TheRetroArcade
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"The consumer doesn't really know what to buy for their computer," Garriott said in 1989, while also pointing to the popularity of Nintendo's newfangled game console.
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You may have heard of a little RPG series called Ultima, which was so successful in the '80s and '90s that series creator Richard Garriott earned enough money to travel to the bottom of the ocean and also the International Space Station. Part of the success of his game studio, Origin Systems, was due to his brother Robert Garriott, who later became a vice president at EA and then ran the US branch of Guild Wars studio NCSoft when it was launching MMOs like City of Heroes.
Before all that, though, Robert Garriott showed up to the 1989 Computer Game Developers Conference in his role as the business brain at Origin Systems, to talk about a very 2026 problem: There are just too many dang computer games!
Thanks to the Videogame History Foundation, which has digitized a near-complete set of cassette tapes from the 1989 conference, we can hear Garriott speaking on a panel with publishers from other big names at the time, including EA (which bought Origin Systems a few years later), Broderbund, and Accolade. During Garriott's turn at the mic, he addresses the "industry slump that everyone's been talking about," with PC game sales apparently going through a rocky period.
"The question everyone seems to be asking right now is why? Why did this happen?" Garriott asks. "Everyone's saying Nintendo, Nintendo's the obvious reason. I view Nintendo as something of a scapegoat."
Garriott claimed that arcade games and "entry-level roleplaying and strategy games" were being affected by the exploding popularity of the Nintendo Entertainment System, which was raising alarm bells across the PC industry at the time (check out this Computer Game World article from June 1988 titled "The Nintendo Threat?"). But Garriott argued that more in-depth PC RPGs and strategy games weren't viable on the game console, so why were sales down for them, too?
He blamed a drop in PC hardware sales from Apple, Commodore, and Dell, but also a "product proliferation." That's 1989 business speak for 'too many videogames.'
"The computer game industry has seen sales increase 15-25% every year for the last three years, which is a pretty healthy increase for any normal industry in America," Garriott said. "But unfortunately th...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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GamesRadar+
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
You may have heard of a little RPG series called Ultima, which was so successful in the '80s and '90s that series creator Richard Garriott earned enough money to travel to the bottom of the ocean and also the International Space Station. Part of the success of his game studio, Origin Systems, was due to his brother Robert Garriott, who later became a vice president at EA and then ran the US branch of Guild Wars studio NCSoft when it was launching MMOs like City of Heroes.
Before all that, though, Robert Garriott showed up to the 1989 Computer Game Developers Conference in his role as the business brain at Origin Systems, to talk about a very 2026 problem: There are just too many dang computer games!
Thanks to the Videogame History Foundation, which has digitized a near-complete set of cassette tapes from the 1989 conference, we can hear Garriott speaking on a panel with publishers from other big names at the time, including EA (which bought Origin Systems a few years later), Broderbund, and Accolade. During Garriott's turn at the mic, he addresses the "industry slump that everyone's been talking about," with PC game sales apparently going through a rocky period.
"The question everyone seems to be asking right now is why? Why did this happen?" Garriott asks. "Everyone's saying Nintendo, Nintendo's the obvious reason. I view Nintendo as something of a scapegoat."
Garriott claimed that arcade games and "entry-level roleplaying and strategy games" were being affected by the exploding popularity of the Nintendo Entertainment System, which was raising alarm bells across the PC industry at the time (check out this Computer Game World article from June 1988 titled "The Nintendo Threat?"). But Garriott argued that more in-depth PC RPGs and strategy games weren't viable on the game console, so why were sales down for them, too?
He blamed a drop in PC hardware sales from Apple, Commodore, and Dell, but also a "product proliferation." That's 1989 business speak for 'too many videogames.'
"The computer game industry has seen sales increase 15-25% every year for the last three years, which is a pretty healthy increase for any normal industry in America," Garriott said. "But unfortunately th...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?