Starcraft II - Why Activision-Blizzard's Decision Makes Sense

Although PC gaming is normally not my forte (this has been, for over two years, a console-centric blog), I felt that this topic was worth commenting on anyhoot.

Yesterday Activision-Blizzard announced that Starcraft II will be released in three separate, possibly full priced segments. The last game contained all of the separate story lines in one box, but this time Activision-Blizzard will split them up because they feel that each version is a full game in its own.

Of course, they're just different paths of the same title. This has drove gaming forums across the 'net into a frenzy, with angry gamers claiming that Activision-Blizzard is selling out its loyal fan base and milking the fans for all they're worth.

However, I have to commend Activision-Blizzard for making such a smart business decision. Blizzard obviously knows that the people yelling the loudest will purchase the product anyway - they'll bitch and moan now but will be there on each individual Starcraft II launch to purchase all three separate versions. After all, years ago Xbox 360 gamers whined and complained about downloadable content and how developers were going to charge for features that normally would be free, but they went on to purchase it anyway. And wasn't everyone supposed to boycott the evil, faceless, money-grubbing corporation known as EA at one point or another?

Gaming is a business, and game companies will always been looking for crafty new ways to make money. Hey, what Blizzard is doing now is not much different from what Nintendo does with each major Pokemon release - seperate versions of the same title. And every time they do that the games sell like hot cakes.

End of story.