Why aren't there any Starfighter games being made?

[Oly J]

Hi all, so I just picked up Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter on the Playstation Store, and basically, I noticed that I don't remember seeing a single game of this kind on the PS3 at all, after gen 6 (PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era) they just stopped being a thing...why? Rogue Squadron was one of my favourite game series of all time, and you'd think top level graphics for a game would be comparatively cheap to produce given that a lot of the environments are just space, so why aren't there more of these? they're fun, they naturally lend themselves to online multiplayer with dogfights and co-op and stuff, so theoretically publishers should be all over this stuff, yet this entire avenue has just been completely ignored, (unless I've missed something in which case please let me know)

 

[Bobular]

Like a lot of more niche genres last generation it was left at the way side for more FPSs and action games.

Kickstarter and other crowd funding schemes have done a lot for other genres, but your right star fighter style games haven't seen the same resurgence, which is odd.

Would defiantly like to see more Rogue Squadron or Similarly x-wing style games.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Well, in recent years we've seen titles like X: Rebirth, Elite Dangerous, Starpoint Gemini 2 and the upcoming Star Citizen (and perhaps arguably No Man's Sky too), but those are more a resurgence of the Space Sim.

I guess you're right, there have been close to none of the more arcade-style dogfighting games. Closest I can think of is Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.

 

[Ugicywapih]

I'd like to add Star Conflict to the above list, it's a F2P space arena shooter, something in between World of Tanks and Freelancer. Given the lesser focus on open space (though there is an open space element to that game too), one might consider it to actually fit the whole starfighter game description more.

 

[NinjaTank56]

I think part of it is that no one owns a joystick anymore, meaning that its probably not going to sell well on PC. Not sure why they stopped making them for consoles though.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Guess they figure flying a ship in Battlefront or The Old Republic is enough to satisfy. They're wrong.

You're not alone in that, Rogue Squadron and X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter were two of my favourites as well. Maybe after Episode IX comes out they'll release something comprehensive for the trilogy, or preferably for all three trilogies.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Yeah, that genre seems to have simply vanished. Some of my favorite games from my childhood were the Rogue Squadron games and StarFox64. I would love to see a good arcadey space-flight game again. One game that was fun was Tom Clancy's Hawx. Obviously it took place on Earth but it scratched that arcade style dog fighting itch.

 

[Hero of Lime]

You would think now would be a perfect time for there to be another mainly star fighter focused game made, what with all the Star Wars love going around. But then I remembered, EA has the rights to all Star Wars games for a while. Maybe it's for the best that they don't return yet.

 

[hermes]

The genre disappeared when PC gaming was not so popular, and it never came back...

It came back a little after the resurgeance of the indie market (besides the ones mentioned above, check Strike Suit Zero). There is a mode in Battlefront that has ships dogfights, so there is that left, I guess... that is, of course, if you can find someone playing Battlefront now.

 

[Lucane]

StarHawk the follow up to WarHawk both on Playstation 3 (at least?) Had Aircraft the covert to walker mode and flight and even worked in space though if you mean a primary flight space combat vehicle game it's was a big part of StarHawk but not the only thing since all maps and a ground game element outside of dogfight versions which still have the landscape but no landing or transforming.

 

[CaitSeith]

It pretty much suffered the genre death that survival horror and puzzle-cramped RPGs experienced during the peak of the FPS. But I think there is the possibility of a comeback. Descent: Underground is in Early Access if you want to try it (I haven't yet).

 

[DefunctTheory]

Probably because they're kind of hard to get right - It's too easy to make it too 'realistic,' which is both a problem from a controller perspective and where it falls on the 'casual to hard core' scale, or to make it too simplistic, at which point it's just boring.

We're currently at the forefront of it coming back or dying forever, though. Star Fox Zero was released today (I'll tell you how that goes later tonight after it's delivered), which is of the simpler, more console friendly variety, while Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen (And several others I can't recall at the moment) are working on the more complicated, PC friendly side of things. Elite Dangerous has proven that can still be popular, and Star Citizen has proved it can be a monstrous financial success - They just have to deliver the final product without tripping over themselves and the flood gates may very well swing wide open.

You would think now would be a perfect time for there to be another mainly star fighter focused game made, what with all the Star Wars love going around. But then I remembered, EA has the rights to all Star Wars games for a while. Maybe it's for the best that they don't return yet.

Yah... while I can't prove it, my sneaking suspicion is that EA is sitting on Rogue Squadron, along with several other potential Star Wars concepts/properties, to keep people focused on the DLC train that is Battlefront.

Perhaps when that game starts to have diminishing returns on profit, they'll begrudgingly give us the Rogue Squandron we're all chomping on the bit for.

EDIT: Star Fox get. Whee!

 

[Hero of Lime]

Probably because they're kind of hard to get right - It's too easy to make it too 'realistic,' which is both a problem from a controller perspective and where it falls on the 'casual to hard core' scale, or to make it too simplistic, at which point it's just boring.

We're currently at the forefront of it coming back or dying forever, though. Star Fox Zero was released today (I'll tell you how that goes later tonight after it's delivered), which is of the simpler, more console friendly variety, while Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen (And several others I can't recall at the moment) are working on the more complicated, PC friendly side of things. Elite Dangerous has proven that can still be popular, and Star Citizen has proved it can be a monstrous financial success - They just have to deliver the final product without tripping over themselves and the flood gates may very well swing wide open.

You would think now would be a perfect time for there to be another mainly star fighter focused game made, what with all the Star Wars love going around. But then I remembered, EA has the rights to all Star Wars games for a while. Maybe it's for the best that they don't return yet.

Yah... while I can't prove it, my sneaking suspicion is that EA is sitting on Rogue Squadron, along with several other potential Star Wars concepts/properties, to keep people focused on the DLC train that is Battlefront.

Perhaps when that game starts to have diminishing returns on profit, they'll begrudgingly give us the Rogue Squandron we're all chomping on the bit for.

EDIT: Star Fox get. Whee!

True! Star Fox may not have much dog fighting, but it's a refreshing game to see out on the market. Getting it later today myself. Just wish it did not come out the same weekend as a Splatfest.

 

[Mahorfeus]

If I recall correctly, Starfighter Inc. failed to get Kickstarted last year, but as far as I know, they are planning on making it anyway. No idea how that's coming along, though.

 

[KaraFang]

Well, you can download freespace 2 for free and legally. Violition released the source code for the game into the public domain.

You can get the original game via the Source code project links.

Once downloaded, you can then upgrade it to run on modern systems with massive enhancements to lighting/models etc for modern GPU's.

Freespace 2 has not aged badly, the SCP has breathed new life into it.

Sooo good...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeSpace_2

 

[Something Amyss]

Guess they figure flying a ship in Battlefront or The Old Republic is enough to satisfy. They're wrong.

Honestly, if there was more substance to Battlefront, it might be.

Anyway, I have been told repeatedly of late that publishers should not risk millions of dollars on "niche" games, where the value of "niche" in some cases exceeded 5 million sales (and includes The Sims), so...I imagine that's why.