In contrast to the smooth and suave spies of lore, Sam Fisher is a grizzled, middle-aged ex-Navy SEAL who has seen and done it all, but is nevertheless a cool character that players would empathize with. As a member of the super-secret government faction Third Echelon, Fisher is the titular Splinter Cell, a lone operative charged with taking down terrorist cells with stealth and efficiency, but he still needed a strong voice, so the producers signed on renowned thespian Michael Ironside to voice Fisher. With additional advising from Clancy himself on everything from the characters to the goggles used in the game, the Ubisoft team released the original Splinter Cell title in November 2002 and it went on to sell over 1 million copies in its first six months of release.