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Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg (More info?)
This article has more info on the Troika closure:
http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.asp?article_id=9052
Here's a good quote with some meaningful data -
"Boyarsky, Cain and Anderson formed Troika in 1998 after leaving Interplay
where they created the classic RPG Fallout. Troika only created three games
in the past six years: Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (2001),
The Temple of Elemental Evil (2003) and Vampire: The Masquerade -
Bloodlines (2004). These games catered to the niche RPG market, and
although most were well received critically, the titles simply failed to
generate enough revenue for the studio to survive. Arcanum was the
company's best selling game, and it only managed to sell 234K units and
generate sales of $8.8 million, according to the NPD Group. It was downhill
from there; The Temple of Elemental Evil sold 128K units ($5.2 million) and
Bloodlines sold a paltry 72K units ($3.4 million). It didn't help either
that Bloodlines, which was published by Activision and powered by the
Source/Half-Life 2 engine, was released at the same time as Valve's
blockbuster first-person shooter sequel."
I don't know if they are talking about sales in North America or not and
also not sure what time-period they are using.
PC Gamer's Editor said this:
"I think the combination of sales with the reputation for not having the
most bug-free products at launch day made it tough to find financing for
their projects going forward."
--
Knight37
The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
This article has more info on the Troika closure:
http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.asp?article_id=9052
Here's a good quote with some meaningful data -
"Boyarsky, Cain and Anderson formed Troika in 1998 after leaving Interplay
where they created the classic RPG Fallout. Troika only created three games
in the past six years: Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (2001),
The Temple of Elemental Evil (2003) and Vampire: The Masquerade -
Bloodlines (2004). These games catered to the niche RPG market, and
although most were well received critically, the titles simply failed to
generate enough revenue for the studio to survive. Arcanum was the
company's best selling game, and it only managed to sell 234K units and
generate sales of $8.8 million, according to the NPD Group. It was downhill
from there; The Temple of Elemental Evil sold 128K units ($5.2 million) and
Bloodlines sold a paltry 72K units ($3.4 million). It didn't help either
that Bloodlines, which was published by Activision and powered by the
Source/Half-Life 2 engine, was released at the same time as Valve's
blockbuster first-person shooter sequel."
I don't know if they are talking about sales in North America or not and
also not sure what time-period they are using.
PC Gamer's Editor said this:
"I think the combination of sales with the reputation for not having the
most bug-free products at launch day made it tough to find financing for
their projects going forward."
--
Knight37
The gene pool could use a little chlorine.