Dear Frontier Development Team,
I have spent considerable time reflecting on whether or not to write to you, and as you can see, I have decided to take the step of reaching out. I am 41 years old and have been playing theme park simulators since their inception, including both Theme Park and the entire RollerCoaster Tycoon series, a franchise to which your studio was also involved.
We all witnessed how ATARI, at that time, ruined this wonderful series. The question is, why did ATARI do this? The answer is simple: ATARI was facing financial ruin. In a desperate attempt, they quickly released a game intended to succeed the popular and successful RCT3, which was developed by your studio, Frontier. The result, as we all know, was a failure, and you should be acutely aware of this. ATARI’s failure served as the catalyst for you to create Planet Coaster and independently bring it to market.
Planet Coaster was a resounding success and contributed significantly to your growth. I am well aware that Planet Coaster was not the game that Frontier initially envisioned, as that title was undoubtedly Planet Zoo. This is evident from the dedication with which you have continued to support and nurture Planet Zoo. Nevertheless, Planet Coaster served as a highly successful, both technically and financially, precursor to Planet Zoo.
Now, with Planet Coaster in your portfolio, despite its limitations in the management aspect, it possessed many qualities that made it a truly great game. I cannot assess why you chose to keep it alive with only a few DLCs, but I believe there was certainly more potential for its continued development.
Now, I see history repeating itself. You find yourselves in a position where the pressure is mounting. I understand that in such a situation, which I personally find regrettable, there may be a temptation to quickly release something to the market. However, repeating a mistake that, among other things, cost a larger player in the industry its livelihood does not seem particularly wise to me.
In my opinion, we now have an unfinished Planet Coaster 2, which, to be honest, diminishes my enjoyment of both building and playing the game. Aside from the fact that I, as a customer and member of the community, feel misled by the current sales strategy, Planet Coaster 2 is riddled with mistakes—mistakes that were present in the original Planet Coaster. Why repeat these errors? Why is it not possible to integrate mechanisms from Planet Zoo into Planet Coaster 2? For example, I am referring to an improved in-game shop mechanic. You have no one to blame for this disaster but yourselves, as the criticisms of Planet Coaster 2 are not unfounded; they stem from significant issues that are hindering the game’s success and, by extension, your success.
I am a big fan of Frontier, which is why I am indifferent to having paid more for a game than others will in the future, after only a month. What I sincerely hope is that you do not become ATARI 2.0. Take a deep breath, listen more attentively to the community once again, and I promise you, together we can turn this game into a success—not only for us, but more importantly, for you as well.
With these words, I would like to wish everyone at Frontier a meaningful and blessed Christmas and hope that everything turns out well.
Merry Christmas,
Marcel
P.S. English is not my native language, so please forgive me for any minor errors.
I have spent considerable time reflecting on whether or not to write to you, and as you can see, I have decided to take the step of reaching out. I am 41 years old and have been playing theme park simulators since their inception, including both Theme Park and the entire RollerCoaster Tycoon series, a franchise to which your studio was also involved.
We all witnessed how ATARI, at that time, ruined this wonderful series. The question is, why did ATARI do this? The answer is simple: ATARI was facing financial ruin. In a desperate attempt, they quickly released a game intended to succeed the popular and successful RCT3, which was developed by your studio, Frontier. The result, as we all know, was a failure, and you should be acutely aware of this. ATARI’s failure served as the catalyst for you to create Planet Coaster and independently bring it to market.
Planet Coaster was a resounding success and contributed significantly to your growth. I am well aware that Planet Coaster was not the game that Frontier initially envisioned, as that title was undoubtedly Planet Zoo. This is evident from the dedication with which you have continued to support and nurture Planet Zoo. Nevertheless, Planet Coaster served as a highly successful, both technically and financially, precursor to Planet Zoo.
Now, with Planet Coaster in your portfolio, despite its limitations in the management aspect, it possessed many qualities that made it a truly great game. I cannot assess why you chose to keep it alive with only a few DLCs, but I believe there was certainly more potential for its continued development.
Now, I see history repeating itself. You find yourselves in a position where the pressure is mounting. I understand that in such a situation, which I personally find regrettable, there may be a temptation to quickly release something to the market. However, repeating a mistake that, among other things, cost a larger player in the industry its livelihood does not seem particularly wise to me.
In my opinion, we now have an unfinished Planet Coaster 2, which, to be honest, diminishes my enjoyment of both building and playing the game. Aside from the fact that I, as a customer and member of the community, feel misled by the current sales strategy, Planet Coaster 2 is riddled with mistakes—mistakes that were present in the original Planet Coaster. Why repeat these errors? Why is it not possible to integrate mechanisms from Planet Zoo into Planet Coaster 2? For example, I am referring to an improved in-game shop mechanic. You have no one to blame for this disaster but yourselves, as the criticisms of Planet Coaster 2 are not unfounded; they stem from significant issues that are hindering the game’s success and, by extension, your success.
I am a big fan of Frontier, which is why I am indifferent to having paid more for a game than others will in the future, after only a month. What I sincerely hope is that you do not become ATARI 2.0. Take a deep breath, listen more attentively to the community once again, and I promise you, together we can turn this game into a success—not only for us, but more importantly, for you as well.
With these words, I would like to wish everyone at Frontier a meaningful and blessed Christmas and hope that everything turns out well.
Merry Christmas,
Marcel
P.S. English is not my native language, so please forgive me for any minor errors.