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Just how many copies sell?
Author
I''ve heard some rumors, but all in all I''ve had a real hard time finding out how many copies of a particular game sell? Is there anywhere this information is readily available? Specifically, the top 10 or 20 most popular games:
Quake III Arena
Quake III (was there a non arena version?)
Unreal Tourn
Unreal
The Sims
Baulders Gate
Tribes
Diablo
Diablo II
Freespace 1 & 2
Tachyon
Red Alert 1 & 2
Command & Conquer
Age of Empires
Soldier of Fortune
Allegiance
Asheron''s Call
War Craft
Star Craft
Laurence Grant
Dimensions Software
lgrant@fast.net
H=215-230-8357
C=215-262-9258
Something to keep in mind is that the median number of copies is sold is much lower than you''d expect. Quake III may sell, say, 800,000 copies, but the median number of copies for a PC game might be 15,000. There are only a handful of games selling more than 200,000 copies.
The ''median'' means the middle occuring number ... ''mean'' means the average ... and mode means the most occuring number. Example:
If the sales figures for 5 games are:
10,000
10,000
15,000
40,000
300,000
then the mean (average) is: 375,000/5 = 75,000
the median (middle) is: 3rd number out of 5 = 15,000
and the mode (most common) is: 10,000
so you see ... for evaluating sales, when trying to figure a good estimate of success / failure ... the meadian and mode numbers can provide much more useful figures than the average. Especially in a situation like the game and music industries where there is a certain level in which 95% of all products conpete, and then the occasional super hit which completely changes the average (a label might have created 15 games, all mediocre with an average sales of 15,000 copies ... and then one that sells 2,000,000 would nearly double the labels entire 15 game total ... which would make people think it takes 30,000 copies to meet the labels average sales)
hope that helped a little.
If the sales figures for 5 games are:
10,000
10,000
15,000
40,000
300,000
then the mean (average) is: 375,000/5 = 75,000
the median (middle) is: 3rd number out of 5 = 15,000
and the mode (most common) is: 10,000
so you see ... for evaluating sales, when trying to figure a good estimate of success / failure ... the meadian and mode numbers can provide much more useful figures than the average. Especially in a situation like the game and music industries where there is a certain level in which 95% of all products conpete, and then the occasional super hit which completely changes the average (a label might have created 15 games, all mediocre with an average sales of 15,000 copies ... and then one that sells 2,000,000 would nearly double the labels entire 15 game total ... which would make people think it takes 30,000 copies to meet the labels average sales)
hope that helped a little.
Author
Fine, and thanks for the feedback, but I wasn''t asking about average sales accross many games or how to conduct accounting practices (not meaning to be fresh or sarcastic here). I specifically wanted to know how many copies sold for each one of the games listed (and others) specifically. From that I can durive my own averages. I''m interested in knowing not the Electronic Arts avg (median) game sales is 25,000 units. I''m specifically looking at the TOP games in the industry, accross different genres. Then I will take my averages from those numbers.
You see, right or wrong, I''m an optomist, and I KNOW when my game is done it will break all sales records of all prior games, not doubt about that ;-)
It''s this optomism that helps keep me motivated. Try, Try, and Try again, it''s this level for success that I strive for. I''m not trying to make a quick buck, I have bigger visions, I want to make the greatest game of ALL time, that people will remember long after I die, as being the game to have change the nation and the world. I want the kids of my grand kids to read about their great grandfather in their history books at school.
Laurence Grant
Dimensions Software
lgrant@fast.net
H=215-230-8357
C=215-262-9258
You see, right or wrong, I''m an optomist, and I KNOW when my game is done it will break all sales records of all prior games, not doubt about that ;-)
It''s this optomism that helps keep me motivated. Try, Try, and Try again, it''s this level for success that I strive for. I''m not trying to make a quick buck, I have bigger visions, I want to make the greatest game of ALL time, that people will remember long after I die, as being the game to have change the nation and the world. I want the kids of my grand kids to read about their great grandfather in their history books at school.
Laurence Grant
Dimensions Software
lgrant@fast.net
H=215-230-8357
C=215-262-9258
If you manage to find this information please let me know, i have tryed for several month to get some help with this.
Regards
Regards
Kent Bengtsson
bengtsson.sweden@telia.com
This seems too obvious to me, so I apologize if it is. However, www.PCData.com offers all this information. Unfortunately, it is a little pricey for the average person, $4,500 for a subscription.
If I were looking for this information, I would find a journalist who has access through their publication and get friendly with them
(Also, as a side benefit, it is going to help when trying to get the word out about your game.)
As an aside, GameSpin on GameCenter has had a number of reliable numbers for some of the games you were interested in.
-Jacob
If I were looking for this information, I would find a journalist who has access through their publication and get friendly with them
(Also, as a side benefit, it is going to help when trying to get the word out about your game.) As an aside, GameSpin on GameCenter has had a number of reliable numbers for some of the games you were interested in.
-Jacob
Some of the companies that make those games put sales figures on their website (usually the corporate part). Of course nobody says their numbers are accurate...
I know I have seen it for tombraider (www.eidos.com I think), and possibly one or two others as well.
Kind regards,
Maarten Egmond.
I know I have seen it for tombraider (www.eidos.com I think), and possibly one or two others as well.
Kind regards,
Maarten Egmond.
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