Originally posted by ChrisReid
That's just not a logically valid assertion. Wing Commander 1 getting Best Game of all time in various gaming mags in no way implies that it would get more media coverage now or would sell better than other WC games.
If you really think it's a completely irrelevant factor if a game is concerned as one of the best and most influential classics of all time. I think differently, and I don't think it's such a ludicrous point of view. But hey, it's a subjective thing.
WC1 received its honors not because it was the best WC game, but because it broke new ground and was the best game among games when it was released.
WC received honors even when it was the only WC game. Even later on, after the sequels were released, it was also acclaimed as one of the best and more influent games of all time. It was confronted not only with other games released at its time, but all other afterwards.
WC3 sold a lot more copies than WC1 and would have much more instant recognition than WC1, and so on.
It's true that WC3 sold more. But you must factor in that this was due in large part to the whole "Interactive movie" thing. Not only is that now largely irrelevant on the market, but impracticable on the GBA. Without the movie, WC3 should lose a lot of its appeal.
Privateer was also extremely popular, and garnered many more votes when the CIC asked last year what WC game people most wanted to see on the GBA after Prophecy.
Very popular with fans, this kind of game has a following. "Elite" for GBA could do as well. Privateer for GBA would indeed be a great option.
WC1 is by no means a shoe-in for the most media hype and sales. You've also twice ignored the point I make that people would see Secret Ops being billed in marketing and magazines alike as a sequel to Prophecy, which many think of as the last game. This would give it just as much boost, if not more, than the nostalgic value WC1 would have.
I'm talking about much more media attention then WCP is receiving to begin with. WCSO had more media appeal for being distributed online for free than for anything else, even if it's a good game.
Addressing the point you specifically pointed out, I don’t think everyone would care that much to the fact that WCSO is the sequel to WCP. What makes WCSO the last WC game is because EA gave up on the series due to lack of interest. It isn’t much of a finale, it isn’t even a conclusion, and leaves the new storyline in the middle.
Because WC1 is a much simpler game, it can be delivered on the GBA to it's fullest potential, while some of the stuff on other games like WC3 and WCP might have to be stripped down. So while you could play WC1 on GBA on all its glory, you still have to get a PC to do the same with WCP or WC3.