If you want to see a sequel, expansion, or just more from a game that you love, it’s likely going to involve parting with some cash from your bank account. That’s just the way the world works, and in the cutthroat gaming industry we live in now, it’s more important than ever to support the projects you love.
However, even decades ago, problems with sales led to sequels never being made, as legendary developer Tim Cain describes in an interview with PC Gamer. “People regularly tell me, ‘Why don’t you make another game like Bloodlines,’ or, ‘Why don’t you make a sequel to Arcanum?’ They’re like, ‘You made a cult classic.’ And I’m like, ‘The problem is the cult part.’ They didn’t sell well enough for a publisher to go, ‘Oh yeah, we definitely gotta jump on a sequel to that.’ So it’s weird to hear people say to me, in some cases decades later, ‘You should have done another one.’ It’s like, ‘You should have bought it.'”
There is fondness for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, enough for Paradox to still be working on a sequel, but it really didn’t sell well at the time, and Cain believes that despite a lot of positive sentiment, sometimes gamers could use the objective measure of money to show their support.
“I hate to put things so mechanically,” Cain said. “But sometimes gamers need to put their money where their mouth is. If they don’t like a game, they shouldn’t buy it. If they love a game, they should buy it, and then they’re going to get more of what they want.”
Cain remains adamant he doesn’t want to blame gamers. “I just think the only way to get more of what you want is to buy the things you want and not buy the things you don’t want. Because ultimately, that’s all that people are hearing. If a game comes out and sells a million copies, it’ll probably get a sequel. If a game comes out and sells 50,000 copies, it’s not getting a sequel.”
Do you agree with Tim Cain?