Blizzard: StarCraft II Sells 3M Units In First Month

Real-time strategy game StarCraft II sold over 3 million units in its first month worldwide, publisher Blizzard said Wednesday, as the game continues its reign as PC leader in retail game sales for 2010. The July follow-up to 1998's original StarCraft sold 1 million copies day one and 1.5 million units in its first two days, the publisher said, citing a mix of company records, public data and reports from distributors. Blizzard said it's the fastest-selling RTS game of all time. The game launched worldwide on July 27 in most major territories. During its opening month at U.S. retail alone, the game sold 721,000 units according to NPD Group, not including digital download sales via Blizzard's Battle.net. NPD Group said the game drove a 103 percent year-on-year rise in PC game dollar retail sales during July in the U.S. In emerging regions such as Brazil and Russia, Blizzard offers the game at a lower price, but after 60 days users have an option to pay a monthly fee to continue to play the game. Gamers in those regions also can by the game with unlimited access for the standard U.S. price of $60. "We appreciate all the enthusiasm that players around the world have shown for StarCraft II," said Blizzard Entertainment CEO Mike Morhaime in a statement. "It was important to us to deliver an overall gameplay experience that was accessible, balanced, and fun, and it's been gratifying to see how strongly the global community has already embraced the game." Media giant and Activision Blizzard parent Vivendi on Wednesday announced a dip in quarterly profits for the June period, but raised its outlook for the full year thanks to video game growth.