Tim Pototzki of GamesMarkt wrote that the game's early performance "astonished" Germany. Anno 1503 proceeded to claim first place on German firm Media Control's chart for the month as a whole, after reaching domestic sales of 115,000 units during its first three days. It debuted at #1 on GfK's weekly computer game sales charts for the German market, following the title's release on October 25. Retailers pre-purchased 450,000 units of the game ahead of its launch, and it became a hit that "dominated" the charts in German-speaking countries during its first months of release, according to 4players. Īn add-on titled Treasures, Monsters & Pirates was released in 2004.Ĭommercial expectations for Anno 1503 were high, as its predecessor, Anno 1602, was the German market's all-time best-selling video game by 2002. Publisher Sunflowers Interactive announced it in November of that year. ( December 2013)Īnno 1503 began development in January 1999, following the success of 1998's Anno 1602. Building and house graphics are improved over the previous game. Alongside the houses and farms featured in the previous game, this game also has many more extensive farms for gems, silk, whale blubber, lamp oil, medicinal herbs, hops, wine, indigo, coal, hides, leather, and salt, increasing gameplay difficulty. Thus, it makes it possible to have many more plantations and a diversity of farmhouses. This is mainly because the gameplay area and islands are many times bigger than in 1602. The buildings in the game are also more extensive than those of Anno 1602. Thus, during battles, the game experience becomes more intense as deploying different units becomes a key strategy for winning a battle. The game has more than seven different types of units as opposed to Anno 1602 with only four. Military operations in this game are more complex than in Anno 1602. Building abilities are amplified with expansion, meaning larger populations have more effective building powers. Buildings in the game do not necessarily have a specific function for the player, but have an implied or effective function for settlers in the game. The second level allows the player's settlers to build more advanced buildings however, settlers also require more goods to stay alive. After giving citizens basic goods like food, cloth, and alcohol, they develop into settlers, the second civilization level. Technology in Anno 1503 begins on the pioneer level. Since the game is built on different levels of civilizations (pioneer, settler, citizen, merchant, aristocrat), each successive civilization level requires more goods and more balancing of skills and finesse. It begins with the creation of cheap goods, and progresses in civilization levels throughout the game leading to more advanced goods. The economy in Anno 1503 is built on providing different goods to colonist citizens. Each different player, human or computer, is represented by a color. The AI also has adjustable personalities, which the player customizes before the beginning of a game. As in Anno 1602, the AI is progressive, meaning that it advances along with the human player. The game is constructed around one human player and three computer AI players. Eventually, citizens become Aristocrats, and require at least ten different goods and numerous services, such as access to a large church or a bathhouse. Resources begin as food and cloth, but progress into more complicated and different goods. After finding a suitable site, city-building begins. It was followed by an expansion pack, Treasures, Monsters & Pirates, and a sequel, Anno 1701.Īnno 1503 begins with the player in control of a ship filled with men and material searching for an island to settle. By 2006, the game's global sales had reached 2 million units, with over 750,000 sold in German-speaking territories. Like its predecessor, the game was a commercial hit in the German market, and became Germany's best-selling computer title of 2002. Anno 1503 revolves around building and maintaining a 16th-century colony in the New World. Part of the Anno series, it is a direct sequel to Anno 1602, the most commercially successful German video game ever by 2002. Anno 1503: The New World (released as 1503 A.D.: The New World in North America) is a 2002 construction and management simulation video game developed by Austrian developer Max Design and published by Sunflowers Interactive.