I was going to reply to another topic, but realized there were several that were essentially the same, so I figured I'd give my perspective as a new post.

Disclaimer: I am not an avid board game player. I have played a few popular games on and off, mostly with family, throughout the course of my life. We're particularly fond of Risk. But I can't draw any comparisons with VHS board games and the like because I've never played any such games.

Still, I'd like to share some of my more optimistic thoughts on the app with this board game. I noticed several people were concerned with the longevity of the game due to evolving technologies and reliance on company support. 20 years ago, that would have been a very valid concern. However, the possibilities with software are endless, and people are always finding new and simpler ways to get things done. There are many people interested in preserving all kinds of old forms of entertainment. There are many classic game remakes, for example. There are huge modding communities. Cross-platform technologies are becoming much more common and robust. I regularly play OTTD, a free-software remake of a classic game, on my Linux desktop with a friend overseas on his Windows PC using VPN. There is a project to remake Morrowind's engine as free software. There are tools and libraries for porting applications between iOS and Android. There are really easy-to-use programming languages which even new programmers can be quite productive with. I use special software to run Silverlight in my browser on Linux so I can watch Netflix. And who hasn't used Craigslist recently? Simply put, this game using an app is far from a death sentence. As long as there is even a little bit of interest, either the app will exist or someone will make their own software to replace or preserve it. I'm far more wary of proprietary dice, stackable board tiles, or just about any cards other than standard playing card decks. And people have found ways to work around all of those things in the past. An app is easier to replace, modify, and distribute in today's world. Now sure, if there was some huge server infrastructure to support online play, I'd understand the concerns, as many good online games have lost support for this reason... but it's just a simple standalone app from what I can tell.

Also, to go more along the expansion route, if FFG doesn't do it, I could see community modders coming up with new alien strategies or game rules in a custom app to provide more ways of playing over time, even without the support of FFG. Of course, IP is a big factor, but even if the community ignored the XCOM lore and just came up with new alternatives, it could make the game more interesting and dynamic.

As for people just wanting to get away from electronics, I agree it's a fair point, but at the same time, you're now coming in with more specialized requirements and constraints, and I think when doing that, it's best to be humble and recognize the entire market can't revolve around your constraints. So you need to compare your options and see what works best for you. There's no reason you can't have the XCOM board game, but then also a non-electronic game for when you don't feel like using electronics, or when the power goes out, or for a vacation cabin in the woods without power, or whatever your scenario may be. It's like complaining that a Hummer should have good gas mileage because you like the vehicle but live far away from the nearest gas station and don't want to get lost. It's kind of hard to have a real-time, fully cooperative game against an adversary at least more complex than a pair of dice without using an app. There's almost no way around it, and any way involving drawing cards, rolling dice, etc., takes away from the intense real-time feel, and is therefore inherently a compromise.

I haven't played or seen the game yet, only read a couple of demo reviews, but this is the first board game I've ever been explicitly excited for in my life, and I'm just confused by all the pessimism around the app. Realistically, I'm guessing the same people who won't buy the game because it requires an app which might not be available in a few years or during a power outage, will have power 99% of the time they play, and will have access to some form of the app for many years to come. VHS board games probably didn't work because they tried blending inherently uninteractive recordings with interactive gameplay. Also, the VHS technology is not as easily or cheaply portable as today's digital applications. To compare XCOM to those games is like saying you'll never fly on an airplane because the Wright brothers' first flight only lasted a short while and wouldn't get you to your destination. It denies all the advantages which have been developed over decades of technological evolution.

Well, sorry if this sounded like a rant, it's my first post, but I just felt like giving a different, more optimistic perspective, since I'd hate to see this game sell poorly due to a misunderstanding about the longevity of applications versus that of the other components of a board game.

After I posted, I remembered one more thing that was my personal reason for being excited about this game. It has less to do with the app, but more with what type of person would benefit from it. Almost every time I visit my family in out of state, I play Risk with my dad and brother. We all love the game and have a lot of fun playing with it, but it's also very frustrating playing with my brother. He's extremely hotheaded and competitive even when others around him don't care to be at the time. He's the type of person that it's hard to play games with. For example, in Risk, he'll get mad at whoever battles him first, and go all in attacking that player early in the game, so the outcome is always the same: he annihilates the player he's angry at, then gets annihilated in turn by the third player who remains the strongest. We continue to play with him because he's family, but he won't admit how annoying his strategy is. Another example is when playing cooperative platforming games such as Little Big Planet, he'll purposely run as far ahead as possible so people slower than him will fall off screen and die from unseen traps and enemies. It's his way of making people keep up with him. The problem is, we like to play that game with our younger sister who is not an experienced gamer, because she likes the artwork and characters. So he's always ruining her fun so he can stay ahead.

Not all of you will have this kind of friend or family member playing board games with you, but if you do, a challenging app-driven cooperative game like XCOM could finally be the answer. To win (as my brother likes to do), whether as the commander or another specialized role, a guy like him would be forced to contribute to the team as a whole, and there would be no human enemy to be aggressive towards, only an "appathetic" app. It's the only kind of game I can think of where my brother may not actually be a jerk to other people. So if you look at it in those terms, you may realize there are people in your life with whom you could play this game regardless of how they'd behave while playing other board games. Just a thought.

I agree 100% with your posts Bambi. As for your brother in particular, a few things to note. I suggest not letting him be the guy that runs the app. I don't think it would be fun with him barking commands at people. The only other thing he can really do that messes with others would be to careless deploy troops/scientists/satellites - all of which cost money and can cause the group to go over budget. Though that does hurt him as well, so it may not be an issue.

I was chatting with a reviewer on youtube and they agree that even if, in some highly unlikely event, that the app just stops working in 5 years, they don't want to pass up the opportunity to playing a great game for the next 5 years just because they might not get to play it in the future.

Additionally, I loved your comparisons with flying. Couldn't be more accurate with the mentality.

Right on! I was initially VERY nervous about the app...but I have slept on it a few times and I think it will be an interesting twist. Plus the game is priced VERY reasonably for a modern board game. So I'll be risking it for sure...