Sooo... exactly how many did you sell?

number GalCiv 2 games sold

I was curious as to how many copies of Galactic Civilizations 2 you have sold. Could you tell us exactly or almost exactly how many you sold and what's the ratio of games sold online and in retail, plz?
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Reply #1 Top
I'm curious to. A bump!
Reply #2 Top
me too!
Reply #3 Top
Now, I'm curious....you guys own some stock?
Reply #4 Top

We won't have a real good idea until just after June 30th when the sales statements come in.

We know roughly how many have shipped at this point -- around 120,000 units worldwide.  But what % has been sold is still a guess.

One thing I've learned from this is that the NPD figures can't be trusted.  We waited to see where on the top 20 in March GalCiv II would be and we didn't even make the list. I don't know what stores they're measuring but clearly they're not counting very much the ones we're in since in March we were in the top 5 at Walmart, Best Buy, CompUSA, EB, and Gamestop.  I know games are sold in lots of other places but I don't know of any places in NA that were selling massive quantities.

My guess is that the game will end up selling around 200,000 units when it's all done which would be fantastic.  Especially for a turn-based PC strategy game.  It would definitely make the case for a GalCiv III. 

Sales figures are always problematic becuase it all depends on what you count as a sale. I'm only counting full-priced units.  Sometimes you'll hear someone say they sold 700,000 or something of their game where you haven't heard of the game. And it turns out that they sold 50,000 regular copies and then 650,000 copies were licensed.  In the OS/2 days, we "sold" 500,000 copies of a game called Star Emperor.

But anyway, we're pretty jazzed at the sales. They're well beyond what we had hoped we would be.  By this point in GalCiv I's life I we had shipped approximately 15,000 units. So we're at about 8 times GalCiv I's level.

Reply #5 Top
I've got a feeling you're just getting warmed up, Frogboy. I predict a cool 500K units sold by the end of the year, because this game really IS that good and word will get around.
Reply #6 Top


My guess is that the game will end up selling around 200,000 units when it's all done which would be fantastic. Especially for a turn-based PC strategy game. It would definitely make the case for a GalCiv III.





I think you will sell more... if you support the game... (toss up on multi player).. but add content.. via the updates... this game will keep selling..

Word of mouth will power them... I've been looking in the magazine adds... and I think I have bought 2-3 games ever... for PC/MAC/CONSOLE... ever.. since I started gaming back in the early 80's


They don't work....
Reply #7 Top
It would definitely make the case for a GalCiv III.


W00t!

We won't have a real good idea until just after June 30th when the sales statements come in.


Can we get a news entry with the numbers then? I'm really curios for that.
Reply #8 Top
Excellant news. I for one am glad that sales are up and with that the possability of a galciv III look real good.....

Good to see all the hard work is paying off for you guys,

Keep it up !
Reply #10 Top

My estimates do tend to be low -- given that I thought that GalCiv 1 would only sell 30,000 copies and our hope for GalCiv II would be to sell 75,000 copies.

The first GalCiv sold around 150,000 copies but that number needs a big * because about half of those copies were sold at a steep discount or in bundles and what not.  The first GalCiv sold something like 50,000 full-priced retail boxes and another 25,000 or so discounts in North America plus some number overseas that we have a "Best guess" of.

What determines sales more than anything is distribution.  I think we're setting the stage to make sure that GalCiv II stays on shelves longer. But Stardock, as a publisher, still has a lot to learn about how to get its stuff onto more shelves.  So far in April, Civ IV has outsold GalCiv II overall even though GalCiv II outsells Civ IV in the actual stores that they are both in most of the time (Civ IV's been out a lot longer).  So it does show the importance of wide distribution.

For example, only in the past 2 weeks has GalCiv II started being available through US military bases. According to the US military, strategy games like GalCiv can sell many tens of thousands of units. But we weren't available until this past week or two through them.  There's tons of other places that, when added up make for a large number.

Reply #12 Top
Being able to download the game probably makes it a lot easier for the military to recieve the game too.

Keep doing an awesome job guys. I love how Stardock listens closely to its fans and actually tweaks the game according to our opinions. A company that stays true to their customers is extremely important and appreciated.
Reply #13 Top
How many units have been bought through the Stardock download?

Reply #14 Top
Well, one reason has to be the great support. I have never seen any program supported so well as is GalCiv2.

My hat's off to you and your team Frogboy. You are the only ones I know of that actually have such a close relationship with their customers. Most others simply do not follow up on the promises. You guys have taken support to a whole new level.

Keep up the great work.
Reply #16 Top
I'm doing my bit for word of mouth as well. It is great news that GalCivIII is looking good! I agree with others on the magazine ads too. The folks that come on here flaming because they havn't bothered to update their drivers are the ones that pay attention to those ads. The rest of us are usually intelligent enough to think before we buy (and post!).
Reply #17 Top
You have a fantastic game with one of the best AIs I've come across and word does get around. At the risk of being a little bit controversial, I think the small "problem" you had with Starforce certainly didn't hurt, especially over here in the UK. There were a number of forums over here where that was a major talking point, and after people had finished flaming Starforce (Rightly) into the 9th circle of hell, a lot of people starting asking "Is it a good game then?"....... The general response to this was "Yes it is, go and buy it!!!"

Congratulations on all the sales, I for one look forward to GalCivIII
Reply #18 Top
With the low system reqs. and niche genre, GalCiv2 has staying power. I wouldn't be suprised to find it's still selling a respectable number of copies this time next year.
Reply #19 Top
With the low system reqs. and niche genre, GalCiv2 has staying power. I wouldn't be suprised to find it's still selling a respectable number of copies this time next year.


You may have a good point. If I'm in the mood for a space strategy game even a year from now, where am I going to go? I doubt the stores are going to be flooded with a lot of space strategy games and it's been my experience that most that are released are lousy. They work better as mini-frisbees or coasters. Heh, the last good one I knew about was MOO2. I know there was a GC1 but I never connected up with it. If it had wider distribution I might hav heard about it and bought it. Now that GC2 has a wider distribution people like me may connect up with it.

Of course the flip side is that now that GC2 has done well it could get some competition since some markeing types may decide from it's success that space strategy is the Next Big Thing. Then again, it's likely most of those rip offs won't be too good.
Reply #20 Top
I know this a one year old bump, but how about now? how many DL and DA have you sold?
Reply #21 Top
Nice find ed.

It would be good to know how things have progressed and if you've gotten the interest you deserve for this awesome game. Even if it's just to wipe Starforces nose in it and make them eat Stardocks dust.

I hope now with the great reviews for GA that have been appearing everywhere that things will be good for some time to come.
Reply #22 Top
I'm interested too, and what % of DA is being sold between the Gold and standard expansion?

Reply #23 Top
Yeah, I hope Brad and Stardock was as successful with DA as they were with DL. DA is a great game and I hope the numbers respect that fact. SD has earned it.
Reply #24 Top
Yeah, this is one of the best games I've played in a long time, and I've passed it around to everyone I know in high recommendations.
Reply #25 Top
Hmmm.... I bought DL for $44.95 last year. I still play it on and off (don't regret buying it). That said, I just heard about DA through a review. I came to check it out, but I'm rather disappointed to see the pricing model for this (gold same price I paid a year ago, DA more expensive than DL).

This sure seems like a wierd model for those that were supporting you early. How many upgrades have you sold? Are you sure you aren't alienating your original customers?

This is not meant as a troll, and sorry if this has already been asked.