Hi Josh, I definitely agree with your points. As far as USA Games is concerned we aren't going out of our way to drop support for XP, but neither are we going to go out of our way to support it. At some point when we begin adopting newer Windows components and if it isn't XP compatible too bad. As I stated I am already running Windows 8.1 and as lead developer I can take advantage of various new components, modern hardware, and I see no need to cripple my software because x number of gamers won't upgrade. I may take a loss initially, but I am also looking at supporting Mac and perhaps Linux in time which will recoup the losses in sales to XP users. So I am not as concerned about XP support as I might be if I were only looking at the Windows market specifically.
Cheers! On 12/19/13, Draconis <i...@dracoent.com> wrote: > Hi Tom, > > Your discussion of VB6 was one of the best explanations of the situation > I’ve seen on this list. > > We’re in the process of rewriting old titles to use the new Engine. The old > ESP Softworks titles were all VB6. This is going to be an arduous > transition, but we’ll get there, and the games will be better than ever when > we do. > > It is unlikely we will continue supporting XP, though. As you stated, we > have a Mexican stand off, and we can take this opportunity to move forward > since Mac sales are so robust and Windows sales are definitely weaker. Sales > of our new Windows titles have not warranted the effort we put into > supporting XP. > > For future titles, if we can support it with minimal effort, we will. When > the effort required to maintain support for XP exceeds a certain threshold > though, we just can’t justify it. > > If Windows sales pick up and a lot of users are still using XP down the > road, we may revisit the topic. > > As for those who blame Microsoft for incompatibilities with VB6, it is > common for people with these types of views of the world to want to vilify > any company once it reaches a certain size for absolutely everything, > whether based on facts or not. I have no love for big corporations, either, > but I’m also not naive enough to think that every one of them is the > equivalent of Lord Voldemort. Remember, Apple is doomed because they use DRM > on the music they sell in iTunes. They aren’t, and they don’t, and in fact > haven’t had DRM in just about seven years now, but those kinds of knee jerk > reactions lead to everything being someone else’s fault. Apple didn’t even > have a choice with the DRM situation. The record labels dictated that > situation. It’s unfortunate, because for the most part, people who take > these kinds of views are hurting themselves more than anyone else. At least > until they start spewing misinformation across the Internet. > > Microsoft surely hasn’t done developers, or themselves for that matter, any > favors with a lot of idiotic decisions they’ve made over the last 15 years > or so, but not everything is their fault, either. > > As I have said so often, the world is comprised of shades of gray. It is > rarely, if ever, black and white. --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
