Good way to invest now and make a quick buck in the near future, but its probably not going to amount to much of anything in the long term. Crypto currency is not the new gold or silver, its not a commodity and has no actual value. Its like collecting a bunch of Willy Wonka golden tickets.
Nobody is nitpicking, you are just flat out being wrong about game genres. It isn't about base-building vs call-ins, your strawman collapses right there. Using strategy-games is a really stupid way to describe what you mean, because MTG, CSGO and LOL are strategy games. The only way to discuss strategy games is to break them into smaller categories.
There is no strategy games playerbase, you will never sell Starcraft to 4X players. Civilization playerbase does not give a shit about RTS games. Civilization BE is a completely different game from Starcraft as far as game mechanics go.
I guess it's too hard for you to differenciate that there is too many genres on STRATEGY games. If i say i refer to strategy games i can be talking about RTS or RTT (real time tactics), turn based, grand strategy (HoI) or city building (Anno/Skylines). Guess what, MOBAs ARE strategy games, more focused on the action part (ARTS). You have MMORTS (Clash of clans) or Tower defense games. Finally even artillery (Worms) games are considered inside of the strategy genre.
The majority of the people who played RTS on the 90/00 had been basically absorbed by the MOBA genre (DOTA, LOL, SMITE, HOTS). The ones closer to RTS not something like Battlerite. Not talking about the hardcore players but more on the "casual" side.
Except I mentioned a bunch of "RTS" games like Total War, Wargame, Men of War, Paradox, etc. I wasn't talking about Cities Skylines and PUBG, so no strawman. All I'm saying is its too early to declare RTS dead when COH2 is about as popular as COH1, other non-traditional RTS games are very popular, and there's been a lack of recent old school RTS games that were actually good. If AoE4 is an amazing game with terrible sales there would be more evidence behind the theory, right now is too early to say.
You do understand that the laws I described have the right to detain you on the basis of nothing just because the government sees you as a threat to the status quo? As I said, you can flap around the 1st amendment or the 4th. It doesn't matter. If they want you to disappear based on your 'freedom of speech', you will lol. You won't even make it to a courtroom. Now I know this isn't on the mainstream news, but you realize that in a courtroom (if you actually make it there before they snatch you away lol), you are in a different law regulated area. Ever noticed how the flag in the State courts and courts of the United States have gold or yellow fringes? Anyone with any knowledge about this knows that the Yellow Fringed Flag is the 'Law of Admiralty' Flag. The flag with the gold or yellow fringe has no constitution, no laws, and no rules of any court, and is not recognized by any nation on this earth, and is foreign to you and the United States of America.
We found our resident water filter and male vitality pill salesman.
Cute. If I recall correctly, the laws that were introduced post 9/11 allow your government to imprison you without any given reason and without any warning based on the accusation of 'terrorism' (without proof given mind you).
You recalled incorrectly, but even if you were right that would be a 4th amendment issue not 1st.
Also, all of your media is owned by 6 companies. Freedom of speech my ass.
Not a freedom of speech issue either, you have to start your own company same as you have to buy your own gun. You going to explain how we have no gun rights either?
If you want to keep lecturing how Netherlands is GOAT on freedom, make some scrap yard post.
That while we have a bigger market of people playing games compared to 10 years ago, classic RTS are taking an even smaller share of the market and less and less sequels have been relevant or new titles released with success compared to the last 10/15 years.
Read slow, and careful again. I'm talking about traditional REAL TIME strategy PvP games. HoI4, Civilization, Europa Universalis, Stellaris, Total War (with the exception of Arena), don't fall into this category. Guess what? They are the ones with the biggest sales and player retention (DLC targets).
From the 90s to 2010s, it was the best time for RTS. From 2013 onwards it has been a downfall. We talk about CoH2 having a relative small playerbase for automatch "balance matchmaking" with it having around 5K players (which in general less than half are looking for a game). Not a single title has been close to having these numbers. I'll give a memorable mention to Men of War, that while been basically an ARMA of the RTS, it was a success for what it is. A really niche game which manages to retain a healthy playerbase.
Sequels and spiritual successors of many gems from the 90s/00s had rough releases, didn't come close to expectatives or basically shut down, which basically kills the saga or put it on a really long stasis with no hope for a new release soon. C&C (Tiberium, Red Alert n Generals), Total Annihilation, Homeworld (kinda), Halo Wars (for it's IP name is was not even close), recent DoW3. It would all be fine if other titles would had taken the lead. I've seen hype for ex-Westwood's Greygoo or Steel Division. Look at how they are now.
There's nothing in the incoming future. The only 2 relevant titles are AoE4 and IMO Iron Harvest and those are at least pushed to 2019
This nitpicking over the certain types of RTS games is stupid, its like watching a bunch of hardcore libertarians argue over the legitimacy of drivers licenses.
A:"No man COH isn't a real RTS, there's no resource harvesting."
B: "Oh yeah it is man you just have to fight for them, but you know what's not an RTS...that Wargame series. It doesn't even have base building ffs"
C: "No bro its totally a RTS, but those world domination games aren't because you control armies instead of soldiers"
D: "But they are RTS because the clock advances in real time. Everything strategy game is RTS except for those MOBA games because....reasons"
Why do you care what the market share is like? COH2 came out after your golden age of RTS games and it has a playerbase close in size to COH1 even though it really came up short on expectations. More people play PC now because its more accessible and they want to play CSGO, PUBG, Battlefield, open world survival, tactical shooters, etc. Those are people that never had an interest in RTS to begin with, its not like the RTS core fanbase disappeared. There hasn't been any great broad appeal strategy games that fit your narrow definition of what strategy games should be, so they found the strategy elsewhere. If AoE4 is actually really good, it will sell accordingly. I'm not saying it will take PC gaming by storm and win over new converts to the genre, but it won't flop either (assuming the windows store requirement doesn't kill sales).
A single Total War game/HoI/Europa/Civ has more people than the sum of all PvP based clasic RTS (without AoE2/SC2). Each of them gravitates between 10K/20K players. Wild guess without checking numbers.
All of this are the average of the last 30days
What's your point? The number of people playing HoI4 right this second is similar to all time peak for COH1. Was RTS dead in '07 too? COH2 has a decent size playerbase despite not living up to all the hype and there being far more substitutes now.
RTS isn't dead there's just enough diversity in the genre now that there aren't mega hits that everyone gravitates towards like AoE or SC. Now there's COH, Total War, Wargame (and Steel Div), Paradox titles, a million space titles, UG Civil War, Graviteam Tactics, MoW, and so on. People found their niche games they prefer over the few big boys on the block.
paradox would be an awesome developer, they make the best games and are really really committed to their communities.
Almost 0% chance that the Paradox in-house studio will develop a COH, its just not their type of game. They did publish Steel Division, developed by Eugen (developer behind Wargame series, which were published by Focus Home Interactive). I could see them publishing a Relic game, or buying the rights and letting Eugen develop it.
I doubt COH3 is doomed even if AoE4 bombs. A few likely directions this could go
Scenario 1- Sega already owns the COH IP and fires Relic, they put someone else like Creative Assembly on making a new CoH eventually.
Scenario 2- Relic owns the rights to COH, Sega dumps them
A) gets picked up by someone else (like Paradox or 2k) and develops COH3
B) is blackedballed by publishers, downsizes to make COH3 as a shitty indie dev
C) Relic completely folds, sells the COH IP to the highest bidder (Sega, Paradox, 2K)
Preferably someone like CA or Eugen develops COH3. If Relic goes to another publisher there is a small chance they make a good game. If we get a indie Relic COH3 the series dies a horrible death. Bottom line if AoE4 is a dumpster fire we aren't getting a Relic+Sega COH3.