Panzer Leader Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 I am curious how many copies of the game they've sold. There is no doubt that CM:BO has recieved critical acclaim, but I am curious to how their figures relate to one of the mass market games like Talonsoft or even SSI's stuff. Is it much of a hit to sell online only? Another thing I want to know is that now they've got it in stock, are the sales still going strong or are they reaching a "plateau"? I love the game by the way and am only curious in a sort of "us against them" "never sell-out" kind of way. Being a big fan of Steel Panthers: World at War -- and I mean BIG fan, I got it the old fashioned way: 26 hours on a 56K modem -- anyway, they had (have) a big fan base, and I'd be interested in a comparison of players. Anyway, just curious... ------------------ And King Xerxes looked to King Leonidas and spoke. "Our Archers will rain arrows down upon you to blot out the sun." And King Leonidas replied: "Then we will fight in the shade." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sitzkrieg Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Don't ask 'cause BTS won't release that information. The only figure I've heard is from another post where someone read an article where Charles gave a very rough estimate of 200,000 to 250,000 copies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PawBroon Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Then the Elders came and saidth, YOU SHALLST NOT DISCUSS THE SALES FIGURES. If you care to do a search you'll see for yourself that this had been discussed to death and that the best answer is YOUR ESTIMATE IS AS BEST AS ANYONE'S. BTW, I'm not kidding, BTS is not willing to disclose that and they stated time and again they wish not to see the matter discuss. Anyway, the REAL number is 42. But that's just because Mensch ordered two... ------------------ You are not Obsessive-CMpulsive, you are Allied-Retentive. Mark IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 LOL - If BTS sold 250,000 copies, I doubt we'd have CM2! Look at the math: 250,000 x $45 = $11,250,000 E-Gadz! That's more then 5 mils a piece, even with things like development costs taken out. CM is successful, but I doubt its THAT successful. Then again...they did sell out some 3 times! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" [This message has been edited by The Commissar (edited 02-20-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka_tom_w Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Originally posted by sitzkrieg: Don't ask 'cause BTS won't release that information. The only figure I've heard is from another post where someone read an article where Charles gave a very rough estimate of 200,000 to 250,000 copies. If they are selling them for $45.00 US per copy and if they did sell between 200,000 to 250,000 copies (and I don't think that is unreasonable) then that means sales of between $9 and $11 million US. NOW that ROCKS!!! Great work I do hope that CMBO has huge sales figures like that. What a GREAT game!! Nice to see it so profitable too. Did Charles and Steve not state in an earlier interview that their up front development costs were about $250,000 US ? Anyone else remember that figure? NOW that's pretty good return on investment! -tom w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Weiss Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 I'm curious as to whether or not they will ever go public and sell stock. I'd like to have some BTS Blue Chip, tell you that. ------------------ "Gentlemen, you may be sure that of the three courses open to the enemy, he will always choose the fourth." -Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke, (1848-1916) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russellmz Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 i think charles said equivalent to 200,000. but since they don't pay retailers to stock store shelves that translate to less... ------------------ russellmz, Self-Proclaimed Keeper for Life of the Sacred Unofficial FAQ. "They had their chance- they have not lead!" - GW Bush "They had mechanical pencils- they have not...lead?" - Jon Stewart on The Daily Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sitzkrieg Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Originally posted by russellmz: i think charles said equivalent to 200,000. but since they don't pay retailers to stock store shelves that translate to less... Thank you for that correction. I was stating my numbers from memory. I can't remember in what thread I saw those numbers. But it did stick out as pretty amazing, especially when you do the math (like some have in this thread). My apologies for any misinformation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Even if it IS "only" 200,000 copies, Steve and Charles are at the moment on some tropical island, smoking expensive cigars and sorrounded by beautiful mamacitas Just imagine how much they will be raking in with CM2 and beyond Watch out Bill Gates! [This message has been edited by The Commissar (edited 02-20-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rommel22 Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Well a way to figure it out is look at all the people on this forum try to count (if you can somehow). That will give you a rough estimate of how many people bought the game. I know not all people with the game post here, but most do. So if you can figure out how many people are registered on the BTS CM forum you'll have a rough estimate of how many people bought the game. ------------------ Rommel22's War Diarys site. http://rommel22diarys.homestead.com/MyPage1.html "I saw 5 Germans walking down the side of the road, so I followed them for a few yard to get closer. Then I shot them! Later that day I found out the war has been over for a few weeks." - someone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Perhaps they meant sales equivalent to the profit they'd have made from a conventional sale of 200K units through a middleman? That would make actual units moved less, as the profit would be higher per unit if they excluded the middleman. Anyway, GO BTS, GO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael emrys Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Originally posted by Rommel22: I know not all people with the game post here, but most do. I would be interested to hear how you would support this statement. In order to do so, it seems to me you would have to know not only how many people post here, but how many have bought the game. Also, you would have to know how many posters here either don't have the game yet or have a pirated version (may their evil souls rot in hell ). Okay, so I'm just feeling a little contentious at the moment, but I thought I would point that out. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Ive heard countless times of people mentioning getting friends to buy the game who never post, or people lurking for months, or the countless others who are not here. All in all, I'd assume there are only several hundred people on this board. Even if each bough 10 copies we wouldnt have anywhere near 200k. Im assuming that if the figure is close to reality, most CM owners never post on our lil' board! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipper Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Between 40,000 an 50,000 is a good guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mikey D Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 If what wer're guessing (and we ARE only guessing) about the sales figures is remotely correct, that 180 page CM manual should be up there on the New York Times bestseller book list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Weiss Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 That is quite correct Commissar. I've played a good many games now with numerous opponents, all of which are rated on one ladder board or another, and only a couple of them hang out on this BBS. Fact is, most don't even come to this BBS. So there is a large crowd out there that cannot be estimated just by counting heads on the forum. ------------------ "Gentlemen, you may be sure that of the three courses open to the enemy, he will always choose the fourth." -Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke, (1848-1916) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 I think gunnergoz has an accurate translation of Charles' statement. BTS is making much more per copy than if they had a distributor agreement to market CM on store shelves. Their profit margin is equal to selling 200,000 copies through the standard distribution agreement/rape. I'd guess that sales figures are somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 (the top end probably being too high). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fangorn Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Drop a zero from that estimative. Must be something around 20k - 25k copies. But since they got all the cash, it is like they have sold 200k - 250k in a standard publisher deal. Yes, BTS receive 10x more this way! (and they really deserve that) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rommel22 Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Micheal What the hell DID I SAY!!! READ THE POST!!! I said a rough estimate and most people are here who own the game. I didn't say all. This would be tough to try and count all people here on the forum, but eye if you are desperate to know there you go. Just a suggestion! ------------------ Rommel22's War Diarys site. http://rommel22diarys.homestead.com/MyPage1.html "I saw 5 Germans walking down the side of the road, so I followed them for a few yard to get closer. Then I shot them! Later that day I found out the war has been over for a few weeks." - someone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 It's going to be easy to tell, as soon as CM2 comes out. Smell the manual. If has sold: 50,000 copies, it will smell like Jolt, because Charles did a lot of extra programming work to sell more copies of CM2. 100,000 copies, it will smell like cheap vodka, because BTS can afford to get hammered on weekends, but they still can't afford anything good. 200,000 copies, it will smell like beer. See above. 300,000 copies, it will smell like margaritas and have sand in between the pages. BTS went on a vacation, but still had to come back to make a little more money. 400,000 copies, CM2 won't be released, because BTS realized that there's no point in working anymore when you're already a millionare. ------------------ Well my skiff's a twenty dollar boat, And I hope to God she stays afloat. But if somehow my skiff goes down, I'll freeze to death before I drown. And pray my body will be found, Alaska salmon fishing, boys, Alaska salmon fishing. The Last Defense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KwazyDog Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Hi Guys, Sorry, no sales figures, that is something we are keep to ourselves I would suggest that we have many more customers that *dont* post to the forum than do though. I think you could consider the posters to this forum as the 'power' users of CM. It wouldnt suprise me to find out that a larger percentage of our customers dont use mods than do to be honest! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Heh-heh, good one Gustav! I hope it's in the area of an actual 50K at least (a profit of $2,250,000) If it's only 20 its a measely (well, not really) $900,000 Minus the developing cost, and it would amount to a yearly savings you would get from a regular paying job. Still not bad, of course. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 I tried testing my theory by smelling my CMBO manual. It smells like a cardboard box and stale coffee. This can only mean one of three things: -BTS lost so much money from the release version of CM (Mine was 1.03) that they were forced to move the company into a cardboard box, and are surviving by licking spilled coffee out of their keyboards. -BTS made a fortune on the release version of CM, and bought a new computer. This is where the cardboard box came from. The coffee is explained by all the programmers flocking to their doors looking for a job with the world's newest fortune 500 company. -I need to move my coffee machine off of the box my computer came in, which is coincidentially also my bookshelf. ------------------ Well my skiff's a twenty dollar boat, And I hope to God she stays afloat. But if somehow my skiff goes down, I'll freeze to death before I drown. And pray my body will be found, Alaska salmon fishing, boys, Alaska salmon fishing. The Last Defense- Mods, Scenarios, and more! [This message has been edited by 109 Gustav (edited 02-20-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanish Bombs Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Originally posted by KwazyDog: Hi Guys, Sorry, no sales figures, that is something we are keep to ourselves --------------------------------------------- I dont really care about actual figures, but I hope that smiley face says it all. [This message has been edited by Spanish Bombs (edited 02-20-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rucrazee Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 The good life has taken it's toll on the BTS staff *sigh*. Thank goodness for the staff's new exercise program or we never see CM2. [This message has been edited by rucrazee (edited 02-20-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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