Analyzing the True Sales Figures of Choose Your Own Adventure Books
By
naves
Pure flour-power. Hearty enough to carry you through lunch.
Summary
This article examines the publishing history and sales figures of the Choose Your Own Adventure book series, questioning the commonly cited figure of 250 million copies sold. The author analyzes Publishers Weekly data from the 1980s that reported 34 million books sold in North America by 1989, suggesting the actual total likely didn't exceed 100 million. The piece serves as both a historical retrospective on this influential series and its connection to computer games, while also providing context for why Bantam Books discontinued the line in 1999 after twenty years of publication.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledBased upon the running tally of sales which appeared in Publishers Weekly during the books' 1980s heyday, I struggle to see how this figure can be correct.
That journal of record reported 34 million Choose Your Own Adventure books sold in North America as of December 1, 1989.
Even when factoring in international sales, which were definitely considerable, it is difficult to see how the total figure could have exceeded 100 million books sold at the outside.
Bantam Books announced that it would no longer be publishing its Choose Your Own Adventure line of children's paperbacks.
This seems like a good time to look back on one of the formative influences upon the computer games I've been covering for so many years now.
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