Dump 9x compatibility or dump this coder?

External Since: Jan 26, 2005 Posts: 3

Hello people,
I am the boss of a small software house. A very skilled
programmer offered us a product (we've still to work on
the graphics and music though) which is indeed very, very
cool (the guy really knows how to program!), BUT his code
WILL NOT WORK on Windows 95, 98 & ME, and he totally refuses
to make it compatible, he says there are a lot of technical
reasons why this is not possible (or worth).

With the advent of Windows XP, it's pretty clear that the
9x technology is doomed to extinction. But, is it ALREADY
possible to put a big label like this on the box:

The game is compatible with Windows 2000, XP and 2003.
WARNING!!
The game is *NOT* compatible with Windows 95, 98 and ME.

without affecting sales too much?

While I'd certainly love to get a broader market, this
guy may have good reasons to dump 9x compatibility
because his code is truly impressive. I'm not sure we
can find another coder in town that can impress us as
much.

To sum it all.. what I'm asking you is your advice for
my dilemma: dump 9x compatibility or dump this coder?

Thanks a lot!

Antonio Tambone
CEO of Gaming Delight

External Since: Jan 22, 2005 Posts: 34

> With the advent of Windows XP, it's pretty clear that the
> 9x technology is doomed to extinction. But, is it ALREADY
> possible to put a big label like this on the box:
>
> The game is compatible with Windows 2000, XP and 2003.
> WARNING!!
> The game is *NOT* compatible with Windows 95, 98 and ME.
>
> without affecting sales too much?
>
> While I'd certainly love to get a broader market, this
> guy may have good reasons to dump 9x compatibility
> because his code is truly impressive. I'm not sure we
> can find another coder in town that can impress us as
> much.
>
> To sum it all.. what I'm asking you is your advice for
> my dilemma: dump 9x compatibility or dump this coder?
>

It seems to me that you have a much bigger problem.
You are desinging a game and you don't know what your target market and
target platfrom is before you started coding.

How do you know if you are going to make money? What are the minumum
specs on the box. What graphics, sound, and input devices are supported?

I'd fire your marketing droid first, he doesn't know what he is talking
about, your coder does.