I'm disappointed that Supreme Commander opened at #4 for February, but it is only lead by WoW:BC, WoW, and a new Sims 2 expansion.
We know that WoW:BC sold 141,000 units in February, so Supreme Commander is somewhere below that.
I think this is a game that may pick up over time as people get better hardware, but the online community has to maintain momentum in this period or people will have decreasing incentives to pick this up later. Good PC games tend to sell consistently over time (as the top games according to NPD have all been out for a while).
Agree heartedly with 13wonders, and SC was simply built for the future: if you have dual monitors you can have the strategic view on one screen while the ground level view on the other, how cool is that!
Keep in mind that the standards for computer hardware have been continuously steadily rising. I don't think anyone with a mediocre computer setup should expect good fps rates unless playing with low fidelity settings. And yes, I would consider having a 1.8GHz processor and 1GB RAM mediocre in the current gaming world, regardless of whether or not that barely meets the minimum requirements.
The reviews for this have been really good, although they have all mentioned the drawbacks of getting into a huge battle on the highest settings with the fastest computers. With the relative longevity of RTS sales momenta and the thumbs up from everyone that gameplay in SupCom is completely revolutionary, I believe that despite hardware gripes, this game will remain a big seller, potentially huge in the long run. Don't forget the extensive modding community that still surrounds Total Annihilation today and the extreme "modability" of SupCom.
From my own perspective, I've been really enjoying this, even though my hardware isn't that great (see one of my previous comments), and I do plan on buying this very soon, when I'll have more time to play it. I've gotten so used to the ease of zooming out with the scroll wheel that I now end up instinctively trying to do it in StarCraft...
so running on default settings results in gameplay of about 10fps which drops to ~3-4 fps during a battle. Pretty shitty if you ask me. I'm going to have to revamp my whole system if I plan on playing.
"From a sales perspective, its not good if no one can even get a PC that is strong enough to run the game at its best."
Well, that's the majority of games released for the PC. People forget when system killers like Far Cry and Half Life 2 brought a lot of PCs to its knees, but it still sold by the bucketload. The great thing about this is the game has great longevity, and the sales will continue to sustain when gamers start to upgrade their PCs to play the next gen titles. Look at Half Life 2:Episode 2, it's pretty much the same game/engine and it was released way back in Nov 16, 2004!
I'm impressed that the only negative about this game is the "steep hardware requirements." Although great from a gamer's perspective, this negative can realistically reduce sales until people get better computers, and then it may be too late by then. Gamespot reported:
"On smaller maps with a larger set of AI opponents, the action slowed to a virtual crawl as the system strained to keep up with the action. It's doubtful that a PC has been built yet that can run Supreme Commander's largest map with a full set of AI opponents at high graphics detail."
From a sales perspective, its not good if no one can even get a PC that is strong enough to run the game at its best.
"Supreme Commander is one of the most impressive real-time strategy games in recent years. This is a game that dares to be big, and it succeeds because it understands what strategy is about. Strategy is more than overwhelming the other side with sheer numbers. Strategy is about maneuvering, it's about applying the right weapon at the right place at the right time, and it's about rewarding creative thinking, and that's what Supreme Commander does."
I am on a 3500+, 2GB of PC3200 (DDR400), and a 7600GT and on a single monitor, runs great at relatively high settings, on a dual monitor setting, I have to turn off shadows.
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mutiplayer on this game is amazing