1M Sold: The Witcher's Secret to PC Success
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By Kris Graft
October 30, 2008
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* CD Projekt
* Sales
* The Witcher
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"There are these business guys trying to a set a sales figure by trying to make a game for everyone. But that's just hoping for money that won't come. Not everyone will like it. For me, it's kind of brave to say, 'We're not going to sell to everyone.' We had a specific group in mind."
PC gaming is taking a beating from consoles in terms of revenue, if your packaged goods, Western-centric attitude is to be believed.
But in an environment where PC gaming appears to be in an uphill battle against accessible consoles, wonky system requirements and--gasp--piracy, Poland-based CD Projekt's development debut, the PC RPG The Witcher, has been able to sell 1 million copies worldwide in the 12 months since its release.
And why wouldn't it be a commercial success? With such a mainstream license from best-selling Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski portrayed in a single-player PC RPG, The Witcher was a sure-fire hit all along.
Well, not really.
Michal Kicinski, co-founder of CD Projekt told us that 1 million units sold was a lofty target. "It was a very ambitious goal. We were not sure if we could make it in the first 12 months. Actually, that was less than a goal, but more of a dream, I would say."
In hindsight, the reason for the game's unlikely success is clear to Kicinski: Know your audience and make a game for it. Maybe even throw a little respect their way and make them feel special. Basically, wine them and dine them.
Game makers these days are adamant about making games for the masses. It must be cross-platform. "Accessibility." Proven storylines in proven genres based on proven IP released on proven platforms. That's the mantra, and what many publishers will say is the best way to get return on investment.
But CD Projekt, which spent $11 million to develop The Witcher and its "Enhanced Edition" follow-up, found success by narrowing its focus from a spotlight to a laser beam, and making a game for a certain kind of gamer instead of trying to be everything to everyone.
"Some companies make a game for everyone. We decided to stick to a specific audience," said Kicinski.
When shopping the game around to publishers, CD Projekt was hell bent on keeping the subject matter and content true to the designers' original vision. "There are these business guys trying to a set a sales figure by trying to make a game for everyone," Kicinski added. "But that's just hoping for money that won't come. Not everyone will like it. For me, it's kind of brave to say, 'We're not going to sell to everyone.' We had a specific group in mind."
In effect, development of The Witcher was like drafting a love note dedicated to single-player PC RPG fans. Yes, they are out there, and there are enough that they shouldn't be ignored.
"The people for whom we made the game, they were surprised that somebody made a game so attuned to their tastes. ... We were very positively surprised to achieve this success through word of mouth."
In an industry that spends millions upon millions of dollars on marketing for a single game on TV, print and the Web, the importance of word of mouth sometimes is lost on game companies. And if they haven't completely forgotten the importance of word of mouth, they've forgotten how to generate it.
"We tried to treat people well, and they've treated us well," said Kacinski, revealing CD Projekt's shocking, forward-thinking strategy. Gamers have repaid CD Projekt by spreading the word of the game and encouraging others to buy the original copy; pirating would mean being disloyal to a company that has shown gamers nothing but loyalty. An emotional connection with a company and a product is therefore established.
CD Projekt's approach to piracy isn't slapping intrusive, annoying DRM onto a disc. Like any game maker, CD Projekt wants to protect its property. But it does this not by trying to aimlessly (and in futility) block piracy, but by treating piraters as competitors with rival products. Essentially, isn't that what they really are?
"We absolutely think that the best way to fight piracy is to somehow compete with piracy by offering quality support for buyers of the original game. These things cannot be copied by pirates," Kacinski argued.
The Witcher's sales experienced a trickle-down effect, he said, with the core RPG fans spreading the word to other gamers who were less likely to pick up an RPG on their own.
CD Projekt, which prior to The Witcher was strictly a publisher-distributor of software rather than a developer, currently has "four big projects" in the works, including a story-heavy FPS from recently-acquired Metropolis Software. The game was formerly known as THEY.
For now, the company will remain PC-centric, although Kicinski "wants to be present" in the console market.
As for the future of The Witcher, CD Projekt "wouldn't be very smart," according to Kicinski, if it didn't revisit the universe. An announcement is possible in the near future. "We for sure will stay in this world [of The Witcher]. We've grown very comfortable with it. We still have a lot of cool ideas that didn't make it into the first Witcher, so there will definitely be something more from The Witcher world."
