Warning: boring sales data of dubious value ahead.
This isn’t an argument for or against anything, but I was bothered by my anemic statements about sales and cultural reach.
As a bit more on the footprint of Infocom games, the Software Publishers Association granted the following Gold and Platinum designations to Infocom games during the mid to late 1980s (M/D/Y format).
Platinum (250k sales):
- Zork I (2/26/1987)
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2/26/1987)
Gold (100k):
- Deadline (9/14/1985)
- Leather Goddesses of Phobos (2/26/1987)
- Suspended (2/26/1987)
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (9/14/1985)
- Wishbringer (1/27/1989)
- Zork I (9/14/1985)
- Zork II (9/14/1985)
- Zork III (9/14/1985)
1985 was the first year that the SPA granted these designations. Zork I would undoubtedly have hit 100k sooner. Note that I have omitted Silver games, though they can be viewed at the source linked below.
For benchmarking purposes, the SPA handed out 14 Gold designations total to games in 1985, of which Infocom would claim five (!). The other nine are:
- Alphabet Zoo, Spinnaker Software (9/14/1985)
- Choplifter, Broderbund (9/14/1985)
- F-15 Strike Eagle, MicroProse Software (10/25/1985)
- Fraction Fever, Spinnaker Software (9/14/1985)
- Frogger, Sierra On-Line, Inc. (9/14/1985)
- Ghostbusters, Activision (9/14/1985)
- Kids on Keys, Spinnaker Software (9/14/1985)
- Lode Runner, Broderbund (9/14/1985)
- Math Blaster, Davidson & Associates (11/5/1985)
Note that the first platinum designations were conferred in 1986 to the Print Shop and to a Print Shop add-on. In fact, Zork I and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy received the second and third plats ever granted to video games by the SPA. The first, F-15 Strike Eagle, met this milestone only nine days earlier.