We want to know: What happened to the space fighter genre?

Space, the final frontier … or so James T. Kirk thought. It turns out the final frontier is in our computers, this vast world called the Internet and the myriad virtual worlds occupying it (read: MMORPGs). Ah, but that’s fodder for another blog. On Re:Retro, we want this question answered: What happened to the space fighter genre? I’m not the only one asking this question. There’s also Len, an avid reader of this space.

I remember a time when we never ran out of video games set in space—from simulations to epic dogfights, from futuristic mechanized combat to daring rescues of princesses in galaxies far, far away. Yes, the space simulation genre and its sub-genres, which include our topic, have once upon a time dominated the video gaming scene.

But where are they now? Some say they’ve died, others cling to hope that they’ll soon come out from those little nooks and crannies of asteroids strewn across the universe.

Here’s a very simple explanation for those seeking answers to this question:

Why did the space sim genre die? This remains a topic of hot contention among genre enthusiasts.

The first, and most obvious reason, is the rise of the first-person shooter and real-time strategy genres, which led to a boom in the popularity of PC gaming. Previous attempts by PC game developers to compete in console-style games had failed, but with the succewss of the FPS and RTS, computer game developers finally had homegrown hits in their hands. Casual gamers flocked in droves to games like Quake and Starcraft, ignoring other traditional PC genres such as space sims, adventure games, flight simulators, and wargames. It is worth noting that all four genres collapsed at roughly the same time, the late 1990s to early 2000s.

First-person shooters were an ideal technological showcase for the quantum leaps in computer graphics and processing power at the turn of the century. Graphic accelerators and multi-gigahertz processing speeds meant that, for the first time, terrestrial environments could be realistically rendered. In FPS, detail was lavished on lush green scenery and eleborate architecture which advanced in each incarnation. In contrast, space offered little eyecandy other than the stars. The vast emptiness of space, a boon in the early days of gaming when graphics power came at a premium, had finally become a liability.

Too true, too true. Even the Star Wars titles, which were heavily laden with space combat simulation, are now shadows of their former selves. They’ve evolved into adventure-role playing games, substituting a simulacrum of the epic’s characters for the empty cockpit of an X-Wing fighter.

So what does the future have in store for the space sim genre? Little, if they don’t evolve. Fortunately, we are already seeing some space sims adapt. For example, the Homeworld series that have evolved into the MMORPG known as EVE Online. May the Force be with them.

Take a gander at the next generation space simulation video game: EVE Online.