Not all chest-thumping is equal. Those StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty first-day sales figures publisher Activision heralded today? They are less than half of the World of Warcraft first-day figures for that game's last two releases.
Today: Blizzard Entertainment said StarCraft II sold "more than 1 million copies sold worldwide, making it the best-selling PC game of 2010 within its first 24 hours of availability."
November 20, 2008: Blizzard Entertainment said that the latest World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, sold "more than 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time" and adds: "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."
The Wall Street Journal reports today that StarCraft II sales may seem a little low because much of StarCraft-loving South Korea is able to play the game for free right now. Is it that? The recession? Or does WoW enthusiasm trump even the fervor brewed by more than a decade of waiting for the next StarCraft?
(Note: This story originally referred to Activision as the publisher of StarCraft and WoW. While Activision Blizzard is the holding company involved in these games, Blizzard Entertainment is the actual publisher of the titles. Apologies for any confusion about that.)