Just a day before the release of Starcraft II, the pre-orders for the sci-fi PC game have hit 800,000 units, suggesting the game will be a sure-fire hit this summer.
VGChartz reports that sales in the Americas in the first week alone should be more than a million units. Worldwide first-week sales will likely be more than 2 million units. That’s good news for Blizzard Entertainment, a division of Activision Blizzard, as this year has seen few breakout hits in the video game business. Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption is selling millions of units, but few other titles have stood out. That’s why video game sales are down about 9 percent year to date compared to a year ago.
The original Starcraft debuted in 1998, and it was one of the first to create fast-and-furious real-time strategy online gaming. In fact, the online play was so good that professional gamers and other fans are still playing it today. Almost 12 years later, the game has sold more than 11 million copies. Version II of the game goes on sale at midnight July 27.