Walmart bets big on Burning Crusade
by Ross Miller 
{ Jan 11th 2007 at 4:55PM }
Our pals at WoW Insider have obtained a page from Walmart's Release Playbook concerning World of Warcraft's new expansion, The Burning Crusade. Though the page itself is somewhat dated ("December 27is so last year, Joystiq"), the information reveals a sign of confidence in Blizzard as a major source of revenue for the big box retailer.The Playbook page cites figures from an unspecified source that 90% of current WoW players intend on purchasing the expansion, with 75% purchasing within the initial 10 days. The document also notes that, of the then-7.5 million players of the MMO, 450,000 of them purchased their copy from Wal-Mart. Assuming they can keep up with the supply (eBay bidders seem to think otherwise), repeat customers tally approximately 303,750 in sales for the first 10 days, with 405,000 total expected. More generally, Wal-Mart expects The Burning Crusade to sell 5 million in the first 10 days and at least 6.75 million in its lifetime. Holy Market Value, Batman!
To this end, the Wal-Mart playbook page outlines that 2,008 stores have been selected, based on sales data of the original WoW, to receive at least one half-pallet containing 60 copies of The Burning Crusade. Those packages were noted to arrive January 8 in stores and amount to at least 120,480 in expected first-day sales. Wal-Mart has told its stores to release the product to the masses at 12:01 a.m. January 16, so if you have a pre-sell card (or just hope to be lucky), then you better expect a midnight-sale camp-out of console release proportions.
[Thanks, Nelson]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nad Stretep @ Jan 11th 2007 5:19PM
I'd buy it but I just don't see enough innovative content to motivate me to: A. spend the money on the box B. Spend the money reactivate my account and C. lose a big chunk of my life to running the raid treadmill... again
Redscare @ Jan 11th 2007 5:17PM
"Assuming they can keep up with the supply (eBay bidders seem to think otherwise)"
Thats specifically the special edition that was printed in limited numbers and will not be reprinted. The vanilla edition will be plentiful in stores.
Evan @ Jan 11th 2007 5:42PM
My local BestBuy has a giant banner (I estimate 20' x 8') above the front doors, advertising Burning Crusade with the release date.
(They also have PS3s in stock and on the shelf, but no giant banners advertising the PS3.)
Loque @ Jan 11th 2007 6:00PM
Who cares what Walmart is going to do with world of warcraft? What are they doing considering all of the insentives microsoft is giving out for Games for Windows?
Seriously, a story on a single game (An expansion, even) as sold by a single retalier.
ackmondual @ Jan 11th 2007 7:02PM
@ #1
""Thats specifically the special edition that was printed in limited numbers and will not be reprinted. The vanilla edition will be plentiful in stores.""
D'oh. I missed the PS3 profit scheme. I guess I can't try a trick like that with the WoW exp ;)
But won't the special edtion exp be nicer? For ex, IIRC, Bliz added alot of artwork, DVD full FMV cutscenes, figurines, keychains, and other 'useless' neat stuff for the SE of Diablo 2. I can see WoW fans camping out just for these extras. And let's face it, a rabid WoW fan can be VERY dangerous
Tom Strong @ Jan 11th 2007 6:19PM
$40 is a total rip-off for an expansion, and a minor one at that. WoW players are already spending $15 a month to play. Thanks, Blizzard.
OTAM @ Jan 11th 2007 7:14PM
Who the hell shops at that 3rd world hellhole anyway?
kuri @ Jan 11th 2007 9:59PM
#5: When you control such a large part of the MMO market, you're free to price the game at whatever you feel the market will bear. $40 isn't comparatively bad, since most MMO expansions range in price from $20-30, and in EQ2's case, even $40.
Not to mention, World of Warcraft isn't expansion pack-happy. I don't consider it too shabby a deal to pay $40 once a year, as opposed to $20 every 6 months or so.
But, if you feel the price is unfair, the best way to show it is to not buy the expansion. Besides, after it sells a few million copies, it's sure to dip below $25.
Matt T. @ Jan 12th 2007 12:35AM
I am guessing non-24 hour Wal-Mart won't have it at 12:01am.
It I go in the minute they open, Should I be able to get a copy?
steve @ Jan 12th 2007 9:52AM
"More generally, Wal-Mart expects The Burning Crusade to sell 5 million in the first 10 days and at least 6.75 million in its lifetime. Holy Market Value, Batman!"
You guys need to better understand the "8 million" World of WarCraft subscribers. About 4 million are in the US and Europe, and they will be the buyers. The rest are people in China and Korea. In China, they don't buy the game and play per hour at an extremely low rate. In Korea, everyone plays at PC Bangs, and I'm not sure how the licensing works there but I believe you just need to have an active account but you don't pay a monthly subscription fee.
RobotRock @ Jan 12th 2007 10:05AM
Am I the only person who saw an entry about WoW's just announced 8 million subscribers. It was posted an hour after this one: "Two million of those subscribers are in North America"
Also: "Wal-Mart expects The Burning Crusade to sell 5 million in the first 10 days"
Wow. Simply WoW. So Wal-Mart assumes that due to the expansion, WoW's population will MORE than double. IN 10 days!!! WTF? Someone needs to clear out some space next to thouse Atari ET games.
(I know it'll sell eventually, but c'mon, 10 days?)