The 26,500 figure was based upon the first few weeks of sales, and was somewhat suspect at the time. Unfortunately that figure has stuck in people's minds and will not go away.

The gaming press tends to review sales figures the same way that the entertainment press reviews movie sales figures. If a title doesn't sell tons of copies in it's opening weeks they tend to write it off. Comparing a niche title like Sh3 with a title with massive advance pomotion just isn't logical. Games like MOH and Splinter Cell have so much pre-launch publicity that demand is created well in advance of the release, leading to large first week sales. Using the same metric to measure SH3 is not reasonable. Remember too that all of that advance publicity incurs costs that have to be recouped through extra sales. It's not how much you make on a product that detemines it's fate... it's how much you keep.

Perhaps a more reliable statement came from a UbiSoft official on the UbiSoft forum where he stated that UbiSoft was very happy with the sales figures for Silent Hunter 3, given the niche nature of the product.

It is more likely that plans for an add-on have been rolled into Silent Hunter 4.

JCC

By way of anecdotal evidence, WalMart had a few copies the other day, still selling for almost $40. So did Target- neither company tends to keep items on the shelves long enough to gather dust.

Here is the quote from a UbiSoft official regaarding the figure of 26,500 units sold...

"You'd be surprised actually. Ubisoft likes to invest in smaller niche titles (look at our support for the flight sim market) and not always go for the big blockbuster (although they're nice too). Compared to something like FIFA, SH3 sold very little, but for what it is - a very niche title - it sold very, very well"

JCC

Yeah, that sounds on the money, I reckon.

As a good barometer of how popular it was you just have look at the explosion in new members here at subsim when it came out. Elsewhere I was seeing threads about Silent Hunter 3 in the most unlikely places (Such as on the Football Manager forums at Sports Interactive for example.) Compared to something like IL-2 it may not have shifted that many copies but compared to probably every other Sub sim in history I'm sure it did exceptionally well.

I've seen scores of copies of SH3 stock up and then disappear from my two local Best Buy stores. This has happened repeatedly, for months, and it still priced at US$40 there.

I agree with Beery that Ubi marketing performed in an abysmal manner for the U.S. release.

Whatever the situation might be on sales, I just hope work is continuing on a subsequent title for the line. This is a beautiful quality sub sim and we don't get those very often.

I've seen scores of copies of SH3 stock up and then disappear from my two local Best Buy stores. This has happened repeatedly, for months, and it still priced at US$40 there.

I agree with Beery that Ubi marketing performed in an abysmal manner for the U.S. release.

Whatever the situation might be on sales, I just hope work is continuing on a subsequent title for the line. This is a beautiful quality sub sim and we don't get those very often.

It's nice to know SH III did so well, now I am looking forward to commanding a U.S. fleet boat in the pacific in SH IV :rock:

if only they'd go that one step further and release model editing and conversion tools--or cut a deal with the G-MAX group and include a gamepack for constructing new model files ala MSN's Flight Simulator and various other games--i'm sure this would instantly widen the appeal and allow for greater long term sales and limitless future expansion work--

just that one step further and we have the whole area normally reserved for Flight Sim and Combat Flight Sim communitys opened up--endless new ships subs cities aircraft anything you fancy--it's a different attitude perhaps--but folks would soon adapt to it and it would i'm sure draw a constant stream of new players into the sim--(just as Pacific Aces must surely have done with SH2- i've bought many a commercail flight sim expansion pack that was no were near as comprehensively done and implemented as PA)---it might get confusing at first to have dozens of these sorts of expansion packs around to choose from-- with people losing perhaps the normal continuity and atmosphere of the sim- but the original game would stil remain as it was--just the choices available would be vastly increased--and for those who like to model ships etc --what a hobby!! and that's what --I think--happens with niche market games and sims---they transcend the normal computer game genre and it's limited ability to satisfy long term (after all that's not in the design brief) and become what can only be called a good old fashioned Hobby--

my fingers are itching to model for SH3--if nothing else it's great fun noddling away in a modeling program, very engrossing-- i wish they'd gone that one step further and included the modeling kit

Wise words!

In fact I think UBI wasn't confident on sales in US. US market is more action/FPS oriented. They couldn’t trust that SHIII is valuable enough to invest in US advertising. The sad truth is that the US Magazines give a lot of prize to the game but… the sales were poor.

UBI underestimated the value of SHIII that’s the truth. They give it away on US marketing this title without any advertising. And in this case the flaw on sales maybe hit the Dev Team.

Perhaps, with the noise made on Magazines, Game Reviews sites and on Sub Sim about Silent Hunter III, more guys will give it a try. In fact I already see that – some guys that never played a sub simulation now are fell in love with SHIII.

If this game will win the Best Simulation of The Year Title than we will have a true winner and this could be a new lesson to UBI marketing.

On the other hand you can’t compare Silent Hunter III with Splinter Cell or Prince of Persia (and in this case is normal that almost all the UBI marketing brains to be focused on those titles).

Thus the consequence for next Silent Hunter to get more sales in the US is to include more virtual heroes. Anatomically modelled still near to a type of Rambo or Conan and also with the voices of Arnold and Sylvester. The two then saves the world alone as Commander and CI in their Balao class submarine.
:lost:

This could be a valuable idea. :-j Don’t mention it twice cause it could happen to be taken seriously by UBI.

From what I know the American fight with aliens and saved the world/ blast a terrible meteor that come our way and save the world/ fight with dragons and save the world/ fight the Germans and save the world/ fight the Russian and save the world/ fight in Iraq and perhaps… will save the world too. :-j

I remember from my grandfather stories how desperately the Americans where waited in Romania after 1944 (mainly because the people here where so frightened by the Russian Army). The bad thing is that the Americans never come in Romania during WWII after the Romanians turn the weapons against Germany.

Now they have a base in Constanta… they finally arrive after 45 years of communism + other 13 years of cosmetic communism after the ‘90ies.

Americans are made to be heroes. Too bad that other nations doesn’t have this pride and don’t love their flags as the Americans loves their one.

So I understand finally US need for heroes. They have movies with fire fighters/ with cops/ with hokey player/ with football player and perhaps if they will make a movie with carpenters everybody would like to become a carpenter. :o

America rock's! :rock:

I'd like to see a reliable sales figure. 26000 sounds low - I would have thought the 80000 figure was closer. But without confirmation it's anybody's guess.

Either way 26000 or 80000 are not big sales, and whether it made a profit or not depends on how many man hours were put into the project, and and what kind of deal the developers had with the publishers / distributers. Again, without this information it's guesswork.

It would be interesting to know if this was sim successful, although a few months ago there as an article on a US based website that it was in the top ten worst selling games...

Well, there's this carpenter, this Jesus guy. I believe they made movies about him. :P

He's pretty popular in the US as far as I know.

Anyone got figures on seawolves copies sold?

Just out of interest...

Well... that guy was definitely a hero... after I saw the hack and slash from Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ� why in the nine heavens I should want to be him!?! :o

Does anybody have the sales figures for Canada? The price hasn't gone down here - it's still about $49 CDN, which is what I paid for it. The last time I was at Walmart (less than a month ago) there were at least 5 copies on the shelf (although they were buried behind copies of Vampire - The Masquerade Bloodlines). There were no copies at EB Games, "The Source", or Futureshop, although maybe that means they were sold out? :hmm:

SH-3 PRICEING
 

I got my first copy at a local Game Spot store for $30. A month later i got a second copy for $25. This is the first ive heard of a SH-4. I only heard arumor of a pacific theater xpan pac. :D