JimbeauC:You may shortly be dependent upon those actually willing to pay for your game.
Either WGT will have no choice but to charge a yearly fee or CLOSE SHOP.
I said it years ago that WGT needed to STOP with all the changes and updates and levels and tiers and this feature and that feature and this up date and that update, and this new add on and that new add on and then, on and, on and, on and on and on, and STILL NOT STOPPING.
WGT and "whoever" RUINED a good thing. This game was awesome in its infancy. It was a game that was affordable to reach a "Master Level" that would put you in a position to compete with everyone else.
NOW - to compete with everyone else I would take an approximate guess at it costing anywhere near the $400 to $500 range. Again, this is approx estimate.
Now with that said, for me to make 'Master Level" back when Master level was THE TOP Level and you played your assss off with a set of $25 clubs and WGT gb's that cost no more than $1 for 3 balls and those were the better gb's to get you to that level and when you reached that Master level it was a MAJOR WGT accomplishment and you felt excited and now part of the elite group of players that you could finally start to compete against. This fun and exciting goal cost me approx $50 - $75 total - WITH MASTER LEVEL EQUIPMENT. Back when every-ones equipment was evenly matched.
Gosh darn it WGT! You just didn't STOP. WGT DROVE THIS GAME STRAIGHT INTO THE GROUND. It wasn't the lack of participation of players in the community or the lack of NEW members joining the community, or the lack of players spending money, it was WGT"s CONSTANT CHANGE after CHANGE after CHANGE after CHANGE. NEVER STOPPING. Making this game for the new comer nearly impossible to play compete and have fun without spending 100's of dollars.
It wasn't just me with these same thoughts and feelings it was MANY - MANY of the old timers saying and feeling the same way with the same thoughts. WGT's management leaders have been absolutely terrible and by taking such a great game that was 1. affordable, 2. fun and 3. exciting and running it into the ground proves beyound a reasonable doubt that the management leaders in the corporate office and the "game design and development crew" have been absolute CLUELESS in every facet of computer games and technologies.
The only thing we can all hope for is that the next generation of computer golf game developers look hard at what WGT did and continues to do and take alllll that "mis" information and debacle design and LEARN FROM IT so that when a fresh new development and design team come along and create a new state of the art computer golf game they do not travel the same road as WGT. In time a new game design WILL come along its only a matter of - WHEN.
edge.