Jane's WWII Fighters

{{Infobox video game

| title = Jane's WWII Fighters

| image = Jane's WWII Fighters Coverart.png

| developer = Jane's Combat Simulations

| publisher = Electronic Arts

| director = Beth Comstock

| producer = Steven Matulac

| designer = Nathan Cummins
David Luoto

| programmer = Ken Allen

| artist = Terry Fowler
Nicholas Corea
Chuck Eyler

| composer = Don Veca

| series = Jane's Combat Simulations

| platforms = Microsoft Windows

| released = {{vgrelease|NA|November 23, 1998{{cite web | url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/wwii-fighters-ships/1100-2465637/ | title=WWII Fighters Ships [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000"] | author=Jebens, Harley | date=November 23, 1998 | website=GameSpot | publisher=CBS Interactive | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000613110923/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_11/23_pc_wwii/index.html | archive-date=June 13, 2000 | url-status=live | access-date=August 23, 2021}}|EU|1998}}

| genre = Air combat simulation

| modes = Single-player, Multiplayer

}}

Jane's World War II Fighters is the 1998 combat flight simulation video game. Set in the European theatre of operations during World War II, it is part of the Jane's Combat Simulations franchise. The game was considered a commercial failure, and contributed to the end of the Jane's Combat Simulations line.

Gameplay

The game is set in the European theater during WWII throughout 1944 into 1945. The game features famous fighter aircraft from World War II. It also included a virtual museum, where aircraft profiles and interviews with fighter pilots such as George Unwin, Günther Rall, and others could be viewed.

Reception

=Critical reviews=

{{Video game reviews

| GR = 78%{{cite web | url=https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/71566-wwii-fighters/index.html | title=WWII Fighters for PC | website=GameRankings | publisher=CBS Interactive | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521121449/https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/71566-wwii-fighters/index.html | archive-date=May 21, 2019 | url-status=dead | access-date=August 23, 2021}}

| CNG = 8/10{{cite web | url=http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-2356,00.html | title=WWII Fighters | author=Cirulis, Martin E. | date=December 22, 1998 | website=Gamecenter | publisher=CNET | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816112259/http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-2356,00.html | archive-date=August 16, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=August 23, 2021}}

| CGSP = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web | url=http://www.cdmag.com/articles/016/042/ww2f_review.html | title=WWII Fighters | author=Chick, Tom | date=December 15, 1998 | website=Computer Games Strategy Plus | publisher=Strategy Plus, Inc. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030521165159/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/016/042/ww2f_review.html | archive-date=May 21, 2003 | url-status=dead | access-date=August 23, 2021}}

| CGW = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_176.pdf | title=Not Just a Pretty Face (WWII Fighters Review) | author=Nolan, John | magazine=Computer Gaming World | publisher=Ziff Davis | issue=176 | date=March 1999 | pages=166–67 | access-date=August 23, 2021}}

| GamePro = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine | url=http://www.gamepro.com/computer/pc/games/reviews/877.shtml | title=Jane's WWII Fighters Review for PC on GamePro.com | author=Mahood, Andy | magazine=GamePro | publisher=IDG Entertainment | year=1999 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050213225553/http://www.gamepro.com/computer/pc/games/reviews/877.shtml | archive-date=February 13, 2005 | url-status=dead | access-date=August 23, 2021}}

| GSpot = 9/10{{cite web | url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wwii-fighters-review/1900-2531900/ | title=WWII Fighters Review [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000"] | author=Atkin, Denny | date=December 28, 1998 | website=GameSpot | publisher=CBS Interactive | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041212204950/http://www.gamespot.com/pc/sim/wwiifighters/review.html | archive-date=December 12, 2004 | url-status=live | access-date=August 23, 2021}}

| IGN = 8/10{{cite web | url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/12/30/janes-wwii-fighters | title=Jane's WWII Fighters | author=Berg, Gordon | date=December 29, 1998 | website=IGN | publisher=Ziff Davis | access-date=August 23, 2021}}

| PCGUK = 85%{{cite magazine | url=http://www.pcgamer.co.uk/games/gamefile_review_page.asp?item_id=1404 | title=World War II Fighters [sic] | author=Jones, Nathan | magazine=PC Gamer UK | publisher=Future Publishing | issue=67 | date=March 1999 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020317040951/http://www.pcgamer.co.uk/games/gamefile_review_page.asp?item_id=1404 | archive-date=March 17, 2002 | url-status=dead | access-date=August 26, 2021}}

| PCGUS = 84%{{cite magazine | url=http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/1187.html | title=WWII Fighters | author=McDonald, T. Liam | magazine=PC Gamer | publisher=Imagine Media | volume=6 | issue=3 | date=March 1999 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000302050554/http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/1187.html | archive-date=March 2, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=August 23, 2021}}

}}

The game received favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.

=Sales=

The game was released in direct competition with Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator, and became a commercial flop. In 1999, Computer Gaming World reported that the game "appears to have been murdered by Microsoft's brand recognition". Its lifetime sales in the U.S. reached 60,943 copies by October 1999, which drew revenues of $2.58 million.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_183.pdf | title=Flight Sim Sales | magazine=Computer Gaming World | publisher=Ziff Davis | issue=183 | date=October 1999 | page=45 | access-date=August 23, 2021}} Speaking anonymously to Bruce Geryk of GameSpot, an ex-staffer for Origin Systems remarked that the game "spent some serious cash, and did not sell". He attributed its failure to Combat Flight Simulator{{'}}s dominance of the World War II flight simulation field during 1998, and called the game's performance "the death knell for Jane's products", after which the brand unraveled.{{cite web | url=https://brihernandez.github.io/janesa10/a10.html | title=PC Gaming Graveyard: Jane's A-10 Warthog (The Changing Marketplace) | author=Geryk, Bruce | year=2000 | website=GameSpot | publisher=Ziff Davis | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000818053721/http://www.gamespot.com/features/pcgraveyard_janes/p6_01.html | archive-date=August 18, 2000 | url-status=live | access-date=August 23, 2021}} Following the May 2000 bankruptcy of Jane's Attack Squadron developer Looking Glass Studios shortly before that game's completion,{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_193.pdf | title=Looking Glass Shuts Down | author=Asher, Mark | magazine=Computer Gaming World | publisher=Ziff Davis | issue=193 | date=August 2000 | page=34 | access-date=August 23, 2021}} Electronic Arts declined to finish the project,{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_194.pdf | title=Rage Against the Machine | author=Berg, Gordon | magazine=Computer Gaming World | publisher=Ziff Davis | issue=194 | date=September 2000 | page=140 | access-date=August 23, 2021}} and instead opted to exit the flight simulation genre.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_216.pdf | title=Jane's Attack Squadron | author=Atkin, Denny | magazine=Computer Gaming World | publisher=Ziff Davis | issue=216 | date=July 2002 | page=76 | access-date=August 23, 2021}}

For the week ending April 29, 2000, the game appeared at No. 10 on PC Data's weekly computer game sales chart in the United States, with an average retail price of $25.{{cite web | url=http://www.cdmag.com/articles/027/162/pc_data_04292000.html | title=The Sims still on top | author=Fudge, James | date=May 14, 2000 | website=Computer Games Strategy Plus | publisher=Strategy Plus, Inc. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502210312/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/027/162/pc_data_04292000.html | archive-date=May 2, 2005 | url-status=dead | access-date=January 31, 2020}} It climbed to No. 8 the following week,{{cite web | url=http://www.cdmag.com/articles/028/028/pc_data_05062000.html | title=The Sims in top retail spot in U.S. | author=Fudge, James | date=May 22, 2000 | website=Computer Games Strategy Plus | publisher=Strategy Plus, Inc. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502210317/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/028/028/pc_data_05062000.html | archive-date=May 2, 2005 | url-status=dead | access-date=January 31, 2020}} before exiting the charts for the May 7–13 period.{{cite web | url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/millionaires-double-up-to-dominate-sales/1100-2576549/ | title=Millionaires Double-Up to Dominate Sales [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"] | author=Ho, Jennifer | date=May 24, 2000 | website=GameSpot | publisher=CBS Interactive | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020217083936/http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870,2576549,00.html | archive-date=February 17, 2002 | url-status=live | access-date=August 23, 2021}} PC Data named it the country's ninth-best-selling game of May 2000.{{cite web | url=http://www.cdmag.com/articles/028/086/pc_data_may2000.html | title=The Sims on top of May 2000 retail charts | author=Fudge, James | date=June 13, 2000 | website=Computer Games Strategy Plus | publisher=Strategy Plus, Inc. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050515014106/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/028/086/pc_data_may2000.html | archive-date=May 15, 2005 | url-status=dead | access-date=January 31, 2020}} By October, its sales in the region had reached 166,971 units for the year 2000 alone, which accounted for $2.5 million in revenue. Mark Asher and Tom Chick of Quarter to Three remarked that the game "did a good job of trying to convince us that flight sims aren't dead" that year.{{cite web | author1=Asher, Mark | author2=Chick, Tom | year=2001 | url=http://www.quartertothree.com/features/pcdata_top_10/years_bestsellers.shtml | title=The Year's Ten Best-Selling Games (Index) | website=Quarter to Three | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010202214600/http://www.quartertothree.com/features/pcdata_top_10/years_bestsellers.shtml | archive-date=February 2, 2001 | url-status=dead | access-date=January 31, 2020}}

=Awards=

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated the game for "PC Simulation Game of the Year" at the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, although it lost to Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit.{{cite web | url=http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_pc.html | title=Second Interactive Achievement Awards: Personal Computer | website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991104003923/http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_pc.html | archive-date=November 4, 1999 | url-status=dead}} It was also a finalist for Computer Gaming World{{'}}s 1998 "Best Simulation", CNET Gamecenter{{'}}s 1998 Best Combat Flight Sim, GameSpot{{'}}s "Simulation of the Year" and IGN{{'}}s "Best Simulation of the Year" prizes, all of which ultimately went to European Air War.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_177.pdf | title=Computer Gaming World's 1999 Premier Awards (Best Simulation) | author=CGW staff | magazine=Computer Gaming World | publisher=Ziff Davis | issue=177 | date=April 1999 | page=98 | access-date=August 23, 2021}}{{cite web | url=http://www.gamecenter.com/Features/Exclusives/Awards98/ss03.html | title=The CNET Gamecenter.com Awards for 1998! (Combat Flight Sims Nominees) | author=Gamecenter staff | date=January 29, 1999 | website=Gamecenter | publisher=CNET | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815225726/http://www.gamecenter.com/Features/Exclusives/Awards98/ss03.html | archive-date=August 15, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=August 27, 2021}}{{cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/awards1998/genre6.html | title=The Best & Worst of 1998 (Simulation of the Year, Nominees) | author=GameSpot staff | year=1999 | website=GameSpot | publisher=Ziff Davis | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001001071644/http://gamespot.com/features/awards1998/genre6.html | archive-date=October 1, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=August 23, 2021}}{{cite web | url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/01/29/ignpcs-best-of-1998-awards | title=IGNPC's Best of 1998 Awards | author=IGN staff | date=January 29, 1999 | website=IGN | publisher=Ziff Davis | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990427073933/http://pc.ign.com/news/6665.html | archive-date=April 27, 1999 | url-status=live | access-date=August 23, 2021}} The game received further runner-up positions for "Best Soundtrack" and "Best Graphics" from IGN, and "Best Sound" and "Best Graphics (Technical Excellence)" from GameSpot.{{cite web | url=http://gamespot.com/features/awards1998/special.html | title=The Best & Worst of 1998 (Best Sound) | author=GameSpot staff | year=1999 | website=GameSpot | publisher=Ziff Davis | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001001172928/http://gamespot.com/features/awards1998/special.html | archive-date=October 1, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=August 23, 2021}}{{cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/awards1998/special2.html | title=The Best & Worst of 1998 (Best Graphics, Technical Excellence) | author=GameSpot staff | year=1999 | website=GameSpot | publisher=Ziff Davis | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001005072253/http://www.gamespot.com/features/awards1998/special2.html | archive-date=October 5, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=August 23, 2021}} However, it won Computer Gaming World{{'}}s "Special Award: Musical Score" prize. The magazine's staff wrote of the game having excellent aircraft graphics, special effects, challenging AI, and accurate flight model, also calling its multiplayer as blast to play.{{cite magazine | title=Computer Gaming World's 1999 Premier Awards (Best Musical Score) | author=CGW staff | magazine=Computer Gaming World | publisher=Ziff Davis | issue=177 | date=April 1999 | page=104}}