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This is a story worth mentioning, but absolutely not unheard of in the Computer Game Industry. People often consider the home Computer game industry to be tiny, less than attractive, or pardon me - lame. I have long told these people that plenty of Computer games sell multiple millions of copies, a long time and tested standard by which you can measure the success of any game. My long list of examples I have written and spoken includes the world shaking Doom, Quake (1,2,3), Half-Life, Sim City, The Sims, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Starcraft, Warcraft 1, 2, and well - now 3. Every single one of the above titles has sold more than a million copies.
It may not seem like much stating that a game sold a million copies, but it is the standard by which games success is determined - sales. In the Video game industry in general, including PC and Home game system Games, 4.5 Million units ordered before the game is even in stores is ground breaking. It will be interesting to follow the sales for the new long awaited game over the next week. Within 3 years, it will also be worth mentioning Warcraft 3, and the Warcraft game series as being some of the most popular computer/video games of all time. Another game of the year? With sales figures like what Warcraft 3 already has, I wouldn't bet against it.
To put this all into perspective, Warcraft III has sold more copies before it ever went on sale in stores than the Nintendo Gamecube and Microsoft XBOX sold collectively in their first 2 months on sale.
Warcraft 3 continues in a long line of success for the Blizzard Entertainment PC Game company, who creates and develops the games. Warcraft, their first title in the Warcraft Series started as a Strategy game. You basically start with a single Peon, a worker who then builds your Town Hall. You need farms, so Peons can build those too, and you also need protection, so Peons can build your Barracks, and defenses like Towers. The object of the game is to defeat the Orcs, a species that does not like the Human Peons. The Orcs have pillaged the Human towns, kill the humans, and now the humans fight back. The humans have Archers, Elven Archers, Footmen, Knights, Paladins, Catapults/Ballistas, flying Gryphons, and even Submarines. You build your town, defend it from the enemy, and attack and destroy the enemy.
Blizzard continued their success with other games like Starcraft, much like Warcraft, only set with a space theme, and the Diablo series - a multiplayer role playing game. Warcraft 3 represents Blizzards attempt to merge the 2 types of games they are so good at making, Strategy and Role Playing games. With Warcraft 3, Blizzard completely redesigned the Warcraft and Starcraft type of "overhead" view game interface. They added somewhat hefty game playing requirements, requireing a much faster CPU, more RAM, Hard Drive Space, and a 3D capable Video Card. In their redesign, Blizzard concentrated enhancing the often dull by todays standards graphics, buildings, trees, terrain, and objects like the human and orc players. In Warcraft 3, Blizzard even introduced a complete Elven species.
Attempting to merge the Role Playing game play and the Strategy game play into Warcraft 3, Blizzard designed Warcraft 3 to play a lot like a Role Playing Game. In such, you can purchase objects, obtain skills through purchase, and even trade/barter. In regular Warcraft 2 and Starcraft, you do need to purchase upgrades to Armor, and your Town Hall to a Castle for instances, but its not as mixed with Role Playing as Warcraft 3 has been.
This may explain a lot of the interest, and well, initial orders. Blizzard has long been a very respected PC game developer, and for the most part this is because they create fun and exciting games. With Warcraft 3, Blizzard aims to continue with their success, and at the same time may have expanded their games interest by adding more Role Playing style to it. If time has already told, Warcraft 3 is a huge success and it doesn't hit stores worldwide until July 3rd, 2002.
To read more about Warcraft 3 or any of the other mentioned Blizzard games, please visit them at their website.
On a final note, Doom III is expected late 2002, or early 2003. If the indication of Warcraft 3 is any indication at all, Doom 3 (by id Software), I predict, will sell even more initial copies.
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