DigiTek worked to program Big Business, a large economic simulation game that was published by Magic Bytes in the very early nineties. It is a combination of strategy and simulation, and has found a cult following in obscure, micromanagement markets. It was released for several formats, and seemed to note its best commercial success after being released for the Amiga console, despite the fact that the Amiga version offered a faithful conversion to the PC format.
Although, the premise sounds very austere and serious, Big Business is not a humourless and self-important play.
The interface is colourful, engaging and cartoonish, immediately setting the tone for something less somber than a straightforward business simulation. The game’s graphics are all comic-style, and do not feature the hard blacks and whites of the suit world, as one would expect by the game’s title.
The actual goal of the game is very simple. The gamer plays the part of a small businessman (at the beginning of the game) and must turn his company into a monopolizing powerhouse by buying, selling and trading a great variety of products. As the Chief Executive Officer of the company, it is the gamer’s job to stay ahead of the competition and improve his shareholder’s value in the company. There is a lot to keep track of in order to do
this, including market trends, stock market values, competitors’ products and so forth. All aspects of the company’s day to day business are up to the player.
Although, the game sounds complex, it is really geared more for the beginning economic strategist. The economic model is seriously flawed and does not seem to reflect realistic trends in modern markets. The stock market model is fast-paced and fun, but greatly simplified, making it less realistic than that featured in other similar games. Product pricing is also greatly simplified, making it easy to corner the opposition in pricing wars and gain monopolies on various products that the user produces.
Despite the obvious flaws in the economic models, Big Business is a fun and likeable game. It has sequences of humour and very good and vivid animations that will draw the user into the game, despite its ease of play. The game’s strengths definitely lie with its looks and simplicity as opposed to any value it may have as a teaching simulation in the world of actual economics. For those gamers not too sure of their business savvy, or for those who are merely looking for a feel-good/look good simulation, Big Business is the perfect offering.
