Magicka sells 30,000 on first day, being patched 'as often as possible'
Magicka, the Paradox-published story of up to four wizards assaulting monsters and accidentally killing each other with ill-advised spell combinations, has sold 30,000 copies within its first day of availability through digital distribution. The celebration is tempered, however -- while they were pushing it to the top of Steam's sales chart, players of the game complained on forums and Twitter about technical instability and bugs. Ars Technica found the game especially problematic, calling it a "broken, negligent release."
Paradox has summarized the current status of Magicka as such: "[Singe-player] works fine for the most part, Multiplayer does not -- patch on the way for both! (as soon as [Steam] pushes the button). We'll patch the game as often as possible." According to a celebratory press release, Arrowhead Game Studios is "working around the sundial and is fully committed to ongoing support by zapping glitches and communicating with players."
The game's unpolished state would likely have generated even more caustic reaction, had its malleable magic system not countered with amusing stories of players haphazardly offing each other. You'll find some good, spell-based schadenfreude in Rock Paper Shotgun's mock guide to Magicka.
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Magicka Charms its Way to the Top of Steam
No Rest for the Weary-Devs Hard at Work Addressing Issues and Taking in Player Feedback
NEW YORK-January 26, 2011-
Somebody must have mixed a strong potion because wizards aren't typically this attractive. Paradox Interactive today announced that its highly anticipated action-adventure game Magicka, has sold over 30,000 copies across all digital download platforms in less than 24hrs, and is currently the #1 bestselling game on Steam.
However, the fantastic success of Magicka is not a signal for the development team to pop open the jars of mead and relax after celebrating. Arrowhead Studios is working around the sundial and is fully committed to ongoing support by zapping glitches and communicating with players. The dev team has plenty more to conjure up so be on the lookout for more announcements and keep those wands ready, wizards!
"The reception for Magicka has been better than we dared to hope, watching the numerous YouTube clips of gamers and editors worldwide laughing themselves senseless as they misfire spells left and right as well as the comments on twitter and forums show us people really get the humor and the idea behind Magicka." said Shams Jorjani, Producer at Paradox Interactive. "Singleplayer and LAN is what most people are currently playing but updating the multiplayer lobby and continuously improving the game is our top priority. "
Paradox and Arrowhead games are posting daily updates on the game at the Steam and Paradox forums.
For more on the latest developments, join the Magicka community on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MagickaGame or follow the game on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/magickagame.
To see what all this Magicka hoopla is about, including the chance to prance around the forest in your own robe and look silly, check out the demo on Steam at http://store.steampowered.com/app/42910/.
The game is currently available for digital download at all major digital download portals for $9.99.
We leave you with some of the developers favorite reactions to Magicka so far:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zafk_bXuPdM (Magicka - How Even 2 People Can Be Too Many)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_XP9OBWGKo (WTF is Magicka?)
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/01/24/spell-check-5-mistakes-to-avoid-in-m agicka/
About Paradox Interactive
Since 1999, Paradox Interactive has been a leading global developer and publisher of PC-based strategy games. World-renowned for its strategy catalog, the company holds a particularly strong presence in the United States and Europe. Its steadily-growing portfolio includes originally developed titles such as the critically acclaimed Europa Universalis and the Hearts of Iron franchises, as well as publishing titles such as the Elven Legacy series, Mount & Blade and Majesty 2. Paradox made an explosive entry onto consoles during 2010 with the release of Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West. For more information, please visit www.paradoxplaza.com and follow @pdxinteractive on Twitter.
