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Blizzard's next game, "StarCraft II," will feature a rich story mode
World of Warcraft brings in billions for games maker

It’s no secret that the World of Warcraft is one of the biggest cash cows in today’s games industry – a point further punctuated by the $1.2 billion in revenue raked in by Blizzard Entertainment in 2007.

Blizzard Entertainment’s parent company, Vivendi Games, brought in a total of $1.5 billion, which puts into perspective the contributions that World of Warcraft brings to the publisher.

World of Warcraft shows no sign of slowing down. Blizzard experienced 58 percent higher revenues in 2007 over 2006 and recently announced that its massively multiplayer online role-playing game has amassed more than 10 million subscribers worldwide.

"It's very gratifying to see gamers around the world continuing to show such enthusiasm and support for World of Warcraft," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're always pleased to welcome new players to the game, and we're looking forward to sharing the next major content update with the entire community in the months ahead."

Blizzard’s massive revenue will no longer be just a part of Vivendi Games for 2008, however, as the Vivendi merged with Activision to form Activision Blizzard – creating potentially the world's largest, most profitable games company.

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Starcraft II Image
By FITCamaro on 1/31/2008 12:12:31 PM , Rating: 1
Is it going to be a 3rd person game? Or is that just a screenshot from what will be a cutscene?




RE: Starcraft II Image
By geddarkstorm on 1/31/2008 12:14:36 PM , Rating: 5
It's totally going to be a point and click adventure game.


RE: Starcraft II Image
By noxipoo on 1/31/2008 12:21:27 PM , Rating: 1
it's only available on the PS3 as well. you are on your own for the KB and mouse as the controller doesn't work.


RE: Starcraft II Image
By TerranMagistrate on 1/31/2008 12:25:21 PM , Rating: 2
I'm quite sure there has been a PS3 version announced.


RE: Starcraft II Image
By TerranMagistrate on 1/31/2008 12:25:50 PM , Rating: 2
HASN'T been, I mean.


RE: Starcraft II Image
By qwertyz on 1/31/2008 7:17:32 PM , Rating: 1
Could someone can explain to me what's all the fuss about World of Warcraft ?


RE: Starcraft II Image
By grath on 1/31/2008 10:46:16 PM , Rating: 5
I dont know if you mean WoW specifically or are using WoW because its the most prominent example of its genre, so Ill risk erring on the side of over-explaining. Disclaimer, I dont play WoW but I have played several other MMOGs and have a passing familiarity with the industry. I dont know if this makes me more or less objective about WoW, well see...

First you have to understand the appeal of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG or MMOG) in general. Theyre basically an evolution of chat rooms, which have always been popular for a variety of reasons, but instead of people being just nicknames who type to each other, your presence is manifested by an animated character in a large simulated environment in which you can interact with other players characters for the purpose of accomplishing various tasks associated with the theme of the game and improving your characters abilities. The same kind of addictive detachment from reality that occurs in a simple chat room is now far more immersive, to the point that you can completely withdraw into the game and end up playing 16+ hours a day.

The games are each themed differently of course, either basing the theme off of an existing franchise that has its own setting and lore to draw from, or creating its own original theme for the game. The early MMOGs were generally medieval fantasy themed, as the game mechanics are derived from long established pen-and-paper role playing systems like Dungeons and Dragons. Two of the more popular early MMOGs, Ultima Online and Everquest, still have people playing at this very moment, 10 years after Ultima Online was released. More recently, science fiction themed games have come out such as Eve Online and Star Wars Galaxies, as well as modern and urban settings, such as City of Heroes and The Matrix Online.

The selection of a popular established theme is no guarantee the game will be highly successful. Many factors contribute to ultimate popularity of the game. Star Wars Galaxies was extremely popular for a time but its creative, technical, and managerial problems led to several mass exoduses of the player base, and the game as it exists today is a mere shadow of its former self. The Matrix Online never became very popular in the first place, despite The Matrix theme being seemingly perfect for an MMORPG. In general, the fantasy/medieval themed games seem to have a broader appeal and tend to be more popular, but not always, an example being Dungeons and Dragons Online, which was not well received desipte D&D being the "big daddy" of the role playing genre.

So the "fuss" about World of Warcraft is that among the plethora of different MMORPGs, it managed to become so successful as to be an order of magnitude more popular than its competition. One million subscribers used to be the big milestone for a game to hit, and now WoW says they have 10 million. Everquest used to be the typical example of an MMORPG that people would think of first, and now its WoW, to the point that its become a household name and a microcosm of the whole MMOG industry. The social and economic issues that have always been associated with this kind of game are amplified 10 fold in WoW. The ugly side of these issues are increasingly being noticed by the general public and media, people losing jobs or not going to school because they play so much, using drugs to be able to play longer, asian sweatshops that earn in game currency to sell for real world currency... so being by far the most popular MMOG, WoW is both the posterboy and lightning rod for the industry.

Not being a WoW player myself I cant speak to the actual gameplay, but from what Ive seen it had a number of factors that were on its side and led to its success. Its medieval fantasy theme put it in already the most popular MMOG genre. The setting was built from an existing franchise whos fanbase was already adapted to multiplayer video games from the Warcraft real-time strategy games. This seems to have worked far better in generating the player base than other games which are based on a film franchise, as many fans of the movies arent gamers. WoW seems to have been released at an optimal time in terms of technology, as many people had high-speed internet connections, and powerful enough computers and graphics cards were becoming more common. It also came out at a time when existing MMOG players had been playing their game of choice for a few years and were ready to get into a new game.

Other factors determine how strong the player base remains over time, its growth and turnover rate, how long it takes before you run out of "stuff to do, the quantity and quality of game expansions, customer service and technical support. Again, not playing WoW myself I cant speak to specifics, but from what I hear it seems like they do a decent job of keeping their player base happy enough and occupied with "end game content," which is stuff to do after your character reaches the point that its abilities cannot be improved through typical gameplay. This is an issue that leads to many people stopping to play a game, with frequent claims of "lack of endgame content." WoW seems to have plenty of this content, and thats likely a big factor in keeping the player base so large. Its marketing is also somewhat unusual and extremely aggressive for the MMOG industry with its celebrity TV commercials.

Er... now what was your question again?


RE: Starcraft II Image
By jtemplin on 1/31/2008 11:47:23 PM , Rating: 2
That was an excellent description of an MMO. You should try to get that published!


RE: Starcraft II Image
By qwertyz on 2/1/08, Rating: 0
RE: Starcraft II Image
By qwertyz on 2/1/2008 4:19:06 AM , Rating: 1
Anyway they should wake up to reality and realize that WoW is just a game.


RE: Starcraft II Image
By togaman5000 on 2/1/2008 8:01:26 AM , Rating: 2
Don't stereotype all WoW players- I thoroughly enjoy playing, despite being considered a 'casual' player. Just because they play the game doesn't mean they are the die-hard, 5 hours a day seven days a week player like so many visualize them to be.

Many players have families, real jobs, or are just kids playing games. Is playing WoW any different than playing Halo? Of the 10 million, I'd say less than 1 million spend more than a few hours a week on the game. With such a broad base of players, there will always be some whack jobs- just don't think they're the norm.


RE: Starcraft II Image
By Wagnbat on 1/31/2008 6:34:40 PM , Rating: 1
Don't you mean a point and click Real Time Strategy (RTS) game?


RE: Starcraft II Image
By kiwik on 2/1/2008 12:28:25 AM , Rating: 2
Of course not.


RE: Starcraft II Image
By JediSmurf on 1/31/2008 12:22:07 PM , Rating: 3
That looks similar to a campaign briefing screen from SC1 for terrans.


RE: Starcraft II Image
By TerranMagistrate on 1/31/2008 12:27:16 PM , Rating: 3
Starcraft II is a Real Time Strategy title. It is going to be incredible.


RE: Starcraft II Image
By StevoLincolnite on 1/31/2008 12:51:13 PM , Rating: 2
And I cream myself every time I hear it, and wait in anticipation every time I log into Battle.net, 10 years on and the game still has me sucked into the Multi-Player :) Best 89 bucks I ever spent! (And I know my CD Key off by heart, if thats any contribution to how much of a fan I am).

I just hope they don't botch the game up, The Team that made StarCraft are no longer at Blizzard. (But then again, It's Blizzard they always make rock-solid games)

It's also nice to hear Activision is doing well, a few years ago I thought they were going to go down the drain as a company.


RE: Starcraft II Image
By MADAOO7 on 1/31/2008 1:08:01 PM , Rating: 2
Amen to the creaming. How in the world did you spend $89 on a game that cost around $50?


RE: Starcraft II Image
By aharris on 1/31/2008 1:45:54 PM , Rating: 2
I assume he purchased the Battle Chest.


RE: Starcraft II Image
By StevoLincolnite on 1/31/2008 9:51:24 PM , Rating: 2
No this was StarCraft without the Expansion or the Battle chest, I bought it on release day in Australia where it is normally fairly expensive.
Now you can pick up the game discs for 10 bucks each, but then I would have missed out on years of classic gaming :)


RE: Starcraft II Image
By FITCamaro on 1/31/2008 3:08:21 PM , Rating: 5