March 23rd, 2005

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Games
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American Farmer, The Game

American FarmerI was wandering through my local electronics megastore the other day. As I scanned the computer games, I spotted an unlikely $19.99 game, looking a little forlorn on a lower shelf: American Farmer.

Create and manage your own successful farm with John Deere American Farmer. You’ll decide what crops to plant, livestock to raise, employees to hire, equipment to purchase and structures to build. Plagues, weather, market trends, employee skill level and much more will play a role as you make decisions that will determine the ultimate success of your farm.

If you listen carefully, you can hear the long tail of computer games growing. It’s an old joke among geeks, but how long before we get riveting titles like:

  • SimPlumber
  • 7-11 Tycoon
  • Taiwan Sweatshop Labourer
  • And, for the post-modern crowd, SimGameDesigner

C’mon, John Deere, who’s really buying this title? How many kids aspire to be farmers who don’t, you know, live on farms already? They can just step outside and play American Farmer. Will there be expansion packs? Can I look forward to Hungarian Farmer? “Gergely, how are the beets growing?”

Comments: 3 Responses so far

Matt
March 23rd, 2005
8:56 pm

Many years back, Maxis (of SimCity fame) actually released a SimFarm variant, and, believe it or not, it wasn’t a terrible game.

Buy land, plant crops, water and fertilize them, etc. And all to a mesmerizing pastoral midi soundtrack. . . . Heh.

[Reply]

Adrian Rossouw
March 24th, 2005
7:04 am

It’s just Harvest Moon, with all the chores and none of the charm.

Speaking of which, here’s an awesome set of articles/posts about Harvest Moon (1, 2, 3) (via waxy)

[Reply]

Ross
March 25th, 2005
9:05 am

What the heck kind of kid would buy this game? Shoot aliens, kill terrorists, or grow ‘taters.

Unless, maybe if it your were able to grow into a farming MegaCorporation, eating up little independent farms while paying off the government to increase subsidies while lowering standards of food quality. Sneaking migrant workers in from Mexico, treating them like dirt, and then kicking them off the land. You could also hire swarms of lawyers to bind of the small guys in court, making it impossible to financially sustain a drawn out court hearing. Now THAT, would be a game.

[Reply]

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