Best selling PC games for April - a weird mix

[KrazyKraut]

http://kotaku.com/5255216/and-the-20-top+selling-pc-games-for-april-were

Okay there's the neverending story of WoW (4 spots!) and The Sims (another 3): Seriously, who keeps buying these games. If you really want them, you should have them by now (esp. The Sims). Then there's Warcraft III and Starcraft, wtf, what year is it again? But that can be topped, just look at #20!

Hats off to anyone who still develops games, no matter if those are Battlefield XXXX or Red Orchestra. Must be hard to manage if a new the Sims furniture set assembled in what I imagine to be no more than 50 hours outsells your hard work. That's why girls and parents should not be allowed to buy games.

 

[The Masta]

What the hell?
The Sims 2 Pets?
I mean seriously who buys such stuff I also wonder how H&D2 got on there.

 

[LemoN]

Wth?!

 

[Mahnsikir]

Ive not even saw H&D2 in the shops for a few years now strange... good to see DemiGod up there though, especially after the piracy (somthing like out of 120,000playing online only 20,000 were legit).

The top 20 PC games is always a sad list, basicly stuff like Sims and cheap boxset compilations, super hyped stuff like spore and about 5 new/different titles.

No surprise though that Sims is up there, it is imensly popular, my GF can happily play it for hours and has snapped up all the sims2 expansions over the last few years and its basily the only games she ever buys, while some(most) of them are over priced crap the amount she plays them she definetly gets her moneys worth in the end.

 

[Ron]

That's why girls and parents should not be allowed to buy games.

You know i'm considering to try and start developing games for this market, it would seem if you package it right they'll buy almost anything. The wii and nintendo have made a killing doing this.

 

[Grobut]

Thease are NPD sales, which are worth nothing (they don't count online distro's or, i belive, even hardcopies sold online, their lists are very lacking to say the least).

 

[SiC-Disaster]

The fact H&D2 is in that list is really weird, because it's hell trying to get it here.
Thankfully i got it on release day back then and i've got the expansion on time as well, because now i'd have to import it at insane prices.
So i wonder where those copies come from lol.

Still, it does give me joy that H&D2 is in the list, because it definitely is a great game and worth every last cent.
In my opinion it is still the best WW2 game out there together with RO.
H&D2's mp part sucked *** through, so a combination of H&D2 sp and atmosphere with RO mp would be like the ultimate worldwar2gasm.

 

[The Masta]

NPD sales

Would someone explain to me what that means, cause the only NPD I know isn't related to games in any way.

 

[husbert]

LOL masta

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King <--
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
3. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest <-- wth
4. Company Of Heroes: Tales Of Valour <-- bought
5. Empire: Total War <-- bought
6. World Of Warcraft
7. Left 4 Dead
8. DemiGod
9. Diablo Battle Chest
10. The Sims 2 Apartment Life
11. Spore
12. Warcraft III Battle Chest
13. Starcraft: Battle Chest
14. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade
15. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II
16. Sim City Box
17. Bejeweled Twist
18. Fallout 3
19. The Sims 2 Pets
20. Hidden & Dangerous 2 <--

 

[KrazyKraut]

They're a market research group. Obviously there's always a gap between the data collected and the real sales, but NPD include Amazon afaik, so they do include a very large share of all the hardcopies sold online. They don't have Steam or direct2drive, though.

I still don't get how Diablo or Starcraft got in there, Battlechest or not. Or Hidden and Dangerous 2. But then: rather a classic then more Sims interior addons.

 

[KrazyKraut]

You know i'm considering to try and start developing games for this market, it would seem if you package it right they'll buy almost anything. The wii and nintendo have made a killing doing this.

I never understood why no company i know of has copied the sims: They all try to imitate WoW because of the monthly fees, but that's not really working out for most (or any?) of them. Even Warhammer, with heavy hype and license didn't overcome WoW's network effects.

But Sims is single player and should be easy and cheap to copy. Sure you are never going to get close to the original in terms of sales, but even with a fraction you are probably more profitable then most other games out there. Just keep costs at a minimum and sell it as a bargain at Walmart. The risk would be small, shouldn't be hard to recoup.