If you want to run the latest games, you just need a rather good pc, and not some antique system.
No you don't. There are plently of "latest games", even AAA titles that don't have 2.000 bucks worth of hardware requirements. Somewhat oddly, these are then the ones who go on to break previous sales records. Most people I know don't even play games on the PC anymore - one of my mates, when faced with having to upgrade his PC for the third time, decided to just get every major console instead, and all the games he wanted. In the end, he had saved nearly 400 dollars, and gotten a whole host of brilliant games, the likes of which the PC hasn't had a decent one released for in as long as I can remember! Oh, and unlike me, he can already play GTA: San Andreas, while I have to wait until June (by which time, I hope my PC will still be able to handle it. *Sigh*). Perhaps Mark could add support for all DirectX versions (from the first version until DX9).
No. Currently BlitzMAX requires a 3D API for real--time rotation and scaling. DirectX couldn't do 3D until version 5, and then it did so rather poorly. Then you can be sure it runs on every pc, and include an options screen where the player can disable everything, so it could run on a P1 with only 4Mb gfx card).
You don't need to have an options screen. You can do adaptive performmance testing, and adjust display options depending on the resulting framerate. There are even some computers out there (I've seen one in my family) that only can run DOS and Win3.11 (has a 386 and 16Mb Ram).
Welll, you have to draw the line somewhere ofcourse. Platforms that have been abandoned by even the Russians is probably not the best market in the world.When working as in independant software developer, your number of sales is directly proportional to your ability to pay your mortgage. So you'll want to be spreading your eggs to more baskets. Now if you where Valve, and where just sitting on the digital equivalent of crack, then yes, you can relly on gamers to sell their family into slavery and take out a second mortgage (one of those you get by e-mail no less) in their homes, in order to buy the latest, greatest Alienware PC they can possibly get. For everyone who isn't Valve, you have to be a little more restricctive with which limitations you put on your gamme. Why do you think all those bargain deer hunter 3D games sell so rediculously well? Because they're better than DOOM3? Or because they'll run on anything you throw at then, regardless of how "stupid" or "lazy" all the 1337 gamers think think they are?