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[Chandos]

From Wikipedia:
Detroit is a turn-based business simulation game that puts one in charge of a fledgling automobile company starting in 1908 (the year the Ford Model T was introduced). The player is responsible for the financing, research and development, design, testing, production, and marketing of automobile product lines. The aim of the game is to be most profitable automobile business in the world after 100 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_%28video_game%29

I played this game like 10 years ago or so. I loved the idea, especially the product development and testing phase, but the economics side wasn't very well done. You were pretty much deadlocked in a price war to micro-manage from start to finish. I've been hoping since then that somebody would come up with a better version of the same idea.

Are there any games out there like Detroit? i.e. a detailed industry sim game (as opposed to generic business sims like Capitalism) with research elements in addition to other business aspects?

[sluissa]

Free Enterprise and MadTV are the two that come to mind immediate. The first being more general, but still allowing you to specialize and research, the second being very specialized within the television industry.

[Aqizzar]

Free Enterprise is definitely a good pick, although the "research" mechanic is maddeningly obtuse.  Basically, you research new products by randomly picking parts to match together and have a guy run the machine for an age and a half before you find out if it works, or you go to GameFAQs to look up the right combinations and then wait an age and a half.

Speaking of cars though, there's Motor City, which some guys who would know bill as "more complex" than Detroit.  Which sounds to me like more micromanaging, on top of having a lot less stuff abstracted, i.e. having to actually build a factory RTS style.  I mean, I managed to make a failing company in Detroit, but I couldn't even figure out how to make a car to sell in Motor City.  Maybe there's more to read in the manual, I didn't try very hard.

[Chandos]

I LOLed at this screenshot from Motor City. Failure is not an option in this game, eh?

[Aqizzar]

Nope.  But curiously strong minty breath is.

I think I'm going to give it another shot.

[jester]

The Movies is a bit like that, no real control over the research but alot of micromanaging your stars if thats your thing

[Carrion]

I was thinking by 'Detroit' you meant like... post-apocalyptic.  Seriously, have you been there?  Ah well, cars are cool too.

[engy]

Corporate Machine sounds pretty close, it has 4 industries though - Automobiles, Computers, Aircraft, Soda.  Starts at the dawn of time for the industry you pick and goes well past the future; I've never actually finshed any of the tech trees
There are also crazy business decision cards you can play like Child Labor.
It's only $5 and it's made by Stardock.  Oh Multiplayer too.
http://www.impulsedriven.com/tcm

[Zorgn]

Prehistoric soda technology? O_O That sounds interesting, and yet dumb as hell. I may have to look into the game.

[engy]

Prehistoric soda technology? O_O That sounds interesting, and yet dumb as hell. I may have to look into the game.

lol
Starts at the dawn of the industry you pick, not the dawn of time.

[Burnt Pies]

Prehistoric soda technology? O_O That sounds interesting, and yet dumb as hell. I may have to look into the game.

lol
Starts at the dawn of the industry you pick, not the dawn of time.

"Me am make tasty sparkly water! Me trade sparkly water for meat! Ugg!"

And so the soda industry was born.

[Chandos]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.
I've been getting ideas in the meantime... are there any games that are set in the corporate world but play out like The Guild series? It'd be awesome to explore the depths of corporate ladder treachery, no?

[Majestic7]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.
I've been getting ideas in the meantime... are there any games that are set in the corporate world but play out like The Guild series? It'd be awesome to explore the depths of corporate ladder treachery, no?

That would make an awesome cyberpunk game!

[Cthulhu]

Nope.  But curiously strong minty breath is.

I think I'm going to give it another shot.

The gun is for if you're not man enough to kill yourself by chugging the whole tin of altoids and disintegrating your head.

[Fikes]

Well, there is Gangsters. I only ever played the second one and could not figure it out. It was rated very very low in PC gamer at the time (something like 55%), but it does deal with business fronts and bribery and the like.