controls and visual perspective, named it one of the "few titles [that took] strategy into the third dimension and convincingly used the extra plane for more than a dazzling 3D makeover". Sacrifice was developed and released during a period of growth for the video games market; the amount United States consumers spent on video games increased from US$3.2 billion in 1995 to $6.0 billion in 2000. "Solid" real-time strategy games could sell more than 100,000 copies, and those that sold less than 75,000 units were considered commercial failures by the publishers. Many real-time strategy game developers concentrated on enhancing their game's visuals without concern for innovations in gameplay. Shiny was recognized by the industry for its unconventional games, which exhibited humorous content and unique artistic designs. When it became known that the company was developing Sacrifice as its first real-time strategy game, several industry observers were keen to see whether it could deliver a quality product. No sales figures were released for Sacrifice, but several members of the video game industry acknowledged the game did not sell well. James Bell, Infogrames's Senior Vice President of Creative Development, said that Sacrifice, although an excellent game, suffered poor sales because it was badly marketed and released at the wrong time. Another reason, offered by Gillen, for Sacrifices commercial failure was the small size of its development team. Based mostly on the efforts of four people, the game was built around their gaming preferences, failing to take into account the opinions of a wider variety; hence, the game became a niche product. Awards and legacy Impressing IGN with its "wonderful land full of character and imagination", Sacrifice was the gaming site's choice for the best strategy game of 2000 in its Best of 2000 Awards (but a runner-up for Readers' Choice), and was a runner-up for "Best Graphics" in both Editors' Choice and Readers' Choice. It was honored in the same year by European Computer Trade Show as the Best PC Game of the Show. The game was a finalist for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' 2000 "Strategy Game of the Year", "Computer Innovation", and "PC Game of the Year" awards, all of which went to Age of Empires II: The Conquerors, Deus Ex, and Diablo II, respectively. The game won the award for Strategy Game at Computer Gaming Worlds 2001 Premier Awards. It won the award for the RTS Game