Think those folks who play the World of Warcraft massively multiplayer online role-playing game until all hours of the morning are weird, sure, but not exactly threatening because, like, there can’t be that many of them? Think again: Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade has set a new one-day sales record for a PC game in North America and Europe, having sold nearly 2.4 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability.
According to Blizzard, nearly 1.2 million units were sold in in North America, complemented by more than 1.1 million in Europe. The company says they supplied more than 4 million copies to retailers in time for launch, and more than 5,000 stores around the world opened their doors at midnight to slake the appetites of rabid World of Warcraft fans. By the end of the first day of availability, more than 1.7 million players had logged on and upgraded World of Warcraft to play The Burning Crusade.
“The Burning Crusade has already exceeded even our most ambitious expectations,” said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re pleased that so many players are eager to see all of the new content that the expansion has to offer, and we look forward to seeing everyone online as additional players continue to upgrade in the days ahead.”
The Burning Crusade is the first major expansion to the popular World of Warcraft online game; Blizzard says more than 8 million players around the world play World of Warcraft, with more than 2 million players in North America and 1.5 million players in Europe.
