"The Longest Journey" struggled to find a North American publisher. According to market research firm PC Data, North American sales of "The Longest Journey" reached 12,495 retail units by the end of 2000, of which 10,873 were sold in December. By January 2001, global sales of "The Longest Journey" totaled almost 200,000 units. PC Data reported an additional 40,160 retail sales of "The Longest Journey" in North America during the first six months of 2001. By that June, the game's worldwide sales had climbed to 250,000 copies, of which the United States accounted for 90,000. PC Data's estimate for the title's North American sales for January–December 2001 was 71,962 retail units, followed by another 12,044 in the first six months of 2002. By July 2002, global sales of the game had reached 450,000 copies, according to Funcom. A new shipment was released in North America that month, as its earlier printing had sold out. Ragnar Tørnquist noted in 2003 that he was "very satisfied" with "The Longest Journey"s sales in North America, and explained, "There was such strong word of mouth, and so many great reviews, that we managed to get "TLJ" into most big stores and out to the players regardless of marketing."