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intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Wed Aug 24, 2016 8:57 pm

Infocom's The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG ), written by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky, was the second best-selling interactive fiction title the company ever produced. The game rode the immense popularity of the book by the same name (born from a BBC radio show), which later became a BBC TV-series.

From 1984-1987 over 340,000 copies (across all platforms) flew off store shelves. 165,000 copies were sold in 1985 alone, an absolutly shocking success at the time especially when sticker prices were between $30 and $40 ($65 - $87 in 2016 dollars). Interestingly, douglasadams.com claims over 250,000 copies were sold in 1985 and one of the best-selling games of the year, but let's assume Infocom's figures are accurate for the sake of argument.

Does that make the game rare? No, not hardly. But in 1986 only 29,000 were sold, and that was the year the Amiga's version shipped. Infocom went on to add an additional 88,000 copies to the sales receipts through 1989. So, at least 110,000 copies were sold while the Amiga was alive, and quite possibly more. Of those, however, we have no record of how many were actually sold for the Amiga platform. Back in the day, "total sales" included: Amiga, Amstrad, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 16, Plus/4, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh, and a few TRS models. The market options were vast. With that in mind, we're probably looking at several thousand copies making it to the Amiga.

Today, all one needs is a browser and an internet connection to play the game. But that's besides the point, isn't it?

Add to the fact that HHGTTG came filled with a fabulous assortment of feelies, getting a compete box set of the entire package - again, with Amiga branding - becomes much more challenging.

The feelies in the box included (via Wikipedia, and the magazine attached to the inside of the cover of the box):
  • A pin-on button with "Don't Panic!" printed in large, friendly letters
  • A small plastic packet containing "pocket fluff" (a cottonball)
  • Order for destruction of Arthur Dent's house
  • Order for destruction of Earth written in "Vogon" (actually an English cryptogram written in a thinly-disguised Cyrillic alphabet. The text was nearly identical to that of the English Order for Destruction)
  • Official Microscopic Space Fleet (an empty plastic bag)
  • "Peril Sensitive Sunglasses" (a pair of opaque black cardboard "sunglasses")
  • How Many Times Has This Happened to You?, an advertising brochure for the fictional guidebook/encyclopedia The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
  • No tea
Behold - I've got it all. My box is a little beaten up (and I have a pristine C64 copy, too, in much better shape) but it has the original Amiga sticker, complete with a discount label. ;) The most commonly missing piece - the red "Don't Panic" button is in its comfy home as well.

Some thought the answer to the universe was "42". I'm thinking this boxed game is a nice clue, too.
Attachments
HHGTTG_5.jpg
The entire set of feelies for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's no wonder the button got lost by so many people. It's pretty cool.

HHGTTG_4.jpg
Inside the box is a large hole carved out for the disk and all of the "feelies".

HHGTTG_3.jpg
The magazine is 25 pages long, full-color.

HHGTTG_2.jpg
Front Cover of the Magazine attached to the inside of the box cover.

HHGTTG_1.jpg
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Amiga version, Box Front Cover






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