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A victory for strategy gamers!

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A victory for strategy gamers!

Sins tops charts

from Sins Forums
 

After years of being told that PC gamers are really just console gamers but with different game controllers (mouse and keyboard) and that in-depth strategy was dying, we now have some conclusive evidence that no, that serious strategy games are alive and kicking.

Behold:

#1 at Gamespot:

2008-02-07_1758

#1 at IGN:

Sins-IGN

#1 at 1Up:

sins-1up

And what about sales?

#2 at Amazon.com, #3 at EBGames.com / Gamestop (And it sold out, they've replenished). Sales at other retailers who have it in stock say it's "selling very well" (but no rankings yet).

Why is this significant?

Because the reviews haven't hit yet.  People are buying this game sight unseen despite relatively little coverage, PC gamers so much want a real time strategy game that has 4X depth that they are going out, en masse to find out more about this game and buying it. 

You are making your voices heard.  People who buy PC games may have consoles but they don't necessarily want their PC games to simply be ported console games or console-like games.

We thank you for your support!  We hope we are living up to your expectations.

91,946 views 94 replies
Reply #76 from Sins Forums Top


The only reason most game stores exist is to rip people off with trade in prices. The only reason they carry new product is so people can trade in their games for it. If nobody shows interest in pre-ordering a title then they won't get extra copies.

Go with digital distribution and help bury those miserable money whoring companies in the dirt.


do take into consideration that not everyone is in the same fiscal position, and that not everyone has a reliable, high speed internet connection. I presently get paid primarily in cash, making it difficult to to pay for things online. and my internet connection is patchy at best. As a result, i prefer to deal in physical commodities. So when i cannot secure a game because of a publishers disregard for alternate options, i tend to become disenfranchised with them as a company, rather than sympathetic to individuals trying to save a mere five dollars.
Reply #77 from Sins Forums Top



The only reason most game stores exist is to rip people off with trade in prices. The only reason they carry new product is so people can trade in their games for it. If nobody shows interest in pre-ordering a title then they won't get extra copies.

Go with digital distribution and help bury those miserable money whoring companies in the dirt.


do take into consideration that not everyone is in the same fiscal position, and that not everyone has a reliable, high speed internet connection. I presently get paid primarily in cash, making it difficult to to pay for things online. and my internet connection is patchy at best. As a result, i prefer to deal in physical commodities. So when i cannot secure a game because of a publishers disregard for alternate options, i tend to become disenfranchised with them as a company, rather than sympathetic to individuals trying to save a mere five dollars.


OK, I understand your position, but it's not necessarily Stardock's fault that the stores you've tried are out of copies or didn't order any. Have you tried any large chains? If you're in North America... Best Buy, Fry's, Wal-mart, etc?
Curtains - Customize Windows with additional styles
Reply #78 from Sins Forums Top
PC gaming should be made accessible to all levels of budget and technology. I, and most gamers I've talked to, wouldn't mind upgrading my PC every 4-5 years or so for a few hundred bucks, but we absolutely won't spend upwards of $700 every year. More developers need to take note of this fact.

This is exactly the reason why I haven't played Supreme Commander -- I dig the game but my system screams in misery when I get into even a medium sized battle. I'm not going to buy a new CPU just to play one game.

I doubt it's your system, actually. SupCom uses Microsoft's Xact sound API which is basically crap. If I use a command line switch to disable sound in SupCom, my performance doubles, but there's no way I'm going to play a game without sound. Gas Powered Games is well aware of this issue, but they've said in so many words that if you won't buy a new state-of-the-art system for their game then screw you.

That said, I do agree with your general point that a game doesn't need to be designed for bleeding edge hardware to be good. I've often said that I'd love to see the industry agree to a 5-year hardware freeze in order to give consumers and developers a chance to catch up, but I imagine that'd be a hard sell to the hardware vendors.
Reply #79 from Sins Forums Top
Sure they are right from the game, but you have to admit screen shots are generally specifically chosen.


Not so much. A lot of the last groups of shots were just Zoomba pausing mid-game and taking pictures. Certainly he positioned the camera to make it look nice, but they're not specially staged in any way.


It seems like you just re-worded what I said . "Position the camera to look nice" is one example of specifically choosing a screen shot.

We seem to in fact agree, yet come to different conclusions .

I think the point is that you made it sound like Stardock created deliberately misleading screenshots when that is clearly not the case. Rather, one of their employees simply played the game as you or I would and said, "Ooh, that looks neat. *prnt-scrn*"
Reply #80 from Sins Forums Top
do take into consideration that not everyone is in the same fiscal position, and that not everyone has a reliable, high speed internet connection. I presently get paid primarily in cash, making it difficult to to pay for things online. and my internet connection is patchy at best. As a result, i prefer to deal in physical commodities. So when i cannot secure a game because of a publishers disregard for alternate options, i tend to become disenfranchised with them as a company, rather than sympathetic to individuals trying to save a mere five dollars.

You need to understand that retail shops like EB/Gamestop generally don't stock anything other than sure-sells from major publishers. I read one report that said that Puzzle Quest for the Nintendo DS became extremely hard to find in shops, at least in the US, because stores were sending it back to the distributor after a week because it wasn't meeting their sales quota, and this despite the fact that it was a critically acclaimed title. Even major developers sometimes get the short shrift. For instance, when the Beyond the Sword expansion was released for Civilization IV, I managed to secure one of two available copies at my local Gamestop on release day, and this was an expansion pack for a very successful game coming from Firaxis and Sid "The Man" Meier, but since turn-based strategy is technically a niche genre, the store simply wasn't going to devote much if any store space to it.

Bottom line: I think you're wrong to blame Stardock for not somehow convincing stores to widely embrace a niche product from an independent developer.
Reply #81 from Sins Forums Top
I bought this game solely on the company's standing and i've always loved 4X games but with it being a RTS game "in which that is my favorite type of game" is a bonus. Keep up the good work guys, and please come out with some addons for Sins with new races and ships. Thanks
Reply #82 from Sins Forums Top
do take into consideration that not everyone is in the same fiscal position, and that not everyone has a reliable, high speed internet connection. I presently get paid primarily in cash, making it difficult to to pay for things online. and my internet connection is patchy at best.
Stardock takes money orders and ships CDs. :)

It'll be more interesting to see if 1) Stardock offers expansions at retail and 2) if the retailers have learned anything about Stardock and Iroclad and pick them up. :)
Reply #83 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


Behold:



#1 at Gamespot:




I hope you paid off Gamespot with some advertising or you won't get a good review! It's rare they give scores above 8 to anything that doesn't advertise, from what I've seen. I've been taking their reviews with a grain of salt since well before Gerstmann-gate.



Gerstmann-gate?


Reply #84 from Sins Forums Top
I hadn't heard of stardock until sins of a solar empire previews.(Yes, I know its pretty pathetic, but its true) Even so, this is the first time I ever bought a game on release day.Ever. That, and the forums, tells me that it is an amazing company, and I am officialy adding it to the # 1 spot on my list of favorite developers.
Reply #85 from Sins Forums Top
So when i cannot secure a game because of a publishers disregard for alternate options, i tend to become disenfranchised with them as a company, rather than sympathetic to individuals trying to save a mere five dollars.


Let me state -- as others have -- that the problem isn't Stardock. The problem is with the brick and mortar stores, that generally could care less about what is or isn't a good game, but only about what is going to sell. And a "no-name" company like Ironclad, pushed by a "niche-market" group like Stardock, "wasn't" going to sell well.

I laugh at EB Games and Gamestop.
Reply #86 from Sins Forums Top
I do appreciate the lack of disk requirement, creative direction, and other policies of stardock.


Just don't make a MMO that launches bug free and with tons of content. I'm pretty sure you'll destroy the space/time continuum.
Reply #87 from Sins Forums Top

Just don't make a MMO that launches bug free and with tons of content. I'm pretty sure you'll destroy the space/time continuum.


ROFL

Guess what they're working on next? IIRC, SD has a RTS MMO coming out...
Reply #88 from Sins Forums Top
You are much more than living up the the expectations! This game is a masterpiece!

You guys are my favorite and in my opinion, best developers and distributers in today's gaming market, and your passion for games oozes from every piece of code in the game. I wish you all the best!

Keep up the excellent work!
Reply #89 from Sins Forums Top
I remember always being pissed off when a good PC game was ported to console, and being amused when a good console game was ported to PC. Bioshock, C&C3 and SupCom are all examples of this, and may i say it's damn good to see someone sticking up for seperated platforms after all this time. I mean, even some indy developers are branching onto the Wii (granted, its not really a console or a pc, its a... wii) but keeping games on the platforms they were intended for is almost certainly a good thing.

And on the subject of good things, your game rocks, your supportive attitude rocks, and I may well be so bold as to say YOU FREAKING ROCK! You deserve every single #1 spot this game gets and then some.

Reply #90 from Sins Forums Top
Stardock has become one of my favorite publishers at this point, and I'll be watching for any future games from Ironclad. I really got into PC gaming with the original Homeworld, and I haven't had this much fun with a game in a long time. It's recaptured the love I had for the genre.
Reply #91 from Sins Forums Top
Just to clarify - I bought the original (downloadable) version of Sins...

Anyway, good job!
Reply #92 from Sins Forums Top
Hey I would just like to say:
Thank you Stardock and Ironclad for the best and deepest RTS I have ever played. Ill tell you what too, Ive played them all...well most ;). I would also like you guys to know I work in the Industry as an assistant manager for GameStop. I attempt to sell your game above all other PC strat games simply because its the best. I am the sole reason why anyone here reserved it through that store and why it sold out same day. We did get more in which just excites me more because I cannot wait to get a match together with some of my customers! Thank you so much for making the game Ive always wanted since the original Homeworld. Relic should take Sins to heart when making HW3 since you have out done them this time.
All hail the new rulers of the Throne of Stratagy!

~sweed
Reply #93 from Sins Forums Top
...dang...I accidentally just sunk like 2 hours into your game...where did my two hours go? :CONGRAT: I've never been a 4x kind of gamer, and it's definitely taking some getting used to, but man, the RTS section sucked me in so I'm willing to sit and learn.

I'm absolutely floored by the size of the maps...even the small maps...I played like 2 or 3 hours and didn't explore the entire system...but I DID find the Pirate Headquarters! X-( lol
Reply #94 from Sins Forums Top
*sniff* all you guys who made this happen rule. welcome guys!


you got that right!  :CONGRAT: