Where Did the Tycoon Games Go?

My recent search for it turned up empty, making me believe that I threw it out at one point or another.

 As a result, to quench my thirst I checked online for a good tycoon game. It seems that the genre is rapidly dying. The two big games in the genre, Rollercoaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon, haven’t come out with a new version in years. Rollercoaster Tycoon’s last installment was Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum which was released on November 8, 2006. Zoo Tycoon however has had more recent versions, the latest of which is Zoo Tycoon 2: Ultimate Collection, which was released on December 5, 2008.

 I sincerely hope that new installments are announced soon to revive the dwindling genre.

 But why might it be so important to revive it?

 The tycoon genre must be revived because it is arguably one of the easiest genres to make accessible. They are single player games in which the player spends most of his time planning and building an empire.

 Cognitively Impaired

 The action can easily be slowed down to a desirable pace, and most of the playtime is spent with the game in pause. Tycoon games require the player to take a step back and think about what his plans are and to look at the spread sheets and see what rides are making money and which are in the red ink. They are games that don’t require a trigger finger, but rather a patient gamer willing to micromanage.

 This micromanagement can usually be done while the game is paused. This makes it an ideal genre for those with cognitive impairments.

 Colorblind

 The games can easily be accessible to colorblind gamers. One of the few problems with the games is that sometimes developers convey to the gamer a good spot to build through colored squares. However, this can easily be fixed by just adding patterns.

 Unlike in other genres, there’s no health bar to worry about and there are no enemy units whose only distinction is color. The genre is built around managing and spreadsheets.

 Mouse and Keyboard Friendly

 I can’t recall ever coming across a tycoon game that wasn’t playable with only the mouse. However I also can’t recall ever seeing a game that was playable only using the keyboard. Unfortunately tycoon games haven’t been programmed to work only with the keyboard, although I don’t see why it can’t be done.

 After all, most of the games have squares that the game is played on. It’s the magical grid in which everything is confined to squares and rectangles. This could potentially lend itself to using the keyboard as a mouse. Perhaps using the arrow keys could move the cursor around the squares and the gamer could simply use the hotkeys to open up the different tabs.

 Developers need to return to making tycoon games. Not only are they accessible, but hours of fun.