I guess EU4 is more niche than I thought...

[Dakka]

Really? It wasn't even a finalist for "Just 5 more minutes" for the Steam awards? I've logged more hours in eu4 than all my other games on steam combined, as have almost everyone on my friends list. I call shenanigans!

EDIT: Bloody autocorrect changed more to Moreno for some reason -_-

EDIT PART 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: I just found out how to edit thread titles... yay me

 

[Ironside121]

Well only about a million people own the game, that's actually a pretty small number. It's not a huge market. Then you need to take off all the people who started the game, couldn't figure out how to play, then gave up.

It's not a huge player base, which is a pity because it's my favorite game of all time.

Did it get nominated for any awards? If so, which?

 

[Dakka]

Well only about a million people own the game, that's actually a pretty small number. It's not a huge market. Then you need to take off all the people who started the game, couldn't figure out how to play, then gave up.

It's not a huge player base, which is a pity because it's my favorite game of all time.

Did it get nominated for any awards? If so, which?

I nominated it for 5 more minutes.. sadly not enough nominations. I didn't see any Paradox titles (developed or produced) for any of the awards.

 

[Dakka]

I stand corrected, Cities:Skylines made it to finalist for Relaxing games

 

[CaesarVincens]

It is relatively niche. I believe the most popular genres currently for PC gaming are FPS/Shooters and MOBA (DOTA2, LoL) with MMORPG/RPG coming close behind. Strategy games of all sorts follow and Paradox-type, grand strategy is a niche within strategy, falling behind 4X games like Starcraft and Civilization.

 

[alexti]

EU4 is niche? With 1M+ sales? I guess it depends on the definition. Civilization is probably the only strategy serie that is more mainstream...

 

[Zwirbaum]

EU4 is niche? With 1M+ sales? I guess it depends on the definition. Civilization is probably the only strategy serie that is more mainstream...

Total War.

 

[Sfan]

EU4 stays niche. There is 1M+ sales, but probably around 100k regular players due to the difficulty of the game and the time it takes. These players all have several hundreds, if not thousands of hours of gameplay. But this is still a relatively small number of hours spent by the entire community.
This is a lot, but if I remember correctly LoL has 60M player daily, and around 200-300M total players, who also played way beyond the 100 hours mark for most of them. There is a pretty big difference between mainstream games and games like EU4.

Edit: I just checked LoL. Couldn't find recent stats but they said this in January 2014, which is A LOT of time ago:

• Over 67 million players battle it out in League every month
  
• More than 27 million people play at least one game of League every day
  
• Over 7.5 million players simultaneously play League during daily peak hours
  

You would guess that this is around twice as much now

 

[Mr.Arrow]

Paradox games are always a niche ( except Cities Skyline and Stellaris 4x strategy game).

 

[Novacaine]

Even though EU is one of the least "Serious historic simulation game" there's around, the majority of the people still get put off by the difference in strategy/excitement ratio there is compared to other strategy games.

Having your Feudal Knights charge into stacks of Peasants and Archer Militia can appeal to pretty much everybody who loves a good brawl. Moving your stacks around and saying "The economy is doing laughably good!" to your virtual wife is a bit more niche than that.

Nonetheless, EU is still the best. Disregard the plebeians.

 

[Johan]

EU4 stays niche. There is 1M+ sales, but probably around 100k regular players due to the difficulty of the game and the time it takes. These players all have several hundreds, if not thousands of hours of gameplay. But this is still a relatively small number of hours spent by the entire community.
This is a lot, but if I remember correctly LoL has 60M player daily, and around 200-300M total players, who also played way beyond the 100 hours mark for most of them. There is a pretty big difference between mainstream games and games like EU4.

Edit: I just checked LoL. Couldn't find recent stats but they said this in January 2014, which is A LOT of time ago:

• Over 67 million players battle it out in League every month
• More than 27 million people play at least one game of League every day
• Over 7.5 million players simultaneously play League during daily peak hours

You would guess that this is around twice as much now

http://steamspy.com/app/236850

 

[Kalpa]

You think EU4 is niche? Try some real niche strategy games next, like the Dominions series. I'm gonna risk a ban and link to steamspy for your convenience: http://steamspy.com/app/259060

 

[Grand Historian]

EU4 is niche? With 1M+ sales? I guess it depends on the definition. Civilization is probably the only strategy serie that is more mainstream...

Total War and Age of Empires. Especially now that the former is diving into fantasy and the latter has been revived.

 

[rothamon81]

Well I've nominated it for "always coming back to" Award. Because, 5 more minutes? Get real, more like 5 more hours, or as I call it: "is it morning already?"

 

[illathid]

It is relatively niche. I believe the most popular genres currently for PC gaming are FPS/Shooters and MOBA (DOTA2, LoL) with MMORPG/RPG coming close behind. Strategy games of all sorts follow and Paradox-type, grand strategy is a niche within strategy, falling behind 4X games like Starcraft and Civilization.

How on earth is Starcraft a 4x?

 

[ZomgK3tchup]

I don't think it's niche.

At least in the strategy genre, I don't think I can have a conversation with somebody without CK2 and/or EU4 being brought up. Even amongst "mainstream" gamers, most that I've talked to are at least familiar with the names. EU4 doesn't have the same recognition as Age of Empires, Civilization, or Total War, but it's certainly a big name in the strategy game genre.

 

[Viperswhip]

You know how many people just choose a game from the Steam list/Windows quick menu and never actually visit Steam? Me. I didn't know there was a poll.

 

[Tavior]

You know how many people just choose a game from the Steam list/Windows quick menu and never actually visit Steam? Me. I didn't know there was a poll.

There was a poll during the last fall sale to "nominate" any games. Kind of awkward since anyone on Steam can vote for games they don't own?!

Now that they narrow down to finalist and we are vote on who win the award.

Oh well no matter poll like that will usually end up with weird results. Like Portal 2 with a villain that need a hug.

 

[Grand Historian]

I don't think it's niche.

At least in the strategy genre, I don't think I can have a conversation with somebody without CK2 and/or EU4 being brought up. Even amongst "mainstream" gamers, most that I've talked to are at least familiar with the names. EU4 doesn't have the same recognition as Age of Empires, Civilization, or Total War, but it's certainly a big name in the strategy game genre.

Yes, but the issue remains that Strategy games have traditionally not been as big of competitors compared to other genres.

 

[ZomgK3tchup]

Yes, but the issue remains that Strategy games have traditionally not been as big of competitors compared to other genres.

I don't see that as an issue.

I wouldn't consider the genre to be niche either. It's certainly less popular than some genres, but most gamers I've spoken to have at least heard of the big names of the genre. I've even described EU4 to non-gamers as "like Civilization except it takes place in the real world during the Renaissance and attempts to simulate history."

In my mind, niche games (and genres) are ones with two-sentence Wikipedia pages, if they even have one at all.