Console Sales Clarity and Platform Game Sales
Sales Drivers panel
Console sales swings are easier to read. The game now explains demand vs sold, what moved demand week over week, and when sales were capped by stock.
Where to find it
Dashboard → Console output (each active player console card shows a compact summary)
Hardware → Your consoles (full panel under Demand vs supply on each console)
Hardware → [select a console] (full panel on the console detail view)
What you will see
Demand this week and change vs last week
Sold vs lost (unmet demand)
Stock-limited warning when the market wanted more units than you had in warehouse
Top movers (price, sales, platform momentum, marketing, weekly rhythm, etc.)
Show all factors for the full breakdown
Note: Older saves get a partial breakdown until one more week passes. Full driver history starts from the next tick.
Platform game sales now drive console demand
Third-party and first-party game sales volume now affects hardware demand, not just how many titles are on the platform and their review scores.
What changed under the hood
Third-party titles now simulate weekly unit sales (review, age, installed base, economy)
Player game weekly sales are tracked and included in the platform total
Strong software weeks boost console demand (capped so it does not run away)
Platform royalties and top-games intel use real third-party sales when available
Where to see it
Hardware → Your consoles → Sales drivers (this week) Look for Platform game sales with detail like 14.2k units (9.1k 3rd party)
Dashboard → Console output Compact drivers panel includes the same signal on busy weeks
Hardware → [console] → Top games Third-party titles now show real revenue instead of always showing zero
Planning tip: A spike in Sold with high Lost and a stock-limited warning usually means demand jumped but inventory did not. Check Platform game sales before ramping factories. A hot third-party month can pull console demand even if you did not change price or bundles.
Existing signals, better surfaced
These were already in the sim but are now called out in Sales drivers:
Platform momentum (bundles, first-party drops, launch events)
Active sales and pricing
Marketing spend
Weekly market rhythm (small natural oscillation)
Variant cannibalization (Slim/Pro/Portable eating into base console demand)
Clearance program throughput
Save compatibility
No save migration required. New fields are optional. Third-party sales and full driver snapshots build up from the next week forward on existing saves.
Display patch
Window size presets in Settings → Display (Windowed mode)
Remembers last window size between sessions
Clearer hints for Window mode vs UI scale
Quick path: Gear icon → Display → Window mode: Windowed → Window size
Defence Systems
A new empire venture: research dual-use tech, bid on government contracts, deliver at scale, and grow into a major defence contractor.
Getting started
Found Defence Systems from the empire portfolio once you have a Manufacturing or Semiconductor subsidiary and $70M in cash (from 1985 onward).
Choose your starting posture:
Archetype | Focus |
|---|---|
Defence Electronics | Comms, radar, avionics. Fast cycles, lower capex. |
Systems Integrator | Platforms plus software. Balanced programmes. |
Prime Contractor | Flagship programmes. High capex, Tier 3 and 4 contracts. |
Each archetype ships with its own facility layout and programme bias. Once established, you get a full deep-screen venture with eight tabs, weekly simulation, and optional CEO hands-off mode.
The loop
The sector is built around a clear tycoon loop:
Research → Procurement → Bid → Deliver → Export
The Overview tab tracks where you are in that loop, surfaces the next best action, and counts down to the next procurement cycle (roughly every four weeks).
Research and development
22 research nodes across six branches: Communications, Sensors, Platforms, Software, Logistics, and Protection.
Nodes are era-gated from 1985 through 2023. Complete research to raise security clearance and unlock programmes.
Dual-use cross-unlocks tie into other empire sectors (console, phone, search, space) where you already have relevant tech.
One active research project at a time. Upfront cost plus weekly R&D spend while work is in progress.
Programmes and prototype lab
22 programmes in the catalog, from small comms relays to tentpole platform deals.
Winning contracts seeds a production pipeline (greenlight → engineering → prototype → certify → production).
Prototype lab: invest before bidding to raise tech scores on procurement offers. Sprints run 4 to 8 weeks depending on programme scope. Quality improves on completion, not instantly. You cannot stack sprints on the same programme.
Programme profiles show quality over time, R&D spend, operator sentiment, related contracts, bid history, and trade-show buzz when relevant.
Facilities
Manage factories, integration sites, and test ranges.
Upgrade for more capacity (Tier 3 domestic production often needs 80+ total capacity).
Repair when condition drops. Factory health feeds into delivery reliability and bid scoring.
Weekly production capacity scales with facility capacity and factory health.
Contracts and bidding
Government procurement offers arrive on a cycle. Pool size reflects home-country defence spend, enacted policy, wars, and economic conditions.
Each offer has tier gates: reputation, clearance, facility capacity, and tech level.
Bid workspace shows a live scoring breakdown (price, reliability, tech, capacity, reputation, delivery), eligibility checklist, prototype quality vs benchmark, and your likely rival.
Bids enter a 2-week agency evaluation before win or loss is revealed. No double-submit on the same offer.
Win celebration modal on award, then full contract detail tracking: delivery progress, weekly grades (A through F), payments, penalties, and reputation impact.
Five persistent AI rivals compete for the same pool. They can steal offers if you wait too long. Each has a country, CEO, specialty, and profile you can open from the Rivals tab or the bid screen.
Marketing
Launch campaigns to raise contractor reputation and improve bid scores:
Defence trade show (brand + procurement bid bonus)
Industry lobbying (reputation with agencies)
Engineering recruitment (minor rep and brand lift)
One active campaign per type, maximum two active at once. Active campaigns show proper names, weekly cost, weeks remaining, and expected rep effect.
Export
Raise security clearance to 40+ to unlock the NATO Allied Export Pool and allied distribution lanes.
Foreign Military Sales opportunities appear after you deliver domestic programmes.
Active export deals pay weekly revenue scaled by lane throughput.
Geopolitics matter: sanctions can suspend licenses and weaken export lanes.
Overview and clarity
Visual loop stepper with icons and a pulsing current step.
Radial gauges for reputation and clearance.
KPI cards with ? tooltips explaining backlog, procurement pool, clearance, reputation, weekly profit, production, and on-time delivery.
Pending bids strip while evaluations are in flight.
Prominent active contract card with progress and a link to contract detail.
Competitor activity feed when AI rivals win deals.
Empire integration
Synergies with other ventures:
If you own… | Defence benefit |
|---|---|
Semiconductor | Lower chip and R&D costs |
Space | Faster satellite-related research |
Search Engine | Stronger bid scores (cyber edge) |
Car Manufacturer | Faster autonomous systems research |
Defence also feeds the political layer: procurement posture affects the bid pool, high-tier wins boost security-hawk approval, and scandals (export violations, cost overruns, cancelled programmes in recessions) hit capital approval.
CEO autopilot (hands-off mode) can run R&D, repairs, upgrades, lobbying, export deals, and bid submission according to venture posture (grow / maintain / harvest). It respects pending bids, campaign caps, and prototype sprints in progress.
Risk and consequence
Miss delivery targets and grades slip. F grades can put contracts under review.
Scandal heat from export or overrun audits cuts reputation and clearance.
Recession-era budget reviews can cancel major contracts.
Failed deliveries and penalties damage contractor reputation and future eligibility.
At a glance
8 venture tabs: Overview, R&D, Programmes, Facilities, Contracts, Marketing, Rivals, Export
22 R&D nodes, 22 programmes, 5 AI rivals, 6 procurement agencies
4 profile modals: rival, programme, contract detail, contract win celebration
9 player actions wired through the game store
47 automated tests covering contracts, bidding, prototypes, marketing, rivals, export, facilities, R&D unlocks, and the sim tick