StarCraft II US sales monstrous

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 13 August, 2010

Best-selling game in July.

Blizzard's science fiction real-time strategy game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty obliterated sales of all other games released in the US in July, NPD said.

It sold an eye-watering 721,000 units at retail. StarCraft II was released on 27th July, so those sales were achieved in just five days.

StarCraft II is the fastest-selling strategy game ever.

According to Blizzard's stats, it sold more than 1 million copies in 24 hours, and over 1.5 million copies in 48 hours, worldwide.

StarCraft II helped increase US PC game sales by a whopping 103 per cent for July, according to NPD.

Elsewhere, the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of EA's NCAA Football 11 came in at second and third with a combined 692,000 units sold.

Scottish developer Ruffian will be celebrating after its Xbox 360 exclusive Crackdown 2 placed fourth, ahead of Super Mario Galaxy 2, the DS version of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Red Dead Redemption on Xbox 360 and the Wii version of LEGO Harry Potter.

Square Enix will also be clinking champagne glasses after the superb Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies came in at nine.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii and the Xbox 360 version of Modern Warfare 2 completed the top 11.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (34) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • bad09 #1 2 years ago

    That's pretty impressive considering NPD doesn't include digital downloads or online retail.

    PC is dead I tell ya, DEAD!

  • Goodfella #2 2 years ago

    Good stuff. Superb game.

  • Mcstrife #3 2 years ago

    If just one game can double PC sales it actually means pc gaming is indeed suffering.

  • ZuluHero #4 2 years ago

    It might be the fastest selling strategy game of all time, but that's because it’s a damn good game. Strategy shouldn't be an alienating and difficult genre to sell. Even non-RTS fans (like me) are enjoying it, and that's testament to the high production values and varied mission structure and great storyline.

    It's really good! :)

  • SAMagic #5 2 years ago

    <a href=http://news.filefront.com /report-shows-annual-pc-hardware-sales-doubling-console-sale s/>If anyone wants a source for PC hardware sales, check this out.</a>

  • NotSoSlim #6 2 years ago

    Would love them to make a PS3 version!! Great sales tho

  • UncleLou #7 2 years ago

    If just one game can double PC sales it actually means pc gaming is indeed suffering.

    What, you think 720,000 other PC games sold at retail in July in the USA means it is "suffering"? :D

  • kar #8 2 years ago

    I'd hate for them to make a ps3 version it would no doubt end up somehow seeing the pc version gimped like with other activision titles that started out on pc and moved to console land.

    Although the graphics in sc2 could pretty easily be handled by a ps3 or 360. Given activisions love of bundled peripherals, I could imagine a console sc2 bundled with some special mouse/keyboard.

  • dsmx #9 2 years ago

    It's not the graphics that would suffer it's the detail in the gameplay that would, the limited RAM of the consoles would limited the number of units and the size of the maps for example.

  • NotSoSlim #10 2 years ago

    Well they could bundled it with the Move controller set? Just a thought as i am sure there is a audience on consoles for a great RTS

  • spekkeh #11 2 years ago

    If anyone wants a source for PC hardware sales, check this out.

    Thanks, but what's the point of PC hardware sales?

  • Inspirius #12 2 years ago

    It's a top 11 because NPD list the top 10 console games and we also know how many copies of SC2 where sold.

  • Amblin #13 2 years ago

    So many sales, so many people that can't play with us in europe... =/
    Edited by 1 at 13/08/10 @ 10:32

  • IronCladChicken #14 2 years ago

    @Mcstrife
    Halo3 didn't double xbox360 game sales upon release?

  • vijay_UK #15 2 years ago

    PC gaming is alive and kicking, and we all know it.

  • CaptainKid #16 2 years ago

    Good.
    And it doesn't even say if this is with digital distribution numbers added, which are almost 50% of PC games sold according to an earlier article.
    Hopefully publishers and developers will recognize the awesome force that is PC gaming and shift their focus more to the PC once again.
    Edited by 2 at 13/08/10 @ 11:23

  • bad09 #17 2 years ago

    @ CaptainKid

    NPD doesn't include any kind of online retail, NPD is purely bricks and mortar, in fact it doesn't even account for all bricks and mortar sales.

  • CaptainKid #18 2 years ago

    @bad09.
    Okay, didn't know that. These sales numbers don't make a lot of sense anymore do they.

  • bad09 #19 2 years ago

    @ CaptainKid

    Yeah NPD is pretty useless in terms of actual hard sales numbers, but it does a very good job of showing sales trends and gives a good indication of whats selling well.

  • Mcstrife #20 2 years ago

    @ICchicken

    No idea, did it?

    Not sure if you can compare it so easily. More people have pc's, a lot of people picked Xbox for Halo etc.

    On the other hand you could be absolutely right.

  • darkmorgado #21 2 years ago

    Microsoft should really do some sort of deal with Valve to get Steam integrated with the next release of Windows, with concurrent Steam and LIVE achievements, and really advertise it as a feature. Overnight, the PC would becoming the dominant gaming platform in the world.

    It will never happen though.

  • ignatiusjreilly #22 2 years ago

    ^ Thank God.

    Valve are doing rather nicely with Steam, the last thing in the world I'd want is for Microsoft to get involved.

  • darkmorgado #23 2 years ago

    @ignatiusreilly

    I know what you mean, but if done right (i.e, Valve retain independence and ownership of Steam), it could work as a collaboration.

    Valve would benefit from having Steam pre-installed on every PC that ships with Windows, and from MSofts marketing clout.
    Microsoft would benefit from finally having an online distribution platform that works after the embarassment that is GFW:L.

    Gamers would benefit because no longer would we need to use BOTH GFW:L and Steam in order to play games such as Dawn of War 2 and we wouldn't need to put up with draconian DRM measures anymore.

  • ignatiusjreilly #24 2 years ago

    In that case I might as well buy a console. There would be a few benefits, but it would be almost impossible for Valve to remain independent. The main reason I game on a PC is because there isn't one overarching company overseeing the direction it takes.

    And honestly I've got no interest in PC being any kind of dominant platform anyway. I am already part of the glorious PC gaming master race and have no desire to see the riff-raff messing up the place with their big TVs, reasonably-priced hardware and cover-based shenanigans.

  • Zaiz #25 2 years ago

    Well, that's pretty nice!

    @People who think this game had a good story

    Go back to harming the prospects of gaming being taken seriously as an artform, kthx. I didn't get to play the whole game on the demo, but I played more than half, and that half was gawd-awful story wise. A bunch of flat characters fighting the EVIL EMPIRE THAT IS EVIL(KICKS PUPPIES AND EATS FETUSES FOR BREAKFAST) while deciphering an ALIEN PROPHECY. Oh, and there's a MORAL CHOICE in which you can KILL ALL or SAVE ALL. Clearly, redefining storytelling in games!

    TL;DR the story is eerily similar to Mass Effect's, except without good writing, characters, or even gray moral areas.

  • IronCladChicken #26 2 years ago

    @darkmorgado
    In that scenario - Wouldn't it would be easier & cheaper for MS to just buy Valve.

  • darkmorgado #27 2 years ago

    @Ironcladchicken

    It would, but Valve are totally independent - they have no board of directors to answer to. I sincerely doubt that they would allow themselves to be bought by a larger company, especially if it then forces them to become exlcusive to one platform (considering Gabe's recent love-in with PS3). A mutual project would work better for both of them.

  • ignatiusjreilly #28 2 years ago

    Funnily enough, Valve pitched Steam to Microsoft and Yahoo when it was in the concept stage but they were turned down. http://ww w.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2008... The fact that MS weren't interested is a nice example of why I've no real desire to see them have more influence over PC gaming than they already do.

  • CaptainKid #29 2 years ago

    Talking about Steam.
    Steam is coming to PS3.

    Valve until recently was PC and Xbox (Left4Dead2, Team Fortress 2)
    but it seems they switched to PS3 now.
    BIG loss for Xbox. I like how Micro$oft screwed themselves with their closed system.

  • bad09 #30 2 years ago

    As much as I'm grateful for Windows and the standard windows (360) controller, having looked at PC Marketplace I would kill puppies if MS got their grubby mits on Steam!

    All hail Gabe!

    [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=Im6yRpQrsaY
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=Im6yRpQrsaY
    [/link]

    EDIT - Bloody links!

    Edited by 3 at 13/08/10 @ 15:02

  • darkmorgado #31 2 years ago

    @CaptainKids

    SteamWORKS is coming to PS3, not Steam. They are 2 very different things.

  • levitate #32 2 years ago

    Jesus Christ. I guess the doomsayers on the Starcraft II EU forums have something to think about now.

  • SAMagic #33 2 years ago

    @Zaiz : That's unfair. Secret scientific experiments, an alien invasion and shadowy government figures didn't stop Half-life being terrific fun. It's all in the execution. Besides, the storyline leads up to Raynor having to choose whether to fight the Dominion for his own reasons or look at the greater good and survival of humanity.

    I enjoyed WOL, even though in retrospect I can cringe at certain parts of how the story was told. Beyond the goal of get the artefacts and head to Char, there wasn't much to it, but the sub-plots were interesting.

  • RedSparrows #34 2 years ago

    CaptainKid - $ony LOLOLOLOL!