One (of many) reasons why there were no new Wing Commander games in the early part of the current decade has to do with the decline of the joystick as a PC peripheral. UK MSN's Teh & Gadgets column recently addressed the issue in an article by Patrick Gross. Games like Freelancer were sold on their ability to play without the input device. That's a big change from a dozen years earlier when Wing Commander's on-screen joystick hand was a hyped up feature. Some of the coolest, most elaborate and most advanced sticks are still around today, but they are nowhere near as ubiquitous and available as they once were. The article does a decent job of summarizing the present situation and making a guess at what's to come. Also check out JoystickRequired for a good news hub dedicated to flight and space sims.
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