Sales ''Makin' Magic'' was a commercial success, becoming the fifth-highest selling computer game in 2003 in the United States, and topping weekly sales charts for computer games in Europe in November 2003.
Reviews According to
review aggregator Metacritic, ''Makin' Magic
received "generally favorable" reviews from critics. The subject matter of the expansion was met with praise and confusion. Elizabeth McAdams of Computer Gaming World
considered the concept to be a good platform to "create more fun, wickedness and truly bizarre scenarios" to the game stating it renewed her interest in the game. Steve Butts of IGN
commended the expansion for adding a "healthy dose of fantasy to the game, finding it "preserves the basic character of the game" and "enhances the core gameplay", although considered its theme "incompatible with the basic concept of the series". Describing the expansion as an "oddball release", Carlos McElfish of GameZone
considered the expansion offered opportunities for "fun" and "inventive additions" to the game, but questioned how well they fit into the rest of the game, stating that it had a "dark, circus-like atmosphere that seems to take away from the funny and lighthearted nature of the game". Andrew Park of GameSpot
found the theme less endearing, suggesting the "brighly colored amusement parks" and "sparkly magic spells" were of greater appeal to children. Nebojsa Radakovic of Game Revolution'' found the concept to be "not the most inspired", noting irony in the tonal shift of the game from a "send-up of reality" to a surreal one. Critics largely praised the introduction of the magic career path, but noted its difficulty. Several reviews noted that the game's magic abilities allowed players to focus on the features of the expansion rather than spend time meeting Sim needs. Glenn Rubenstein of
X-Play found the use of magic to be "entertaining" and "practical", noting the element of chance for success or failure added a "potential for chaos and unpredictability" that kept the game interesting. Steve Butts of
IGN commended the "variety of effects", but found the co-ordinating game's magic gameplay and searching for ingredients could be "tedious" and a "real struggle", particularly when combined with gameplay from other expansions. Similarly, Nebojsa Radakovic of
Game Revolution considered the mechanics to be "demanding" and requiring "full-time" commitment, stating that managing Sim needs can "drastically slow down any forward momentum" and makes it "almost impossible to maintain a career". Carlos McElfish of
GameZone acknowledged the "challenging" nature of the magic gameplay mechanics, but considered that they added to the "freeform and dynamically difficult" appeal of the game. Similarly to other expansions, reviewers lamented that the final expansion for the game did not introduce changes to core gameplay or graphics, and did not resolve persistent bugs. Andrew Park of
GameSpot commented that the game added "no real technical improvements" to the game, stating that it "doesn't bother to fix the sluggish camera or the occasionally deficient artificial intelligence used for Sims". Similarly, Carla Harker of
GameSpy considered the graphics of the expansion to "show their age", and had enduring issues with Sim pathfinding. == Legacy ==