Is there a market any more for Games Like Strat-O-Matic and Diamond Mind?

[Poli]

Originally posted by SkyDog
For some reason, I just started thinking about this today. I used to be a loyal Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball guy. I bought the newest version every year, (and yes, I managed every single game back then. That's all you could do with it.) However, since the day that Baseball Mogul gave me GM options for the first time, and then FOF1 did the same thing in football, I have had no desire whatsoever for a single-season text game. For baseball in particular, what is the draw now of Diamond Mind and Strat? Are they THAT much better than OOTP for in-game management options?

Before there was such a thing as Baseball Mogul, I wrote a letter every year to the Strat folks asking/begging them to make a career game with GM options. They wrote back each time, but made it clear that they were never going in that direction, and it appears that they still have no desire to do so. I honestly wonder how these two franchises are staying afloat, now that career sims with solid in-game options are available.

Is it simply that SOM and DMB both have long-time, loyal followings who will buy from them every year regardless, or is it that they don't know about OOTP5 and other career sims? I just can't imagine that people want to be limited to one season only.

I actually skipped a baseball game on my 13th birthday because my mom bought me SOM for the very first time.

I've had a number of seasons over the years, with the last being the 2000 season. TonyR, a buddy of mine through FBPro98, actually showed me OOTP, and as much as I like SOM, I was hooked to OOTP for the number of seasons you can play.

It's quite nice to let the computer make choices for the other team, too.