Doom (1993 video game)
Because id planned to self-publish the game, as the game neared completion they had to set up the systems to sell the game. Jay Wilbur, who had been brought on as CEO and sole member of the business team, planned the marketing and distribution of "Doom". He felt that the mainstream press was uninterested in the game, and as id would make the most money off of copies they sold directly to customers—up to 85 percent of the planned US$40 price—he decided to leverage the shareware market as much as possible, buying only a single ad in any gaming magazine. Instead, he reached out directly to software retailers, offering them copies of the first "Doom" episode for free, allowing them to charge any price for it, in order to spur customer interest in buying the full game directly from id.
Doom (1993 video game)
In 2009, GameTrailers ranked "Doom" as number one "breakthrough PC game". That year "Game Informer" put "Doom" sixth on the magazine's list of the games of all time, stating that it gave "the genre the kick start it needed to rule the gaming landscape two decades later." "Game Informer" staff also put it sixth on their 2001 list of the 100 best games ever. IGN included "Doom" at 2nd place in the "Top 100 Video Game Shooters of all Time", just behind "Half-Life", citing the game's "feel of running and gunning", memorable weapons and enemies, pure and simple fun and its spreading on nearly every gaming platform in existence.