Well, we all saw this coming: Activision Blizzard's expansion World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King has been flying off of store shelves. Wait, scratch that -- it's been flying off of store shelves faster than any PC game ... ever.
Blizzard has announced that 2.8 million copies of Lich King were sold in its first 24 hours; for comparison sake, the previous expansion, Burning Crusade, moved 2.4 million in its first day on shelves.
It's hard not to get wrapped up in World of Warcraft fever. Numbers like these are certainly a testament to the quality of Blizzards products. But were you one of the 2.8 million?
World of Warcraft(R): Wrath of the Lich King(TM) Shatters Day-1 Sales Record With More Than 2.8 Million Copies Sold in Its First 24 Hours, Blizzard Entertainment(R)'s Second World of Warcraft Expansion is Now the Fastest-Selling PC Game Ever
IRVINE, Calif., Nov 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft(R)'s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King(TM), has sold more than 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability*, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. This eclipses the previous record of nearly 2.4 million copies sold in 24 hours, set in January 2007 by Blizzard's first World of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade(R).Wrath of the Lich King was simultaneously released in North America, Europe, Chile, Argentina, and Russia on November 13; Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand on November 14; and South Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on November 18.
In celebration of the launch, more than 15,000 stores throughout the world had their doors open at midnight to welcome thousands of expectant players. Several of these locations were attended by Blizzard Entertainment representatives, who met players and signed copies of the game.
"We're grateful for the incredible support that players around the world have continued to show for World of Warcraft," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Wrath of the Lich King contains some of the best content we've created for the game so far, and we look forward to seeing even more players log in to experience it in the days ahead."
"After a single day of availability, Wrath of the Lich King is already the bestselling PC game of 2008 at GameStop and ranks as one of our top-selling products so far this year," said Bob McKenzie, GameStop's senior vice president of merchandising. "In keeping with the tradition established by their previous releases, Blizzard Entertainment has again created a product that not only reflects their high standards of quality but is clearly an instant hit with gamers around the country."
Prior to the launch of Wrath of the Lich King, World of Warcraft's subscriber population had grown to more than 11 million players, further strengthening its position as the world's most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game. More information about the new expansion can be found at the official Wrath of the Lich King website: www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath.
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Contest:
9:08 AM on 11.20.2008
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Regardless, I'm clean, and I'm not touchin' the stuff again.
I do have a life, I'd like to keep it that way.
Do you really have so little self control you think by playing it you'll lose your life?
I've never felt quite so free in my life as I did after I quit playing.
I've been clean for about a year. Still get the shakes every so often; sometimes I even calculate my dps is I have a moment.
But I'm never going back. Got sick of grinding: for item, for rep, for dkp. Its fun, but not for me.
The main story is obfuscated by inane quests (I still don't know what the actual story is supposed to be), and after 70 levels of "kill x number of <monster> to get their <insert body part that doesn't drop every time>" there's no reason for a solo player to continue.
Anyway, I agree with Coldbrand. Bring me Diablo 3 and I'll gladly add to Blizzard's coffers.
It's not about self-control,its about how you progress in the game.
With WoW, the more you play, the more you get out of it, which is reasonable UNTIL you realize that to become brilliant at it, (stats, weapons, Armour, abilities, items, etc) you have to spend hours on the game, and you might think, 'Oh you don't need to be good to enjoy the game', I ask, if you are not good at it, how can you enjoy it. The better you play a game, the better you feel.
In fact the thing that disgusts me the most is that the game is all about competition, raid after raid after raid, who is the best clan, group.Your ranking, how good your player is, the whole process of leveling up.Teamwork exists, but competition and obsession is rife.
The game screams at you, 'play me, play me', and people do, hours on end, days on end without any breaks or rest.
Indeed, when a game that allows you to enter a world, and then takes over your world, for the worse, something is not right.
Anyhow, back to the story, I thought Blizzard had 15 million subscribers? what's up with only 2.8 million moved?
2.8million in the first 24 hours.
Any sales after hour 25 aren't in this number.
On the bright side, I did finally talk myself into getting L4D and I love it.
I agree with you. I am a WoW subscriber, and I have plenty of time to get other things done. I do all of my work, play other games, and find time to post on here without any trouble.
Honestly, I never played at all competitively in WoW, and when I felt like I was, I switched characters. Life's too short.
Well, speak of the devil. I just died.
Honestly one of the most ridiculously funny and awkward hours of my life standing in that line.
The WoW player stereotype exists but the same can be said for any game really, it's just that WoW is a lot more mainstream and covers a lot more ground than other games.
It's really up to you, and how you manage your time. unfortunately most gamers don't have that ability.
The most influential people in history and the rest of the world shared at least one thing in common, they all had 24 hours a day to do whatever they needed to.
Also:
Also, I hope the Lich King really does kick everyone in the teeth.
WORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDS
People who hate wow: we know, don't fret about trying to save the people who love wow as they are all addicted in your eyes. Instead comment on the games you do like. Why would you post on here if not just to insult people about a game they like? Seriously, seriously uncool.
People who love wow: we know, you love it and (sorry to cause a riot with the wow-haters) good for you! You have a game you enjoy. Great. Cool. Gratz on your new level.
Onto the topic of the discussion: WotLK outsold Burning Crusade within first 24 hours? Well sure it did, more players now than ever.