Has this game met EA's expectation financially

[elavery 1,013]

Does anyone know what EA's views on sales of the game is?  Has it sold as many copies as they were expecting?

[CaptCity 4,669]

This is a pretty straight forward question. If the answer is known, feel free to provide factual information. This is not the place to give off-topic comments regarding the game, EA, Maxis, DLC, etc. Let's keep it to the topic's purpose. Thanks...

 

Yes, off-topic comments have been removed.

[Xenocity 343]

According to EA (which has been posted in other threads a while back) the game sold ~1.6M copies during launch week.

The game is now between 2-3 million worldwide and should break 3 million when the Mac version releases in August.

 

We won't get anymore numbers until they announce how much the Mac version has sold for its launch week in August.

 

This is how much the mainline Simcity games have sold:

 

1. Simcity 3000 (both versions combined)  - ~5M (4 years)
2. Simcity 2000 ~3.5M (4 years)
3. Simcity 2013 between 2-3M (4 months)
4. Simcity 1 - ~2M+ (Half of which were the SNES version. it also took 4 years to sell that well)
5. Simcity 4 (All versions combined) sold ~2M (it took 9 years for it to hit 2M)

Simcity 4 is the slowest and lowest selling mainline Simcity game to date.

 

Simcity 2013 has over 2M in 4 months time, making it the fastest seling mainline Simcity to date.

If the sales hold to their current rate it will become the best selling Simcity by the end of the year, dethroning Simcity 3000.

 

Game sales are traditoinally only released at major milestones, quarterly reports, and yearly reports.

 

EA: Happy with the sales

EA sharholders: Unhappy with how low the profits are from this game.

[Jasoncw 11,839]

I remember it initially sold much better than expected which contributed to the launch problems.  Who knows how much the returns and free games affected that.  They've also been spending a ton of development time (which is expensive) fixing problems rather than making new DLC.

 

My speculation is that they've made money and will make more money once they start pumping out the DLC.

[Hellken 1,658]

 

1. Simcity 3000 (both versions combined)  - ~5M (4 years)
2. Simcity 2000 ~3.5M (4 years)
3. Simcity 2013 between 2-3M (4 months)
4. Simcity 1 - ~2M+ (Half of which were the SNES version. it also took 4 years to sell that well)
5. Simcity 4 (All versions combined) sold ~2M (it took 9 years for it to hit 2M)

 

 

Please provide a source for these numbers and please indicate the date of the source. 

 

EDIT: By the way, Sim City (2013)'s numbers are exaggerated. 2 ~3 Million by now? How many copies were sold in June anyway? Did they have a super sale? 

 

• March 2013 (2 weeks after launch) : 1.1 Million copies sold.
• April 2013, EA announces it has sold 1.3 Million copies.
• May 2013, EA's Financial Report stated 1.6 Million copies. 

[Xenocity 343]

 

 

1. Simcity 3000 (both versions combined)  - ~5M (4 years)
2. Simcity 2000 ~3.5M (4 years)
3. Simcity 2013 between 2-3M (4 months)
4. Simcity 1 - ~2M+ (Half of which were the SNES version. it also took 4 years to sell that well)
5. Simcity 4 (All versions combined) sold ~2M (it took 9 years for it to hit 2M)

 

 

Please provide a source for these numbers and please indicate the date of the source. 

 

They are from EA's financial reports (Simcity 2000 and Simcity 1 are from the Maxis reports)

which as mentioned were posted in previous threads regarding the same topic.

 

EA quit reported sales of Simcity 4 in 2008 because it was selling so little.

Obviously EA quit reporting sales of Simcity 3000 by 2005 due the product being discontinued.

 

 

Seriously do Simcity fans not pay attention when EA/Maxis announces sales data and press releases?

 

Here is the link to the press release about the launch sales for Simcity 2013 at 1.6M on May 7th.

The game still manages to chart on the UK, EU, and US top 20.

Sadly we do not have access to sale data from these charts

 

Or you can read this Standford paper for Simcity 3000 and before.

The paper was published in 2004.

 

EA released a press release in 2004 when Simcity 4 passed 1 million mark, which you may be able to find via google.

We have no PR statements regarding Simcity 4 sales after that.

Based on 8 years and Steam data it is an assumption that Simcity 4 hit 2M, though there is a good chance Simcity 4 never did.

 

Games always get a press release when they clear 2M sold though Simcity 4 has not had such press release yet.

Since EA/Maxis has been silent on EA's sales post 2004, that is a troubling sign.

[CaptCity 4,669]

Further cleanup...

 

A reminder that debating off-topic comments only serves to drive topics in unintended directions. Posts not related to the topic need to be ignored or reported, not responded to. Thanks.

[Hellken 1,658]

 

 

•  
• Simcity 3000 (both versions combined)  - ~5M (4 years)
• Simcity 2000 ~3.5M (4 years)
• Simcity 2013 between 2-3M (4 months)
• Simcity 1 - ~2M+ (Half of which were the SNES version. it also took 4 years to sell that well)
• Simcity 4 (All versions combined) sold ~2M (it took 9 years for it to hit 2M)

 

Please provide a source for these numbers and please indicate the date of the source.

 

They are from EA's financial reports (Simcity 2000 and Simcity 1 are from the Maxis reports)

which as mentioned were posted in previous threads regarding the same topic.

 

EA quit reported sales of Simcity 4 in 2008 because it was selling so little.

Obviously EA quit reporting sales of Simcity 3000 by 2005 due the product being discontinued.

 

 

Seriously do Simcity fans not pay attention when EA/Maxis announces sales data and press releases?

 

Here is the link to the press release about the launch sales for Simcity 2013 at 1.6M on May 7th.

The game still manages to chart on the UK, EU, and US top 20.

Sadly we do not have access to sale data from these charts

 

Or you can read this Standford paper for Simcity 3000 and before.

The paper was published in 2004.

 

EA released a press release in 2004 when Simcity 4 passed 1 million mark, which you may be able to find via google.

We have no PR statements regarding Simcity 4 sales after that.

Based on 8 years and Steam data it is an assumption that Simcity 4 hit 2M, though there is a good chance Simcity 4 never did.

 

Games always get a press release when they clear 2M sold though Simcity 4 has not had such press release yet.

Since EA/Maxis has been silent on EA's sales post 2004, that is a troubling sign.

 

 

Don't speculate about the numbers. I want accurate evidence and sources for these numbers, not estimates based on unsupported assumptions.

I read the Stanford article you linked to:

[As of 2003]

Sim City 2000: The market’s reaction to SimCity 2000 reflected the game’s merits. SimCity 2000—finally

released in January of 1994—received rave reviews and sold more copies in three months

than the original version did in its first two years (Perkins 4). Within six months it was clear

that SimCity 2000 would become the top-selling game of the year. It went on to ship over

3.4 million copies, and Maxis projected revenues of thirty-five million dollars for 1995.

 

[As of 2003]

Sim City 3000: But this, apparently, was exactly what consumers wanted. SimCity 3000 quickly topped 

the charts, and the market eventually snapped up 4.6 million copies (Bradshaw). Like its 

prequel in 1994, SimCity 3000 was the best selling title of its year. With the success of 

SimCity 3000, Maxis rose out of ruin “like a phoenix from the ashes” (Keighley 1). 

 

According to this all Sim City games since SimCity (1989) have sold 17 million but this was in 2007: http://simcityds.ea.com/

 

Here's the problem: 

 

There have been many editions/expansions of each game: ie. Sim City 3000 Unlimited, Sim City 4's Rush Hour expansion pack / Sim City 4 Deluxe. How are these accounted for? 

 

EDIT: SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition was still a top 10, best selling game in 2007 (4 years after launch): http://asia.gamespot.com/news/burning-crusade-lights-up-07-pc-sales-chart-6185090 Now that's just SC4 Deluxe: How about the numbers for people who bought SC4 and SC4:RH separately? 

[Xenocity 343]

 

 

 

•  
• Simcity 3000 (both versions combined)  - ~5M (4 years)
• Simcity 2000 ~3.5M (4 years)
• Simcity 2013 between 2-3M (4 months)
• Simcity 1 - ~2M+ (Half of which were the SNES version. it also took 4 years to sell that well)
• Simcity 4 (All versions combined) sold ~2M (it took 9 years for it to hit 2M)

 

Please provide a source for these numbers and please indicate the date of the source.

 

They are from EA's financial reports (Simcity 2000 and Simcity 1 are from the Maxis reports)

which as mentioned were posted in previous threads regarding the same topic.

 

EA quit reported sales of Simcity 4 in 2008 because it was selling so little.

Obviously EA quit reporting sales of Simcity 3000 by 2005 due the product being discontinued.

 

 

Seriously do Simcity fans not pay attention when EA/Maxis announces sales data and press releases?

 

Here is the link to the press release about the launch sales for Simcity 2013 at 1.6M on May 7th.

The game still manages to chart on the UK, EU, and US top 20.

Sadly we do not have access to sale data from these charts

 

Or you can read this Standford paper for Simcity 3000 and before.

The paper was published in 2004.

 

EA released a press release in 2004 when Simcity 4 passed 1 million mark, which you may be able to find via google.

We have no PR statements regarding Simcity 4 sales after that.

Based on 8 years and Steam data it is an assumption that Simcity 4 hit 2M, though there is a good chance Simcity 4 never did.

 

Games always get a press release when they clear 2M sold though Simcity 4 has not had such press release yet.

Since EA/Maxis has been silent on EA's sales post 2004, that is a troubling sign.

 

 

Don't speculate about the numbers. I want accurate evidence and sources for these numbers, not estimates based on unsupported assumptions.

I read the Stanford article you linked to:

[As of 2003]

Sim City 2000: The market’s reaction to SimCity 2000 reflected the game’s merits. SimCity 2000—finally

released in January of 1994—received rave reviews and sold more copies in three months

than the original version did in its first two years (Perkins 4). Within six months it was clear

that SimCity 2000 would become the top-selling game of the year. It went on to ship over

3.4 million copies, and Maxis projected revenues of thirty-five million dollars for 1995.

 

[As of 2003]

Sim City 3000: But this, apparently, was exactly what consumers wanted. SimCity 3000 quickly topped 

the charts, and the market eventually snapped up 4.6 million copies (Bradshaw). Like its 

prequel in 1994, SimCity 3000 was the best selling title of its year. With the success of 

SimCity 3000, Maxis rose out of ruin “like a phoenix from the ashes” (Keighley 1). 

 

According to this all Sim City games since SimCity (1989) have sold 17 million but this was in 2007: http://simcityds.ea.com/

 

Here's the problem: 

 

There have been many editions/expansions of each game: ie. Sim City 3000 Unlimited, Sim City 4's Rush Hour expansion pack / Sim City 4 Deluxe. 

 

You cannot get accurate sources because most websites do not keep archived data public for more than a few years due to the costs of maintaing it.

Companies are also known for giving shipped numbers instead of sold to appease investors.

They aslo skew and hide numbers to avoid stock market reactions.

 

The 17 million sold includes all the games released under the Simcity brand inlcuding iOS, Android, Handheld, consoles, etc...

 

We do know that Simcity 4 passed 1 Million sold and then sales bottomed out (NPD stated this in 2005).

EA has never issued another press release or released the standalone sales for Simcity 4, due to how bad the post 2004 sale were.

 

Like I posted, Simcity 2013 sold 1.6 Million as May 7th.

EA/Maxis noted is the fastest selling Simcity to date.

 

When the Mac version launches we will get an update on sales.

 

For game sales in general this how it goes:

• UK top 10 sales charts are released weekly though it only counts physical retail sales. NO NUMBERS are given!
• Nordic Top 10 sales charts are released weekly though it only counts physical retail sales. NO NUMBERS are given!
• Mainland EU charts and sales data are never released publicly
• U.S. sales data is given monthly by NPD, though it only counts 5 major retailers and does not count online and digital sales. It only accounts for 40% of the market currently. NO NUMBERS are given.
• Japan sales data is released week with complete breakdown by M-Create. It actually has numbers!
• All other countries not listed here aren't tracked including Canada and Mexico.
• Digital sales aren't tracked anywhere

Companies do not have to release a complete breakdown unless forced by courts or investors.

 

This is why we do not have accurate numbers!

[Hellken 1,658]

Note: 

 

 

2003: The SimCity™ Franchise has sold over 13 million units worldwide.

2007: Over 17 Million SimCity™ games have now been purchased world - wide since the launch of the original game.

 

If these numbers are true, how many copies did SC4 sell? I don't think it accounted for all 4 million copies but it's reasonable to say that it contributed quite a considerable percentage.  

 

As for the rest, Sim City (1989) is now "abandonware" and so is Sim City 2000 (still for sale in some places, but mostly "abandonware"). Sim City 3000/Unlimited is almost extinct in stores. I still see boxed editions of Sim City 4, 10 years after launch. As for the numbers, I don't know.

[Xenocity 343]

Note: 

 

 

2003: The SimCity™ Franchise has sold over 13 million units worldwide.

2007: Over 17 Million SimCity™ games have now been purchased world - wide since the launch of the original game.

 

If these numbers are true, how many copies did SC4 sell? I don't think it accounted for all 4 million copies but it's reasonable to say that it contributed quite a considerable percentage.  

 

As for the rest, Sim City (1989) is now "abandonware" and so is Sim City 2000 (still for sale in some places, but mostly "abandonware"). Sim City 3000/Unlimited is almost extinct in stores. I still see boxed editions of Sim City 4, 10 years after launch. As for the numbers, I don't know.

They are true numbers but they also included:

 

• Simcity 2000 GBA
• Simcity SNES (Wii VC release)
• Simcity Societies
• Simcity DS
• Simcity 64 (N64 in Japan only)

Since then 2007 the following Simcity games have been released:

• Simcity iOS
• Simcity Deluxe iOS
• The Simcity Box
• Simcity DS 2 (Simcity Creator DS)
• Simcity Creator Wii
• Simcity 2000 PSN release
• Simcity Social
• Simcity 2013

The numbers include every game sold under the Simcity name.

 

Simcity 4 contributed at least 1 Million sales to that number, maybe a bit more.

[Ion_Cannon 677]

None of those releases since 2007 will have sold many copies, and Simcity Social was a F2P game so that wouldn't count anyway.

 

Although Simcity 2013 was the fastest selling entry in the franchise that was likely built from hype, I would put good money that it hasn't sold nearly as much since the initial release rush. You can see this in the numbers in fact, in the first two weeks it sold 1.1 million copies, it then took until May to sell another 600k, that 1.1 million will also include a large number of pre-orders.

 

EA has stated that it is ahead of forecasts, but as the rate of buying goes down who knows.

[elavery 1,013]

So, it would seem that EA are probably pretty happy with how the game sold.  I guess the one positive, irrespective of how the game actually turned out, is that people are still interested in city simulation games.  To be honest I wasn't sure the interest was still there but I guess it is. 

[osse84 18]

It is strange how little SC4 sold considering how popular it became. Is piracy to blame? Myself, I think I bought it 4 times over the years. Now last on Steam.

SC13 however did not appeal to me. I think it is a shame that it sold as much as it did in the beginning, but I think that was mostly hype, as well as fans desperately hoping for the best against their better judgment. I guess the real question is, is the EA servers still busy? Sure they got a lot of sales from it, but if players are bored with it aleady, then it is a massive failure.

[baertooth 330]

Sales is one thing but another important and related aspect to consider is how many people are still playing?  The last report was 1.6million in sales with ~750,000 active cities with 2-3 cities per player.  That's means there is about 250-400,000 active players at that time. 

 

Why this is important is they need a certain sized player base to justify working on the game, either patches or content.  Future support has less to do with sales as it has to do with how many active players they still have.

[Xenocity 343]

It is strange how little SC4 sold considering how popular it became. Is piracy to blame? Myself, I think I bought it 4 times over the years. Now last on Steam.

SC13 however did not appeal to me. I think it is a shame that it sold as much as it did in the beginning, but I think that was mostly hype, as well as fans desperately hoping for the best against their better judgment. I guess the real question is, is the EA servers still busy? Sure they got a lot of sales from it, but if players are bored with it aleady, then it is a massive failure.

Actually Simcity 4 just didn't sell and wasn't even popular

Not once did EA or Maxis blame piracy for the low sales of Simcity 4.

 

Simcity 4 sadly though was well noted  for being a near broken game when it launched in 2003.

Remember before Rush hour and Modding/NAM we had to deal with:

 

• Constant crashing of the game due to poor debugging and unoptimization
• Zones being abandoned due the pathfinding the sims used to travel
• Traffic issues
• Land value issues
• Graphical issues
• Loading issues

Rush Hour fixed most of the chrasing, graphical and loading issues

NAM fixed the pathfinding and traffic issues making your sims travel realistic distances

Modding helped fix the land value issues and the pollution issues.

 

You'd be surprised how many issues plague game in its original form.

Seriously go play an unmodded/unNAMed version of the game and see how long it takes you before you give up due to frustration.

 

It literally took 7 years for the game to become stable and fully enjoyable.

 

We know there is a at least 500k regular users who play daily.

 

Many users including myself typically play on the weekends or days when we aren't busy.

I'm busy with many things, so I haven't played in a while.

I am also waiting for the Mac  version to come out before jumping back in.

 

To be fair, most games experience a huge drop off in players after the second week.

People including gamers quickly lose interest in sandbox and simulation games.

They also quit playing other games once they beat them or reach a certain point.

This has been noted by market research time and again.

 

Call of Duty and Halo are two games that somehow keep a large portion of their owners playing long after the release.

 

The point is, if half of the people who bought the game are regularly playing, then that is really good number that most games are unable to hit.