Sun, May 16, 2010 | 08:00 BST
Pachter: StarCraft II will “quickly” sell 4-5 million

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has chorused Cowen’s Doug Creutz on predicted StarCraft II sales, saying the imminent PC RTS will move a quick 5 million units and could eventually outsell the original StarCraft.
Speaking on his latest GTTV show in response to a question as to whether the game can survive in a console driven market, Pachter said:
“There is a huge niche market of PC gamers and we know for sure from games like World of Warcraft that there are at least 12 million of them. If you look at the original Starcraft they are up to 9 million units sold and there are still 3 millions players online daily.
“So, on Starcraft II I think that they will sell around 4-5 million units quickly and I think that they will sell 9-10 million units eventually. I think the game will have a very long online multiplayer life.”
Pachter added that he expects a similar performance from the yet-to-be-dated Diablo III.
“Diablo is not going to come out for a year at least, probably two since there are two Starcraft expansions to come out, but even that will sell the same kind of numbers, maybe slightly smaller because Diablo doesn’t have the same online player fanbase that Starcraft does,” he said.
“But you will still see 4-5 million units sold right off the bat.”
StarCraft II’s getting a simultaneous release on July 27 in Europe, South Korea, and North America, with two expansions planned about 18 months apart – Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void.


10 comments
#1
Maximum Unreal
16/05/10, 8:05 am
I 100% agree with him.
#2
Patrick Garratt
16/05/10, 8:30 am
Yep. I really can’t wait for it.
#3
Hunam
16/05/10, 10:03 am
I was really looking forward to it but every time they announce something about it I’m just left feeling cold.
#4
Grimrita
16/05/10, 12:08 pm
But isnt the PC market supposed to be ‘dead’? This will prove all those doubting the PC viability wrong. Although I wont be buying this game as its just the same old game refreshed.
#5
Freek
16/05/10, 1:02 pm
I dunno if using Starcraft 2 sales figures is a reasonable argument for the continued succes of the PC market.
After all, how many other games have such status, production values and utterly insane fan base. It’s practicly the national past time of an entire country.
How does the avarage PC game compare to all that?
#6
Erthazus
16/05/10, 1:29 pm
“After all, how many other games have such status”
Half-Life
Starcraft
MMORPGS
Diablo
Doom
Quake
Total Wars
and e.t.c.
#7
Grimrita
16/05/10, 2:17 pm
You forgot to mention the 125 million units that The Sims has sold *shudders*
#8
jeremycafe
16/05/10, 3:00 pm
“Although I wont be buying this game as its just the same old game refreshed.”
Not really. Just go read all the whining nerds at teamliquid who complain every hour about how it needs to be more like the original.
#9
blackdreamhunk
16/05/10, 4:17 pm
dam rights it will
#10
loki
16/05/10, 6:33 pm
analyst lol Michael Pachter
Starcraft II I think that they will sell around 4-5 million units quickly another lol