This’ll make you feel all fuzzy-warm inside. Sins Of A Solar Empire, Stardock’s mighty, but somewhat under-the-radar, space RTS, was the second-best selling PC game in February, according to omni-analysts NPD.
Yeah, we already knew it was doing well. Nonetheless, it looks really strange in there, coolly trumping all yer chart-mainstay Warcrafts and Simses and Orange Boxes – it’s like seeing Art Brut on Top of the Pops.
Stardock reckon that’s only half the story, as NPD doesn’t include digital downloads – which constitute “most sales of Sins of a Solar Empire thus far”, apparently – nor does it include copies bought in Walmart. “Unofficial tallies we’ve received internally put Sins at #1,” they say. Good work, those men.
As well as big-money-happy-fun-time, it’s a huge, phlegmy spit in the eye of the piracy-is-killing-PC-gaming camp, as this is a game that famously ships with absolutely zero copy protection. Of course, Stardock CEO Brad Wardell pre-emptively suggested why he thinks Sins has proved so successful despite/because of this (and also despite minimal media coverage) in a lengthy, fascinating blog post last week (you’ve probably also already read our Kieron’s follow-up thoughts on it.)
It’s fascinating to see Wardell’s business theories (in short, ‘know your audience’) apparently play out exactly as he planned. The question is, will other parts of the games industry now sit up and take notice? Or does their tried-and-tested tactic of Cool-Looking Men With Guns remain too safe a money-spinner, no matter that the audience interested in such titles seems more piracy-prone than the carefully-targeted customer base for a complicated strategy game? Indeed, taking a quick gander at A Leading Torrent site, about 500 people are currently leeching Sins, while around 2000 are grabbing Call of Duty 4, NPD’s official February number 1 (but unofficial number 2, if Stardock’s estimates are correct). Interesting times.
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Is Art Brut good? The only track of theirs I’ve heard is the one on FIFA 08.
That’s my point in a nutshell. I don’t feel that achieving a required level of aesthetics and functionality should garner the praise given to Sins.
I agree with you, Him, I don’t like it that much, either. It’s an ok game, no doubt, but I grew rather bored after 3 games or so against the AI.
@Jim Rossignol: I don’t know what IGN you are reading but their coverage on Sins blew the coverage of similar games and even that of more mainstream PC strategy titles out of the water. Stardock even got to make their own blog posts on that site: http://pc.ign.com/objects/775/775249.html
Can’t say anything about Kotaku since I don’t frequently visit it (not enough PC news in general if you ask me ;) ).
I am not saying SoaSE doesn’t deserve it (just like there isn’t anything wrong with constantly spreading the word), just that “under the radar” sounds a bit odd for what it is and when it’s compared to other games of its kind. PC game journalists who like a bit of strategy have probably already mentioned it on their blogs or wherever they are writing, just like it was the case with GalCiv II.
And of course this is nothing like the CoD 4-monster on that same “radar” but then again comparing the buzz for a new PC strategy game to a multiplatform sequel for a popular FPS franchise is a bit far-fetched. :) Because if you look at it that way you might as well say that PC (strategy) games in general don’t get enough attention from the big sites (which is the case unfortunately :( ). That’s why we rely on RPS, that’s the radar scanner I trust.
I bought it on Stardock, and paid the extra $20 to have the box shipped to me. When it got here, it was the collectors edition.
Also…
@Kieron Gillen: Woops, my mistake! They definitely do play a verse and a chorus of Good Weekend in that video Alec linked, however.
So…space strategy/RTS that y’all got yer panties in a bunch over. (I’m from Northern California, but for some reason I start “speaking” like I’m from Texas when I post here…) And it has a cool name. Does the game actually describe/show/let you commit these “sins”? Does it make judgements about them? Or is it just the mechanics of “build this, move here, blow up that, they captured that”?
The big problem I have, is that I *KNOW* I want COD4. (But will wait until it’s cheaper.) I’ve played the demo. But I don’t know if I want SOASE because there is no demo…why?!?
Seconding “what’s with the no demo thing”. Weren’t we promised one would arrive last month?
March it was I think.