The Gathering of Developers and developer PopTop Software announced Monday that the second Gathering title, the railroad simulation Railroad Tycoon II, has shipped and could be hitting stores as soon as today. To give the title as much of a boost as possible, the Gathering has cobbled together a fairly extensive marketing and promotion scenario for the game.

　　The Gathering of Developers launched the game over the weekend at the National Model and Hobby Show in Illinois, and it has even announced a deal with model train manufacturer Athearn Inc. to produce the official Railroad Tycoon II Collectible Train Set.

　　While Jackrabbit Jazz 2 (The Gathering's first title) was aimed primarily at kids, Railroad Tycoon II's campaign has been focused on the numerous railroad hobbyists and enthusiasts, as well as fans of the original MicroProse game.

　　When the Gathering first started, many doubted how well retailers would react to the concept. According to Jim Bloom, director of marketing at the Gathering, it was a lot easier than he originally thought. The retailers, in his words, have been "awesome" and very receptive to The Gathering's on-the-mark ship dates and release philosophy, and the Gathering has a number of retail promotions coming for Railroad Tycoon II as well.

　　Bloom anticipates that Railroad Tycoon II could sell up to 250,000 copies during the Christmas season and perhaps over double that amount overall.

　　"I am so proud of what our team has done with this legendary license and think we have created another legend in its own right," said Phil Steinmeyer, CEO of PopTop Software and lead designer of Railroad Tycoon II. "This game should captivate, challenge, and affect players as much as its predecessor."

　　Railroad Tycoon II, namesake successor to the classic computer game designed by Sid Meier at MicroProse, will feature over 30 scenarios including an 18-scenario campaign, sophisticated economic and stock market models, 59 train engines, 34 different types of cargo, numerous historical events, a character library, multiplayer capabilities, and more.

　　The next product due up from The Gathering is Terminal Reality's Fly! flight simulation, which was originally due for the Christmas season but has since been bumped to March following The Gathering's release philosophy of "when it's ready."