I may be part of the minority, but I prefer turn-based games in general. Again, it depends on what you consider turn-based - I would say that turn-based is more aptly named menu-based - since you spend a large part of your time in a menu selecting your action; All the final fantasy games, Chrono Cross (an old favorite), etc. Whereas the real-time games like Diablo, Gothic and Dungeon Siege are more or less based on selecting a subset of actions to use, then pressing the buttons as quickly as you can. Granted, sometimes some fast-paced action is a breath of fresh air, but I usually get bored with it quickly.
To be fair, I don't think that turn-based games are less popular than they were before, but the market is changing and diversifying - as processors and video cards become more powerful, they'll attract more speed-intensive games like Sacred, while turn-based games are going to be more suited for simpler systems. There's also a diversification in the types of games available. In the early days, there were turn-based RPGs and maybe a small handful of tactical RPGs (still turn-based to a large extent), and most of the real-time games looked like Rogue. People are developing more game styles to accomodate different needs, so while people like turn-based games just as much as before, they like a lot of the newer game types as well, and the turn-based games have to compete in a much larger market.

I agree with what many have said before, turn-based is perfect for mobile games. Just put in place a save and playback option (to remind you where was the battle going last time you played).

Also , there's the option for SMS play over cellphone

hmmmmm I'd like that =)

I think the perceived drop-off in turn-based games comes from the ability to use variations on the idea with modern technology. There was a time when any game that had squad-based tactics in it had to be done as a turn-based, player-controlled, one-character-at-a-time game interface. The AI couldn't handle tactics, the processor couldn't handle multiple active units at once, and the graphics couldn't present it in real-time.

Now, all the ideas that would have defaulted to TBS for want of better options have been expressed differently. Games that work best as TBS games, though, are still great as TBS games.

You don't seem to see many TBS's in game stores anymore. The last one i bought was Silent Storm and that was a cracking game.

I don't think they are dying howver, but perhaps evolving. TBS games offer more strategic detail than RTS games. For instance Civ4 allowed much more freedom to determine the outcome of a war by using other factors then just brute force with a large army. RTS games simply can't provide that 'real life' feel in a game. And that won't be changing anytime soon.

You'll also notice that game development studios try to stick to a particular formula when creating a game. They look at what type of game is doing popular and then they make copy of it, just changing a few graphics and adding a 'twist' to the gameplay. And since TBS games haven't been as popular as other games, they would consider creating a TBS to be a waste of money, even if they had a fantastic idea for a TBS. TBS's still have potential to succeed, but something new and original needs to be developed to attract the masses.

Besides, I'm currently writing a TBS so I hope they aren't dead yet!!

Ive recently programmed a turned based game myself but it isnt that successful, although I have had some sales, and Im also betaing another which doesnt get much feedback at all even though it gets lots of downloads. Now there could be many reasons for this, but Im wondering if the game style itself is factor.

Im now looking at revamping my game engine (Ive recently reprogrammed it so that it is full 3D, where previously it was 2d, for a new project) and Im thinking about other areas to "improve".

What is worrying me is that maybe turn based games are not bringing in "new blood" and old time games players like us are slowly dropping off the curve. Maybe this perception is wrong... but Im not totally sure that there isnt a trend developing.

Hey Kingy could we have a link to your TBS? I'll give you feedback :)

Sure, my site is at http://www.spectresoftware.com and the finished game is called Horror Squad, while the work in progress game is called Magefire Online. Feedback by email is much appreciated (you can contact me through the site's contact us link) as I can archive it to follow up.

Hey, kingy, can I leave some feedback on your game?
First off, I like the idea, and it has most of the features I would expect from an X-COM type game.
There were a few things that I found annoying:

1: Is there a fullscreen mode? That would be nice.
2: The guys kind of look weird when they move. Kind of like the angle was wrong when you took the screenshot from the 3D model, so they don't line up with the background.
3: it runs slow on my PC. It's a 733mhz Celleron with 256 megs of ram and a crappy graphics card, but I can run X-COM fine, and plenty of 3D games run fine. Probably not a big problem on faster PCs, but it is kind of bothersome to me.

Just so I'm not totally offtopic: I still play TBS, but mostly Hotseat with friends. Games where turns take half an hour are annoying in Hotseat mode.

Heroes of M&M is one of the most popular series in our outfit, and apparently they're doing well enough to make a fifth Heroes game. I dunno if anyone around here has heard of Gunbound, but it's an online Worms-style game that I used to play quite frequently. As mentioned, turn based games are really great for cell phones, which basically are unable to do any kind of multiplayer that requires low latency.

YES... it's dying and in theory this is quite rational... turn based genre is just an embarrassed child cuz by backward hardware... and based on game psycho human being get less involved by such type of games... destine its death...