Capitalism 2

Rating:
Summary: Review abstracted by Capalive.com
Review: Professor Thomas Kosnik,
Consulting Professor, Stanford School of Engineering, and Lecturer, Harvard Business School , Technology Today, CNBC-TV Cable
"Capitalism is a world class, hands-on learning experience which I've used at Stanford School of Engineering and Harvard Business School. Gamers not only learn the subtleties of growing an entrepreneurial business but also learn about leadership and team building necessary in any business situation." "Capitalism is very realistic and will allow the dynamics to change depending on whether you're selling a cola product, which is sort of a low tech-branded consumer good, or whether your selling consumer electronics or a PC."

Professor Drew Fudenberg
Harvard University
"This game does an excellent job of modeling many of the key aspects of modern business. Not all aspects of it are realistic, but enough of them are that many sensible strategies are encouraged. In particular it's gratifying to me to see that the game rewards thinking about sources of long-term competitive advantage, be it from brand recognition, low production costs gained from learning-by-doing (a nice touch!), a monopoly on high quality inputs, or a big technological lead."

Businessweek, October 21, 1996
Capitalism isn't just for those who aspire to be the next Michael Dell or Sam Walton. It can be a fun and useful exercise for anyone who wants to test their entrepreneurial mettle without, for once, taking any risk. Players can choose to compete against computer-controlled rivals in four different industries: farming, manufacturing, raw material mining, and retailing. For a truly adventurous and time-consuming game, players can mix and match industries as captains of giant conglomerates. As in the real world, players compete locally, in one city, or fight it out on the global stage.
With so many possibilities, Capitalism is an intense strategy game, much like chess, where players must constantly think ahead. As such, it could easily overwhelm novices. But by adjusting several factors--competency and managerial style of the computer-controlled rivals, for example, can be varied from very aggressive to conservative--gameplay can be suited to various styles and speed. The game even allows a player to hire presidents to manage the day-to-day operations of different divisions so the player can concentrate on the big picture.

Far Eastern Economic Review, September 26, 2002
The mass market isn't the only audience for Chan's games. Like Virtual U, Capitalism has made the leap from game room to classroom. Because of its high degree of realism, the game has been used by professors at institutions like Harvard and Stanford Universities to help students learn basic business principles. Chan is hoping that Restaurant Empire and Hotel Giant will also be adopted for training and education. "Simulation games are a fun way to learn about anything," he says. "They prove that computer games aren't just about shooting things but can also be educational."

CNN - 22nd May 2002
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN Correspondent
Some guys have all the luck. They have the billion dollar market cap, the brand, and the empire, while the rest of us spend our lives toiling away in cubicles with no chance to ever run the show. That is until now. Even the desk jockey can claw his way to the top in "Capitalism," the game.Hong Kong game developer Trevor Chan just released the follow-up to the award-winning original, but the objective is the same. Move your assets to turn an upstart into the most profitable company in the world. First-time players can choose a challenge like, the world in your hands, where you manage a research and development lab out to post annual revenues of $400 million, and as you take on the competition, that's when the real drama begins.But "Capitalism" is no Business 101. Critics call it a deep involving game that could test even the sharpest business document. In fact, it's been used as a simulation exercise for business students at Stanford University.


Rating:
Summary: Business has never been this good
Review: Really! business games have never been a real thriller for me. I play mostly flight sims, adventure games, space sims, and a few shooters like Wolfenstein. So, I decided to try something different. And boy! did I make the right choice. This game should be played by Graduate Business School students, as it would definately benefit their studies. The sim is that realistic and beneficial to business lovers and money managers. The game has taught me a lot about money management. I have Money 2001 for my personal financial management and I wish now I had more of it, so I could actually do all the things in the game for real!

So, for all those business people out there...run, don't walk to your nearest computer store and play this game.

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Rating:
Summary: You need to be interested in the game to enjoy the game.
Review: Some people just don't get it. There is nothing that will really get you to stand up and point this game out to anyone else. There is nothing here that you can do that would impress your friends or what not.
Think of the game as a school course, or sim city will just the money and business part.
I find the game fun to play, but I also love the idea behind business and creating one.
If you don't know numbers, if your looking to take over the "world" or blow something up, this is really the wrong game for you.
Now if your looking for how to set up a business, or how to run a corperation then I would say this is a rather good game to start with.
From building a farm, to a factory. A retail store or a market you can get a good idea of how it is done.
Expect to spend 3-6 hours just LEARNING the game, then you will enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Extremely Comprehensive Business Sim
Review: There are almost as many different ways to make money in Capitalism 2 as there are in real life. The game models the complete manufacturing chain -- from raw materials such as coal and iron, to intermediate goods such as steel and plastic, through consumer products such as PCs and leather jackets -- for over 80 different products. You can buy products from other companies and focus on retailing, or get involved in any or all stages of the manufacturing process. (Of course, the biggest profits can be had by seeing a product all the way from raw materials to the retail checkout counter.) There's a stock market, commercial and rental properties, and three different advertising media.

The game's economic model is highly sophisticated. There are a number of factors that determine how well a product will sell. Of course, the price and quality of the product relative to its competitors is very important. Product quality is based on a combination of the quality of the input goods and the quality of the technology involved in the manufacturing process. (You can open research centers to improve your manufacturing technology levels and can also buy and sell technologies with your competitors.) For simple products such as bottled milk, the quality of the inputs (namely, milk) is the dominant factor. For high-tech products such as mobile phones, the manufacturing technology is much more important.

Other factors in the economic model include brand recognition (which is increased by advertising and also increases naturally over time if the product sells well), brand loyalty, the location and type of the store (there are about 16 types of stores ranging from mega-warehouses to specialty boutiques that only sell a few products), and the overall economic climate of the city (during a recession, luxury items will suffer but people will continue to buy staples such as food items.)

I'm sure I've failed to mention a dozen cool features of the economic model, but hopefully this is enough to whet your appetite.

As impressive as the economic model is, the true brilliance of the game lies in the interface. The game presents you with a staggering amount of data about your corporation, your competitors, and the markets in which you're competing. The complexity could easily become overwhelming, and it does take a while to familiarize yourself with all of the reports that are available, but the information is organized in a way that makes it easy to quickly hone in on problems that require your attention. Although the game features enough numbers to warm the heart of any accountant, the most important information (profitability, supply, demand) is also presented in graphical form. You can quickly flip through all of your businesses and read the vital signs of each business with just a glance. If you detect a problem, you can dive deeper into the vast ocean of data to determine the cause.

The only minor complaint I have about the game is that the AI is fairly weak. In particular, the AI companies aren't aggressive enough about acquiring natural resources. For example, you can easily buy up all the iron deposits in the game world and lock your competitors out of the lucrative steel and electronics markets. Also, the AI companies never seem to buy media firms, which are extremely powerful because they effectively allow you to advertise for free.

Nevertheless, even if the AI doesn't present much opposition, it's still fun to see how much money you can rack up. The game features a "Billionaire Scoreboard" that compares your personal fortune (and that of the various AI personalities) with real-life tycoons. It's very satisfying to knock Bill Gates out of the top spot.

Although the graphics are fairly good, all cities, from Beijing to Boston, are depicted using the same generic city graphics. It would've been a nice touch to have different architectures for the different cultures, or at least throw in some distinguishing landmark for each city.

In summary, I heartily recommend this game to anyone who's even the slightest bit interested in business-oriented simulations.

Rating:
Summary: Best Sim Game Ever!!!
Review: This is a very strong game, but the only problem is that it is only for certain people. This game is for people who like business games or money games. Also many empire building people would like this game. The game has strong graphics and easy to understand menus.

The only problem with the game is that many of the cities look the same and there is really no difference between the products you sale and make or the products the other people make.

Really this is a very good game and an over looked game by many. The main problem that seemed to happen to me is that if you set the game to easy or if you don't venture out into new fields the game gets old. Beside that though a great game for people who love business games.

Rating:
Summary: very good, but not perfect
Review: This is a very strong game, but the only problem is that it is only for certain people. This game is for people who like business games or money games. Also many empire building people would like this game. The game has strong graphics and easy to understand menus.

The only problem with the game is that many of the cities look the same and there is really no difference between the products you sale and make or the products the other people make.

Really this is a very good game and an over looked game by many. The main problem that seemed to happen to me is that if you set the game to easy or if you don't venture out into new fields the game gets old. Beside that though a great game for people who love business games.

Rating:
Summary: This is an Awesome game
Review: This is one of the more addictive games I've played. The tutorials are great. You can learn everthing you need to have success in this game. Once you know pretty much everything, you will find yourself busy creating your own empire at 3 o'clock in the morning. ^_^ It's true that everything becomes a bit repetitive after you establish your empire in farming, manufacturing and retailing. But, still, this game can bring you many hours of fun. One minor issue, the AI sometimes seems pertty dumb. For example, my competitor built an apartment Right on a gold mine in the very beginning of the game. As u may already see, the company didn't go too far because it ran into cash probelm quickly. Also, the NPC company tends to build their factories and retail stores on the existed properties at the downtown. Therefore, the once beautiful downtown will eventually has like 25 department stores and it sure looks Ugly. The stock market seems a bit unrealistic too and can be abused. Buying majority(more than 50%) of other company's stock at the beginning will almost ensure you will have total domination later.(since you can take over the company anytime you want later). Anyway, this game is pretty unique itself. You will have lots fun playing it. ^_^

Rating:
Summary: The Game for the Business Minded
Review: When I saw this game on Amazon.com a couple months ago, I knew that I had to have it. After I received the package, and installed the game I was pleased to see the graphics it possessed. I did go through the "tutorials" A.K.A. Entreprenuer's Campaign, which is essential to do well in the game. You will learn valuable setup techniques in this part. Then came time for the campaigns... and I am pleased to say that they blew me away. There are so many of them it takes forever to win.

I would reccommend this game to anyone who has enjoyed Sim City, Roller Coaster Tycoon, or even Zoo Tycoon. The graphics are excellent, the gameplay is excellent, and the overall feel of the game is excellent.

I have to say that it is the most complex simulation game that I have played yet.

Rating:
Summary: From the magnificent set of a real corporation
Review: Whether it's manufacturing, or retaling, mining or farming, or focusing in real estate or media, this game has proven to be perhaps the best business simulator of all times. I, myself, have been searching and looking everywhere i nthe web for a decent game that could bring strategy, real economic life and fun alltogether, but I was never able to satisfy my search. Yet this December, a new game publñished by the same company which published the first series, I found myself immediately buying the product which turned out to be outrageosly fabulous. The financial engine is magnificent, the graphics are incredible, and there's a number of details that will make you wish for this as you read: You may build mansions, you may take control of the nespapers the television the radio, you may buy and sell land, build headquarters, build houses and buildings and rent them, you may even hire a team of professional executives who will charge you for jobs such as Chief operating officer, chief marketing officer, chief technical officer, etc.. This game has taken me into a worl of finance no other have ever done, if you are reading this review to make up your mind about this product, I hope I may have been of some help on giving you the opportunity to invest in this.
This is far beyond any other product ever seen in the market open for everyone!