After I read this article I could not help myself but to try and figure out how much $ching$ this company is making. The numbers I came up with are well, just silly.
2.8 Million copies in just the first hour alone at $40.00 a pop = $12,000,000
Imagine what that number is up to now. Now you figure not all that is profit. Blizzard probably made in the neighborhood of 15-20% profit so around $2.5mil after production, packaging, distribution, etc: just in the first hour alone people.
"Prior to the launch of Wrath of the Lich King, World of Warcraft’s subscriber population had grown to more than 11 million players" Now this is just stupid. 11 million players if each and every one of them had only 1 account they were paying for, which we all know (most) people who play wow have multiple accounts, at $15.00 a month we are talking $165,000,000 a month!! Now lets just say half of those 11 million people are paying for 2 accounts, which is completely reasonable, at $15.00 a month. Looking at $330,000,000 a month. Remember this is BEFORE the release of Lich King. How many more out there have jumped on the band wagon since then...
It is absoutely phenomenal. Wait until Diablo III is released. No pay to play but the'll make millions more.
WotLK Breaks Record with 2.8 Million Sold in 1 Day
We all knew Wrath of the Lich King did well, but Blizzard has confirmed it by officially announcing today that the expansion sold over 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability to become the fastest-selling PC game of all time. Of course, it's only competition was The Burning Crusade's 2.4 million copies in January 2007, so Blizzard was going to hold onto the title no matter what.
"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."
The full press release can be found after the jump.
IRVINE, Calif. - November 20, 2008 - Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft ®'s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King ™, 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 ®. 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.
Tags: News, WorldofWarcraft
