LucasArts' last big adventure seller
 

I came up with this list of LucasArts adventure games.
Dates are from the Pagoda Game Database.

1987 Maniac Mansion
1988 Zak MacKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1990 Loom
1990 Monkey Island 1: The Secret of Monkey Island
1991 Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
1992 Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
1993 Day of the Tentacle
1993 Sam and Max Hit the Road
1995 The Dig
1995 Full Throttle
1997 Monkey Island 3: The Curse of Monkey Island
1998 Grim Fandango
2000 Monkey Island 4: Escape from Monkey Island


Which game was LucasArts' last big selling adventure game?

My guess would be Monkey Island 3

I think we need to establish a definition. Big selling is a bit vague. ...bysmitty

I think by most definitions of "big selling," we can pretty safely assume that CoMI was LucasArt's last hit adventure game. Grim Fandango got a lot of critical praise but sold pretty poorly. EfMI also didn't seem to make much of a splash, so I'm guessing it wasn't that hot either. Probably not a failure, but definitely not on the same level as KotOR.

mag

Are you guys so sure about CMI being such a hit? I know it wasn't as huge a financial failure as Grim, but I want to say it wasn't a huge seller (at least initially, I'm certain it had healthy long-term sales).

EMI, on the other hand, at least sold decently. I don't know if it fits your definition of "big selling" (my guess for last slam dunk is Sam & Max), but it did well.

Now, someone tell me how wrong I am.

Zak McKracken.

Something tells me that MI4 sold better than MI3... but I don't really have any reason to back this up with other than that MI4 was also on PS2.

EMI at least charted in the top 20 both in the US and Europe. "Big selling" kind of comes down to who you ask, and in comparison to what.

"Big selling" was probably not the best way to put it.

I meant which was their last adventure game to be able to hold its own with other genres saleswise. I don't think that would be MI4 or LucasArts would have made another adventure game.

Episode II? ;)

But they did make another adventure game. Management at the time obviously felt it was viable enough to greenlight. If only the lame temps that followed didn't chicken out, we'd be playing it now.

As for the other games being big sellers, it's hard to answer, since LEC adventures still sell well in JC versions.

Did you say KoTOR? As in Knights Of The Old Republic? Mmmmm.... http://forums.idlethumbs.net/images/smilies/drool2.gif

Word. The Curse of Monkey Island sold better than the first two Monkey Island games combined, anyhow. And despite the common belief, Grim Fandango didn't do that poorly. It wasn't the run-away hit it should've been, but it did OK.

I wish computer game sales figures were as accessible to the public as movie box office figures are so that we could know such things.

My reason for asking this was to try to figure out around what year a really well-made adventure game could no longer be expected to bring in the same sales as hit games in other genres. I chose LucasArts' games as an example because I think most people agree their adventure games were well put together.

EMI may have sold well enough to be profitable, but I don't know that it rivalled the best selling games in other genres. (I don't have the numbers though).

I think that a lot of developers would like to know exact sales figures, too. :)

I know nobody here wants to hear it, but for nine years an adventure game was the best selling PC game of all time. (Until it was finally surpassed by the combined Sims franchise.) It is still the second bestselling PC game of all time. Yeah, I'm talkin' about Myst.

If you want to pinpoint the marketplace shift away from adventure gaming, jump in the Wayback Machine and visit 1996.

Are you sure it's still second bestselling pc game? I'm afraid it has been beaten by Half-Life or Diablo2 or something like that.

Yeah, I'm sure.

Myst reminds me that mass market success isn't necessarily a good thing.