Analyst Predicts 7 Million Copies of StarCraft 2 Sold Before End of Year

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Analyst Predicts 7 Million Copies of StarCraft 2 Sold Before End of Year



With just days to go before its release, analysts are predicting big things in StarCraft 2's future.

Let's be honest here: No one thinks that StarCraft 2 [http://www.amazon.com/Starcraft-II-Wings-Liberty-Pc/dp/B000ZKA0J6] is going to tank when it's released on Tuesday, so the real question is just how well is it going to sell. Analyst Mike Hickey of Janco Partners thinks he knows, and believes that the game could sell as many as 7 million units before the end of Activision Blizzard's fiscal year in December.

Writing in a research note on Friday, Hickey made his predictions about unit sales and said that he thought the game would make just over $170 million dollars in profit for Activision Blizzard, assuming a 45% operating margin. Hickey also said that his predictions may turn out to be conservative, as he said that it was entirely possible that he had underestimated how South Korea would affect sales figures. "Blizzard Entertainment Korea was rumored at a recent media event to comment that players in Korea have approached 11 million suggesting an opportunity for performance in excess of our estimates," he said.

Seven million copies is impressive enough by itself, but it becomes even more significant when you consider that StarCraft 2 is only coming out on PC and Mac, and not getting a console release.

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/29577/Analyst_StarCraft_II_Could_Hit_7_Million_Units_In_First_Fiscal_Year.php]


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Rigs83

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Feb 10, 2009
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I wonder how long it will take Korean players to start killing competing against each other to their infamous extremes over Battle.net match rankings.
 

JaredXE

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Apr 1, 2009
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I'm sure it will sell spectacularly.

I'm just not going to be one of those people, not until they actually finish the damn game.
 

Jumplion

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Mar 10, 2008
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Oh darn, I completely forgot that Starcraft 2 was coming out in two days (despite the advertising everywhere, jeez) I may get it depending on reviews and if I think I'm into RTSs enough.

But anyway, 7 million? Sounds doubtful, though I wouldn't be surprised.
 

Cabisco

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May 7, 2009
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Wow, I should probs check out starcraft at some point if it has this much power, the again even though I love the idea of RTS games I find I rarely actually enjoy them.

Still if those figures prove right just goes to show Blizzard knows what they are doing.
 

Twilight_guy

Sight, Sound, and Mind
Nov 24, 2008
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The real question is how many pirate copies will be made over the next ten years. Can you imagine how many illegal copies of the original their must have been? When everyone and their brother will play the game you know that not all of the games will be legal.
 

Blights

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Feb 16, 2009
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This Starcraft II stuff has to stop
Why the hype over 1 game?
Sure, we waited a long time for it but some people don't want about 5 Starcraft II threads per day, this is getting ridiculous. The Escapist is a Gaming site, not a Starcraft site.
 

Vaccine

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Feb 13, 2010
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Oh look, Analysts again.

Fuck Analysts, this was predicted as soon as SC2 was announced.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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hehe, comes out the same day as my birthday. No I'm not getting the game,but I don't have to attend the midnight launch.

That makes me happy.
 

microhive

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Mar 27, 2009
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Straying Bullet said:
Unlike most, I am totally ignoring this game. Not my kind of RTS game for some very odd reason.

Give me Rome: Total War anyday.
This is a rough proof of concept that Total War could easily be remade into the StarCraft II engine. Then again, every single game that exists can be remade into the StarCraft II engine. Go to 15 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyYms9tF9_k#t=0m15s

Just play Total War on StarCraft II once someone has made it.
 

Jadak

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Nov 4, 2008
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Rigs83 said:
I wonder how long it will take Korean players to start killing competing against each other to their infamous extremes over Battle.net match rankings.
Depends, how fast do you think the quickest ones can get from the store back home?
 

Quesa

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Jul 8, 2009
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Blights said:
This Starcraft II stuff has to stop
Why the hype over 1 game?
Sure, we waited a long time for it but some people don't want about 5 Starcraft II threads per day, this is getting ridiculous. The Escapist is a Gaming site, not a Starcraft site.
No doubt, how can this tripe be getting all this hype while Chuck E. Cheese's Party Games [http://www.ufointeractivegames.com/details.asp?k=2471&p=cs] is being completely ignored; has it been a decade in the making or something?
 

UnusualStranger

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Jan 23, 2010
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Hmmmm....Interesting.

Not exactly related, but I hear that Starcraft 2 isn't going to be reviewed until it is publicly released and sold to everyone. I'm not sure how that sits with myself...

But I'm sure that the people who get it for full price right away and go home and play it will help with the numbers.

[sub][sub]Shhhhhh.....I'm taking bets on how many people are killed when this game comes out. Any takers?[/sub][/sub]
 

Enigmers

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Dec 14, 2008
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It truly speaks to Blizzard's reputation that they think this many copies of the game will sell, considering most games that sell this much are either A: multi-platform, or B:family/casual games (see: The Sims).
Blights said:
This Starcraft II stuff has to stop
Why the hype over 1 game?
Sure, we waited a long time for it but some people don't want about 5 Starcraft II threads per day, this is getting ridiculous. The Escapist is a Gaming site, not a Starcraft site.
This is just the pre-release hype, which has been steadily increasing for the past few years. Also, the guys at The Escapist write this stuff for (pretty much) free (as in free to the viewer) so I see no reason to feel dissatisfied. Even if you don't care about Starcraft II, there are plenty more bits of news and articles coming in pretty much on a daily basis.
 

GoGo_Boy

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May 12, 2010
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Jesus. What's up with all those news about Analysts guessing sales?

I can do that as well. Everyone can. Of course Blizzard will sale multiple millions by the end of their financial year and whether you say 5,6,7,8 Million whatever, it doesn't make you special.

But meh, guess we'll see more news of that kind. "Pachter said..." /facepalm.