TITLE
Myst-ified
AUTHOR
Om Malik
PUBLICATION
Forbes
YEAR
1997
ARTICLE TYPE
Article
FROM THE ARTICLE
Computer game Myst has sold 3.5 million copies and is still selling. Riven in less than 20 days notched up sales of 300,000. What is the secret?According to research firm PC Data, Myst has enjoyed the longest run on the Top 10 Bestseller list of any software game, and was again the top-selling product in North America in July and August of 1997. In October, it had climbed back to the number five spot again. Not bad for a game that was first introduced in 1993.
Myst creators Robin and Rand Miller, who formed their own software company Cyan, licensed Myst to Broderbund which made it a commercial success. As result, the personal net worth of the Millers balloned to over $25 million. The sons of a minister, the Miller brothers, now in their late 30s, appear in black-and-white advertisements for Gap, photographed by noted celebrity photographer Richard Avedon.
So… what is the secret of Myst? Don’t bother asking the Millers. Even they do not know what makes Myst tick.
GAMES MENTIONED
Myst
Riven: The Sequel to Myst
ALTERNATE LINK
Archived Copy @ Internet Archive
PRINT AVAILABILITY
November 1997