Just last weekend at Blizzcon during a Starcraft 2 panel, Dustin Browder unveiled some features for the map editor. If you were at Blizzcon or watching via Pay-Per-View, it was amazing and incredibly inspiring to see first hand the power behind the editor. However, if you were fortunate enough to attend Blizzcon then you missed a special presentation for Pay-Pre-Viewers who got an exclusive look at the development area for Starcraft 2. Part of this glimpse includes a look at the editor itself...
Jason Hall, currently an indie developer and former Blizzard employee, has been sharing some really interesting stories from his long career in the industry for a while now. Some of them are truly insightful, while others may seem depressing.
I’m a little shocked that StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty sold only around 6 million copies. The original StarCraft did over 11 million. Maybe Blizzard was too leisurely in releasing StarCraft 2? Starcraft 2 came out 12 years after it’s predecessor.
Im surprised too. Starcraft was still a huge name in 2010. It was kinda the only new RTS around and other genres like MOBAs hadn't really kicked off yet. I do remember at the time sentiment around the game was
pretty angry the game was being split into 3 but I doubt that would have impacted sales to that degree
For a long time I believed StarCraft II sold on par or better than its predecessor. There was so much hype for the game. Plus it had a pretty strong E-Sports scene for a few years.
Myself and half a dozen friends all bought StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and played it religiously for a full year. While I bought the expansions, most of my friends did not. RPGs seem to be a generally low selling genre.
I'm not shocked at all. This was an early example of Blizzard being greedy. Instead of releasing a complete experience, splitting Starcraft 2 in 3 parts so it could make us purchase it 3 times if we wanted to know the whole story and play story mode with the other races.
I originally had that stance. However, Wings of Liberty, was just as long, if not longer than StarCraft 1. The expansions were of decent length too and added a good amount of additional content.
and people wonder why we are having mtx in everything. i blame the people who actual buy them.
It's interesting he used Brazil as an example of the importance of regional pricing. Nowadays many companies on Steam are setting their prices in Brazil as high as, if not more than, their price in USA. I simply refused to buy a few games when I noticed that's the case.
DS writes: "Like many people who grew up with their eyes glued to their TV screens and monitors, in my youth, I used to think that playing video games for a living was the best job in the world. Little did I know that getting to the point where you can earn decent money playing video games takes a tremendous amount of work and sacrifice, and there’s a good chance you’ll fail even if you give it your all."
BLG writes: "In a little over a decade, Blizzard went from a company that could seemingly do no wrong to one embroiled in an endless stream of controversies and scandals. Unfortunately, the quality of Blizzard games suffered greatly as a result. But while it’s easy to criticize the current state of Blizzard Entertainment, it’s safe to say that many of the company’s games still hold a special place in our hearts. This is why I decided to take a little trip down memory lane and reminisce about all the Blizzard games put out over the past three decades. Yep, we’re going all the way back to the beginning with this one."
cant wait to play it