Capitalism (video game)

Infobox VG
title = Capitalism


developer = Enlight
publisher = Interactive Magic
designer = Trevor Chan
engine =
version =
released = October 31, 1995 January 1, 1996 (Capitalism Plus) 2001(Capitalism II)

genre = Business simulation game
modes = Single player
ratings = RSAC: ALL
platforms = Mac OS, MS-DOS
media = CD-ROM
requirements =
input = Keyboard, mouse

"Capitalism" is a business simulation computer game first published in 1995 by Interactive Magic, developed by Enlight for the Macintosh and MS-DOS and designed by Trevor Chan. Other similar business simulation games include "Industry Giant, Entrepreneur" and "The Corporate Machine." "Capitalism" is often regarded as being the first successful business simulation game.Fact|date=April 2007

The aim of "Capitalism" is to become the most profitable business in the world while competing in several different markets against a number of different corporations. The player must run a business as the chief executive officer while preventing the business from going bankrupt or being bought out by a competitor.

A more advanced version was developed and released as "Capitalism Plus" on 1 January 1996, featuring world maps, more products and enhanced management capabilities which was published by Brøderbund. A sequel was released entitled "Capitalism II" in 2001.

Gameplay

"Capitalism" is a simulation game which can be played in two different ways. The player may start their own business or play a scenario with a pre-made business with a set goal. In a new game, the player begins with a maximum of $200,000,000 initial capital. Each store can be stocked with up to four different items. As a real world model it is necessary to take into account land cost, overhead, demand for the products, and competition. The player can build several types of firms including department stores, factories, research and development centers, farms, mines, oil wells and also logging camps.

The most common business model to pursue in "Capitalism" is retail by running a chain of department stores. However, the player can venture into any market segment they want including manufacturing, which includes another set of considerations such as suppliers and raw material shortages. Manufacturing begins with building a factory and planning the internal operation layout of the structure. Purchasing, manufacturing, sales and advertising can all be used in factories. The most profitable strategy is to operate the farms and mines for raw materials which are purchased by factories, producing branded goods sold in the player's department stores, thus running a conglomerate.

The player can also choose to run research and development (R&D) operations as either their sole business or alongside running other operations such as department stores and factories. R&D ultimately improves the player's product quality by increasing "technology gain". R&D for any product can last from 6 months to 10 years in the game, with the technology gain being higher when the R&D duration is increased. New products can also be produced using R&D.

Interestingly, farming is the most financially rewarding business model in "Capitalism", usually creating for millions of dollars in annual profit. On a farm, the player grows crops and raises livestock; a farm can produce both meat and other products such as wheat and barley. These can then be sold within the business to department stores or outside to competitors.

Scenarios

"Capitalism" includes seventeen scenarios with pre-made situations and businesses and a certain goal. The scenarios are generally more difficult to succeed in that competitors often have the starting advantage. Each scenario has a different goal and different environment and competitor situation. For example, the "Alternative Challenge" scenario restricts the market to two cities while in "D" for Diversification" the player must manage a profitable broad-based corporation and manage a large number of firms at the same time.

Some of the scenarios require the player to dominate a particular market in terms of market share. For example, "Food Dominance" sets a goal of dominating the food industry within 50 years while earning an annual operating profit of no less than $20 million. In "Fortress of the Beverage King" the player must dethrone the Beverage King 'James Zandman' as the dominator of the beverage industry within 50 years.

Most scenario games disable the stock market option in an attempt to make the player focus on completing the scenario goals. The initial capital given in each scenario depends on the difficulty of the goals set. Each time a player successfully completes a scenario within the time limit set and with all goals reached, they will receive a bonus score and be added to the 'Hall of Fame' list.

Other features

"Capitalism" includes many different features designed to reduce effort and save time in basic gameplay. From the main menu, players can use 'Quick Start' to choose from eight instructional games to learn about retailing, market analysis, farming, manufacturing, branding and advertising, research and development, raw material production and the stock market. These lessons are included in the game to introduce a new player to the concepts and basic gameplay. ["Capitalism Plus Manual", page 20. Chapter 2]

Another feature of "Capitalism" is the layout plan library, which can store layout plans for all types of buildings available in the game. It enables the player to save previously used layout plans into a library as a record and then apply them to buildings to save time rather than creating new layout plans. Layout plans can be replaced, added, deleted or sorted. ["Capitalism Plus Manual", page 65. Chapter 6]

"Capitalism Plus"

A more advanced version of the original "Capitalism" was developed and released as "Capitalism Plus" on Jan 1, 1996 and published by Brøderbund for Windows 95 only. It added world maps, more products and enhanced management capabilities to the game in addition to improved SVGA graphics, more markets to dominate and random events including riots, disease and technology breakthroughs. With "Capitalism Plus", a map and scenario editor program was also added enabling players to configure products, industries, goals and other items. [ [http://uk.videogames.games.yahoo.com/pc/reviews/capitalism-plus-3df01b.html Yahoo! Games - Capitalism Plus Review] ]

Response

Shortly after the release of "Capitalism" in 1995, it was referred to by PC Gamer as "...the most realistic, detailed business sim on the market today, and one of the best economic games of all time".Fact|date=May 2008 "Capitalism" also made appearances on The Discovery Channel and CNBC-TV Cable.

In 1996, Harvard University and Stanford University began using "Capitalism" for educational purposes. Professor Tom Kosnik said, "Capitalism is a world-class, hands-on learning experience I've used at Stanford School of Engineering and Harvard Business School. Gamers not only learn the subtleties of growing an entrepreneurial business but also learn about leadership and team building necessary in any business situation." [ [http://www.enlight.com/eng/html/about_tl.htm Enlight - Timeline; 1995, 1996] ]

On October 21, 1996, "BusinessWeek" reviewed "Capitalism", saying: [ [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00007BGOH Amazon.com, Capitalism Plus Reviews - BusinessWeek, October 21, 1996] (original source: BusinessWeek, abstracted from capalive.com)]

In the year 2000, Computer Gaming World named "Capitalism" among the fifteen most difficult games ever, saying: " ["Capitalism" is] so complicated it should come with a free MBA in every box." The magazine has also praised the game as highly enjoyable and addictive.

References

References

* "Capitalism User Manual" (Was included in original retail copy of "Capitalism")
* "Capitalism Plus Manual"
* [http://www.adrenalinevault.com/reviews/review_temp.asp?game=capplus&page=1 Brian Pipa, Capitalism Plus Review, July 30, 1997 — The AVault]

External links

* [http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/capitalism/ "Capitalism"] at GameSpot
* [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/g/pc_games/capitalism_plus/overview.php "Capitalism Plus"] at Rotten Tomatoes
*moby game|id=/capitalism|name="Capitalism"
*moby game|id=/capitalism-plus|name="Capitalism Plus"
* [http://www.download.com/Capitalism-demo/3000-7551_4-855083.html "Capitalism" demo at Download.com]
* [http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?id=167 "Capitalism Plus"] at the Home of the Underdogs