Today, Valve launched the highly anticipated first-person puzzler Portal 2, and the game appears to have critical success well in hand. While Portal 2's commercial performance remains to be seen, it will be attempting to fit into a pair of oversized shoes, as Valve confirmed for GameSpot today that, even after excluding Steam sales, the original Portal has to date sold nearly 4 million units worldwide.
Portal's sales milestone comes despite humble beginnings. The game began life as the senior project of a group of students at the DigiPen Institute of Technology, titled Narbacular Drop. After winning the Independent Game Festival's Student Showcase Award in 2006, the game and its creators were subsequently signed by Valve.
Narbacular Drop's interconnected portal concept was adapted for Valve's Half-Life universe and renamed, aptly enough, Portal. The first-person puzzle game was then packed in as part of Valve's 2007 blockbuster The Orange Box, which also included Half-Life 2, that shooter's first two episodes, and the multiplayer-only Team Fortress 2.
Portal quickly proved to be the standout release of the package, winning such accolades as the 2008 Game Developer's Choice Awards' Game of the Year.
For more on Portal, check out GameSpot's recent interview with writer Erik Wolpaw.
Discussion
Makes me go all warm inside to see, that commercial success in the industry can still be achieved without having to release just another generic shooter year in and year out. So originality and innovation lives and PAYS....maybe more developers will take note one day !
@NeilCardiff Thank you, thank you, I try my best.
Strange, shouldn't they be reporting on Portal 2 sales, rather than a three year old game.
If they included steam sales, our computers would explode upon loading the page, cause the number was too large. o.o
@PodXCOM [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3n0vBcW5fc]Trollolololol[/url]
@theKSMM: My case is really bad, I can take about 5 mins of playing FPS games, longer than that I need to get outside to get some air. Some friends even suggested to take some motion sickness meds before hand. That's how much I want to play this game!
Portal was/is an incredible game. Hope this one continues the legacy.
I get dizzy playing first-person games too, but Portal was so good that I just fought through it, stopping for the night when it got too bad. Granted, that means that it took me weeks to finish a game that many others completed in a day, but it was well worth it.
@Kid_Black_Star No, I didn't even play it yet. I just didn't like the happy ending.
@9thedevilmaycry Well, no. But I am a graphics whore. The reason I said it, was because: 1. I saw the ending on youtube, and it was sickly sweet (which I hate! I love bad endings) 2. I wanted to see how low I can be voted down.
@ aryeec sorry inform you but popularity does usually win goty honours. and Portal is the most popular thing since pop-rocks
Congrats! I've been hearing from loads of loads of friends that it's really really good, too bad I can't play first person shooter games (Makes me dizzy) :(
@PodXCOM: Was It too hard for you? cause portal is a master piece :P
@King_Gamer19 I know ! I have had more friends tell me to play Portal 1 than Metro 2033 (the top two games i have been chastised for not playing). I think I gotta put a few games on the shelf and get my download on...
@PixelAddict What is wrong wit us
@strawberry9 1) I said nothing in a manner that assumed others agree with me, so eat your own damn words. 2) I don't give a rats ass what other sites/critics/players rate a game. Popularity and high score don't solidify GOTY candidacy in my book.
@PodXCOM there could be reasons why you said that 1. you are another COD fanboy 2. you hate the game because you cant kill anything 3. you are a graphics whore 4. you are all of the above
If this had included Steam sales, it would be much higher
'Not including Steam sales' Good grief.
@bandtnt what the hell are you even trying to say???
I am happy to know that people still like to think solving puzzles,may be after playing this game they reconsider COD:BO.
Since you can link your Steam account via your PSN ID in Portal 2 now, I wonder if Valve will start releasing Steam sales numbers now? Other studios better hope not. If Valve included Steam figures for Half-Life 2, Portal, etc, they would shut down simply from embarrassment. Long live Valve.
Most of those sales from 360 gamers who you gave a gimped Portal 2. Brilliant...
@blackace I completely agree. Portal 2 sounds like a no-brainer when it hits $40, but $60 seems too steep right now. Now if they'd have bundled it with HL2:E3...
Can't wait to play it.
Very good that so many people got to expirience the game!
I just can't wait to see what the community does with Portal 2. I'm sure there have been people plotting since the first Portal on levels they want to make.
Best co op game ever. It is so interactive and fun. I'm not a puzzle guy at all, but this is the most fun I ever had with a friend.
Not including steam sales? Then 4 million must be like 30% of all portal games sold.
Finally unique games getting the credit they deserve. I'm tired of developers who basically put out the same game every year getting the most sales. Portal as well as other exceptional and one-of-a-kind games will most definitely receive more credit as time goes on.
The original Portal was great. I have not picked up the 2nd game yet. I'll most like wait for the price to drop before getting it. The original Portal game with Orange Box and that was easily worth $60, but Portal 2 by itself isn't worth $60 to me. Once the price gets below $40 I'll consider getting it.
Not including Steam? Those sales have to be huge, considering Portal would be on sale for a few dollars every now and then.
WOOHOO!
If you have not played either of these games you are missing out. Some of the teen crowd may be too 'cool' for this game because it doesn't have call of duty in the title, but they are great games that shouldn't be missed. Expand your mind a little and you will find that these are fun games, which is the point of playing games to begin with.
I contributed via orange box but have never played it. I got it for Team Fortress 2. I don't like it when companies boast about sales of something that is included in a package that people probably bought for other reasons. Sort of like how Wii Sports has incredible sales but only because it comes with every Wii.
You guys realize this was the original Portal that sold 4 million units? Not the one released yesterday....
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Well deserved. Portal is a very unique game, and an excellent one too! :D
@MrHatnClogs The article says they sold 4 million units, not 4 million dollars. So it's really closer to 240 million dollars. Pretty impressive stuff either way. And yes, activision sucks. I'm sure you've heard that guitar hero is probably having an installment next year....wonderful...
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The game is so much fun in single and multiplayer. It is legitimately funny, which is hard to do. Plus, the game was being sold by most large retailers for $35 after rebates.
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First girl I ever saw at a midnight launch last night. I was horrified when she didn't get MK and walked out with that other game.
I wonder how Crytek and EA feel about an indie game outselling their big budget shooter. Just goes to show that people really like well developed games even if it means delaying them to make improvements.
I love me some Valve, but I never got into Portal...I tried...I just was not enjoying myself
HL3 please i want it
As bad $$$ as the Oragne box was, and still is, all you half life fans should actually be a little angry at the orange box. Have you ever wandered where is the PROMISED ep 3????? Did you ever wander what happened to a new ep every 6 months? Well go google it, basically because of the oragnge box, ep 2 got pushed back and it pushed ep 3 even furhter back, and now.... seems its never ganna happen and we just have to wait for HL3. which is fine, but I would have loved a new ep every 6 months in the meantime, but they lost all momemetan they hand when they inked the deal for the Orange box.
*raises pinky to mouth* 4 meeelllion sales!
So, uh, will this, uh, have them start working on Team Fortress 3? And uh, will this, uh, information, uh, have them release some solid news on Half Life 3? Very interested in both....
wow, I wonder how that stacks up to other 'big' games from this year?