

[Tolstoy]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

Yup. I don't care about simulating perfect stats and reading about what happened.

What if it was like Football Manager or NFL Head Coach where you set strategy, call plays, and watch your team carry them out?

[jmood88]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

I have no interest in that. I want to control the players, not watch things happen.

[claystone]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

What if it was like Football Manager or NFL Head Coach where you set strategy, call plays, and watch your team carry them out?

I for one love text sim football games. As you know we play in an FOF online football league. I'm in 5 of them myself. You have guys playing in the same league for 5 years plus.

Mostly everyone in our league is in their mid 30's to late 40's. It seems text sim are more for an older crowd who want to get deep into the game, with gameplanning, trading, the business side of football as well. We got bored with using stick skills. We now want to use our mind to out-think our opponent by setting up the right gameplans to beat them.

Most people, especially the younger crowd, find it very hard to play text-sim games, because it involves a lot. They just want to throw the game in and play, which is fine. Me, I want to know if I have a bad QB, that he's going to be bad. But with Madden, or NCAA I can make him great because I'm controlling him. That won't happen in FOF text-sim. It takes years to rebuild a team into a powerhouse, and that is what we love about text-sim. It is so close to the real thing that Madden, NCAA, or backbreaker can give you, ever.

I think you'll find more older people playing text-sim football game a lot more then the younger gerneration. The people who don't like it is because it's too hard for them, and they're not good at it. But I do agree it is much, much better to play in an online league than single play.


In one of my leagues M. Hasselbeck throws a TD pass only to be called back on a penalty, "illegal shift". It hurt, but that's real. That is what you see in the NFL. When have you ever seen "illegal shift" penalty in Madden or NCAA, never. I have Hasselbeck playing because I lost Ben Roethlisbeger for the season with a MCL.

My left tackle goes down and my backup is a scrub, well now my QB is running for his life and getting sacked. That's real. You won't get that in Madden or NCAA. I can have a scrub at LT and not miss a beat in Madden, or NCAA.

I guess we want our games as real to the NFL as possible, and "Front Office Football" gives that to us.

[claystone]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

Here is one of the online leagues I'm in.

http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/ccfl/ben/home.php

Football text-sim games have come along way.

[jmood88]

Re: Why don't Americans like text-sims?

I'm really tired of people saying that if someone doesn't like something it's because it's "too hard for them" or they don't understand.