Four of the top ten PC games are World of Warcraft

by Mike Schramm Aug 20th 2008 at 5:00PM

Normally, we don't concern ourselves with sales charts too much -- we really only cover the one game, so comparing it to others really isn't our thing. Unless it's the only game in town, which, according to this month's NPD PC game software sales charts, posted by WorldofWar.net, it pretty much is. Out of the top ten PC games, Blizzard is responsible for a full half, and of those five, four are World of Warcraft related.

1. WoW: Battle Chest
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
3. World Of Warcraft
4. Nancy Drew: The Phantom Of Venice
5. Spore Creature Creator
6. Diablo Battle Chest
7. Warcraft III Battle Chest
8. WoW: Burning Crusade
9. The Sims 2 Ikea Home Stuff
10. Call of Duty 4

Just wild. Diablo's Battle Chest is undoubtedly there because of the Diablo III announcement, but the rest is all World of Warcraft -- people are picking up the game, its expansion, the Battle Chest (which combines both), and even the predecessor Warcraft III (in which the Wrath backstory features prominently) in droves.

PC gaming isn't dead at all. But there's no question that of the struts keeping it standing, Blizzard is definitely one of the strongest.

Tags: battle-chest, blizzard, charts, diablo, npd, reports, sales, world-of-warcraft, wrath-of-the-lich-king

Filed under: Odds and ends, Blizzard, Making money, Wrath of the Lich King

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

vetarra Aug 20th 2008 5:05PM

It would be more impressive if Nancy Drew wasn't 4th.

Nevets Aug 20th 2008 5:07PM

"Nancy Drew: The Phantom Of Venice"

rofl

Mark Aug 20th 2008 6:17PM

Are you kidding me? My wife loves those games. This is the same woman who has over 44k lifetime HKs on her mage, so... yeah.

native Aug 20th 2008 5:19PM

Here's the Billboard Top 10 since we're posting completely irrelevant lists that somehow equate sales with quality.

1 Mamma Mia: Soundtrack
2 Cyrus,Miley: Breakout
3 Sugarland: Love On The Inside
4 Kid Rock: Rock N Roll Jesus
5 Lil Wayne: Tha Carter Iii
6 Coldplay: Viva La Vida
7 Lloyd: Lessons In Love
8 Camp Rock Soundtrack
9 Rihanna: Good Girl Gone Bad
10 Newfield,Heidi: What Am I Waiting For

Rein Aug 20th 2008 5:22PM

Touche.

Milktub Aug 20th 2008 7:14PM

Agreed. However, the article closes with the idea that Blizz is a pillar of support for the PC gaming market, rather than expounding on how this sales list means that Blizz makes the best damn product in the world.

Chris Anthony Aug 20th 2008 10:39PM

Explain, please, how this article equated sales with quality, in any way, shape, or form.

Show your work.

Dack57 Aug 20th 2008 5:22PM

Warcraft 3 =/= wow
different games....

Doffencrag Aug 20th 2008 5:32PM

"and of those five, four are World of Warcraft related."

I don't think they claimed that they are all the same game, at least in the body of this article. The title though...

Arturis Aug 20th 2008 6:01PM

Well, technically speaking, World of Warcraft is Warcraft related, not the other way around. Seeing as the Warcraft series existed first, I think it sets the precedence.

World of Warcraft is a Warcraft related title.
Warcraft III is NOT a World of Warcraft related title.

As they say, a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not necessarily a square.

Chris Anthony Aug 20th 2008 10:37PM

So the argument here is that Warcraft III is not related to World of Warcraft? I just want to make sure I'm reading you right.

(Relationship is a commutative property, unfortunately for your hypothesis. It goes both ways.)

Arturis Aug 21st 2008 3:31AM

@ Chris

Basically, the assertion I am making is this: The franchise itself is the Warcraft franchise. It existed as such for three titles prior to WoW being released. World of Warcraft and its expansions are only a subsection of the Warcraft franchise, although admittedly the most popular/successful subsection. Much in the same way one could say that Dark Alliance is a Baldur's Gate game, while you can not say that Baldur's Gate is a Dark Alliance game. it would be far more accurate to claim WoW to be Warcraft related then vice versa. While using the term "related" does make the statement viable (commutative properties, as you mentioned) there is an established hierarchy and I was just taking a moment to point it out.

At any rate, it is a nit-picky and unimportant detail in the overall scheme of things, but I still stand by my supposition, and feel the square/rectangle analogy still holds.

isheepthings Aug 21st 2008 11:56AM

Yeah but the title here is to grab attention....not to be factual. Because it isn't.

Michael Aug 20th 2008 5:23PM

"The Sims 2 Ikea Home Stuff" is #9 and PC gaming isn't dead you say? This list does not support that claim IMO.

Turtlehead Aug 20th 2008 9:01PM

Two Sims packs (one a tie-in with a furniture maker), FIVE Blizzard entries (a good chunk many years old), and assorted leftover stuff including one which isn't a game at all.

While PC gaming is not dead, that list* is no sign of a healthy platform. Anything but. Let's reframe the list:

One MMO, a casual game, two expansions for another casual game, one not-a-game, a few old games bundled, and Call of Duty (which sold far better on consoles).

Does beat Mac native gaming at least. They just got...Jade Empire.

*It's important to keep in mind the list doesn't track online purchases and subscriptions, last I knew. No Steam, no Impulse, etc etc.