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Jane's WWII Fighters

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Jane's WWII Fighters
Developer(s)Jane's Combat Simulations
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Director(s)Beth Comstock
Producer(s)Steven Matulac
Designer(s)Nathan Cummins
David Luoto
Programmer(s)Ken Allen
Artist(s)Terry Fowler
Nicholas Corea
Chuck Eyler
Composer(s)Don Veca
SeriesJane's Combat Simulations
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
Genre(s)Air combat simulation
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

Jane's World War II Fighters is the 1998 combat flight simulation video game. Set in the European theatre of operations during World War II, it is part of the Jane's Combat Simulations franchise. The game was considered a commercial failure, and contributed to the end of the Jane's Combat Simulations line.

Gameplay

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The game is set during the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944 and early 1945. The game features famous fighter aircraft from World War II. It also included a virtual museum, where aircraft profiles and interviews with fighter pilots such as George Unwin, Günther Rall, and others could be viewed.

Reception

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Critical reviews

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The game received favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[2]

Sales

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The game was released in direct competition with Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator, and became a commercial flop.[11][12] In 1999, Computer Gaming World reported that the game "appears to have been murdered by Microsoft's brand recognition". Its lifetime sales in the U.S. reached 60,943 copies by October 1999, which drew revenues of $2.58 million.[12] Speaking anonymously to Bruce Geryk of GameSpot, an ex-staffer for Origin Systems remarked that the game "spent some serious cash, and did not sell". He attributed its failure to Combat Flight Simulator's dominance of the World War II flight simulation field during 1998, and called the game's performance "the death knell for Jane's products", after which the brand unraveled.[11] Following the May 2000 bankruptcy of Jane's Attack Squadron developer Looking Glass Studios shortly before that game's completion,[13] Electronic Arts declined to finish the project,[14] and instead opted to exit the flight simulation genre.[15]

For the week ending April 29, 2000, the game appeared at No. 10 on PC Data's weekly computer game sales chart in the United States, with an average retail price of $25.[16] It climbed to No. 8 the following week,[17] before exiting the charts for the May 7–13 period.[18] PC Data named it the country's ninth-best-selling game of May 2000.[19] By October, its sales in the region had reached 166,971 units for the year 2000 alone, which accounted for $2.5 million in revenue. Mark Asher and Tom Chick of Quarter to Three remarked that the game "did a good job of trying to convince us that flight sims aren't dead" that year.[20]

Awards

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The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated the game for "PC Simulation Game of the Year" at the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, although it lost to Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit.[21] It was also a finalist for Computer Gaming World's 1998 "Best Simulation", CNET Gamecenter's 1998 Best Combat Flight Sim, GameSpot's "Simulation of the Year" and IGN's "Best Simulation of the Year" prizes, all of which ultimately went to European Air War.[22][23][24][25] The game received further runner-up positions for "Best Soundtrack" and "Best Graphics" from IGN,[25] and "Best Sound" and "Best Graphics (Technical Excellence)" from GameSpot.[26][27] However, it won Computer Gaming World's "Special Award: Musical Score" prize. The magazine's staff wrote of the game having excellent aircraft graphics, special effects, challenging AI, and accurate flight model, also calling its multiplayer as blast to play.[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jebens, Harley (November 23, 1998). "WWII Fighters Ships [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 13, 2000. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "WWII Fighters for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  3. ^ Cirulis, Martin E. (December 22, 1998). "WWII Fighters". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  4. ^ Chick, Tom (December 15, 1998). "WWII Fighters". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 21, 2003. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  5. ^ Nolan, John (March 1999). "Not Just a Pretty Face (WWII Fighters Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 176. Ziff Davis. pp. 166–67. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  6. ^ Mahood, Andy (1999). "Jane's WWII Fighters Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 13, 2005. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  7. ^ Atkin, Denny (December 28, 1998). "WWII Fighters Review [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 12, 2004. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  8. ^ Berg, Gordon (December 29, 1998). "Jane's WWII Fighters". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  9. ^ Jones, Nathan (March 1999). "World War II Fighters [sic]". PC Gamer UK. No. 67. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on March 17, 2002. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  10. ^ McDonald, T. Liam (March 1999). "WWII Fighters". PC Gamer. Vol. 6, no. 3. Imagine Media. Archived from the original on March 2, 2000. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Geryk, Bruce (2000). "PC Gaming Graveyard: Jane's A-10 Warthog (The Changing Marketplace)". GameSpot. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on August 18, 2000. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Flight Sim Sales" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 183. Ziff Davis. October 1999. p. 45. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  13. ^ Asher, Mark (August 2000). "Looking Glass Shuts Down" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 193. Ziff Davis. p. 34. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  14. ^ Berg, Gordon (September 2000). "Rage Against the Machine" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 194. Ziff Davis. p. 140. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Atkin, Denny (July 2002). "Jane's Attack Squadron" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 216. Ziff Davis. p. 76. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  16. ^ Fudge, James (May 14, 2000). "The Sims still on top". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 2, 2005. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  17. ^ Fudge, James (May 22, 2000). "The Sims in top retail spot in U.S." Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 2, 2005. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  18. ^ Ho, Jennifer (May 24, 2000). "Millionaires Double-Up to Dominate Sales [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 17, 2002. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  19. ^ Fudge, James (June 13, 2000). "The Sims on top of May 2000 retail charts". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 15, 2005. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  20. ^ Asher, Mark; Chick, Tom (2001). "The Year's Ten Best-Selling Games (Index)". Quarter to Three. Archived from the original on February 2, 2001. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  21. ^ "Second Interactive Achievement Awards: Personal Computer". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on November 4, 1999.
  22. ^ CGW staff (April 1999). "Computer Gaming World's 1999 Premier Awards (Best Simulation)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 177. Ziff Davis. p. 98. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  23. ^ Gamecenter staff (January 29, 1999). "The CNET Gamecenter.com Awards for 1998! (Combat Flight Sims Nominees)". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  24. ^ GameSpot staff (1999). "The Best & Worst of 1998 (Simulation of the Year, Nominees)". GameSpot. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 1, 2000. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  25. ^ a b IGN staff (January 29, 1999). "IGNPC's Best of 1998 Awards". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on April 27, 1999. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  26. ^ GameSpot staff (1999). "The Best & Worst of 1998 (Best Sound)". GameSpot. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 1, 2000. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  27. ^ GameSpot staff (1999). "The Best & Worst of 1998 (Best Graphics, Technical Excellence)". GameSpot. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 5, 2000. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  28. ^ CGW staff (April 1999). "Computer Gaming World's 1999 Premier Awards (Best Musical Score)". Computer Gaming World. No. 177. Ziff Davis. p. 104.
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