I don't think this is some sort of EVIL PLOT by Interplay to screw over fans - most of the existing FS fans already know about the SCP and are unlikely to shell out fifty quid. And anyway, $100,000 is less than chump change for a MegaCorp like Interplay - there's absolutely no chance of turning a meaningful profit from this (in fact, it's more likely to generate a loss, which is pretty impressive considering Interplay's ... tenative financial state).
No, it's more likely an attempt to win over new fans (as a promotion for a future FS3? we'll see) who don't know you can buy 20 copies of FS2 for 20 dollars on eBay. The ones who've never played a computer game before (and yes, there are still those) or aren't familiar with PC gaming, and might be tempted to pick it up. Or are you saying that FS2 can't compete with modern space sims?
(which is itself an oxymoron).
Coupled with X-2, the release of the Allegience source code, rumors of a new WC game and even Derek Smart's Universal Desktop Commander, it's a good time to be a space sim fan - I can't think of there being this many options since 1999. Hopefully the space sim slump is nearly finished - we're almost past the age of MMORPGs, and the only ones that'll matter are continuations of existing franchises (Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Everquest II and Middle Earth Online). This could mark a resurgence of space sims similar to the RPG resurgence in the mid '90s spawned by games like Diablo (and how many times has Freelancer, for instance, been compared with Diablo?
). Things are most definetly looking up.
