I think it's clear that there are complex games today that require a big time investment and thinking, but that section isn't the only relevant one, I think.
> In the book, Meier reminds us that the bestselling games of 1998 were Civ 2, Warcraft II, Myst, Command & Conquer and Duke Nukem 3D. Aside from the last, all require more thought and engagement than the [redacted] that dominate gaming today.
To avoid picking and choosing, what are the bestselling games of 2020, for comparison? How would we even determine that?
That's where I think he's saying things have changed. Four of the top five best-selling games of 1998 were more thoughtful, while today he offers up "Candy Crush" and "Fortnite" in contrast.
As I write this, the best-selling games of 2020[0] seem to be: Ghost of Tsushima, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Paper Mario: The Origami King, The Last of Us: Part II, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. If that's not a perfect comparison, maybe throw in the top paid app on iOS: Minecraft.
In terms of being one of the top five games, he's clearly right. There's not much room for something like "Civilization" on that list.
But that might be the wrong way to think about it. If I sell X units in 1998 and it makes up 25% of all units sold, and then I sell X units in 2020 and it makes up only 0.1% of all units sold, that might seem like what I'm selling is much less popular, but in fact I'm selling just as many. It's the overall market that has grown up around me. In my hypothetical example, it has gotten 250 times as large. In reality, it might be even more extreme than that.
Something like "Civilization" today might not be a best-seller the way it was 22 years ago, but that doesn't mean there's not a market for it.
[0] https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/top-10/video-game...