id Sales Numbers

October 15, 1999 3:02 PM

Since a bit of a debate on game sales erupted when I posted a link to a Forbes article a few days ago stating Ion Storm needed to sell 1.2 million copies of their next 3 games to break even, I emailed Todd Hollenshead up at id Software asking about the sales figures for Quake1 and Quake2 for comparison sake. Here's what Todd sent back:

about 1 million for Quake1, and about 1.2million for Quake2 not including console ports and OEM deals.

So there you have it. I wouldnt be surprised if Ion Storm did pull it off honestly for 1 or 2 of the titles. But 3 in a row is a bit steep.

Steve Gibson

Steve Gibson is the cofounder of Shacknews.com. Originally known as sCary's Quakeholio back in 1996, Steve is now President of Gearbox Publishing after selling Shacknews to GameFly in 2009.

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belzebutt

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October 15, 1999 3:11 PM

I don\'t know if a game can sell well without good word of mouth. DK will have to be damn good.

A lot of games sell despite crappy graphics though, you never know. The 1.2 million for the Quake games is months, over a year after release though. Ion will have to wait a long long time before they see a profit.