Yes, I was referring to the worldwide sales as a whole. I have no idea how many gamers there are in Germany, but I do know it is a really popular game there. The problem is, in the USA, if you lined up 20 gamers outside of this circle and asked them about Gothic, 19 of them wouldn't have a clue what you're talking about. Conversely, all 20 would know about Morrowind and Oblivion, even if RPG's are the furthest thing off their list of likes.
Now there are a million and one reasons why this is the case, and I have no desire to explore them, but the fact remains... Gothic never truly "made it big."
As far as the Gothic series being a money-maker? I'm not sitting here doing the math, but think about it. 20 guys on PB's team, drawing necessary living expenses, for 3+ years while the game is in development without a single Euro in return. Sure they had funding, but still... all that dough eats away at the profit margin. Now, 6 months after the game has been released, the sales have peaked and are pretty much done, and the devs are working on the same title everyday (bug-fixing we would hope). 6 months rent and living expenses has now been spent for 20 guys, and they are now 6 months further behind on making any profit on the next project. That's.... yep, I am gonna do the math.... let's see, I live in one of the lowest cost of living areas in the United States, and monthly rent/ house payment around here, for a decent, modest place, is around $850 - $900. $850 X 20 guys = $17,000 per month. That does not include any additional necessary living expenses, which will be close to, if not more than the cost of rent. $17,000 X 6 months = $102,000. So
just to pay the PB staffs' rent for this six months of bug-fixing, they would have to sell (at $50.00 per copy) 2,040 copies of Gothic 3.
Yes, this is purely hypothetical, but the math's real... any wonder that PB didn't make any money on G3? And any
more wonder why there's probably not going to be a patch?