Blizzard Announces Starcraft II

Blizzard announced over the weekend that they were working on a sequel to Starcraft, arguably one of the most popular and bestselling games ever made. The game pits the human race against other 2 alien races in a futuristic setting. Having sold 9.5 million copies of the game since 1998, Starcraft has become so popular in Korea that it's competitions are nationally televised events. The winners of the competitions are glorified and idolized like movie stars. Lim Yo Han, the current champion of Korea, is a national celebrity who makes thousands of dollars signing contracts with various advertising agencies.

The presentation of Starcraft II was given in packed gymnasium in Seoul, Korea. Fans were treated to a cinematic trailer and gameplay demo by the Blizzard team. Fans cheered after each appropriate pause during the announcement and were pleased by the demo.

"The graphics of StarCraft II seems so much better," said Kim Young Chul according to The New York Times. "No, I don't play the World of Warcraft or Warcraft 3. Only StarCraft."World of Warcraft, one of Blizzard's smash hit games, has more than 8 million subscribers who pay about $10 a month in order to continue in updated online play. Blizzard has created a billion dollar industry on desktop PC games. It's other hits include Diablo and Warcraft.

The release date for Starcraft II was not given, but company executives said the game would not be released this year. The platform for the game will be the PC and the MAC. Talk about the pressure on Blizzard to create a successful sequel that wouldn't disappoint diehard fans was addressed by several Blizzard representatives:

From the Digital Spy:
"With StarCraft II, we'll be able to do everything we wanted to do with the original StarCraft and more," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We recognize that expectations are high following the long-running popularity of the original game, but we plan to meet those expectations and deliver an engaging, action-packed, competitive experience that StarCraft players and strategy gamers worldwide will enjoy."

From The New York Times:
"We are going to take real-time strategy games farther than we have in the past and farther than anyone else has in the market," Paul Sams, Blizzard's chief operating officer, said in an interview.

Sources:
David Gibbon, "Blizzard Reveals 'Starcraft II.'" The Digital Spy.
URL:
(http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/a58072/blizzard-reveal-starcraft-ii.html)

Seth Schiesel, "To the Glee of South Korean Fans, a Game's Sequel Is Announced." The New York Times.
URL:
(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/21/technology/21warcraft.html?ref=business)