Re: FEUDAL TOTAL WAR - THE NEXT HISTORICAL TW GAME
I think you guys are really exaggerating about the taboo nature of a Crusaders game. Political correctness is often lambasted for its nefarious influence, but I have yet to see any concrete example that justifies such a negative perception. If I remember correctly, the only instance of such a policy in the Total War series was when the slave resource was modified into ivory tusks in Empire. It was a relatively minor change, which is not even remotely similar to the revenue loss of rejecting a Saga game focused on the Crusaders. It doesn't even sound very politically correct, given the controversy surrounding elephant poaching...
Meanwhile, in 2006 and 2007, when the memory of the Madrid, New York and London attacks was still recent, when the Iraqi insurgency had reached its peak and when the Taliban were still fighting with coalition troops in Afghanistan, CA released Medieval II and its expansion, where the player was actively encouraged to delcare Crusades, Jihads, massacre infidels and convert the survivors to the one, true dogma. Not to mention churches being automatically demolished, when the city was conquered by a faction of a different creed, and heretics, imams and priests being burned alive, assassinated by thugs or executed by the Holy Inquisition. So, yeah, colour me skeptical about CA refusing a lucrative opportunity for the sake of not offending a group, which probably doesn't exist anyway...
Originally Posted by
Daruwind
Main issue is what is anybody imagining under term "next historical TW game". Hardcore players, old players, casual players...something different will be vision from CA definitely influenced by recent trends. And we can easily look at recent facts.
R2 - mixed opinion, initial great hype, bad release, in years got better. (Despite CA own mistakes with hype, probably success)
Attila - bad reputation, partly due to people boycotting CA after R2 and partly due to performance issue, great game but in terms or owners,players weaker
ToB - again CA possibly badly picked theme, scope would better suit to FotS expansion/fix for Attila than to be judged as full standalone title, so again weaker result
Wh(s) - massive success no matter what, DLCs, two games, third on way. Very well picked IP, suitable for TW.
3K - massive success, but probalby mostly in the east.
Some of them look more like opinions. There's no organised movement to boycott Attila, although it is true that many were disappointed by the dismal state of Rome II and the extremely misleading marketing campaign. Attila sold less, mainly because of its more obscure setting and the fact that it was an expansion in all (including advertisement) but name. In my opinion, the game is also rather mediocre, relying on cheap gimmicks to simulate a challenge which otherwise it is incapable of providing, while it also suffers from glaring performance issues, Creative Assembly unsuccessfully tried to hide under the rug. Finally, SEGA would sure love to exploit the Tolkien franchise, but there's no time for it being the next tent-pole title. We firstly need to hear news about productive negotiations and the signing of the relevant contract, before we start dreaming about it. Creative Assembly's cooperation with Games Workshop was published at least since 2012, that is 3 and 4 years before the announcement and release of the first part of the Warhammer trilogy.