(This is, incidentally, where FreeLancers control scheme came from - Microsoft *knew* they couldn't sell the game... at the time, the most expensive ever developed... if people believed it needed a joystick. So they removed any joystick play, made a big fuss about it being mouse-only and fanned the flames to make sure potential buyers all realized that you controlled it with what God gave your computer.)
Now this is something I could never understand about Freelancer. Why did the have to not include a joystick option at all. I understand them wanting to push the "no need for a joystick" aspect, but would it really have been so bad to include a joystick option? Maybe they wouldn't have mentioned it on the box cover, but they could have it on the option menu in the game. That way everybody's happy.
Now, add to that the general death of PC development, which has happened only recently - what was the last original AAA title you played for the PC? *Everything* that gets development money is for a console first, a handheld second, a cell phone third and a PC fourth (and maybe some kind of arcade cabinet or slot machine before that, even.) You just can't make money putting ten million dollars into developing a new PC game - except for the occasional fluke like The Sims or World of Warcraft. PC development has become very risky.
Well, its not entirely dead: Command and Conquer 3 came out recently, and an expansion pack is on the way. And don't forget about Starcraft II, that's going to be big. There's the Half-Life series (1, 2, ep.1, ep.2, etc.) and its plethora of mods (ex. Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, etc). And of course MMORPGs, such as Everquest, Ultima, and World of Warcraft.
Wing Commander suffers from two other 'marketing' flaws, specific to its nature:
* Full Motion Video!... was a crazy fad that developers look back on and wince at. It was expensive, awkward and had limited expandability. Wing Commander IV cost a mint, never made it back and still looks awfully dated today. There's a perception that Wing Commander *needs* the actors in order to function... and that no one should ever put that kind of money into filming an interactive movie ever again.
* It lost its creator. There's a big perception at EA (or there was, years ago) that Wing Commander wouldn't sell without A CHRIS ROBERTS GAME on the cover. It's not true, but it's what the suits thought for years... I, personally, would be happy with A SEAN PENNEY GAME.
Many games have FMV's, they don't have to have live actors and full sets. Hell, just look at Privateer's intro, even today that's still a sweet FMV. Live actors and real sets are nice, but I wouldn't mind if they switched to CG with voice acting. The story can be done just as well, for example: Freelancer, and any of the Legacy of Kain games (excluding Blood Omen 2...it had such a weak story).
I can't say I would mind playing "A Sean Penny Game," but when it comes to Wing Commander I think it would just feel different. Not bad, but I don't think I would emblazon someone else's name on a WC box; it would be unnecessarily pretentious. I guess EA could always offer Chris Roberts and the rest of the WC guys a studio of their own...or maybe I should wake up now.