Anthony1
07-01-2006, 01:10 AM
We all know that DMA Designs was the orignal developer of GTA for the Playstation, they also developed Body Harvest for the N64 and Wild Metal Country for Dreamcast, among other games. Then they were purchased by Rockstar and became known as "Rockstar North". Then they developed Grand Theft Auto 3 for the Playstation 2 and the rest is History.
Certainly, DMA basically invented the sandbox genre of video games with GTA 3 and it's two major followups. Of course, any time something like this happens, a large number of companies will assign a team to copy the formula, and see if they can reap the same benefits. Luxoflux tried it with True Crimes: Streets of L.A., and was mildy successful, but they certainly didn't make DMA, err.....Rockstar North, nervous. There have been quite a few attempts at copying the GTA style sandbox game, and so far, none of the attempts has really made any kind of impact in Rockstar North's domination of the genre.
In 1992, Id software created "Wolfenstein 3D" for the PC. Of course, that was followed up in 1993 by the incredible "DOOM" for the PC. Then there was Doom II in 1995 and Quake in 1996. Id basically created a genre of gaming in 1992, and then proceeded to dominate it's self-created genre with an Iron Fist until 1998. In 1998, Epic Games released a little diddy by the name of... "Unreal". Another game by Valve Software also came out that year. Maybe you've heard of it??? Half-Life.
As you can cleary see, a company can create a genre, and dominate that genre, but eventually somebody will figure out the recipe and bake a better cake. The clientele out there is just hungry for a cake, and if Volition delivers them a beautiful german chocolate cake in late August 2006 for the Xbox 360, DMA Design can't really cry foul. They should have known that somebody was secretly plotting to take their golden goose. They should have known that somebody was thinking Next-Gen all the way, and they started way early, secretly plotting to take down the boys from Scotland. Grand Theft Auto IV is supposedly going to hit the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 simultaneously on October 16th 2007. But is it going to be a year too late? What if their target demographic has already found a new crack? Will it be Saint's Row 2 vs. GTA4 in Xmas of 2007?
Certainly, DMA basically invented the sandbox genre of video games with GTA 3 and it's two major followups. Of course, any time something like this happens, a large number of companies will assign a team to copy the formula, and see if they can reap the same benefits. Luxoflux tried it with True Crimes: Streets of L.A., and was mildy successful, but they certainly didn't make DMA, err.....Rockstar North, nervous. There have been quite a few attempts at copying the GTA style sandbox game, and so far, none of the attempts has really made any kind of impact in Rockstar North's domination of the genre.
In 1992, Id software created "Wolfenstein 3D" for the PC. Of course, that was followed up in 1993 by the incredible "DOOM" for the PC. Then there was Doom II in 1995 and Quake in 1996. Id basically created a genre of gaming in 1992, and then proceeded to dominate it's self-created genre with an Iron Fist until 1998. In 1998, Epic Games released a little diddy by the name of... "Unreal". Another game by Valve Software also came out that year. Maybe you've heard of it??? Half-Life.
As you can cleary see, a company can create a genre, and dominate that genre, but eventually somebody will figure out the recipe and bake a better cake. The clientele out there is just hungry for a cake, and if Volition delivers them a beautiful german chocolate cake in late August 2006 for the Xbox 360, DMA Design can't really cry foul. They should have known that somebody was secretly plotting to take their golden goose. They should have known that somebody was thinking Next-Gen all the way, and they started way early, secretly plotting to take down the boys from Scotland. Grand Theft Auto IV is supposedly going to hit the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 simultaneously on October 16th 2007. But is it going to be a year too late? What if their target demographic has already found a new crack? Will it be Saint's Row 2 vs. GTA4 in Xmas of 2007?