'WoW: Wrath of Lich King' sets sales record
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion to the mega-popular online game, sold 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours last week, setting what its publisher said is an all-time record for PC games.
According to Blizzard Entertainment, Wrath of the Lich King, broke the one-day PC game sales record of 2.4 million copies, which was set 22 months earlier by The Burning Crusade, the first WoW expansion.
'Wrath of the Lich King,' the second 'World of Warcraft' expansion, sold 2.8 million copies in its first day, netting Blizzard Entertainment a one-day PC game sales record.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News)The new expansion was launched simultaneously in North America, Europe, Chile, Argentina, and Russia.
And at $40 a copy, the game would have brought in $112 million on its first day, though Blizzard would get somewhat less than that given that retailers pay the publisher less than full sticker price.
There are currently more than 11 million WoW players worldwide, and some analysts had predicted that as many as half might upgrade to Lich King. Given that, to play Lich King, players would have had to also upgrade from the original WoW to Burning Crusade, and that they pay a $15-a-month subscription fee, many have estimated that WoW is at least a $1 billion-a-year franchise.
And since the economy is heading into a serious worldwide recession, it is notable that the new WoW expansion has done so well out of the gate. Many are worried that retail sales will be down across the board. Some argue however that video games will do better than other products because people tend to want to spend money on entertainment when times are tough.
Daniel Terdiman is a staff writer at CNET News covering games, Net culture, and everything in between. E-mail Daniel. 
As for FFXI (Final Fantasy 11).... Totally Lame.
My Opinion: PvE and FFXI is for people who can't PvP.
i got FFXI and go so bored with it after the first week....then again, i dont have fantasies about anime toons. oops, was that a stereotype? I am sorry.... i
1. The previous expansion had a coordinated international release as opposed to a staggered release for WotLK. I couldn't buy my copy until more than a day after the USA et al release. So for this expansion to sell more in the first 24 hours is even more significant.
2. There are NOT 11 million players playing WoW, there are 11 million active accounts. Given that playing multiple accounts is reasonably common now day, for example players who "multi-box", there are actually fewer than 11 million players
please don't try to tell me there are more than 1 million multi-boxing hacks out there
I have probably seen and done less than 10% (if even that) that WoW has to offer, and I'd like to some day see at least 20% of what this game has. But like I say, it's become too massive to ever even come close to doing that. Start a Death Knight? Yea right! If I do that, my level 70 will never reach 80. Or rather, when it does, you'll raise the cap to 90. Like I say, no time to enjoy the game anymore. It's like work!
Blizzard. You've accomplished so much with WoW. It's for me and countless others, the greatest game ever. But please! Let it be! No more upgrades. No more expansions. Let the game be a great game the way it is now. I mean, imagine if Monopoly or Chess was created today. We'd be upgrading and expanding the game every week! Upgrades don't necessarily make a game better, and in some cases, it makes them worse. I'm tired of leveling and getting gear and learning a whole new talent structure and upgrading addons and, more than anything, re-learning the game. This just takes up way too much "non fun" time. It becomes work. I just want to enjoy the game the way it is. No more massive changes please!
It is well known that the average WOW player is a drooling moron.
its very unfair of you to make that assesment, that people have low standards. Maybe you dont have the imagination to part yourself from the reality of everyday for an hour or two...and simply enjoy the journey. This is the same spouting nonsense i hear form people who play FPS games.... I bet you play Crysis or Far Cry 2..... maybe you are a Halo-**** like the other non-wow players.
Im sorry if you are offended by this, but you must take in account the offense you caused by your bias statement.
- by roguetard December 1, 2008 12:33 PM PST
- I agree with hermantf. I worked my butt off getting to 70 and then I started concentrating on gearing up to become uber. now we no longer raid and everyone is off doing their own thing leveling to get to 80 and instead of taking their time and enjoying the game, they're power leveling and trying to be "the first" of a class in the guild. People are so obsessed with being "the first" to hit 80 that so many have cheated its not even funny, it kinda makes the game not fun anymore. I wouldn't be the first nor will be the last to quit playing wow, but this expansion has made me closer to quitting than I have ever been before. Also, I was one of the many who waited in line to receive the "collectors edition" and I was shocked that although I was literally the 8th person in line at midnight they were ALREADY sold out of collectors editions!?!?!?....I found out the store I bought it from received a whopping 3 copies...pull your head out blizz
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