still felt small and overcrowded with too little to do in it. By June 1999, Meridian 59s retail sales in the United States had reached 14,359 units, according to PC Data. A writer for GameDaily called these numbers "minuscule", and remarked that it had "clearly fizzled on store shelves". However, the publication noted that 3DO had changed its business model to rely on online shopping and microtransactions, and had seen monetary success despite its poor sales in stores. Next Generation columnist Christian Svensson commented that despite the game's monthly pricing being roundly derided by a panel consisting of the heads of seven leading online gaming services at the September 1996 Online Game Developer's Conference, who said any flat rate system was unsustainable and "naive", "Since that time, we have seen the official launch of many online gaming services, and most have learned what consumers and the press have been telling them all along: A fair flat rate is the only way services will get subscribers." The game received multiple awards, including the fantasy-role-playing game of the year for 1996. It was a finalist for Computer Gaming Worlds 1996 "Role-Playing Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. However, it won CNET Gamecenter's award in this category. The editors called it "arguably one of the truest role-playing games ever." The game is known as the first 3D graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) and stands as one of the longest running original online role-playing games. References External links Meridian 59 web site – web site of the copyright and trademark holders Server 420 web site – Official website for open source server 420 Meridian Next web site – Official website for open source server 105 A good user guide for new starters The Last Survivors of Meridian 59, article in The New Yorker'' Digital Human, audio interview with creators and players 3d Client Project at code.google.com Game Developers Conference Vault - A Brief History about the creation of Meridian 59 by Damion Schubert Vice: How the World's Oldest 3D MMO Keeps Cheating Death 1996 video games Active massively multiplayer online games Commercial video games with freely available source code Fantasy video games Graphical MUDs Massively multiplayer online role-playing games The 3DO Company games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Windows-only games