RE-RISING OUT OF THE MYST : SALES SURGING FOR PC GAME.

Byline: Nicholas K. Geranios Associated Press 

There's little mystery why sales of the computer game Myst are surging again, three years after the CD-ROM was first released.

Prices for the island mystery adventure have been slashed in half, and publicity has been extensive about a long-planned sequel being developed at Cyan, the Spokane, Wash., software company.

The result is Myst has jumped to near the top of the list of best-selling computer games in the nation, and the creators are predicting it will become a classic.

``It continues to surprise everybody in the industry,'' said Jan Gullett, vice president for sales for game publisher Broderbund of Novato, Calif.

In the game, players try to solve the disappearance of a civilization on a remote island. In moving around the island, they pick up clues as they try to solve the mystery.

The renewed interest in the game has caught Broderbund by surprise. It rushed to make and ship additional games for Christmas shoppers, Gullett said.

During the first three weeks of December, Myst sales were strong against brand new competing games, according to partial December sales figures compiled by PC Data, a market research firm in Reston, Va., that compiles monthly sales figures for computer software.

For the week starting Dec. 9, Myst trailed only the new Barbie Fashion Designer game in sales, according to a survey covering 21 percent of the retail market. Myst sold about 14,000 copies, compared with about 15,000 for Barbie, PC Data said.

During the following week, Myst slipped to No. 3 with about 15,400 copies sold, just behind No. 2 Flight Simulator at 15,500 and No. 1 Trophy Bass, a new game that sold 21,300 copies, PC Data said.

Since its release in 1993, Myst sales have topped 2.5 million.

``Myst is a must-have title,'' said computer game analyst Vincent Turzo of Jefferies and Co. in San Francisco. ``There is still excellent word of mouth.''

Why the sales spurt?

Analysts offer three reasons:

Broderbund cut the price of the game in November from around $50 to about $25, said PC Data President Ann Stephens. Flight Simulator goes for $48. Some stores discounted Myst to as little as $15 during the holidays.

There has been extensive publicity about the game's sequel, Riven, due in stores next summer. ``That has renewed interest in the original game,'' said Al Carlson, marketing director for Cyan.

No comparable competitor has emerged.

With its lack of violence and emphasis on the cerebral, Myst is far different from the shoot-'em-ups, sports and children's titles that dominate the best-seller game lists, Stephens said.

For Cyan, the continuing popularity of Myst is good news. The game, brainchild of brothers Rand and Robyn Miller, is the company's primary product.

The Cyan work force has jumped from around four when Myst was created to 25, now working on the sequel, and the company moved to new headquarters this year. It also sells three child-oriented games, Carlson said.

Cyan personnel have written two novels based on Myst - ``Myst, The Book of Ti'ana'' and ``Myst, The Book of Atrus'' - and a third one will be published next year by Hyperion, he said.

Common sense would dictate that Myst eventually will drop off the best-seller charts. But Gullett believes that Myst will achieve the status of a classic and post strong sales for years to come.

``People are still listening to `The Sound of Music' and watching `Gone With The Wind,' '' he said. ``I think that will be the case with Myst.''

``It's just not going to disappear,'' he added.

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Photo

Photo: (color) Cyan Vice President Chris Brandkamp, left, and architect Chris Green stand outside Cyan's headquarters in Spokane, Wash. Cyan has boosted its work force with the success of the game Myst.

Assocaietd Press