US market for EU

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Couple months ago, I was attracted by message from American history student.His professor RECOMMENDED HIM this site and informed him about EU. Dear Paradox representatives! Please, do not underestimate the number of intelligent and educated people here in US, who love history and will purchase EU as soon as it will be released. May be an avarage computer gamer is suspisious, but there are more than 250 million here in US. Even 0.5 percent is more than million. There are lot of people who remember their European heritige and proud of it. Millions of immigrants from Europe, who were not born in the US as well. I am American Citizen, but originally, as some people in this forum know, from Russia. I have never met such a promising game before and are waiting ...and waiting...and waiting. I am pretty knowledgeble in history, even wrote two published historical novels (1994 and 1997), meanwhile history is not my specialty. Lot of people here interested in hisory, I found it amasing,and the common European opinion regarding 'dumb' Americans is false.And I am rising my voice in support of North America and particulary the United States. 100,000 copies for Austria is enormous, for the US - not a big deal. Just the law of big numbers.
People in previous topic are already spoke about English speaking market. They are totally true. US,UK,Canada,Australia,New Zealand +.... rest of the world.
For example - most professional people in Moscow and St.Petersburg (Russia), as well as students easily can manage with English version of the manual of the game. The population of Moscow = 10,000,000 (Sweden), St.Petersburg = 5,000 (Denmark). 50 % in those cities are 'white collars' and more or less speak English. 50% of them have a numerous interests including history and 25% of them have computers and play computer games.... I know many people in Russia who will buy EU in English immediately....
Resume:
1.English-speaking market is huge! Don't underestimate it.
2. Anno-1602 is boring game without any historical spirit, so it is rather negative sign if it is so popular in Germany (maybe just because there are no better options... can't be a judge).
3. Lot of people in the US are waiting for your game, please take them into account.

Best regards,

Nick

 

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If Paradox is still looking for an American distributor, may I suggest HPS simulations in Santa Clara, California. They are a small Internet based outfit which has been around for a few years and publishes very high quality games.

 

[Doomdark]

What exactly are you American dudes worrying about? Paradox will get the game published over there too - of that I am 100% sure. It might be a couple of months after the European release, which is a shame, but it is almost to be expected with independent developers. Sometimes it takes really bizarre forms... Canadian Sir-Tech's Jagged Alliance was published in Germany months ahead of its US release.

We have a saying in Sweden: 'He who waits for something good never waits too long.' It is BS of course, but there you are...

 

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Originally posted by ilroi:
The common European opinion regarding 'dumb' Americans is false.And I am rising my voice in support of North America and particulary the United States.
Nick

You know we were kiding a bit about dumb american. even if this summer tha american tourist in Paris made me feel that it must be the dumbiest country in the world... But tourist are not relevant factor I guess...

Moscow and St.Petersburg (Russia)
Nick[/QUOTE]
Sorry but I can't help myself but...
No ? Really those two cities are in Russia ? Why this need to put such obvious information ?
I watch US news on TV and read US newspapers and when they talk about a foreign city (1% of the words, being generous), they always says something as obvious as 'London (England)'.
Why do you think that most european think that american are dumb ?

 

[Sidney]

Moscow and St.Petersburg (Russia)
Nick[/QUOTE]
Sorry but I can't help myself but...
No ? Really those two cities are in Russia ? Why this need to put such obvious information ?
I watch US news on TV and read US newspapers and when they talk about a foreign city (1% of the words, being generous), they always says something as obvious as 'London (England)'.
Why do you think that most european think that american are dumb ?[/B][/QUOTE]

Seriously, we have Moscow Ohio. We have Paris in Texas. London in Idaho. News will occasionally happen in those places so it does help (marginally) to know such things- although some instances make 0 sense. Also it is more of an Americanism to include more than simply the city because we duplicate city names in various states so folks are used to saying and hearing things like Lexington, Virgina to distinguish it from Lexington, Ohio or Lexington, Mass. You're looking at a cultural thing, and an educational thing combining.

Don't get me wrong, American knowledge of geography is appalling in general. I always issue a geography test on Europe to my students before starting the history class and the results are funny or sad depending upon your point of view. The worst was the girl who labled Spain as Saudi Arabia, France as the Black Sea, Germany as Spain, Poland as Germany and Russia as Poland (she at least did start kinda placing them in the right order if not right place) and I have no idea where she thought Russia was. It gets worse when you start talking about Prussia, which I've had more than one student admit they thought was Russia and I was just mispronouncing it for the entire semester.

 

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Falp, you're being rude
Understand our unistatian friends. There must be at least a dozen cities named Moscow, St Petersburg, Paris, Marseille and three dozens London in the USA and Canada...
In Europe, you would precise London (Ontario), because otherwise (this is a true story) when you ask consultants to study a project to continue Oxford street by a 4-way bridge over the Thames river and send this project in England, the Brits really wonder what the client smoked.
In London (Ontario) there is the Thames river and an Oxford street over it.
In London (UK), Oxford street runs parallel to the Thames river...

 

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I think that most Americans understand that writing messages in this forum will not get EU distributed to the US any faster then was orginally planned, but it does help to get their frustrations out. Paradox has done an excellent job of giving us a feel for how the game is played. We have all played the game in our minds through the AARs. Everyone wants to get a copy of the game. But the one thing that Americans are NOT is patient. We want everything NOW.
It is written that if a computer does not respond to a user's request in any way for more then 4 seconds that the average user will reboot, thinking that something must be wrong.
Now is the time to be patient and wait a couple more seconds.
Don't keep rebooting! It will be here soon enough!

 

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Originally posted by Sidney:
Sorry but I can't help myself but...
No ? Really those two cities are in Russia ? Why this need to put such obvious information ?
I watch US news on TV and read US newspapers and when they talk about a foreign city (1% of the words, being generous), they always says something as obvious as 'London (England)'.
Why do you think that most european think that american are dumb ?[/B]

Seriously, we have Moscow Ohio. We have Paris in Texas. London in Idaho. News will occasionally happen in those places so it does help (marginally) to know such things- although some instances make 0 sense. Also it is more of an Americanism to include more than simply the city because we duplicate city names in various states so folks are used to saying and hearing things like Lexington, Virgina to distinguish it from Lexington, Ohio or Lexington, Mass. You're looking at a cultural thing, and an educational thing combining.

Don't get me wrong, American knowledge of geography is appalling in general. I always issue a geography test on Europe to my students before starting the history class and the results are funny or sad depending upon your point of view. The worst was the girl who labled Spain as Saudi Arabia, France as the Black Sea, Germany as Spain, Poland as Germany and Russia as Poland (she at least did start kinda placing them in the right order if not right place) and I have no idea where she thought Russia was. It gets worse when you start talking about Prussia, which I've had more than one student admit they thought was Russia and I was just mispronouncing it for the entire semester.
-------------------------------------
I once read a book on media and how our worldview are so impregnated by the pictures we get. It was very funny. The author a dutch political scientist let his international students draw one world map each in 2 minute getting it as accurate and detailed as possible. Most of the student either centered the world around their own country/continent or deformed the map as showing their own countries as overdimensioned.

Well a bit off topic, but fun when discussing disorted maps and geographical knowledge...

/Greven



[This message has been edited by Greven (edited 24-08-2000).]

 

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From my experience I have discovered equal evidence in two directions - both proving and disproving the theory that Americans are 'dumb' when it comes to geography and history. Few think to use an atlas when designing a WWII wargame for example.

American media is dumb, but all telecommunications media are dumb and some would say they conspire to keep us dumb, fat and dissatisfied. American academics are no worse than those of other nations, and many game designers from America take the effort to learn about the minutae of English history in a way that makes us very proud of this nation - our wayward, somewhat adolescent offspring.

Unfortunately I would direct my fire at Paradox here. I would ask them to embrace the US market as soon as possible, jettison the prejudices all Europeans hold towards the US (I include UK as European) and realise that a specialised 'high-brow' product like EU will find a rich market in the US.

 

[Johan]

We'd love to release an us version ASAP but we are still in negotiation.

/Johan

 

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All I have to say is good luck Johan and Gods speed.

 

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Originally posted by yndenwal:
Falp, you're being rude
Understand our unistatian friends. There must be at least a dozen cities named Moscow, St Petersburg, Paris, Marseille and three dozens London in the USA and Canada...

Sorry, I should have said that, talking about distribution deals and the situation in Moscow, it's rather unlikeley that we re talking about 'Moscow Ohio, Paris in Texas or London in Idaho'...
Sorry again, because tha american able to come on this forum must not be from the 'dumb' category...

Me rude frog,
;-)

 

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By the way, as far as I know, there are 6 cities named 'Moscow' in the US. As for St.Petersburg - everybody knows that this is a pretty big city in Florida.
Personally speaking with you, Falp, I should notice that my practice showed me that there is a little difference between Europeans and Northern Americans when they 'demonstrate their knowledge' about my native country. This is exactly what Sapury said long time ago - Eastern Europe is some sort of Terra Incognita for most of Western Historians, why common man should care about Russia which is not a Europe, but Siberia or Tungusia or whatever....
Sure, not all of them, there are retired politicians among my.. let us say 'friends' here. They are knowledgeble! My colleagues, mainly professors and advanced degree holders, however, not so much...
Anyway, thank you, gentlemen for support and some good explanation for Falp.
Go, America.

Nick, from Cleveland, OHIO,USA, America, Earth.....