Games I think of as sleeper hits: Demon's Souls, Katamari Damacy, ICO, Ultima Online, Civilization, Diablo. (These don't really fit all of the criteria in the first post though.)
Games that do fit that critera: 1) Tomb Raider - Mostly a sleeper hit, because the PS1 was kind of a sleeper hit of a console, and it was released before the huge FFVII media push.
2) World of Warcraft - Was well known by MMO gamers before it released, but this was a relatively small group of people. Also most of them didn't go over to play World of Warcraft (me included). On the other hand it found a gigantic new audience of people who knew nothing of MMO's.
curl-6 bet me that PS5 + X|S sales would reach 56m before year end 2023 and he was right.
My Bet With curl-6
My Threads:
Master Thread, Game of the Year/Decade
Switch Will Be #1 All Time
Zelda Will Outsell Mario (Achieved)
How Much Will MH Rise sell?
My Bet With Metallox
