Jane's WWII Fighters
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. The game is set during the U.S. American termed "Battle of the Bulge" in 1944 and 1945. The game featured famous fighter aircraft from World War II. It also featured a virtual museum, where aircraft profiles, interviews with fighter pilots such  as George Unwin, Günther Rall, and others could be viewed. Reception. Critical reviews. The game received favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Sales. The game was released in direct competition with "Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator", and became a commercial flop. 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. 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. Following the May 2000 bankruptcy of "Jane's Attack Squadron" developer Looking Glass Studios shortly before that game's completion, Electronic Arts declined to finish the project, and instead opted to exit the flight simulation genre. For the week ending April 29, 2000, the game appeared at #10 on PC Data's weekly computer game sales chart  in the United States, with an average retail price of $25. It climbed to #8 the following week, before exiting the charts for the May 7–13 period. PC Data named it the country's ninth-best-selling game of May 2000. 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. Awards. The Academy of  Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated the game for its 1998 "Simulation Game of the Year" award, although it lost to "". 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". The game received further runner-up positions for "Best Soundtrack" and "Best Graphics" from "IGN", and "Best Sound" and "Best Graphics (Technical Excellence)" from "GameSpot". However, it won "Computer Gaming World"s "Special Award: Musical Score" prize. The magazine's staff  wrote: "Unmatched aircraft graphics, amazing special effects, top-notch AI, and accurate flight modeling really pulled you into the experience. Multiplayer on Jane's Combat.net is a blast."