German Mag Prints Massive Space Sim Feature

Thra`Khrom sent in a sample of the January 2013 issue of Gamestar magazine in Germany. It's an elaborate seven-page article that covers some of the vast history of space sims. There's plenty of Wing Commander games profiled in the full spread timeline, and the last page is a mock board game called "Don't be mad, Roberts." Even for non-German speakers, the article's worth a look to see all of the space sims arranged in such a fancy layout!

This is Thra´Khrom, former player of the long dead German Kilrathi Empire RPG. The German gaming magazine Gamestar contains a history of space combat sims including a time line and the magazine's funny page titled "Roberts ärgere dich nicht" (Don't be mad, Roberts): a "game" similar to snakes and ladders (though not really playable, I presume).

The magazine also ran a questionnaire not included in the scans, where they asked their readers if they believed in a coming space sim revival. 55% answered "Yes, but only as a small niche", 27% answered "Yes, it's coming back for good" and 18% answered "No, it's just a hype and will pass". They even had a nice space sim history on their DVD which is supposed to be viewable online, too, for registered paying customers. I hope you don't mind me not translating the whole bunch. I'm sure other wingnuts will be willing to do that ;)