For over
eight million World of Warcraft
players, the launch of The Burning Crusade
expansion set is a monumental event. Gamers around the world queued in front of
storefronts to help ensure acquisition of a copy of the game and to be one of
the first to play. Game stores and major retailers held midnight launch events
so that customers may purchase the game as soon as the date rolls over to
release date January 16, 2006.
World of Warcraft: The
Burning Crusade is now available at retailers nationwide at a suggested
retail price of $39.99. A special Collector's Edition of the expansion is also
available, at a suggested retail price of $69.99. This limited-edition package
includes the expansion on both CD-ROM and DVD, the Art of The Burning Crusade coffee table book, an exclusive in-game
pet, a behind-the-scenes DVD, two Trading Card Game card packs and three exclusive
cards, a map of Outland mouse pad, and the official soundtrack CD.
A local Best Buy held a midnight launch event, which saw
approximately 300 people about an hour before opening. Customers were informed
that everyone in line would be able to purchase a copy, as the store received a
total of 2,500 copies. Even with the impressive allocation, the vast majority
of people in line were disappointed with the news of only 96 copies of the much
sought-after Collector’s Edition.
While the regular edition of The Burning Crusade is still widely available, the Collector’s
Edition sold out at most outlets within hours of store opening. Copies of the
Collector’s Edition are rapidly cropping up on eBay to take advantage of the
limited release. Over 600 listings for the Collector’s Edition are on eBay at
time of writing, the average auction closing
at around $200.
World of Warcraft
fanaticism isn’t limited to just North America – the launch of The Burning
Crusade attracted more gamers onto the cold, wet streets of London, England
than the Nintendo
Wii launch, according to Spong. Nearly 3,000 gamers
reportedly attended the launch event at HMV London, with some dedicated fans
showing up dressed as their favorite characters from the game.
"The Burning
Crusade is the single largest expansion we've ever created, and we're
grateful for the support shown by our beta testers and the millions of World of Warcraft players worldwide
during its development," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of
Blizzard Entertainment. "We're excited to share all of the new content
with players, and we're certain that they'll enjoy the quality and breadth of
new experiences that The Burning Crusade
offers."