The video-game industry is often compared with Hollywood, and with good reason: Just look at the numbers behind Edmonton-based BioWare's latest sci-fi epic, Mass Effect 2.
One week
How long it took BioWare to sell two million copies of Mass Effect 2 worldwide. At $60 (all figures U.S.) a pop, that's more than $120 million-almost as much as James Cameron's Avatar earned in the U.S. alone during its first seven days.
$775 million
How much megapublisher Electronic Arts paid to acquire BioWare in October, 2007.
"Tens of millions"
The game industry rarely discloses budgets, but Dr. Ray Muzyka, BioWare's co-founder, says that "when you factor in both development and marketing," this is a typical budget for a triple-A title like Mass Effect.
150
Number of animators, artists, writers and programmers working on Mass Effect 2. The biggest expense is always labour, says director Casey Hudson, who oversaw teams in Edmonton and Montreal.