By Alec Meer on March 10th, 2009 at 10:21 am.
As if more proof were needed that Febrooairy and Marrtch were months made of strategy, we hear glad tidings of little army men achieving great commercial success. Across the world (including the US, UK and Oz) last week, Dawn of War II hit the top of the PC charts like a, er, Space Marine hitting a pile of Orks with a powerfist. Or something. God, it’s too early for tortorous similes.
However, come this week in the UK, DOWII’s down to number 3 in the PC charts, below the latest instalment of perennial UK man-magnet Football Manager. In the all-formats chart, it places a mere 29th. DOOM! PC GAMING, DEAD! DEAD LIKE MY ABILITY TO DEVISE FUNNY SIMILES! Except… we have a new champion. One that achieves even greater success.
Sitting pretty at number one in the UK PC chart is Empire: Total War. And at number one in the all formats chart? Woo-hoo! Empire: Total War, possibly the most PC-gamey game of all-time, is master of all it surveys. Eat that, Killzone 2 and Halo Wars. The PC is the ultimate champion once again – coo in envy and mild arousal as it performs the crab most muscular.
No word on its Yankee chart-placement yet, which is likely to be interesting. Empire’s Euro-focus, despite the introductory War of Independence campaign, seemed to rile a few of our more patriotic American readers a little while back – could there be a general sentiment that ETW be disrepectin’ the colonies?
Amusingly, I note that the game features different box art in the UK and US. It’s the same shouting Sean Bean-alike front’n'centre, but in the UK he’s wearing a red coat with a British flag waving behind him. In the US? Why, blue coat and star-spangled banner. See above for empirical proof.
LOLZOR. Though it totally makes sense, of course: that evil motherland-celebrating redcoat box sat on US store shelves would have riled tempers enormously. It’ll certainly be fascinating to see if ETW can achieve the same success in the US, or if there’s a genuinely a political/cultural/historical obstacle between it and megabucks.
Update – seems like there’s a ton of different Empires. LOLZOR once more:
Thanks to Winfred van Heerebeek for pointing that out.
10/03/2009 at 10:25 Feet says:
LOLZOR indeed.
10/03/2009 at 10:27 Jay says:
Arf, didn’t notice until it was mentioned
10/03/2009 at 10:28 Bobsy says:
What the hell what the hell man! Is Fake-Sean-Bean switchin’ sides on us? TRAITOR. Damn colonies and your democracy.
Also, note how the American version is dark and super-gritty, but the Euro version is all bright lolfag colours. First Diablo and now this. I did wonder why all my cavalry were riding unicorns and Aslans.
10/03/2009 at 10:29 Morgawr says:
Empire Total War is also No.1 on Steam and Direct2Drive which makes its number one placing on the All Formats chart even more of a success. It seems retail and digital distribution can successfully coexist.
10/03/2009 at 10:31 Winfred van Heerebeek says:
Apparently there’s a lot more localized box arts
see link:
http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/919/allempireboxes2qw1.jpg
10/03/2009 at 10:33 Heliocentric says:
CA are not credited on the front of the us box, curious. Also the british box? MOAR BAOT PLZ
10/03/2009 at 10:35 grasskit says:
actually for me it looks more like Ioan Gruffudd (Hornblower TV series) on the cover
10/03/2009 at 10:35 Heliocentric says:
CANT ONE OF THEM BE SMILING? Remember that kirby box art? the japanese kirby was happy. Maybe japanese sean bean will smile too.
10/03/2009 at 10:38 Theoban says:
I like that on the US version the ships seem further away. Someone’s scared of naval superiority….
10/03/2009 at 10:43 Bobsy says:
He looks nothing like Hornblower. He can’t stretch his body like rubber for one Thing.
10/03/2009 at 10:48 Gap Gen says:
More proof that the 1700s employed clone armies to resolve territorial issues?
10/03/2009 at 10:48 Spiny says:
What, no Welsh cover?
(lol :))
10/03/2009 at 10:49 Ian says:
An RTS with stretchy-limbed units? That’d be Fantastic.
10/03/2009 at 10:56 Ben Abraham says:
Oh, you thought the ETW musket man was a Sean Bean-alike? I thought he was the spitting image of Horatio Hornblower, and that would make sense with the new Nautical additions.
10/03/2009 at 11:00 Bobsy says:
Hornblower wouldn’t scream like that.
10/03/2009 at 11:03 Seniath says:
First time this (a PC Game being top of the All Format charts) has happened since Oct. 2007, according to GamesIndustry.biz.
10/03/2009 at 11:14 Rei Onryou says:
Clever marketing. No doubt the English cover version would get banned in certain states. Instead, it’s guaranteed to pull those Yanks in. Well done you.
10/03/2009 at 11:21 Davee says:
Hey! You forgot the Swedish version! Atleast PC Gamer Sweden-magazine had one on the cover. Also, it’s awesome to hear that ETW is doing so well on the charts – and it should be, beeing such a great game ;)
10/03/2009 at 11:22 grasskit says:
Bobsy says:
Hornblower wouldn’t scream like that
hah!
10/03/2009 at 11:28 The Hammer says:
Frigging awesome news. Really great to see a PC game top the charts. Hats off to you, Creative Assembly! <3
10/03/2009 at 11:31 Tei says:
It fit my opinion for national identities. All nations are photoshop identities.
But what I know? I am anarchist.
10/03/2009 at 11:37 Rob says:
I thought it had to be doing well from the number of consecutive players over at Steam, a peak of 37,885 over the last 24 hours – finally kicking FM 2009 down to #4.
10/03/2009 at 11:48 Lindsay Cooper says:
[i]“Hornblower wouldn’t scream like that”[/i]
Haha! You obviously haven’t seen the ‘FIYYYYAAAAAAH’ shot!
10/03/2009 at 11:50 Larington says:
Hi Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo.
What? Oh you’re not happy about how your consistent marketting campaigns for your consoles currently seem to be, uh, having a lesser impact.
Thats a shame isn’t it.
What a shame.
10/03/2009 at 11:51 Bhazor says:
Reply to Cooper
Is that the one when he was played as Sly Stallone as Demolition Man? In the 1980s?
10/03/2009 at 11:54 Richard Beer says:
What a bitingly satirical comment on the horror of War. Everyone thinks their forces are the heroes, the glorious patriots destroying the evil, hateful enemy. But every soldier who dies is someone’s son or daughter, a father or a sister! We are all ONE!
Now let me save up my pennies so I can kill Them in the face.
10/03/2009 at 11:55 Marianna says:
Aw, no Italian version? Boo, no one cares for my little paeninsula.
It would have just required a little more work. Just the guy’s back as he’s running away. Screaming.
10/03/2009 at 12:02 Klumhru says:
“Hornblower wouldn’t scream like that”
Most true, he’d be crouched in a corner sawing away at his wrist with his 50 guinea sword (presented by the most patriotic fund) ;)
Those box arts are neat though, seeing as you can play as most of those countries. I do feel a little bad that you cannot play as the yanks – aside from the relatively short RTI campaign – seeing as the rise of the United States is an event in the game (quickly squashed by my British Empire of course), so the nationality is in fact included in the game proper. The moddability of the TW games will almost certainly spawn a playable addition of the faction. The wait for a mod portraying the Napoleonic wars will hardly be long either.
10/03/2009 at 12:08 Malagate says:
@Marianna, of course there’s an Italian version. It’s called Rome: Total War.
/gets coat
10/03/2009 at 12:13 Lukasz says:
@Klumhru
The probability of seeing Napoleonic War as official addon is quite high.
But i would prefer to see asai again in total war.
10/03/2009 at 12:15 Ginger Yellow says:
There seems to be a pretty huge, though entirely understandable, transatlantic gap in audience for the Total War games. Hardly any of the US based podcasts I listen to (and I listen to pretty much all of them) have done more than mention it in passing. PCG:US had to get Tim Edwards on the phone to talk about it because none of the US guys had played it at all, after it had been released! The GWJ guys were far more interested in the Entrenchment expansion for Sins.
Like I said, it’s understandable in that the UK has a much more PC gaming culture and the Americans are only sort of in it, but still. You’d think people working for a PC gaming magazine would have played one of the biggest games all year several days after its release.
10/03/2009 at 12:17 Okami says:
@Marianna: Well, Italy really wasn’t one of the major powers of the 18th century. Actually, there was no such thing as an italian state during that time. What I think is a lot more outrageous is the lack of austrian/habsburgian cover artwork. After all the Habsburgs are one of the major powers of Empire:Total War and the game is sold in Austria.. Though what’s worse than no austrian cover art is the fact that austrian troops talk with german accents in-game. Blasphemy!
10/03/2009 at 12:17 mrmud says:
That is indeed quite disturbing
10/03/2009 at 12:18 Mark Roberts says:
Heh, I took the games Euro-Centric views and shoved em where the sun don’t shine by kicking the British out of my country…and then I invaded Mexico…
10/03/2009 at 12:19 The Sombrero Kid says:
the Scottish box art says English people are [stop that - RPS] for once again confusing the word England with BRITAIN!
Jesus it’s not hard England is the shit part of Britain where trains are late and the NHS pays mercenary doctors to kill old people and Britain or Great Britain as we’re bold enough to call it is the whole island Scottish drunks and welsh sheep and all.
10/03/2009 at 12:42 Markoff Chaney says:
Huzzah! Excellent news indeed! I have to laugh at the different covers – social engineering at its finest, it is. I almost want to pick this up, if I can get over my RTS dislikes. I’m hoping that the slow action of having to manually reload their rifles may actually slow it down enough that this Turn Based guy may enjoy himself. I’ve heard bad things about consistent hard locks (Video driver related?) from some people, but I’ve heard so much good about this game…
At least I’d get to play some of the more interesting battles from history. I’d get to be not only some of the greatest Empires this blue ball has seen thus far but I’d also get a mini campaign where I can direct a fledgling Republic before they succumbed to the destructive forces of privilege and “Democracy” and defecated over all that they were founded for. Huzzah!
10/03/2009 at 13:20 Andrew Dunn says:
Not bad, Creative Assembly. Not bad at all!
Well done to them, they deserve it.
10/03/2009 at 13:31 unclelou says:
Like I said, it’s understandable in that the UK has a much more PC gaming culture and the Americans are only sort of in it, but still. You’d think people working for a PC gaming magazine would have played one of the biggest games all year several days after its release.
Serious question: is that true? It has always been my impression that the UK has been a console-country, while the US were PC gamers (until the Xbox(es)) arrived at least.
I remember making fun of you crazy British in the early 90s when I saw your charts. ;)
10/03/2009 at 13:31 Dain says:
Interesting thought: Is the reverse true? Are Europeans turned off by American centric games? All evidence seems to point to the answer being “No” but perhaps I’m missing something.
Perhaps it’s the same reason US versions of television shows and films are made.. I’ve never fully understood that one either.
10/03/2009 at 13:37 Saul says:
Well, you know, take a little DNA from Sean Bean and a little from Ioan Grufford. Place in a large test tube. With weird science, anything is possible!!
10/03/2009 at 13:50 Ginger Yellow says:
“Serious question: is that true? It has always been my impression that the UK has been a console-country, while the US were PC gamers (until the Xbox(es)) arrived at least.”
I’m willing to be proved wrong, but that’s the polar opposite of my understanding. Consoles didn’t really take off in the UK until the Playstation – before then most gaming was on the BBC Micro/Spectrum/C64/Amiga, and a lot of those gamers moved on to the PC when it became a decent games platform. The SNES and Megadrive had a fairly small following, but the NES, which was huge in the States, was pretty much ignored. The only people I knew as a kid who had one were expat Americans.
The biggest franchise in the UK – Football Manager – is as PC as they come, whereas Madden in the US clearly is not. And just look at the relative prominence of PC games on Eurogamer versus 1Up.
10/03/2009 at 14:02 The Sombrero Kid says:
I’ve got my gripes with eurogamer, they constantly and deliberately avoid mentioning pc versions of in development games or even games that have been released they’re waging a personal campaign of format genocide against PC’s imo (except where it can’t be avoided ala Empre & DOW2)
10/03/2009 at 14:03 Markoff Chaney says:
Apologies if my prior comments caused issues. That was neither my intention nor desire. Apologies. I’ll endeavor to only leave pithy comments going forward, but I’ll probably fail at that as well.
10/03/2009 at 14:12 ET says:
B-but what if I live in the US but want some redcoat action? Didn’t anyone in marketing think of me or the three other people like me?
*sob*
10/03/2009 at 14:21 Paul Moloney says:
That’s cool. Just curious; when was the last time a PC-only game topped the all-formats chart?
P.
10/03/2009 at 14:21 redcoat says:
i’m enjoying the shitstorm over the dishonest crippling and hiding of the “special forces units” on the discs you buy. it took no time before people found out that all the info to play with them was right there all along and simple modding could put them back in instead of their rip-off. I heard that to get all the “special” units from the various limited offers here and there you’d have to pay $150 or something and gather all the versions together to get a complete set. garbage.
of course now they’re threatening people who simply mod them in instead of paying. looks like the days of modders looking through the discs or installations to find unused material is long gone. heck, this is the first step on the road to barring open modding altogether. they’ll claim it is “ILLEGAL” or some shit. what if i simply mod in similar or identical units i make myself? either they’ll claim that too is “ILLEGAL” or it won’t be long before they bar everyone from it.
this is even worse than the horse armour nonsense. rot in hell, ca.
combining this with the horrible drm, bugs and unfinished products and it’s the dying days of (mainstream) pc gaming. certainly the golden ages are long dead now. for shame. mainstream pc gaming is going down the toilet. if this is what we can expect then i won’t even miss it.
good riddance.
10/03/2009 at 14:22 Bobsy says:
@ET: The tea’s in the post.
Oh no wait, hang on. Boston Harbour, I meant to say. Not post. The tea’s in Boston Harbour.
10/03/2009 at 14:29 Ginger Yellow says:
Multiformat, especially console-led, games are one thing, but Eurogamer gives far more prominence to PC-focused titles like Empire or World of Goo than the US sites do. It’s especially noticeable with indie titles. Compare the coverage of Flower or Braid with World of Goo or Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People.
10/03/2009 at 14:34 Ginger Yellow says:
“Just curious; when was the last time a PC-only game topped the all-formats chart?”
When did the most recent Football Manager come out?
10/03/2009 at 14:39 unclelou says:
combining this with the horrible drm, bugs and unfinished products and it’s the dying days of (mainstream) pc gaming. certainly the golden ages are long dead now. for shame. mainstream pc gaming is going down the toilet. if this is what we can expect then i won’t even miss it.
What a busload of hyperbole because of a few special units. Of course they’re on every disc, how were you supposed to play multiplayer again someone with them otherwise?
10/03/2009 at 14:40 bantros says:
Dammit, I want my English cover and not this ‘General’ nonsense!
10/03/2009 at 14:51 Rich_P says:
Interestingly, ETW appears three times in Steam’s top sellers list. (Vanilla, Special Forces, and as part of the TW Mega Pack)
10/03/2009 at 15:00 gonkamatic says:
You know you actually can play as the Americans in the grand campaign. You just have to complete the Road to independence thing
10/03/2009 at 15:05 catska says:
Its quite telling that the charts everyone is championing are for the UK only, which has long been a small, PC centric market (hello football manager). If you think ETW will even come close to the numbers put up by Killzone 2 and Halo Wars on NPD or worldwide you are clearly delusional.
Savor the small wins when you can I guess. They don’t come very often for this platform.
10/03/2009 at 15:17 logabob says:
lolcakes at the localized box art… us Americans are a very self-reflective people, and quite aware that were are not the only country in existence. That would just be self-centered.
10/03/2009 at 15:19 jRides says:
The game itself eats up an ungodly 15GB on my harddisk – what the hell is it doing with all thos GBs?
10/03/2009 at 15:22 Taillefer says:
I’ve stopped playing for the moment in the hopes the AI will be fixed. I can only have so much fun against enemy troops which will often just literally stand there and let me slaughter them. It’s particularly bad when they’re supposed to be defending. They make no attempt to get out of the range of artillery, won’t charge when I’m up close, rarely bother to shoot from the walls… are most of you really not experiencing this? My last battle was my 1023 against 1092, I lost 108 men and killed 1092, and about 34 of my losses were from friendly fire, heh. I’d like to claim it’s just because I’m an outstanding general, but it’s just poor AI. I am sad.
10/03/2009 at 15:25 Ginger Yellow says:
“Its quite telling that the charts everyone is championing are for the UK only, which has long been a small, PC centric market (hello football manager).”
Small? It’s only just behind Japan and it has the highest per capital games revenue in the world.
10/03/2009 at 15:27 Ginger Yellow says:
“what the hell is it doing with all thos GBs?”
Playing an awful lot of Peggle?
10/03/2009 at 15:40 caesarbear says:
Oh come on. We all know you Brits are imperialist loving fops. The only way this is going to top the US charts is if they had put a Mel Gibson clone on the cover instead of Horatio Dandy.
10/03/2009 at 15:42 Malagate says:
@Taillefer, what difficulty was it set at? It’s still quite a shame that the ai would react so poorly even if it was on a normal or easier setting, but I’ve heard that the ai gets more agressive on harder difficulty settings.
Also regarding “X is bigger than Y, ergo Z” stuff, figures with sources (a.k.a. links) or it didn’t happen.
10/03/2009 at 15:43 Jimbob says:
“Of course they’re on every disc, how were you supposed to play multiplayer again someone with them otherwise?”
How about as they’ve done with any expansions of various games through time? Only those with the expansion disc can play with each other.
Of course in this case it’s a pretty cheap move for them to save money by simply blocking off content that is already in the original game you bought and then ransoming it out.
It’s like me selling you a copy of a book and then putting a rubber band around the last four pages and demanding that you pay another £5 before you can read them or selling you a box of chocolates and demanding that you stump up another fiver to look at the bottom layer you already have in the box. An outrageous rip-off.
10/03/2009 at 15:43 Skurmedel says:
No Swedish flag on my DVD box :(…
10/03/2009 at 15:45 caesarbear says:
Although now that I look at the General cover closer, it’s clear that Horatio’s regiment there is being flanked and surrounded by the good ole’ US of A. Obviously that’s not a war cry, but his final gasp of horror.
10/03/2009 at 15:59 unclelou says:
Its quite telling that the charts everyone is championing are for the UK only, which has long been a small, PC centric market (hello football manager). If you think ETW will even come close to the numbers put up by Killzone 2 and Halo Wars on NPD or worldwide you are clearly delusional.
Why do you sound rather bitter?
I’d say it’s just the opposite – that it’s on No. 1 in the UK, the least PC-centric country in Europe, is quite telling. You can bet your left and right hand that it’s No. 1 in Germany, Scandinavia, Holland, Austria and whatnot anyway. That Football Manager, the *only* PC game (apart from WoW) I ever see in the UK charts, is the only example mentioned probably speaks volumes.
I remember the The Witcher dev team celebrating when it sold a few thousand (if that) copies in the UK, because they could extaploate that to over a million in the rest of Europe and the US.
I am seriously confused now to have seen two comments here that call the UK PC-centric.
10/03/2009 at 16:02 Ginger Yellow says:
Jimbob, I’m 99% certain that it was a sweetener for retailers, who really don’t like non-Valve games that require Steam. Gamestop pulled pre-orders for DoW II for that reason until people kicked up a fuss. That’s presumably also why there’s a different unit for each major retailer rather than going with just one, which surely would have netted them more money. And besides, they’ve hinted pretty clearly that they’ll be giving all the units away further down the line.
10/03/2009 at 16:04 Fumarole says:
Jimbob – yeah you’re right, dividing the player base makes much more sense.
10/03/2009 at 16:04 Ginger Yellow says:
unclelou – my comments were strictly comparing it to the US. I’m certainly not claiming that the UK is as PC-centric as continental Europe, non-Japan Asia or Russia.
10/03/2009 at 16:05 unclelou says:
How about as they’ve done with any expansions of various games through time? Only those with the expansion disc can play with each other.
Would you really have thought it’s a better idea if they’d only let people with the respective versions play against each other?
It’s like me selling you a copy of a book and then putting a rubber band around the last four pages and demanding that you pay another £5 before you can read them or selling you a box of chocolates and demanding that you stump up another fiver to look at the bottom layer you already have in the box. An outrageous rip-off.
No, it’s not like that at all. Because noone forced you to buy the SF edition, nor is the “normal” version in any way broken or incomplete, and you knew beforehand what you’d get in each version.
Of course in this case it’s a pretty cheap move for them to save money by simply blocking off content that is already in the original game you bought and then ransoming it out.
Or you could see it the other way round: they only made the extra units because they knew they could charge for them, gave you the choice if you want to pay for them, and were even nice enough to put them on every disc in order not to restrict multiplayer games?
10/03/2009 at 16:06 Pijama says:
NICE. Russian cover is made of win, somehow it is proper for them.
Also, why Empire has a diabolic cooperation with Steam to NOT be playable in a nice, easy and friendly manner? :(
10/03/2009 at 16:10 unclelou says:
@Ginger:
Yeah, I realised – I was more confused about catska’s comments.
10/03/2009 at 16:13 Great Anorak in the Sky says:
Kind of sad that I noticed this, but the French edition is inaccurate. Sean Bean is wearing a pre-Revolutionary white uniform, but the flags in the background are all the revolutionary tricolour flag (ie the modern French flag) and not the pre-Revolutionary white flag. Either the flags should be white or Sean Bean should be wearing blue.
Unless Sean Bean is actually being shot by the revolutionaries waving the flags behind him. That would explain the expression on his face.
10/03/2009 at 16:20 Taillefer says:
Malagate, I was playing on Hard. Irk. But, yeah, that’s bad regardless of difficulty.
Also, I played a little with the Road to Independence. And it wasn’t as noticeable. I concluded a lot of that is scripted behaviour, but I don’t know if anybody can confirm it. Kieron mentioned the enemy charging his general, which is exactly what they did to me, but disregarded the rest of my troops and ran down a big tunnel of muskets and died horribly.
10/03/2009 at 16:34 lumpi says:
It’s not a tear I… I just got something in my eye… *sniff*
10/03/2009 at 16:43 Lambo says:
This is a really great game and i can see my self addicted to it for the next week or so. My personal qualm with this is that there is STILL no Irish playable faction. God damn our under representation in games. I know that Ireland wasnt any way a faction at the time but it was basically a protectorate of britain around those times (I think). It would be very simple to make it at least a very volatile unrestful region that if public order drops to a set place then it rebels and becomes its own single state nation. It doesnt need to be able to compete with any other faction but it should at least be able to be a annoyance to britain. (also do the same for Scotland and Wales I guess).
10/03/2009 at 16:45 Andrew Dunn says:
The last PC game to top the All Formats chart was Football Manager 2008, in October 2007.
10/03/2009 at 16:46 Ragnar says:
Interesting enough. The flags on my version (bought in retail in Sweden) is as follows:
US to the left, then British in the middle, French to the right and a Swedish flag even more to the right. And the screamer wears a red coat.
And about Hownblower, I think the man in a blue coat on the ship in the intro movie looks much more like Ioan Gruffudd than the screaming man on the cover.
10/03/2009 at 16:55 clive dunn says:
All those people having a problem with the A.I, have you made sure the ‘A.I enabled’ button is ticked in the Game Settings menu?
10/03/2009 at 16:55 clive dunn says:
just fooling around. God,, i hope nobody checked!
10/03/2009 at 17:01 Jimbob says:
“No, it’s not like that at all.”
Yes it is. You haven’t explained why it isn’t at all. I could easily make the same claims you have about “seeing it the other way” about my book or chocolate examples. Try again.
10/03/2009 at 17:09 Ginger Yellow says:
“It would be very simple to make it at least a very volatile unrestful region that if public order drops to a set place then it rebels and becomes its own single state nation. ”
Uh, that’s exactly what happens if you let unrest grow. It’s much easier to maintain order than it was historically, but still.
10/03/2009 at 17:18 Kieron Gillen says:
UK isn’t a PC centric country and never has been. The US has always had the PC closer to the heart of the country – not least because proper PC development started there in the 80s when we were all on Amigas primarily.
Britain is odd in many ways. It’s telling the PS3 has done better here than many other places.
I’ll say this though: It often seems that Americans have an odd aversion towards non-American developed PC games.
Which opens a can of worms.
KG
10/03/2009 at 17:21 Ginger Yellow says:
For these purposes (console vs PC), I consider the Amiga (and ST) to be a PC.
10/03/2009 at 17:28 Kieron Gillen says:
While Amiga=a PC is the religious dogma on which RPS is constructed as an aesthetic, I think in this situation it’s worth stressing explicitly that’s we’re talking about.
KG
10/03/2009 at 17:58 Erlam says:
“Interesting thought: Is the reverse true? Are Europeans turned off by American centric games? All evidence seems to point to the answer being “No” but perhaps I’m missing something.”
I don’t think it’s possible to have that view, as you’d have to not play 90% of games, sadly.
I have to admit though, I’d be totally happy to play (yet another) WW2 shooter if I didn’t have to be the 101st Airborne every fucking time. Or the Black and Tans, but hey, at least I can eat Irish babies ;)
10/03/2009 at 18:03 Gap Gen says:
“US to the left, then British in the middle, French to the right and a Swedish flag even more to the right. And the screamer wears a red coat.”
What battle was that, I wonder? Some kind of World Cup match?
10/03/2009 at 18:06 Gap Gen says:
Erlam: “I have to admit though, I’d be totally happy to play (yet another) WW2 shooter if I didn’t have to be the 101st Airborne every fucking time.”
I noticed this retrospectively in Red Alert – the story itself is very European, with the main leaders being German, Greek and Russian, and yet nearly all of the Allied soldiers have American accents. It’s possible that you’re commanding an American expeditionary force, but it’s never mentioned.
10/03/2009 at 18:08 JonCormier says:
Oh man, I need to check what cover is being distributed throughout Canada (Quebec in particular). What with the whole, dual settlement and continuing outrage because of it…
10/03/2009 at 18:16 Noc says:
Erlam: I believe Japan also produces a pretty significant quantity as well, if we’re including consoles in that figure. Though I don’t know offhand what the relative numbers are.
10/03/2009 at 18:17 RuySan says:
For the record, here (Portugal) most people went through the Spectrum->Amiga->PC evolution. I don’t know anyone personally with an xbox360 and i just know one with a PS3. Know load of people with gaming pc’s though.
And i can confirm that Nintendo never had any chance here before the Wii. Sega had much success with the Master System and Megadrive though.
I think most of Europe is the same, except for UK that is selling out to the 360 nowadays.
10/03/2009 at 18:39 The Hammer says:
“Yes it is. You haven’t explained why it isn’t at all. I could easily make the same claims you have about “seeing it the other way” about my book or chocolate examples. Try again.”
Well, mostly because a book is a linear narrative (assuming you’re talking about a novel), and yeah, you’re cutting off the ending. The book is incomplete. Not having the extra units isn’t going to stop you from playing a grand campaign.
10/03/2009 at 19:11 radomaj says:
Yay, my silly country got it’s own version!
10/03/2009 at 19:22 drewski says:
It’s more like the difference between a hardcover book and softcover book than anything. Although the book analogy is stupid and forced at best.
10/03/2009 at 19:53 jalf says:
In a way, probably. I think there is a trend that games made in the US tend to be more “superficial”. More focus on presentation, and on immediate factors like gore, swearing and sex, and less on, well, what the game is actually *about*. I suppose it’s really the Hollywood effect. As long as it looks good, and makes a good first impression, we don’t need fancy stuff like character development or deep intricate storylines. Or just gameplay that really breaks the mold. (And yes, this is a huge generalization, and I can think of dozens of games that don’t fit these stereotypes)
If I had to point out some “typically American” games, I’d say Gears of War (Lots of action, testestorone, big muscular people being heroes, lots of guns. Brown and grey and “gritty” looks, and….. not much else), or Blizzard’s stuff (polish, polish polish. Not revolutionary gameplay, but fun and extremely well executed.
As typically European games, I’d say Beyond Good & Evil, Hitman, The Longest Journey and perhaps Kings Bounty (although Russia might be its own separate entity when it comes to what kind of games people make). Typically more colorful graphics, more unusual gameplay, more atmosphere, storyline and depth in terms setting, character development and so on.
And continuing with the sweeping generalizations, the same traits probably apply to consumers in these areas. Americans expect more polish (and realism and grey/brown graphics), and aren’t too interested in deep touching stories, where Europeans are sometimes disappointed by the “shallowness” of American games. They look shiny, but there’s not always a lot underneath.
Once again, these are broad generalizations and nothing more. There are far too many exceptions to this to even mention.
Another more specific type of game that appeals more to Americans than Europeans is WW2 ones. That probably goes without saying. For one, it is imprinted in cultural memory as “when we saved the world, and showed how awesome we are”, and for the other it’s “when we were bombed back to the stone age…… AGAIN”. WW2 is just more sexy in the US than in Europe. The endless nationalism and chest-thumping that often comes with it may also be a bit passé in Europe.
10/03/2009 at 19:53 Pantsman says:
@The Hammer
The central point is whether they would have gone to the effort and expense of making extra units if they hadn’t thought they could charge extra for them. If they wouldn’t have, then what they’re doing is offering extra content for extra money. If they would have…then that’s still what they’re doing, it just seems vaguely unkind.
The chocolate box example is best. If someone tells you that they’ll sell you x chocolates for y monies, and that they’ll sell you x + z chocolates for y + a monies, and the x-chocolate box actually has the z chocolates in it but they say you aren’t allowed to eat them unless you’ve payed y + a…you’re still getting what you were offered. Maybe you have a bizarre sense of entitlement that leads you to believe that because the extra chocolates which you did not pay for are also in the box, you somehow have the right to them. But then you, like most people who complain about this kind of stuff, are crazy.
Now, if you don’t think x chocolates are worth y money, and that only x + z chocolates are worth y, then that’s fine. It’s completely subjective, and you’re welcome to not buy it if it’s not worth it. If others think the same as you, they won’t buy it either, and eventually the merchant will change their prices, if they’re smart. But you’re not entitled to a given price for a given good.
10/03/2009 at 20:00 tikey says:
I’m smelling a photoshop contest around here.
10/03/2009 at 20:23 clovus says:
“Modding” is illegal in the US, at least in this case. Getting access to the units would involve circumventing an “effective” technological measure. The GTA “Hot Coffee” mod is similarly clearly illegal. I’m pretty sure this is illegal in many other countries as well, as the DMCA was created to have US law match certain treaties.
That is all very ridiculous, of course. If it is on the disc then you own it.
10/03/2009 at 20:26 Mitthrawn says:
at Jalf
You’re generalizing. Americans constitute 300 million individuals all with different tastes. As an American, I can tell you that I look at Gears of War with a bit of amusement, and think its amusing that that’s the way Europeans must think of us. There are plenty of unusual games that come out of the states and fans of those games. Remember Tim Schafer is ours, you can’t have him. Some of Americans’ favorite games are unusual, creative games you attribute to european proclivities. Just look at Grim Fandango, Monkey Island, Bad Mojo, or a host of other games.
Incidentally when we think of European games, we Americans tend to think of clunky interfaces, and overly complex, economic sims centered around pre-colonial Europe. So I guess we each have our stereotypes.
10/03/2009 at 20:33 clovus says:
Are you insane? The case here is that I bought a box of chocolates with x chocolates in it. I then read online that the other z chocolates are actually in another sealed compartment in that box . Are you saying that you wouldn’t break open the box?? You bought the WHOLE BOX. Do you think the store still owns the z chocolates? I really cannot understand this at all. I own the whole box and can dismantle it if I want to. I can eat anything I find inside if I want to as well.
It also doesn’t matter if I know ahead of time about the z chocolates. If given the option, I would just assume the seller is mentally unstable. Give me the cheaper box. You can’t retain ownership of part of something you sell. That would imply that they could come and take away the z chocolates some time if they want.
It would be a different matter if I had hid the extra chocolates in the box though. Or, if it was a known mistake. Oups, someone included the z chocolates; here have them back. But they are selling a box that includes the z chocolates. You can’t just make up crazy rules about your product. That would be like selling a knife but claiming it can only be used on vegetables.
10/03/2009 at 20:54 Alec Meer says:
Keep it civil, folks, or we’ll kill your children. I mean delete your comments. I always get those two confused!
10/03/2009 at 21:12 Larington says:
It seems wierd for me, being in the UK and until recently with the Wii, only ever having spent much time with Spectrum and 386/486 upwards… What is this Amiga of which people speak… Did I have a NES once? I can’t even remember, or was that someone else?
10/03/2009 at 21:24 Pijama says:
The mental picture of four slightly bookish gentlemen invading my house in coats kidnapping a few brats for their grand experiment at the oh-so-secret RPS Tech-Citadel is somehow… epic.
10/03/2009 at 21:28 Oak says:
I’m not sure that, had the redcoat art been used across the board, any mention would have been made of it in the first place. Most Americans probably started the grand campaign as Britain anyway.
10/03/2009 at 21:28 Lambo says:
Ginger Yellow – “Uh, that’s exactly what happens if you let unrest grow. It’s much easier to maintain order than it was historically, but still.”
Sorry i didn’t mean it quite how you interpreted it. I meant they become an actual faction not just a generic rebel city. I mean it actually turns into a Ireland faction that can form alliances with the French and whatnot. It might not change much gameplay wise but it would make rebellions more personal. if the was a much larger chance for rebellion as standard that could actually get very interesting.
10/03/2009 at 21:39 Spanish Technophobe says:
I always forget that Io Interactive is a European developer. Hitman is one of my favorite games, but it’s always seemed so over-the-top that I don’t notice how most of the locations, even the biker bar in Codename 47 and Contracts, are in Europe.
Jalf mentioned Hitman as a European-style game, which is why I bring it up.
10/03/2009 at 21:40 Funky Badger says:
Lambo: I think that kind of thing happened in Europa Universalis…
10/03/2009 at 21:42 Subject 706 says:
Well in Sweden we have another case, which shows large American, British and French flags, and then a tiny, tiny Swedish flag far to the right. Is that a veiled insult? IS IT?
10/03/2009 at 21:48 Skurmedel says:
Yeah I noticed too 706, rather strange. Maybe this is the “original” non-edited case.
10/03/2009 at 21:58 redrain85 says:
Nice to see a PC-only title doing so well. Just a shame it’s been tainted, slightly, by various problems on launch. Hopefully they’ll all be sorted out, quickly.
@unclelou:
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on RPS, ignore catska. He’s just trolling. Every single time I see him make a comment, it’s to disparage the PC as a platform. That’s all he does. It’s getting tiresome.
@The Sombrero Kid:
Practically all the mainstream game news sites do it. I can’t count how many times I see an article where they talk about a game – and I know that there’s a PC version available – and they completely (and deliberately) overlook that fact.
10/03/2009 at 21:59 Gap Gen says:
“Keep it civil, folks, or we’ll kill your children. I mean delete your comments. I always get those two confused!”
Ironically, my internet comments are my only children. *sobs*
10/03/2009 at 22:10 Stu says:
Pah! You call that a Sean Bean-lookylikey?
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/templates/images/sidebar/promos/promo_empire.jpg
10/03/2009 at 22:33 TheSombreroKid says:
@ Lambo
you need the medieval 2 addon it introduces ireland as a playable faction
@redrain85
i’m fairly sure it’s a recent trend for eurogamer though, i usually don’t bother with most other games sites for that reason it’d be a shame to abandon eurogamer after reading it for so long
+ dan whitehead deliberatly and specifically decived me about RE5 racism to win an argument but thats another story
10/03/2009 at 23:09 Dorian Cornelius Jasper says:
Paying for extra content that’s On The Disc reeks of companies trying to eat their cake without losing any actual cake.
It comes with the monetary benefits of DLC, as in extra income from sales of optional products added onto the base sale, but without the actual “downloading” or the issues one would imagine DLC would ordinarily bring up–hosting files on servers and actually having them sent to the customer, for example.
Locking on-disc content from use is pretty blatant as far as consumer-ripoff shenanigans go.
And regarding the chocolate box analogy: I’ve never seen anyone leave a chocolate box unfinished. After all, they bought the chocolates in the box, not two-thirds or three-quarters of them. And even if someone were to make up convoluted, nonsensical rules regarding legal post-purchase boxed chocolate consumption, I doubt this would do anything to curb the world’s rampant confection piracy.
10/03/2009 at 23:09 Lambo says:
Woooo go med 2. What a pity you’re uninstalled since your younger more fun brother is here…….what a delightfully fun pity…..*sighs* *fires up Empire”
10/03/2009 at 23:27 caesarbear says:
Subject 706 says:
Any chance of a pic?
10/03/2009 at 23:31 hm yes says:
Interesting about ETW. As an Amurkin, I thought it was an (American) Revolutionary War game and didn’t follow it, but I’m much more interested now. So. Stereotypes are fun. I just want the heterogeneity of national cultures to be realized. Bleh.
10/03/2009 at 23:45 rivalin says:
catska says:
Its quite telling that the charts everyone is championing are for the UK only, which has long been a small, PC centric market
Actually contrary to what our clever friend says, the UK in fact just overtook Japan. Wow, yes, second out of 192 countries is certainly “small”, I love how halfwits who know nothing just pull “facts” out of the air.
10/03/2009 at 23:48 Markoff Chaney says:
This is one of the many reasons why I don’t have children. I’m scared people will take them away if I speak the truth, even if the truth is sometimes uncivil. ;)
So I bought this gem and it’s hard locked on my box twice so far, both times in under 5 minutes of play. Bless PC Gaming. I’ll mess with it later. I really just wanted to play some of this supposedly phenomenal game and remind myself why I despise RTSes so much.
10/03/2009 at 23:53 RealHorrorshow says:
I was one of the ones mistakenly seen as offended by certain things of ETW. No, I was just a little annoyed that one thing was implied for so long and it ended up being a totally different thing. (i.e. U.S./13 C’s one of the main factions, but ended up the subject of a pretty short tutorial saga). I was also very interested to play Prussia from the start and I would have thrown an identical fit if they turned out to not be in the game, or ended up as a minor faction, etc. I was misled and it annoyed me, that’s it.
Again, like some ridiculous comment left by some Danish guy, what actually got me riled up was the automatic assumption that I must be upset because Americuhhh got dissed and that must be really upsettin’ me and my giant belt buckle and cowboy hat, and the implication that I/anyone else annoyed by the misleading about the US/13C situation is just another arrogant American dickhead who thinks the world revolves around the U.S.
I made similar posts about how I think the U.S./13 C thing could have been handled better, purely in the interest of deeper gameplay and unique situations, and every single one of them got the same responses and assumptions made about me and the people who agreed with me. Any sensible person can see how that’d become a little frustrating after a while.
The last 4 Total War games and all their expansions have been “Euro-centric” and haven’t hurt North American sales in the slightest, and I’d like to point out I own every Total War game, and every expansion, including 3 copies of Rome gold (long story), and two copies of the first Medieval and it’s expansion.
Throws hands up and sighs
10/03/2009 at 23:56 RealHorrorshow says:
P.S.
Empire: Total War is an instant classic.
11/03/2009 at 00:09 Nick says:
“Mitthrawn says:
at Jalf
You’re generalizing.”
It’s not like Jalf didn’t say he/she was generalzing about 8 times during the post or anything. Then you follow it with your own sweeping generalizations.. so, um, yeah.
11/03/2009 at 00:26 Oak says:
Well in Sweden we have another case, which shows large American, British and French flags, and then a tiny, tiny Swedish flag far to the right. Is that a veiled insult? IS IT?
A veiled insult? Heavens, no. We’re all quite open in our hatred of you Scandinavian mongrels.
11/03/2009 at 00:28 Oak says:
HTML disaster. All pedestrians please clear the area.
11/03/2009 at 00:34 Jason Moyer says:
Consoles didn’t really take off in the UK until the Playstation
Sega Master System?
I think console gaming dominated the market in the states in the 70′s and 80′s much more than it does now (think of the Atari and NES eras), and it really wasn’t until the mid 90′s that PC gaming exploded here. Prior to that, our computer game market was dominated by the Apple ][, Atari 800, and Commodore 64. Prior to the internet going commercial in the mid 90′s, no one owned computers here unless they were a student or tech-inclined.
11/03/2009 at 00:39 Goomich says:
“Sorry i didn’t mean it quite how you interpreted it. I meant they become an actual faction not just a generic rebel city. I mean it actually turns into a Ireland faction that can form alliances with the French and whatnot.”
It happened twice during my last (and first btw) game.
First there was uprising in Austria region (owned by Prussia at the time), after capturing Vienna, they reformed Austria as a contry (and major one), and they had war with everyone, who was previously in war with them (me, France and Prussia).
The second was former Dutch colony in South America (I don’t remember the name), they were “generic rebel city” I planned to capture. Not they’re another minor nation.
11/03/2009 at 02:14 Trithemius says:
If you buy it on Steam then the guy on the box is where an HEV-suit and waving a banner with a headcrab on it.
True story…
11/03/2009 at 03:00 Mattress says:
The boxart here in Ireland, is noticeably different – instead of Sean Bean waving a angry jingoistic flag, there’s pale skinned Gabriel Byrne looking destitute and hungry…
11/03/2009 at 07:02 unclelou says:
Paying for extra content that’s On The Disc reeks of companies trying to eat their cake without losing any actual cake.
It comes with the monetary benefits of DLC, as in extra income from sales of optional products added onto the base sale, but without the actual “downloading” or the issues one would imagine DLC would ordinarily bring up–hosting files on servers and actually having them sent to the customer, for example.
Locking on-disc content from use is pretty blatant as far as consumer-ripoff shenanigans go.
It doesn’t depend on if it is on the disc or not at all. Now the “special forces” are a bit of a bad example, but the only thing it depends on is if they made that extra content *because* they knew they would sell it extra. If it wouldn’t be on the disc if they hadn’t planed to charge for it, you can’t complain if it is on the disc and they didn’t charge you for it (but don’ let you use it).
You don’t “own” the content anyway. You physically own a worthless piece of plastic (the data carrier) and a box, which is why any chocolate box example just doesn’t work.
11/03/2009 at 09:27 Oxide says:
Tiny Swedish flag :P
http://images.webhallen.com/product/83633/large
11/03/2009 at 10:27 Subject 706 says:
@Oak – You just made London a priority target for my army of Scandinavian mongrels with flag inferiority complexes.
11/03/2009 at 11:13 Paul Moloney says:
“The boxart here in Ireland, is noticeably different – instead of Sean Bean waving a angry jingoistic flag, there’s pale skinned Gabriel Byrne looking destitute and hungry”
I particularly liked the scenario involving the attack on the Riordains’ farm.
P.
11/03/2009 at 11:28 Heliocentric says:
I always liked establishing protectorates after a massive invasion. Its kind of Useless but i just get a sense of pride that my political offspring are still holding land.
11/03/2009 at 15:59 Hmm-hmm. says:
It’s silly, but knowing there’s a cover with my nation’s flag on it makes me want to buy it (a tad more).
11/03/2009 at 17:02 Arnulf says:
Nice thing with the covers there. The Prussian eagle for the German edition. I guess the Bavarians and Austrians wont buy it then.
;D
Although I’m not a fan of these type of games I don’t begrudge them their success.
11/03/2009 at 19:12 Heinrad says:
The French flag is the wrong colour on that box, it should be white.
12/03/2009 at 01:14 Peter says:
When did the word ‘Huzzah’ take over the world? I grew up in the seventies and eighties and I never heard it. We all said ‘Hooray’ or ‘Hurah’. Then since about five years ago everyone on the internet is saying ‘Huzzah’.
I mean, I grew up in the UK so i had a fair exposure to American culture via watching so many American TV shows and I still don’t remember anyone saying Huzzah. I can understand some small pockets of people saying it like some in the south say ‘Wrasling’ instead of ‘Wrestling’ but it seems that everyone says ‘Huzzah’ on the net and no one ever says ‘Hooray’ or ‘Hurah’.
I say hay, hay, hay, hay . . what’s going on?
12/03/2009 at 02:58 Haborym says:
Blame Cave Story B-)
12/03/2009 at 06:46 BoltingTurtle says:
I have a feeling that some of my fellow americans are angry at Empire for destroying their pet myth about winning the revolution because we “fought like injuns” while the “redcoats” lined up in the fields using “parade ground tactics”. Though it is irritating that the minutemen and indians don’t do this, if you’ve played empire you know it would end badly if they did.
The drama of Empire battles has done a good deal of service to those of us who try to explain pre 20th century tactics to people whose only knowledge thereof comes from watching The Patriot. These aren’t bloodless affairs, and they fought in lines because it really was the best way to do it.
12/03/2009 at 13:45 Lud_wig says:
Lordy, all this wailing and gnashing of teeth about the extra units and, shock horror, the fact that you can pay some money to unlock them sounds so very Daily Mail. Outrage built on ignorance and fanned with gusts of arrogance.
We exist in a world of digital content distributed by digital channels, I think you are all aware of this although you whingers sound like a bunch of octogenarians talking about whether a word document is ‘really there’ when it is displayed on the screen.
30/05/2010 at 07:49 UppaBaby Vista says:
Hey there, you have impressed once again, just keep us updated here, I am going to bookmark right away.
03/06/2010 at 19:39 pal says:
True… he wouldn’t scream like that!
But the face is 100% Hornblower’s
P.S. Like all versions!