I discovered HOI2 and loved it. I love the ability to mod the game.
Just recently I bought Rome, Victoria, EU III.
Let me say I use to work at a s/w company called Micrografx so I know a little about the s/w business.
There needs to be some marketing changes at paradox because you are shooting yourselves in the foot. It is as if you want to keep Paradox an unknown game company. There is an old American saying "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door". It would be nice if this was true but the fact is good marketing trumps a better mousetrap. Look at the Japanese when their superior DAT tapes lost to CD-Roms. Or DVD players beating the beta players.
1. Why does paradox make so many variances of the same game?
Rome, Rome-Gold, Vae Victis, and perhaps more?
Europa III Universalis: Complete (and there are other versions I'm told)
I'm sure it is easy for you to keep these straight but as a casual customer I'm shocked at your marketing. I don't know which versions contains expansion kits and which do not. At Micrografx we seemed to fight continuous battles with marketing not to create 20 different versions of the same game. At Paradox, it is clear your Marketing dept wins those battles. You need to make buying decisions easy for your customers...
I've heard Vae Victis is good but I don't know if I need to buy Rome-Gold first or if I can go straight to Vae Victis. If you tell me I need, Rome-Gold then I've completely wasted my money on Rome (the basic game).
2. The names of the games are clever if your a student of history but for the layman it is overly confusing and it simply does NOT sell the game.
e.g.
Europa III Universalis: Complete (and I've notice there is another EU III version out there as well). The title tells me NOTHING of the time period.
eg. Deus Velt? (I don't feel like looking up the correct title)
This relates to #1 as well.
3. Part of the strength of any successful franchise is using your brand name to create additional success when you come out with new games.
When I compare the box art of the different paradox games, the games look like different companies wrote the games. This takes any leverage you have from your more successful games and it wastes that goodwill. I should be able to put paradox game boxes on a book shelf and SEE that these games all come from the same company. Look at the company Webroot. When you see the lime-green Webroot boxes, you know your buying s/w from the same company.
I'd put a 360 degree colored band (just choose any color that stands out) on all box cover art with the words "Paradox Interactive presents:" This way when a consumer sees this colored band they know it is a paradox product. If they like other paradox games, then they'll be more likely to pick up that box to see if this a game genre that they might like to buy. I should be able to put all Paradox games on a book shelf and see the SAME colored band on all the products. This way you are leveraging your success of one game to another game.
Just as GM created 6 different sub companies to compete in the car market (Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmoble, LaSalle (discontinued), Cadilac) the same could be done for Paradox.
e.g.
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Ancient World: Alexander, 700bc-300bc
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Ancient World: Rome, 300bc-400ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Ancient World: Dark Ages, 400ad-1000ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Medieval World: Medieval Warfare, 1000ad-1500ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Renaisance: Renaisance(sp?) Warfare, 1500ad-1600ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Empires: Napoleonic Warfare, 1600ad-1850ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Empires: Rifleman Warfare, 1850ad-1900ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: World War I, 1900-1920
Paradox Interactive Presents: World War II, 1930-1950
Paradox Interactive Presents: Cold War I, 1950-2000
Paradox Interactive Presents: Star Empire, 2000-3000
*Obviously more thought needs to be put into the game names and genres than I've chosen but you get the idea.
So can anyone tell me do I need Rome-Gold before I get Vae Victus?
If this is the case, screw Vae Victus...it is too much trouble to figure all this out.
Just recently I bought Rome, Victoria, EU III.
Let me say I use to work at a s/w company called Micrografx so I know a little about the s/w business.
There needs to be some marketing changes at paradox because you are shooting yourselves in the foot. It is as if you want to keep Paradox an unknown game company. There is an old American saying "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door". It would be nice if this was true but the fact is good marketing trumps a better mousetrap. Look at the Japanese when their superior DAT tapes lost to CD-Roms. Or DVD players beating the beta players.
1. Why does paradox make so many variances of the same game?
Rome, Rome-Gold, Vae Victis, and perhaps more?
Europa III Universalis: Complete (and there are other versions I'm told)
I'm sure it is easy for you to keep these straight but as a casual customer I'm shocked at your marketing. I don't know which versions contains expansion kits and which do not. At Micrografx we seemed to fight continuous battles with marketing not to create 20 different versions of the same game. At Paradox, it is clear your Marketing dept wins those battles. You need to make buying decisions easy for your customers...
I've heard Vae Victis is good but I don't know if I need to buy Rome-Gold first or if I can go straight to Vae Victis. If you tell me I need, Rome-Gold then I've completely wasted my money on Rome (the basic game).
2. The names of the games are clever if your a student of history but for the layman it is overly confusing and it simply does NOT sell the game.
e.g.
Europa III Universalis: Complete (and I've notice there is another EU III version out there as well). The title tells me NOTHING of the time period.
eg. Deus Velt? (I don't feel like looking up the correct title)
This relates to #1 as well.
3. Part of the strength of any successful franchise is using your brand name to create additional success when you come out with new games.
When I compare the box art of the different paradox games, the games look like different companies wrote the games. This takes any leverage you have from your more successful games and it wastes that goodwill. I should be able to put paradox game boxes on a book shelf and SEE that these games all come from the same company. Look at the company Webroot. When you see the lime-green Webroot boxes, you know your buying s/w from the same company.
I'd put a 360 degree colored band (just choose any color that stands out) on all box cover art with the words "Paradox Interactive presents:" This way when a consumer sees this colored band they know it is a paradox product. If they like other paradox games, then they'll be more likely to pick up that box to see if this a game genre that they might like to buy. I should be able to put all Paradox games on a book shelf and see the SAME colored band on all the products. This way you are leveraging your success of one game to another game.
Just as GM created 6 different sub companies to compete in the car market (Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmoble, LaSalle (discontinued), Cadilac) the same could be done for Paradox.
e.g.
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Ancient World: Alexander, 700bc-300bc
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Ancient World: Rome, 300bc-400ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Ancient World: Dark Ages, 400ad-1000ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Medieval World: Medieval Warfare, 1000ad-1500ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Renaisance: Renaisance(sp?) Warfare, 1500ad-1600ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Empires: Napoleonic Warfare, 1600ad-1850ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: Battles of the Empires: Rifleman Warfare, 1850ad-1900ad
Paradox Interactive Presents: World War I, 1900-1920
Paradox Interactive Presents: World War II, 1930-1950
Paradox Interactive Presents: Cold War I, 1950-2000
Paradox Interactive Presents: Star Empire, 2000-3000
*Obviously more thought needs to be put into the game names and genres than I've chosen but you get the idea.
So can anyone tell me do I need Rome-Gold before I get Vae Victus?
If this is the case, screw Vae Victus...it is too much trouble to figure all this out.