Friday 7 January 2011

Four months after Amnesia's release

Introduction
Frictional Games have now officially existed for almost exactly four years (4 years and 7 days to be exact), Amnesia: The Dark Descent is our fourth game and it is now four month since we released it. Because of this we thought it was time for another round-up of sales and other stuff that has happened.

Those who have read our two previous reports might have noticed a small trend of the later being a little bit more positive than the earlier. This post will not be an exception and we can happily announce that things are looking better than ever for us. Summarizing all sales since release actually puts us in a state that we never imagined being in.


Sales
Let's start with what I guess people are most interested in - sales. When counting all online sales as well a the Russian retail copies, we have now sold almost 200, 000 units! This is a tremendous amount and more than we ever thought we would. Our "dream estimates" before release was something around 100k, and to be able to double that feels insane.

Note that more than half of these units have been sold at a discounted price (with as much has 75% of the price off), so the total earnings are not as much as it first sounds. Still, we are in incredible good financial situation right now. Also, the daily sales are still quite high and the average has not dropped below 200 units yet. This means that we can still pay all daily costs from these sales alone, allowing us to invest the other earnings into the future (for outsourcing, PR, etc). It also gives us a healthy buffer and allow us to manage any unexpected happenings the future might hold.

With these figures at hand, we must confess that it gives us new confidence for the PC. The sales that we have had (and are having) are more than enough to motivate developing a game with the PC as the main (and even only) platform. Based on what we have seen, the online PC market is just getting bigger and bigger, and we are convinced we are far from the end of this growth. We think that other developers that consider making their game exclusive to a console might want to think again.

However, our sales have not been typical and it is safe to say that we have earned more than most other indie PC games. We have been extremely lucky with our media coverage and gotten tons of free PR (more on this later), something that has greatly influenced our sales compared to other titles. As proof of this, in the Steam sales charts we have been among the top three games for Adventure and Indie categories almost the entire time since release, often quickly above many of the games that were released after ours. With this we do not seek to discourage others from creating PC games, we are just saying that 200k units is not something that should be expected after 4 months of sales of an indie game. The market does continue to grow though, and it might not be long before these kinds of numbers are considered perfectly normal.

There is another really important thing that needs to be taken into account: If we have had a publisher and sold according to current figures, we would not be in the state that we are in now. More likely, we would now be something more like our first sales summary post. We would probably just have paid back our advance, and just recently been receiving royalties (at a much lower rate, like 25% of what we get now). This means that we would probably be looking for a new publishing deal at this point instead of having the freedom we now have. This does not mean that publishers are evil, just that one should think carefully before signing up for anything. Releasing a game without any financial backing or help with marketing is quite a struggle, but if you pull it off it is well worth the effort!


Media and PR
While we tried to make as much noise as possible at the release of the game, our marketing efforts have been far from big. Our main tactics have been to spread movie clips from the game, releasing a playable demo and to send out review copies. We think that most of this paid off as much as we could have hoped for, with great responses to trailers, players liking the demo and awesome reviews. However, plenty of PR came from a quite unexpected source, namely from user generated content.

An idea that we threw around before release was to have some kind of audience reaction footage, like Rec and Paranormal activity trailers have had. Having too much to do, we just left the idea lying and never did anything about it. However, shortly after the release of Amnesia players made their own videos with exactly this content! The extent that these have spread is quite amazing, one video having 775k views at the time for writing. That is almost a million views! And without any cats!

As we have now entered a new year, there have of course been a lot of awards. What is extra exciting about that is that we actually have been gotten a few! Just recently we got three nominations for Independent Games Festival, something that we are very thrilled about. Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation fame was kind enough to name Amnesia his forth best game of the year. Elder Geek awarded us PC Game of the year which was quite unexpected. IGN is currently nominating us for best horror game of the year and also awarded us best horror and coolest atmosphere for PC. Plenty of other awards have been given too and we are extremely happy about this kind of response!

How has these awards and nominations been us PR wise? Unfortunately it is a bit hard to say as all were announced during the Christmas sales, a time when sales where much higher than usual. Now when it is over, we do see around a 75% increase in daily sales compared to before the Christmas sale started. We think the awards and nominations are part of this increase, but the increase in new players during the holidays have probably also helped spreading the word and boost the sales.

What we can tell though, is that the awards and nominations gotten us more attention from the media. Especially after the IGF nomination we have gotten a lot of mails regarding interviews, review requests and similar. So even if these kind of things are not crucial for current sales, they can prove very important for the future of our company.


Current situation and future
So obviously Amnesia has been a huge success for us at Frictional Games, but what does it mean for us as a company? First of all, we are now completely financially stable and have enough money to complete our next game without any problems. It also means that for the first time in our lives we can actually get decent salaries, something that I personally would never thought would be possible. This means that Frictional Games is no longer a struggling endeavor that we will continue until our energy runs out. Instead Frictional Games has now become a proper career, income provider and something we hope to continue for a long time forward. Compared to how we felt just a few months ago, often considering getting "proper jobs", this is quite a wonderful change!

Our financial situation also means that we are able to take some amount of risk. While we of course do not aim to go crazy, it means that we can try out new things without risk of going bankrupt. It also means that we might have means to release a new game more frequently than every other or third year. We have some ideas on how to approach this, and are actually in the process of trying some things out.

As for our plans to focus on consoles, as hinted above, this is something we are reconsidering. If online sales figures continue like they have with Amnesia, there is actually not any reason for us to release to anything but PC. Still, it would be foolish not to try consoles out and our current idea is to work together with a third party to do a port. This would mean that we can still can keep a small staff and not risk growing beyond our capabilities.

We are also hard at work with our new game which we are extremely excited about. While we still do not want to disclose to much, our goal is to take "experience based gameplay" to another level. We aim to use the emotions that Amnesia was able to provoke and to focus them in a different direction, which will hopefully give delightfully disturbing results.



Finally, a big thanks to everybody who have supported us over the years, played our game, spread the word, made crazy videos, etc. We hope you all will continue to support is into the future!


137 comments:

  1. That's wonderful news, I'm very happy that you can continue to work on your next game. I wish you the best for the new year. Cheers, Guillaume (Amnesia preorderer / fan)

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  2. Congratulations guys! When I started to see the great reviews and the youtube videos that started to pop up I knew that the Amnesia sales weren't going to slow down to a crawl any time soon.

    Looking forward to your next game.

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  3. I can only play Amnesia for about half an hour at a time before having to sleep with the light on, but I recommend it to all of my friends and colleagues. It is such an atmospheric game and I am very glad to see that you are getting good sales for it.

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  4. Many congrats to you all! Amnesia was one of my most interesting games of 2010, and while I haven't been able to beat it yet (what... the game is scary...), I still think that the design is beyond anything I've seen so far. I hope to hear more good news from you all soon, and congrats on getting a stable source of income!

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  5. Google Trends seems to reflect the growing interest in Amnesia: http://tinyurl.com/34jwk2f

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  6. Glad to hear that guys! I really am.
    Amnesia is a wonderful game. Waiting for another gem from you.

    All the best!

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  7. Good news then. Also, you were featured on Humon's 'Scandinavia and The World', here: http://satwcomic.com/anything-but-that
    Should generate some more interest.

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  8. Penumbra 1,2,3 and Amnesia was so awesome...very good work

    Can´t wait for your next game :>

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  9. I appreciate your modesty, but I don't think there was much luck involved -- you guys just did a great job with the game :)

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  10. I'm so glad to read such a positive post!! Congrats on your success, you deserve it :) Cheers!!

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  11. Congrats and we're glad that things are going so well. We adored the game at GamingLives and look forward to seeing what you terrify us with in the future! Again, massive congratulations, your success is very much deserved.

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  12. That all sounds great, congratulations! And you have mostly vanished my fears that you would stick excesively to the Penumbra-Amnesia formula for your next game. As for consoles, I think you really should try. I'm affraid many of us PC gamers are very sensitive to our beloved companies trying consoles (I'm still a bit uneasy about The Witcher 2 going console, for instance), but, if you do it right, it's a great and relatively simple way to expand sales. However, keep in mind that you will have to face many hysterical fans and a lot of nit-picking.

    By the way, I have noticed that Penumbra Overture is approaching its fourth year after release. Have you guys ever considered gog.com for your games? I don't know if you know the place (what kind of PC gamers are you!), but I think you would be very, very well received there.

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  13. That's amazing news! I'm very happy for you. Also, really glad to see the PC in the position it currently is in. :)

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  14. Love ur games!! and everybody can tell from Penumbra series to Amnesia that your games are just getting better and better!!!
    love your idea about the gamers having the same starting point as the character we play, i feel that i'm the character rather than play other people's game. And there's no annoying long cut scenes like other games, which is really amazing.
    Amnesia is my all-time favorite game, not just in survival horror but all games. hope you guys bring up more amazing games !!!

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  15. Amnesia is also Reddit's current favorite horror game. That clearly shows how that game is made known because it's just damn good!

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  16. Congratulations! I hoped that a company like Frictional may be able to develop great PC games and release them without a publisher through platforms like Steam. Hopefully, you guys can get actually decent salaries from now on, you deserve it.

    Looking forward to your next game - and still have 1 gift copy in Steam because I couldn't resist buying it again on the second holiday sale.

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  17. Fy fan så glad jag blir när jag läser detta, ni förtjänar detta in i det minsta och jag unnar er varenda peng ni tjänar på detta. Jag har alltid hoppats innerligt att ni ska bli nöjda och få nog med "lön" så ni är motiverade att fortsätta att utveckla dessa fantastiska spel.

    MVH Joel

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  18. Finally, justice comes ^^

    200k, this is FAIR ! XD

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  19. Congratulations and the best of luck!
    I love your games and do hope that some day for your future games they will arrive on console as my pc struggles with Amnesia and will surely struggle with your next games. :D Whatever happens I'll always be keeping track of your progress and have cash ready for your next release!

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  20. Congratulations, amazing news. Amnesia is so scary, that finishing the game I consider my greatest gaming achievement ! : )
    I played with headphones at night...
    anyway, cannot wait for your next games.

    And get Penumbra trilogy on GOG.com as soon as possible!

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  21. Congrats on your success. Very much deserved. Although I have heard a lot of people wanting to play Amnesia, but can't because of their not so powerful PCs. Now I know you guys probably don't need those console peasants. But I think there's a good market there. I mean horror games on consoles have been pretty scares recently, and I believe you could make a big splash there if you release Amnesia on consoles. Also, downloadable games are very big nowadays. You could easily publish your game there without any serious financial risks.

    I'm just saying this because I believe Amnesia is a fine title, and more people should experience it. It's a win-win situation if you ask me.

    Good luck :).

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  22. This post made me very happy and excited about possible new projects to look forward too! I have done my best to spread the word of your games to friends and on message boards, amnesia in particular, and will continue to do so. Best of luck with future endeavors!

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  23. Oh, and I wanted to add that while I see you are considering console games or ports, please don't loose focus on the PC. The PC is a unique platform which guarantees the player's attention more than the consoles which enables you to design a game like Amnesia and know how powerful it can be. While multiplatform in a way seems ideal, please continue to focus on the PC and if you do make a port, it would be wise not to make it a sloppy one as to avoid bad PR. Best of luck once again, whatever path you guys now chose.

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  24. I really hope the PC will remain focus, and no Frictional game EVER becomes compromised by console version. Consoles are too obsolete now (especially in memory), not to mention the controls are far more restrictive.
    Now, Amnesia might not be graphical powerhouse that could not run on consoles, but still.Too many games that are held back by consoles already.

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  25. Congratulations, guys! I'm really happy to see your renewed faith in the PC platform. I think that can only spell good things for the future, really.

    By the way, I absolutely appreciate the Commentary track. It's hard to get replayability into a horror game right - even when the game is good enough to play again - but the Commentary option had me jumping at the opportunity. I had wanted to experience Amnesia again, but I knew it would be inherently lacking; however, it was the inclusion of commentary that let me appreciate the game in a fresh light again.

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  26. Brandon Matthews7 January 2011 at 19:33

    Great to hear that frictional has attained the financial stability it deserves! I agree with your idea to port amnesia to other consoles, if only for the sake of having a steady stream of revenue. I noticed some criticism of the console by some folks here on the thread, but what they fail to realize is the best interest of the company and the ability for Frictional to have the resources to make great games. I myself do not usually play console games, but I do not see anything inherently evil about them and just because a company ports a game to a console does not necessarily mean they will lose focus for a particular industry.

    Just be aware if you 'do' decide to port amnesia's code base, to port it well, otherwise your new user base will remember it!

    In any case, when designing your next game just be sure not to forget the things that made amnesia so popular.

    Congratulations again to everyone there.

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  27. Congratulations! I bought Amnesia back in October and as of today I am only at the storage area. I cannot stress enough how much I love this game. Never before have I been absolutely terrified to play a video game. You guys did horror right.

    I also agree with the other posters... please don't abandon PC.

    Definitely looking forward to your next game!

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  28. Amnesia is one of the best games I have played in a long time! It is refreshing to know that there are still innovative game developers out there. I wish you guys all the best and can't wait for your next game!

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  29. Congratulations !

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  30. Great to hear it. Keep up the fantastic work.

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  31. I purchase and enjoy playing Amnesia. Its different from the type of games I usually enjoy, and well worth the price I paid on Steam.

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  32. Superb news. congratulations that you overcome financial crisis. and i'm excited for your next game !!!

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  33. Huge congrats--you all deserve it. Amnesia was the absolute most memorable gaming experience I've had in YEARS; you guys blew me away. I'm so, so excited to see what you all do next--you've earned quite a loyal customer in me. :)

    Thank you for your innovation and a wonderful experience!

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  34. And a big your welcome to your thank you! More specifically you're welcome to keep making great games.

    And thank you for making them great.

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  35. Just wanted to say I am proud to support your work of love. Amnesia one of the most atmospheric games I've ever played- particularly since most "horror" games nowadays eventually just give you giant guns to blow the scary away- which ends up not being scary. Success couldn't have happened to more deserving people.

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  36. Congrats and hope your new game will be available on Linux too!

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  37. Cheers! I've never been more happy to support a company! Amnesia was my best purchase of the year. The care and devotion you put into the games shows with the fan response. Best of luck in your future endeavors; I hope to have many sleepless nights from your the new content!

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  38. As a Linux user and player, I'm curious how the sales are on that platform?

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  39. I wish to all the Frictional team an happy new year and all the best for this year and the next one!
    I will continue to follow you and wait for your next terrific games.

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  40. Congratulations guys, I'm really pleased for you.

    But, you didn't get "lucky" with PR - you had an awesome game and people wanted to talk about it a lot :-)

    I think the coverage at Rock, Paper, Shotgun really helped, that's where I found out about your game from.

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  41. Congratulations to all the FG team, you guys truly deserve it after so much hard work creating the best horror game one has played the last 10 years.

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  42. Great game. Worth every penny. Puts most of these “so called” great console exclusives to shame.

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  43. Congratulations.

    I'm glad to see such positive feedback from you. I remember some time ago, some big video game website (I don't remember which) was reporting that at some point you were thinking of quitting the video game industry because you weren't selling enough or something like this. I thought that was highly ridiculous considering I kept hearing about you EVERYWHERE and that you had been in the top steam sales for quite a while. I even heard some people on forums claim that they were almost willing to buy other copies of the game to support you because of that...
    I'm saying this was highly ridiculous because, like I said, I heard about you everywhere and you seemed to be selling a lot of copies on Steam, so even though it was probably not your intention, it felt as if you were playing the card of pity, of "poor little indie developper that needs support". Like I said, it probably wasn't intentional, I'm not trying to insult you or anything, but to me that felt kind of anti-professional. With such an attitude, I think you were appearing smaller than you actually were to your audiance. Again, I'm not saying it was intentional, I think you're simply playing the card of honesty in this blog, which is a good thing in a sense, but which I think can be a dougle-edged sword. Be careful of what you are saying because people can interpret it in manners you didn't think of. This blog post will probably still be here by the time your next game is released, and some people might use it as an excuse they'd give to themselves so that they won't feel bad about pirating your next game, claiming or thinking that "Frictional Games is a stable company now so it doesn't matter.".

    I also think you got incredibly lucky for many reasons:

    - You had a lot of support from major video game sites (not many indie games have such supports). Some of those sites were even making false statement such as saying you were pretty much the only survival horror game this generation. I'm not saying they were making up lies on purpose though, I feel that major reviewers are blinded by the blockbuster titles they are "forced" to talk about and forget about a lot of other games. Those reviewers probably couldn't name more than 3 or 4 survival horror games released this generation, (even though I, and I believe you too, could), and for some reasons Amnesia is one of the few they could name.
    From what I have witnessed both from pro reviews and player feedbacks, I can totally say that, just under Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Amnesia is the most hyped horror game of this generation. Hell, I don't even know how much SH:SM sold. Amnesia might have been even bigger. Plus, the feedback Amnesia is getting is still strong even though in the case of SH:SM it quickly faded a few weeks after release.

    (continued in the next post)

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  44. - the whole PR thing. To be honest, I had predicted it: I have seen the birth and growth of video game livestreams on sites such as ustream and livestream (former name mogulus), for I have even participated in it (I can even claim that the stream channel I used to run with other people, which was solely dedicated to horror games, was one of the first to ever stream the Penumbra games).
    Those livestreams keep growing and growing, for some reasons people love getting online together and watch others play video games. Scary games are especially liked on streams because people to watch somebody get scared and laugh at it, and since the release of Amnesia, I keep seeing or hearing reports of people streaming it.
    In a sense that's contradictory, because the essence of video games is to play it, not watch it; and most people who watch horror game streams, watch it to see somebody get scared and to laugh at him getting scared. Therefore they're spoiling those scares for themselves since they will know about them before experiencing them.
    When you are making games, you are only thinking of the interection between the game itself and the player; you probably never even thought of that possible audiance and the reaction that audiance could have when watching somebody play a horror game; yet that audiance, those livestreams, those youtube videos, were a huge part of your success.
    I think that's something you could take into consideration though. If the scares were more "randomized" rather than scripted, it would that the people who watch somebody else would wouldn't spoil the experience as much for themselves. It would also mean a better replay value for anybody. Still, the majority of people who played your games didn't watch much or anything before playing it, so I'm not saying that's a main issue, I'm just saying that's something to think about.
    To conclude on this point, I would say that Amnesia was released at the right time for this kind of PR thing to help it being promoted. Penumbra was just a bit early for that.

    But then again, I'm saying you're lucky because of those two points, but why Amnesia rather than Calling, Ju-On: The Grudge, I Am Not Alone, Siren Blood Curse, SH Homecoming, Dementium, or any other survival horror title released this generation... ? The quality of the game probably mattered a lot.

    and finally, I really hope you won't give on your idea of console ports. Even though a lot of people own both consoles and a computer, there are still a lot of people who only play games either on console or either on console. However, I have absolutely no factual knowledge on that, it's just my thoughts. Just saying that I would have loved to see Amnesia on Wii or Move and that it might mean more sales for you.

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  45. New knowledge about mac & linux percentages would be great but I'm ever so thankfull to you for releasing these numbers! :)

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  46. (continued)

    - the whole PR thing. To be honest, I had predicted it: I have seen the birth and growth of video game livestreams on sites such as ustream and livestream (former name mogulus), for I have even participated in it (I can even claim that the stream channel I used to run with other people, which was solely dedicated to horror games, was one of the first to ever stream the Penumbra games).
    Those livestreams keep growing and growing, for some reasons people love getting online together and watch others play video games. Scary games are especially liked on streams because people to watch somebody get scared and laugh at it, and since the release of Amnesia, I keep seeing or hearing reports of people streaming it.
    In a sense that's contradictory, because the essence of video games is to play it, not watch it; and most people who watch horror game streams, watch it to see somebody get scared and to laugh at him getting scared. Therefore they're spoiling those scares for themselves since they will know about them before experiencing them.
    When you are making games, you are only thinking of the interection between the game itself and the player; you probably never even thought of that possible audiance and the reaction that audiance could have when watching somebody play a horror game; yet that audiance, those livestreams, those youtube videos, were a huge part of your success.
    I think that's something you could take into consideration though. If the scares were more "randomized" rather than scripted, it would that the people who watch somebody else would wouldn't spoil the experience as much for themselves. It would also mean a better replay value for anybody. Still, the majority of people who played your games didn't watch much or anything before playing it, so I'm not saying that's a main issue, I'm just saying that's something to think about.
    To conclude on this point, I would say that Amnesia was released at the right time for this kind of PR thing to help it being promoted. Penumbra was just a bit early for that. I mean, you may not be aware of that, but the Penumbra games were actually already rather famous games to be streamed live. It probably didn't matter for the sales as much because they weren't "new" games. This is why I said I had predicted it for Amnesia.

    But then again, I'm saying you're lucky because of those two points, but why Amnesia rather than Calling, Ju-On: The Grudge, I Am Not Alone, Siren Blood Curse, SH Homecoming, Dementium, or any other survival horror title released this generation... ? The quality of the game probably mattered a lot.

    and finally, I really hope you won't give on your idea of console ports. Even though a lot of people own both consoles and a computer, there are still a lot of people who only play games either on console or either on console. However, I have absolutely no factual knowledge on that, it's just my thoughts. Just saying that I would have loved to see Amnesia on Wii or Move and that it might mean more sales for you.

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  47. that's what i have said earlier :
    if a game is good but whith not much marketing,the selling rate is not very high,but it longs a lot of time , and at the end the total amount of money is pretty decent !

    so now you have plenty of money, you can make the game you have ever dreamed of : a pony simulation !! yeaaah !!! :D

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  48. Thank you for taking the time to write this. Very informative and interesting. Not many gamers (myself included) know what goes on behind the scenes and why developers end up making certain decisions. Being transparent is a great way to stay connected to your fan base.

    Also - congratulations!

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  49. I bought it full price.

    Still haven't beat it though. I'm a coward and can only play it like 20-30 minutes at a time, or it really gets to me.

    The atmosphere is just PERFECT to evoke fear right into you.

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  50. Congrats, inspiration to all those who aspire to create great games.

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  51. Congrats!

    P.S. I know it's SUPERSECRET, but: "use the emotions that Amnesia was able to provoke and to focus them in a different direction"?
    Like... character interaction?
    Making the player care?

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  52. As a fan of Frictional Games, I very much enjoy reading these updates. Congratulations on your well deserved success!

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  53. I am happy that you guys are doing well as a company!

    I look forward to any new releases you guys produce, you have a lifelong fan!

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  54. ROFL THE LIES

    four games???

    do you forget such great titles as fiend, energetic, and the penumbra tech demo. Lol I still have them installed(could never quite get fiend working right though), yes, I've been a big fan for a long while.

    Keep up the AMAZING work you guys.

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  55. I'm sure sales are helped by the fact that Amnesia is an amazing game. The only way I was able to play was with 4 friends in the room, lights on and whiskey in hand.

    I still spilled the whiskey. Keep up the good work!

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  56. I bought it because of the buzz on Reddit. I'm not much of a gamer, and this is one of the few games I've bought in the last few years (outside console/DS games for my son).

    Great game. I wish you great luck with your next game and I will be playing Penumbra:Overture soon (got as part of Humble Bundle 2/1).

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  57. As a long time veteran of gaming, I can safely say that Amnesia is a truly one-of-a-kind unique game. It is great to read that Frictional Games are now financially secure and already working on the next game, giving me something to anxiously look forward to. Great to see that the sales are increasing because this game deserves to be played by everyone.

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  58. Well I do see there are an enormous amount of comments... and i have to say i bought it at full price because it just seemed like a good game.. and it wasn't... it was a GREAT game!!

    Although I love my PC platform I do hope that you don't have some odd sense of loyalty to the platform that you would forsake profits and only stay on this platform.. i understand that the allure of consoles is pretty great and rightly so.. so i hope you do well even if you decide to develop for the console primarily but please keep the pc development in mind.. as much as i love games on the pc.. shoddy ports make me weep inside.. :)

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  59. Inspiring stuff. As lead artist on an upcoming horror genre title I found Amnesia exceptionally inspirational; your team did a fantastic job delivering a strong narrative with a great cohesive art style and play experience.

    I was a big fan of the Penumbra series but you really raised the bar with Amnesia. Congratulations on your success and I can't wait to see what you chaps produce next!

    Paul

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  60. Congrats!!!
    I love you guys!!
    Perfectly scary game, and actually works on a PC as it is suppose too!

    To the engine programmers.. good job!

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  61. There is one way, and one way only, that would lead to higher sales:
    SUPPORTING INTEGRATED GRAPHICS CARDS


    (congratulations anyways, tho)

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  62. congratulations!!! 1 of this 200000 copies is mine and i'm very proud to support this kind of games and software house. And please don't turn into arcade or consolle way!

    Andrew, Italy

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  63. Even though I uninstalled Amnesia about an hour after I tried it, I still think it's one the best and most memorable games I've played in the last 20 years. Why uninstall? It's just too damn scary to play, I had to watch it on youtube, to get to know the story. :)

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  64. Amnesia works for me and others because it's a TRUE horror game. Last year, there weren't too many notable games released in the genre by the big publishers and those that did hit retail were mostly more action games with horror elements (although Deadly Premonition was the closest thing to amazing because it was so damn weird). Dementium II was great as well, but again, the combat focus too away a bit from the straight up scares.

    I do think that getting the game on consoles (with all three Penumbra games) at some point would be a cool idea, provided the controls are as intuitive. I do wish this was a retail release, as I know a few folks who'd pay the cost for a packaged disc as they don't have broadband or just prefer physical media, but that's another matter.

    Anyway, best of luck on the next project!

    g.

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  65. Congratulations
    I am very happy things turned out well. Also, I'm already looking forward to your next game.

    Keep it up Frictional!

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  66. for your next steam promotion you should offer up a hat to current customers.... :)

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  67. Nice to see you guys doing well...
    however, where is that Amnesia level creator we were supposed to have?

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  68. Congratulations! Haven't purchased and played Amnesia yet, but seen some videos, it's looking really frightening and interesting! Any idea if it's ever going to be released as a boxed version outside of russia?

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  69. Next can we have Rocket Launchers? :D

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  70. Holy crap, That's awesome guys!

    personally, this is my favourite reaction video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loSzpvq73FY

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  71. Amazing, long live PC

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  72. Dear sirs,

    I love the games you make and will keep on buying them as long as you keep making them. This is despite the fact that I will never, ever finish any, thanks to getting premature grey hair and heart attacks. It's not the end that counts, it's the experience! Considering how risky your games already are in terms of mass market appeal, I'm really interested in seeing what you think might be 'considerable risks'. What's gaming, after all, if not the chance to do what one has never done before?

    Incoherent tl;dr, you'll have to forgive me but it's four in the morning. At any rate, the point is this : you are one of the few companies to which I can happily say I am glad to be a customer of. I don't have much brand loyalty to anybody these days, but there it is. Please keep on being awesome.

    P.S. Thanks for not doing a limited release on Steam. That would've made things frustrating.

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  73. Proof that there is a point to making a good game, not just shovel out the same old games, good work and congrats on the success...

    i just finished Amnesia and enjoyed it so much im going to buy all your Penumbra games now :D

    keep up the good work

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  74. "Indie" developers are the only ones with real creative talent.
    They're not stuck with a greedy publisher; more freedom.
    Those so-called "AAA" games from Activision/EA and especially Ubisoft suck; they're all uninspired.

    Glad you guys finally get the recognition you deserve.

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  75. I didn't realize some people can get scared before the real thing even begins...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3Xq4PJBamM&feature=related
    "Why don't you just, like... sit here?"
    LOL

    And she's not even looking at the screen half of the time!
    The game is definitively not for everyone.

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  76. Gratulerar!

    I have finished Amnesia, and god I was scared. I bought Penumbra: Overture and Black Plague recently, and lol I scream like a little girl on Black Plague. Great work! Better than any horror movie (and games) in years.

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  77. Great news!.

    Nice to read Amnesia has sold much more than you were expecting, and the fact you're out of the hole and financially stable. Keep with the hard work, and happy new year. : )

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  78. What's also great is that people who never heard of you before Amnesia are now buying Penumbra games as well. Seems like you'll earn some extra cash from the your ol' reliable.
    Make us another great game, guys!

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  79. OMG, have you people seen this hilarious Amnesia video review?

    http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2092-Amnesia-The-Dark-Descent

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  80. AND this http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2607-Top-5-of-2010

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  81. Incredible work to everyone at Frictional Games. Bought Amnesia during a steam sale, and played for about an hour before immediately buying two more copies for my friends, as well as Penumbra. Congratulations on creating the greatest game for the past few years, as well as the first truly great game of the decade.

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  82. Ypu guys are great.Frictional Games FTW :d

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  83. Hey guys!
    It was great meeting you guys in Seattle :)
    Congratulations on the great sales with Amnesia, I've downloaded the game as well, but too frighten to start the game up (I've seen the videos on youtube)

    Good luck with developing the new game and we'll keep in touch!

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  84. I'm happy for u guys! Great game, keep up the good work :)

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  85. PLEASE CONSIDERATE AN XBLA VERSION ! It would be awesome !

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  86. Awesome work, you deserve all the success! Already looking forward to the next release. If it's available for Linux I'm buying it, I already know it's going to be money well spent. :)

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  87. You guys are awesome, and deserve all the praise you're getting

    looking forward to your next game :)

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  88. You guys are fantastic -- I'll certainly be buying any games that you release in the future! Only one thing --- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PICK UP WHERE CALL OF CTHULHU: DARK CORNERS OF THE EARTH LEFT. YOU GUYS WOULD BE PERFECT TO CONTINUE THE STORY.

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  89. Excellent news, and congratulations to the whole team! You did an insane job on Amnesia, and the graphical tricks to make the game look good were very clever! (I loved hunting for them after a friend pointed the first few out!)
    My suggestion at this point would be to keep doing what you're doing! Don't stray too far off your path, and don't ruin an amazing system! (I know it's ignorant of me to say, but certain gaming companies have destroyed some franchises... I really don't want to see that happen here.)

    Regardless, I'm loving Amnesia and I'm planning on buying Penumbra!

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  90. Great to hear it. Keep up the fantastic work.

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  91. I have never before been so excited about an underdog game developer having things work out in their favor! In a time where all games seem to be yearly rehashes of the same franchises, or clones of said games, I had begun losing hope that the gaming industry would offer up anything truly new and exciting.

    You guys have hit the mark!

    The online sales market is indeed growing rapidly, and I see it continuing (I myself have been almost exclusively been buying games online for the last 3 years), and your assessment of such is completely in agreement. But you guys are forgetting one thing: Amnesia is a truly fantastic and new game!

    The atmosphere is brilliant (and terrifying), the characters interesting, the story trots along at a terrific pace, and the scares! They're rarely cheap, and always effective.

    Also, I would spend a good, long time thinking it over before doing anything with consoles. A third-party publisher porting the game for you might result in a sloppy product without proper supervision or if the team is not as wholly enthusiastic about the project as you and we, the gamers, are. A console port could indeed mean much more exposure for the game, but a sloppy or poor console port could also leave a LARGE number of players disappointed with the game, resulting in negative word of mouth.

    Perhaps porting to a console is a much simpler and easier process than console-to-PC ports, but I, as a dedicated PC gaming enthusiast, have been let down repeatedly (in almost every case) with poor console-to-PC ports. I encourage you to remain PC-only! I strongly believe that Frictional Games has what it takes to bring PC gaming back to the forefront, and your possible dedication to PC-only game design could encourage other developers to do the same!

    However I'm truly appreciative of this phenomenal game and feel you deserve as much attention as possible, and opening up to the console market will indeed garner much more exposure for you.

    Whatever you decide to do, I hope it pans out and I can't wait to see what you do next!

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  92. Congratulations!! Amneisa is one of the scariest games I've ever played. But is not only that. The great atmosphere, the nice story... I love it. Really. I usually don't like much horror games, but this is so brilliant...

    Again, Congratulations from Spain!!

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  93. You all have done a great job by creating Amnesia. It is nice to hear you earn a proper salarie thanks to the game, because you guys totally deserve it. I've played Amnesia with 3 friends and some times all the 4 of us screamed as hell. We really hope there the nest Amnesia is under construction so we can scream a lot more, after we played Penumbra. Keep up the good work!

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  94. Congratulations! I completed Amnesia a few days ago and promptly bought all the Penumbra games straight after. I also 'edged' a few of my friends to buy Amnesia. You guys worked hard, your game was a total masterpiece. I look forward to see what else you got coming.

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  95. Have you considered adding support for the new Razer Hydra motion controllers? It sounds pretty easy to add native support, and it might contribute considerably to the immersive experience your games aim for.

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  96. Matthew B:
    Yes we have. Just really busy atm, so gonna check out when things calm down a bit.

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  97. Comment No. 100! Hurray!!! Do I get to now the supersecret stuff from your next supersecret game now?

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  98. Do I get to now --> Do I get to know

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  99. http://www.cad-comic.com/sillies/20110110/

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  100. great news, it's fun to hear that something I bought actually contributed to a positive effect. Now you can do what you like for a living, getting a 'proper job' just doesn't cut it, don't you agree:)
    greets from Brussels

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  101. Your welcome frictionalgames! It is an honor to be on your blog for my silly reaction for Amnesia The Dark Descent! THANK YOU FOR THE THRILL OF MY LIFE!!


    -James, FuuzOfMischief

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  102. Congratulations, Fictional Games! I would love to to part of your next project. I write immersive video game music. Lots of samples at my site, curioustunes.com.

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  103. Great news! I bought the games a few weeks ago, but haven't finished it yet (mostly because I don't have a lot of spare time, and because I am a pussy and can't play longer than an hour without freaking myself out to much.. xD) but do enjoy every bit!

    Can't wait to see what your next project will be like! :D

    Good luck in the future and keep up the good work!

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  104. I first heard about frictional from the Humble Indie Bundle, and I'm glad this is working out for you! My neighbors are probably well and truly sick of hearing cries of BWWAAAAAH by now, though :C

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  105. Thank you for making Amnesia and thank you for the great blog posts.

    You've made something legitimately great and I can't emphasize enough how excited I am to know that you're making something else.

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  106. This is fantastic indeed!! you guys made a freaking-tastic game (that I've barely played because of me being a wimp) and deserve to sell 200k more, it really makes me happy when an indie dev starts kicking butt, I hope to have finished Amnesia by the time your next game comes around as I am sure it will be worth every penny too.

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  107. I actually pirated my copy of Amnesia, but it did make me buy the Penumbra collection for full price. Kudos.

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  108. Congrats, it's great to see yall have been successful. I was a bit worried about the financial situation you guys spoke of months back, it's cool to see things turned out the way they did. Keep making awesome games. >)

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  109. Great news indeed!
    Im very happy for you guys, all that frustration, low salaries and doing it tough these past few years has finally payed off. Pretty sure you guys have well and truly earned it.

    And personally Im very excited to see more games coming from Frictional Games in the future! :D

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  110. Bought Penumbra and Amnesia. Keep it up!

    Out of curiosity is it possible to post the sales figures between Windows, Mac, and Linux?

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  111. I have to admit, I never buy singleplayer games (finances in Croatia do not allow that), but Amnesia was so good that I bought it after finishing the pirated version.

    Keep up the good work guys!

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  112. I never thought an indie game could be SUCH amazing. I think it's the best survival horror game I ever played and I'm happy to support you guys by bying your awesome game. I also really liked the "developer" things, not the ones in the game, but the videos of making the sounds/music of the game which was very interesting!

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  113. I just finished the game, it was awesome!

    I can't wait for your next game, please keep supporting Linux ;)

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  114. Congrats! Keep up with the great work, can't wait for your next game :)

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  115. If you need help with 3D props and environments or characters, let me know guys! www.patrikspacek.com , patrikspacek@yahoo.com

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  116. Congrats guys, but its just what ive expected for such an awesome game!

    P.S :In the dungeon, my girlfriend and i suffered multiple heart attacks, I've never was scared like this before in my live O_O :)

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  117. Oh, I started playing this and i'm loving it! I stopped worrying about monsters around every corner and just got straight into it. So much mystery! It's like bioshock all over again! :D I also thought how well this would work as an iphone game. The controls could port easily as well. Two simple transparent joysticks for movement, inventory and lantern buttons in top left and right corners of your hud screen, tilt to lean around corners, when you pick up an object you flick it to rotate it, etc...

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  118. Will you sell your games on Ubuntu Software Center?

    Your announcement about your next game disappoints me a little. I wish you'd make a non-scary game and make it easier for me to experience your creations.

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  119. This probably isn't the place to make an inquiry about an addition to your wonderful product, but I thought I'd throw this out there. It's an idea:

    What if you included some type of child monster? They could be like little kids that run around after you. The thing about the current amnesia is that theres one monster, it runs after you, you hide. Big Deal.

    With the kids, you could have 2 - 4 spawn at one time. So you see one, start running, round a corner only to find another one coming at you. Now you have to turn around and run back towards the original child you ran into. You would run into a room, go to hide in a closet, but as you open it to get it, a third child is there waiting for you, and jumps out at you.

    I guess you get the point, it's just an idea some of my friends and I came up with. And not only is there the scare factor of a small scrappy child running after you with blood shot eyes, but you're also worrying whether or not there will be 2, 3, or 4 while trying to scavenge for a hiding position!

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  120. I guess that deserves congratulations :-) Not only for selling that many copies of Amnesia, but also for succeeding in creating such a frightful and original experience with minimal budget and a tiny team size.

    Now all I'm waiting for is a next release from Frictional Games ! Keep up the good work guys, and make us scream the hell out again and again.

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  121. You guys should be proud of your product. I was never a fan of horror games but your game is a masterpiece. It's not just one of my favorite games of the year - it's one of my favorite games of all time.

    Good luck in the future and I hope to see more awesome creations from you! :D

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  122. This is excellent, i love your titles and both Amnesia and Penumbra are wonderful series even if i prefer the industrial setting.

    Grattis från en nöjd svensk som kommer fortsätta att stödja er, hoppas även på fler skräckspel då ni är de bästa i hela den genren :D

    // Tack för ni finns!

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  123. Hey guys.

    My friend bought this game for me as a Christmas present while it was half-price on Steam. I was going to buy it myself, but he offered to buy it for me. What I've played of it is absolutely brilliant.

    I will admit that I haven't finished it yet as I'm too scared to play it. Haha. I've just gotten past the water monster that was in the demo. I'll probably have a heart attack if I play any more.

    I usually wait until everyone else has gone to bed, stick on the headphones, crank up the volume and turn out the lights. It's definitely the scariest game I've played and I ranked it at number 7 on my top 10 games of 2010 list, which you can find here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jP5Cu6Oe9Y

    I'm trying to muster up the courage to play it again sometime soon as I really want to finish it. I just want to congratulate you all at Frictional Games on the sales and simply for making an absolute masterpiece in the horror genre. I wish you all the best for your future projects.

    Regards,

    Jake

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  124. I have buy two copy of amnesia and the black plague complete pack. I can`t do more but i`m in waiting for news games, for do more :)

    Thank`s

    Ronewird

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  125. Got this game this Friday and by now I've shat enough bricks to build affordable lodgings for all the homeless people in Europe. Eagerly awaiting another title!

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  126. Congrats. I've been playing games of just about every kind since the mid-1980s, and Amnesia will always be one of my all-time favorites :)

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  127. "Holy shit, Amnesia WHAT THE FUUUUUUCK" has almost 2 million views now and as a matter of fact, that video made me interested in playing this game!

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  128. Amnesia is without a doubt THE BEST GAME I HAVE EVER PLAYED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! Keep up the good work! Thank you for Amnesia and thank you for making a new game! I hope that it will be even better than Daniel's story! and... 'Don't forget! Don't forget! Focus!' Don't forget about things which made this game and its atmosphere so amazing.

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  129. In the last sentence I meant things which made Amnesia so great of course! So you better don't forget about them while developing your new project!

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  130. You should make a new game similar to amnesia and maybe expand or reinvent it. Do not mess with success look at dragon age 2 if you need proof.

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  131. A think a new game would be a good way to go, i loved Amnesia and Penumbra (the entire series of course). I just don't see a way you continue either story though, even a game like Justine would be great (Provided that the puzzles were a little more explanatory). But all of your games have been wonderful and i am excited to see what happens in the future.

    P.s. I heard about the new engine. If you DO decide to change the game play styles, keep the opening/closing style you guys have, that was one of the most delightful features of your game. Also, the peeking around the corners was great and helped build suspense when walking through dark hallways or tunnel shafts.

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  132. I love this game so much! I hope you guys the best of luck on your new game and I'm sure to be buying some of your other games.

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  133. I knew it is going to be a success,I made a preorder number around 300 here:)
    Great job,you just know what you want to implement in a horror game and it works!

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