Dan hit the nail on the head. If what Dan says is true, what will gamers pay attention to more (and what will affect their deceision making more) -

a) Minimum system requirements
or
b) Recommended system requirements

Uh? As has already been said: many gamers don't even bother reading reqs (I would say "most" but I only know about a few markets).

I know that every gamer I play with has a rough idea of how new their hardware is and an associated estimate of whether or not it OUGHT to run a new game. We all know what the kick-ass system of the month is, and how much slower our own beast is, and will either play a game and be really pissed when it's too slwo ("who cares about min reqs? this machine is only 12 months old! The developer sucks!") or will be expecting it to be less than optimal but STILL expect to be able to play it ("well, it might be a bit slow, I might have to turn some optional effects off, but it looks a good game, I'll try it") - again, WITHOUT BOTHEREING to read any min reqs.

Quote: Original post by Zefrieg
With simpler games, I don't think you are exactly appealing to the hardcore gamer. Not knowing your audience will hurt sales more than what you are worried about.

It isn't an issue of hardcore or not hardcore - the point is that they still need to be activly supporting their hobby. A non-gamer who buys a PC today will have a pretty good spec. That person will also be buying software. Someone who bought their PC three years ago and no longer upgrades is unlikely to buy much software - as a business you should target the market that actually wants to spend money - be it active hardcore gamer or active non-hardcore.

The target machine should be whatever you can get for $1000 at your local PC warehouse. It wont be top of the line ubber machine but it will certainly be in the region on a P4 3 gig machine with probably 512 meg ram - That is the machine that a non-gamer, with little or no knowledge, will walk in a buy (because that is what the salesman will tell them they want).

The people who bought 7th Guest and Myst were not hardcore gamers but they did have top spec machines. Having bought a great new PC to "do work at home" Mr Average then wanted a game that would make his new machine look good.

If the minimum specs are something like a Pentium 1, why list them at all? If it were me, I would list the minimum specs along the lines of 'Requires DirectX 9' or 'Windows 9x or Better Required' and ignore the hardware specs. If people can meet the software specs, they would definitely have the necesary hardware.

As for the AI and graphics getting ramped up on better hardware, use that as a selling point. Say something like, 'Graphic engine that adapts to your PC configuration.'

Personally, when I read minimum specs of Penitum Processor with MMX Technology, 16MB RAM, etc, my first thought is, "This must be an old game. I wonder if it will even run on WinXP." If it doesn't require anything that's fairly recent, I will usually pass on it completely.

> People spend more on a new hobby and those with the
> money/dedication to keep their machines up to date
> will also spend on new games. {...} Those with older
> machines who aren't willing to spend money on them
> don't buy nearly as many games.

Agreed.

I was wondering if you could rebrand a game that has such a wide support spectrum into different segments: one for the mainstream and the other for laptops. Same game, different labels and branding, different default setup and startup screen, obviously same price.

Gamers will tend to upgrade their systems to follow content, laptop users do not have this luxory and many of those are using the machine their company loaned them. And those don't get upgrades and when they do they are infrequent. Unless you are a hot-shot exec, most road warriors don't upgrade laptops often simply because it's just big hastle and a big time waster to duplicate your setup on a new machine. And companies typically impose budgetary restrictions on upgrades as well.

Just a thought...

-cb

Make it clear that your game is designed to use the latest features of a high-end PC but can also adapt itself to run and still be fun to play even on low-end hardware such as Pentium MMX.
I don't think people will judge you game by the minium requirements. If the screenshots look good there is no problem.
And if your game is more about gameplay than graphics it won't matter anyway.

I've been working part-time as a support bloke for an ESD games developer/publisher based in the UK.

Most of their games are quite old by gaming standards, having been released around 2000-2001, but a couple go right back to the late '90s. They are, I stress, still selling.

I can confirm that, while some buyers do read the small print and specs, most do not. In fact, I would advise using icons and other visual cues to convey any important points. E.g., if your game isn't compatible with Windows 95, convey this with a bold, roadsign-like icon with a short text caption. DON'T waste your time, money and effort writing a long, rambling disclaimer instead; it won't get read.

In my experience, casual gamers tend to upgrade their hardware around every 3-4 years. This makes sense as it coincides with the expected lifespan of most moving parts within a PC, such as the hard drive, cooling fans, etc. As these approach the end of their useful life, the PC becomes increasingly unreliable unti, ultimately, it just 'dies'.

The more 'hardcore gamer' customers tend to upgrade every 1-2 years, usually selling their old PC on or handing it down to a relative or friend.

Finally, don't forget the 'gift' buyer -- usually older people who are buying games for nephews, nieces and grandchildren. These people aren't actually going to play the game and are quite often easily confused by technical jargon, so any specific requirements should be made clear and easy to understand. Don't specify specs in terms of hardware components; just specify "Windows 98 & DirectX 8" or similar: this makes it easier to find out if a piece of kit will actually run a game.

Here endeth the lesson.

--
Sean Timarco Baggaley