WoW: 2.4 million Burning Crusade copies sold in 24 hours
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Jan 23rd 2007 at 1:45PM }
According to Blizzard, and based on reports from select distributors, 2.4 million copies of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade were sold worldwide in the expansion set's first 24 hours at retail. With an estimated combined total of 2.3 million copies sold in North America and Europe, Burning Crusade has become the fastest-selling PC "game" (it's technically an expansion) ever in the two regions. Despite lines forming, overcrowding, and server instability, 1.7 million North American and European players managed to log in and upgrade to Burning Crusade status by the end of the first day (just hours before Gullerbone reached level 70).The worldwide release, which also included Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, followed by Australia and New Zealand, was not without its distribution blunders. Romania, home to more than 10,000 WoW account holders, was sent a mere 1,600 copies of the expansion (even though Blizzard supplied roughly 4 million copies worldwide). Still, the launch marks a great, albeit anticipated success for Blizzard, and will no doubt drive WoW's dominance for months to come.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Geovany @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:05PM
!That`s why PC is the KING...
Tim UF @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:14PM
i'm proud to say i haven't yet and will never, play WoW or any of its derivatives...
The last MMORPG i played was a text based MUDD game.
I will, however, pick up Shivering Isles for Oblivion.
Thryon @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:16PM
"!That`s why PC is the KING..."
That is why PC sales are slumping. All the gamers that I know who play World of Warcraft have not purchased any other PC (or console) game since they started playing WoW. If you count this expansion pack, that is two purchases in about 2 1/2 years or less than one unit per year. Most console gamers purchase 4-5 games per year. No wonder consoles are getting all the love.
BklynKid @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:17PM
How do people play this crap? This is really not meant as flamebait but my friend showed me the game and all I could do was yawn. Looks so boring.
Jonathan @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:24PM
Well, there are many reasons for WoW's success, but one reason is simple: it doesn't require advanced hardware to run.
I can play WoW on my 3-year-old Mac Mini with 32MB of VRAM. Sure I have to turn all the graphics options down, but when I do the game runs fantastically.
It was fun to play for a while; it was cool to watch my character grow and it was fun to talk to some of the guys in my guild. But, like any video game, I eventually wore it out and moved on to something else.
WoW is cool but personally I think I prefer local multiplayer. It's just more fun to have a group of friends crowded around the TV ^_^
Glenn Lyvers @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:55PM
WOW is ok for the kiddies but the real gamers play Everquest when they grow up. Same basic game but EQ sports better graphics and it's nice to play with grown ups. However... I got WOW for my kidlets and they like the cartoonish graphics of it. Best of all they stay off my serious game.
Miharu @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:26PM
I thank Blizzard for making loads of Collector's Editions available, at least here in Northern Europe. I thought of buying some extras and then eBaying them to the rest of Europe, since I heard they didn't get so many of them in some other countries (Romania at least).
robert @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:32PM
Yeah the PC will be the King forever no matter what people say even our PC`S make the games for their consoles....viva la PC.
Karttikeya @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:38PM
You do all know Halo 2 sold 2.4 million copies its first day? And the Xbox had only an install base of 20 million then.
Tim Robertson @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:46PM
Cool. Now everyone on 360, go downoad the demo of Crackdown on Live. Just did so myself.
Powertrade1337 @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:49PM
I think 2.4 million copies in the first day is more than the traders on the simExchange have been expecting. WoW:BC has been trading around 5.5 - 5.8 million copies sold worldwide over lifetime for the past few weeks. I'd think this is great news for the game, but the stock is actually down today.
http://www.thesimexchange.com/stock.php?id=3
People have also been debating the PC games issue over there. I'd say PC games are dead drawing this as evidence. Only WoW and Sims are really selling. Everything else on PC doesn't really move any copies.
Earmuff @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:55PM
Karttikeya, are you trying to make a point? WoW has an install base of 8 million. 25% of the players of WoW bought the expansion in 24 hours. Only 12% bought Halo 2 in 24 hours
Vidikron @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:57PM
@#3 Thyron
You hit the nail on the head with that one. But it even spills over into consoles too. Pretty much all of my friends are console and PC gamers, but I have one friend that is utterly addicted to WoW. He plays WoW almost exclusively and WoW + expansion are the only PC games he has purchased since WoW launched. BUT he has also bought fewer console games too. He still bought Gears of War and a couple of other console games in that time span, but it's not as many games as would have been buying without WoW around. He even has a Wii, but it sits around largely unused like all his other gaming gear.
Kaarttikeya @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:10PM
I'm proving my statement because of people calling "PC the king". And Earmuff, that's some bad logic.
That's like saying: Of the 5 million original Halo players, 2.4 million bought the sequel the day of release.
Windows based PC's have an install base of 200 million gamers, Xbox had 20 million then.
Sure you have to buy the original game for $20, and pay a subscription, then again, you needed a $200 Xbox to play it back then. But due to the facts that PC's are used for more than gaming (driving the install base very high), and that it doesn't take a high end PC to play WoW, supports the fact even more of why it sold that much.
Munch @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:42PM
Do anyone in this comments thread actually play the game now? You all seem to just want to diss WoW for being successful. I personally have never played it, I want to just can't risk it (I tend to get into games like this too deep, too easily). Also is Burning Crusade actually worth it for new players straight away?
ackmondual @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:57PM
@ #2 Tim UF
""i'm proud to say i haven't yet and will never, play WoW or any of its derivatives... ""
I'm with you there. The closest thing to a MMORPG I've ever played was Diablo1 (NOT 2) online. I saw a couple of friends play WoW and I was fascinated with it mostly for the eye candy. With the mass saturation fantasy games with orcs, trolls, elves, knights, etc. I find games like WC3 (the only WC game in the series I've played) to have a "been there way too long, done that many times" effect on me.
I got hooked into Battle Realms and it's expansion b/c it was finally nice to be using Asian-inspired characters and themes for once.
O_o @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:52PM
#13
You have just made a contradictive statement.
"I'm proving my statement because of people calling 'PC the king' ... Windows based PC's have an install base of 200 million gamers, Xbox had 20 million then."
If there were really 200 million gamers on the windows platform, i dont see why PC shouldn't be called the 'king' of gaming, install base wise.
risingstar @ Jan 23rd 2007 4:07PM
@13
WoW is infact very computer demanding. Generally to achive playability one have to have something like an atleast Pentium 4 3Ghz, 1 gig ram, 10 GB of HD, and a 256 MB gfx card. That's probably cuts down on that 200 million install base.
O and WoW runs on a Mac as well.
Flit @ Jan 24th 2007 10:24AM
@14:
BC is definately a good entry point.. Lots of old players rolling the new characters (you could roll any group you want and always have someone to run quests with, as opposed to 2 months ago, when most 60's were running raids or battlegrounds over and over again).
I had the same philosophy as you, but i finally gave in, and I enjoy not having to buy new games every month. I was spending $50 at least every month to keep my gaming alive, and playing some pretty mediocre games. Wow is good for being fun and also allowing me to play with other people, all the time, which I find enjoyable (hitting up guild chat while questing is definately the way to go).
I'm just glad to see this because of Blizzard's track record. Blizzard making more games is a very good thing (which they will as soon as this cash cow runs dry.) The only crappy Blizzard game i've played is that old SNES title... i don't remember the name
crono141 @ Jan 24th 2007 9:43AM
If Glenn Lyvers had said that about consoles, I would have sworn he was a PS3 fanboy.
The parallels between PS3 and EQ2 and Wii and WoW is hysterical when you think about it.
Chris @ Jan 23rd 2007 4:42PM
I find the "I'll never play this game or any in its genre" people amusing. How can you judge a game without playing it? Do you look at someone playing Gears of War or Twilight Princess and think "This game is fascinating me by just watching it?" No. You have to play it.
Keep in mind: most people who play Wow don't stop playing anytime soon. They have a tremendous attachment rate with their free trials. And for very good reason: it happens to be a fantastic, polished, yet accessible game.
I've handed the disks to people who said they'd never play an MMO, from hardcore gamers to people who never play any games, and they're all hooked now. You're doing yourself a disservice to not at least TRY the game.
John @ Jan 23rd 2007 5:20PM
I have to say...what an incredible "expansion" it is. Blizzard out did themselves with this. I'm barely into it and I'm amazed at what I'm seeing. This "expansion" deserves "Game of the Year" for what it offers. I noticed how they managed to get the release of this game all around the world at the same time and that is in various languages. Question...why can't Sony do that with ANY of the games they produce for the PS3? Answer....they don't give a crap about the US market and make us wait a year or more. I personally hope Sony is getting a BIG dish of reality now...now back to Burning Crusade...WoW is right!
makesevenupyours @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:36PM
Do you look at someone playing Gears of War and think "This game is fascinating me by just watching it?" No. You have to play it."
Posted at 4:42PM on Jan 23rd 2007 by Chris 0 stars
ACTUALLY...yes, i did. lolz. but ya, WoW is a good game, and im sure blizzard is extremely pumped about this.
SymetriX @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:39PM
A great expansion for one of the greatest games of all time.
yifes @ Jan 23rd 2007 8:47PM
"i'm proud to say i haven't yet and will never, play WoW or any of its derivatives..."
Then stop posting. There's 6 billion ppl out there who will never play WOW. LOL!!! you're so unique!!!!1111oneoneone
Stop being an attention whore.
Royale @ Jan 24th 2007 12:18AM
2.4 million copies huh? I got one.
zsavior @ Jan 24th 2007 12:31AM
I got to admit I am one of those people who haven't played any other game than wow in a long time. I glanced through other games but they don't hold my attention.
I think the reason is WOW, developers go through alot to give you a complete game. Their in a mix of humor and complexity with each mission and it makes it feel that every mission is the same even if it isn't. Who can doubt that the colosal menace mission was a point to shadown of the colosus. Wow for some reasons just holds the goods, for now. Who knows what the future has in store.
Rexjamo @ Jan 24th 2007 1:38AM
Glad they've sold lots of copies of Burning Crusade. Now Blizzard will have lots of money to develop a decent game... like Starcraft 2! Enough with the MMO's already.