Those are darn good points, Cecil. I'm reminded of one of Bill's ideas about selling interactive fiction games right alongside novels in bookstores. It's painfully, painfully obvious that most people who visit game stores are NOT readers and generally don't show any interest whatsoever in GAGs or anything but the latest graphics fest. On the other hand, people shopping in bookstores are already proving that they like a good story (else they wouldn't be there!) and might just be willing to try these games if they knew about them and could find them easily.

I don't see any reason why someone who really enjoyed a good mystery novel wouldn't also enjoy the two recent Agathe Christie games published by the Adventure Company. The problem is that these games aren't marketed to them very well. There's an old saying in retail--location, location, location. The problem with interactive fiction is simply that it's never been located in a place where it can reach a sizable audience. Most people in bookstores probably aren't even aware that these games exist or that they're more than capable of playing and enjoying them (i.e., not all games are fast-paced action games).