A fortnight's worth of sales aren't necessarily going to lead to a great overall profit, I'd be looking at steady sales over a period of months.

Good question. However the release versions of most non-Ubi published games are superior, but then going into Ubi's reputation would indeed be once again flogging another poor deceased horse.

Good point.

About a month after release somebody put it out there that Silent Hunter 3 had only sold around 24-28,000 copies. Instantly, as if by magic, the place was full of people running around yelling "SEE... IT WAS BUGGY MESS AND IT DIDN'T SELL! SEE... SEE... SEE..."

Turns out SH3 sold somewhere in excess of 300,000 copies.

There's a lesson in there somewhere, but I'm too tired to go looking for it.

JCC

Baloney. The site the OP listed doesn't say what figures they're quoting. A "sale" is scanner-through-the-register to the end-user. With the game being released late last week in the US, and scanner data being sourced through syndicated data firms, there is no feasible way that a Web author could have an article up Monday morning, across a weekend, and have used real scanner sales data. And without scanner data from big-box stores there is no way this title could have outsold full-distribution titles like WOW simply on the basis of a few drop-ship stores like EB and Gamestop.

So what is he using? I don't know but I'd speculate he's using warehouse withdrawl data from Ubi itself, or perhaps even flat ships from the packing sub-contractor to distributors--way, WAAAY up the supply chain from retail sales. In an industry that sells to retailers on a consignment basis it is lunacy to call that volume "sales." But if one did it's very possible SH4 shipped more boxes into the supply chain than titles like WOW and Stalker. Why? Because their snake is already full out to the shelf in store, while SH4 is MIA in big-box as yet.

Figures lie and liars figure. As of 90 minutes ago Target does not have any SH4 in store.

Benjamin Disraeli would have something to say about that.

The fact it did sell so well consistently over a period of 6+ months is probably why Ubi thought they could get away with dumping it before they published their quaterly accounts. For the sake of the franchise I hope it pays off, whilst giving them a simoultaneous moment of pause to think otherwise in future.

Seemed to have forgotten the pre-orders, money down and paid for games. Also, is there no EB Games around your way? I ordered mine last Tuesday and received it last Thursday. Two days:hmm:. Just food for thought for you. Targets big market is not video games therefore they might have it, they may not. Possible they will never have it. Try a store that lives and dies by game sales:yep:

Australian PC magazine PCPOWERPLAY gave SHIV a very good review i am told, im heading into town today to buy the mag so i can read up about it. My son who is not a Sub gamer but im slowly seeing hes got a big interest in WW2 US subs alhough he was disapointed when i told him you cannot command the japs subs. :rotfl:

Our conversations kinda go like this:

Early 2006
Dad: The Uboats son were the greywolves of the Atlantic, these were brave men who voluntary i repeat Voluntared to join the Uboat service for Germany during WW2, not only that but! They....

Son walks out of room.

March 2007
Dad: During WW2 the US subs son, oh boy sit down i got some great stories to tell you about the US subs.
Son: Were you their dad?
Dad: No i wasn't their dont get smart "slap" Anyway the US subs known as the 'Wolves of the Pacific'
Son: How do you know they're called Wolves of the Pacific?
Dad: Cause thats what the latest SH game is called! Now will you let me finish.
Son: yawns.
Dad: Anyway by the end of the war they had total control of the seas where some captains would wait outside enemy ports for ships cause japanese shipping was no where to be seen. Here let me show you a picture of the Gato.... Look at that isn't she a beauty.
Son: Takes notice moves chair closer to monitor to have a better look. Hey they are bigger than those uboats why are they larger than uboats.
Dad: Cause they're american and americans like everything big!:lol: Also the US subs patroled the pacific as you know shes a big ocean son.
Son: I kinda like the look of US subs
Dad: Nearly falls of chair. Yeah well your gonna love the game then, not only can we do the usual patrol to grid, but we will also have missions of picking up down pilots, sneaking into enemy ports and doing recon missions and having a go at taking on the Yamato class battleship. Speaking of battleships did you know son that the Yamato was the largest battleship during WW2.
Son: Wow, when this game arrives i'll have a go. *Dad chokes on coffee*
Dad: Really? Okay then maybe your be interest in a multiplay lan game.
Son: Sure that be cool
Dad: Falls of chair...

then a few days later he tells me to buy the latest PCPowerplay mag to read up on the SHIV review.

I think hes hooked.:D

Every day without SH4 finished (patched with no bugs) is a day ..........Oh whats the point .

Dang, how old is your son?, am 21, my father is in his late 50s and he has been telling me about fleet boats since i was ... well since i was.... anyhow he always talked to me about fleet boats, then when i got older i would educate him about german Uboats. I'am a little history buff in my own right... we played a lan game awhile back in SH3 days, and he was in a type 21, i was in a type 7. , Well he got trigger happy when he saw the convoy... lets just say he forgot i was in front of him and running @ flank, and he forgot he had acustic torpedos rdy to go... hmmm it wasnt pretty.

Good one :rotfl::rotfl:

Youngest is 15, hes more interested in girls his age at the moment than sub games, but hes taken a liking to SHIV. My eldest son use to play mulitplayer with me with Silent Hunter II & Destroyer command, he likes ships so naturally he went the Destroyer, we use to have alot of fun in the heavy fog maps, at times we would pass each other and didn't even know it :rotfl:

Very good news, not only will they be interested in an expansion, but future Silent hunter games. :up:

This article is a bit misleading. It's the top selling games at the Amazon.com website only. Still great news to see SH4 up there, but it's not nearly enough information to suggest that it's the "top selling PC game in North America".

These would not be reported in syndicated data yet either. Not until ship. Neither do I think pre-orders amount to enough volume--in four days--to unseat AAA games already at retail.

I don't go to malls. The last time I was in an EB Games at teh Mall of America they didn't have enough PC game titles to bother. Nor are their prices good.

Target etc. may have it someday, but that's not the point. The point is BB, Wal-Mart and Target don't have it, and without them you aren't going to be #1 in the U S.

I was all set to play this game this past weekend, but I see the problem reporting accelerating after the patch, not decreasing. I'm going to wait weeks/months now. I just started a new game of WITP; ought to take me 6 months or so.