Carathon, what you're talking about there is a rivalry. A few years back, there were PD and GE rivalries running all over the place, and you're right in saying that they create very healthy competition, since all of the players are currently active and there's more incentive to keep improving along with them. It's also nice in that you get to shoot for Rivalry Records, instead of trying to match near-impossible World Records.
Here is the PD updater:
thengamer.com/PD/23-Misc/...erV2.2.zip Talk to someone on AIM so they can show you how it works. Then you can make a topic here and have other active players join your rivalry.
As for why GE has been consistently more popular than PD for speedrunning the past three years, I think there are two reasons. The first, which has been beaten to death, is nostalgia. 90% of outsiders looking in on the Elite are going to have fonder memories of Goldeneye, since it was quite possibly the first FPS they were ever hooked on. They'll probably remember enough of the most famous levels to have some kind of concept of how impressive our WR videos are, and that might be enough to make them break out the ol' N64 and try it out for themselves. So, it makes sense that GE has always been the game attracting the new members.
But the more important reason for the continual activity is, Goldeneye is
so easy. Even if they haven't touched the game in five years, no ex-GEer is going to have forgotten the WR strat on Runway A. Or Depot, or Streets, or Dam or any of the other Point A to Point B levels. And although it might take them some practice to understand this 'new' Trev shot, the minute they figure it out on Statue A they'll just as easily be PRing on SA and 00. Same for Streets, the Surfaces, etc.
Now, this is by no means saying that it's easier to get a WR on Goldeneye, nor is it saying that it's easier to get a time that's worth points on GE. What I mean is that, for many GE levels, a new and/or rusty player can watch a recent video, say "oh, I see what he's doing there," and then go about trying to master the strat. He still has all kinds of things to worry about (strafe lines, shooting the cameras, getting boosts, whatever), but the important thing is that in his mind he "gets" the level.
So what I'm saying is that playing Goldeneye feels like riding a bike because it
is like riding a bike: if you did it when you were young and enjoyed it, chances are you'll still be able to do it again without too much practice time today. Perfect Dark is like riding a faster, more polished, many times more complex and difficult, better bike. You can still do it and have a great time, but the learning curve involved in playing on a high, speedrun-type level is steep enough that the effort is too much for most people.
