Blizzard Dropped Over $100 Million On StarCraft II

[.Ricks.]

100 mil for an RTS? Ok, those campaign cinematics must be fucking insane...

You know they'll be. Chris Metzen said the final cutscene of the game is the best in a Blizzard title yet and that he's proud of it.

Whoa, source? That is one hell of a claim from Mr. Metzen.

Because let's face it, topping Arthas' Betrayal is one tall order.

I agree, Arthas' Betrayal is going to remain in my memory for ever. I don't remember where I read it I'll try to find it and post a link.

Edit: Found it. Although I have to apologize, what he said isn't that it was the best, no such claim. I mean just as you said Arthas' Betrayal isn't easy to beat but what he said was "He considers the ending of the game to be one of his favorite moments out of all the work he's done at Blizzard Entertainment."

I read this on the SC Wiki. If it's a reliable source or not I don't know... anyway here is the link, scroll down to the Trivia section.

Hopefully there's an interview somewhere with his words if they do exist.

[link]http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/StarCraft_II:_Wings_of_Liberty#Trivia[/link]

 

[Nazulu]

WOW! I didn't expect it to go that far. When you say to yourself "one hundred million was poured into this game", you expect it to be great.

I'm sure they'll have no problem making it back, this things been hyped to death.

I'm going to play starcraft 1 until it's cheap.

Take that blizzard! Pull this crap on diablo again and I'll boycott you for good!

Pull this crap?

...spending lots of money and time on a game until it's great? That's kind of their schtick you know.

Or did you mean the $60 price (which was also for WC3 and Diablo 2) and expansions (which every Blizzard game has had)?

SC1 is a great game to play tho

Yeah the money and seperate campaigns don't bother me, but this kinda does - http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=127066

 

[Galaxy613]

I can not WAIT for the Single player campaign! I did the Multiplayer Beta but the highly competitive atmosphere wasn't my cup of tea.

 

[Carnagath]

100 mil for an RTS? Ok, those campaign cinematics must be fucking insane...

You know they'll be. Chris Metzen said the final cutscene of the game is the best in a Blizzard title yet and that he's proud of it.

Whoa, source? That is one hell of a claim from Mr. Metzen.

Because let's face it, topping Arthas' Betrayal is one tall order.

It wouldn't surprise me at all. If the music is anything to go by, they did manage to surpass all their previous games by far. The main theme of Wings of Liberty is one of the most brilliant compositions I have heard in gaming, it nearly had me in tears when I first heard it. The way it manages to weave together 3 different themes from Starcraft 1 and add so much to them in one final composition is a strong indication of the whole mentality behind the game's design for me.

Linking it for those who haven't played the Beta (and for those who are in too much of a hurry to play that they never listened to it as a whole).


And from the comments:

Good old Starcraft main theme at 0:10. Tassadar's sacrifice theme at 3:30. DuGalle theme at 5:10.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

I wonder what a $200 million game would be like?

Starcraft 2 might actually be that game as well. Battle.net 2 must cost some money to maintain, and the hard balancing act Blizzard to do across three very different races and lots of units has and will require tons of updates, patches, and other money spendings. And to get Battle.Net 2 fixed, it will take a LOT of effort.

 

[Klepa]

I know that for games like GTA4 and anything BioWare does, the voice acting is a HUGE part of the budget. Obviously it'll be less so in this game, though.

I'll complement the notion of voice acting being expensive. Back when Warhammer Online was still in development, Mythic didn't have the money to do any kind of professional voice acting, until EA bought them. It was stated in one of their monthly podcasts, when the game was still in development.

But anyways, does that mean SC2 is the most expensive game of all time?
According to this site [http://most-expensive.net/video-game], and a Finnish gaming magazine, GTAIV is the most expensive game to date, with a $100 million budget. I guess congratulations are in order.. or something.

 

[Tehlanna TPX]

God so fucking tired of hearing "WAHHHH KOTICK" this and "waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh KOTICK" that. Seriously, drop it.

Research past installments of Blizzard's flagship titles and you will see that that's how they do things.

And for god's sake can we get a new arch-villain in the gaming industry? This Kotick crap has been beaten to death to the point where I'm getting the urge to defend him. Which is scary.

It's like Obama for Republicans/Bush for Dems. GET OVER IT.

OT: Not at all surprised that they spent so much on SC2. I think it shows, and I think the 'risk' (lol if anyone thinks they took that big of a risk doing sc2..) will be well worth it in the end. Can't wait till my CE gets here .

 

[mythgraven]

"Blizzard dropped 100 Million on SC2!"

But you, the comsumer, can aquire it for just 3 easy payments of $59.99 (US)! Call now, and we'll throw in some dubious comments about the possibility of charging for BN connectivity!

Thats like paying for 1 game at the cost of 3! Operators are standing by to take your order!


But no, seriously. It might have cost less, had they constructed additional pylons. Everyone knows that.


Whiskey Echo!!
Mythgraven

 

[Worgen]

Im torn between wanting it to fail miserably and wanting it to succeed for no other reason then to shut up the people who keep saying pc gaming is dying

 

[lewism247]

I think it'll easily turn a profit. They've got 3 big places for income to come from :

1.Starcraft fans

2.World of warcraft fans

3.RTS fans

This plus Korea's love of the first game means big sales.

I would think about getting it myself were it no the knowledge that I get my ass handed to me every game.

 

[mattaui]

I remember back when the first game to spend over a million dollars was Wing Commander II or some such, one of Origin's games. Sigh, I remember Origin and loved them, and whatever the guy currently occupying Lord British's body did with him, I'd really like him back.

Anyway, $100 million doesn't surprise me, considering what they spend of some really godawful movies these days. I'm curious as to what they've spent on World of Warcraft so far, for that matter. It's got to be more than that.

 

[qazmatoz]

I don't understand how development for an RTS could possible cost that much. Someone explain, please.

 

[Biodisaster]

100 mil for an RTS? Ok, those campaign cinematics must be fucking insane...

You know they'll be. Chris Metzen said the final cutscene of the game is the best in a Blizzard title yet and that he's proud of it.

Whoa, source? That is one hell of a claim from Mr. Metzen.

Because let's face it, topping Arthas' Betrayal is one tall order.

^This. Especially when you consider the atmosphere it added for future incarnations of it.

But I'm also extremely biased in the matter.

 

[Lamppenkeyboard]

That is pretty fucking crazy!

I will not be getting the game I must say, I am probably going to end up waiting for the next two parts of the game to get released and get them all at once. Or see if they toss us a bundle pack.

 

[TheBaron87]

Suggesting the Starcraft's quality has anything to do with its budget is what's wrong with gaming and Blizzard in particular... -_-

EDIT: All this love for Arthas' betrayal, have you all forgotten the far, FAR more memorable Inauguration?

 

[Thick]

I suppose I don't know what to expect since I don't know what 100mil will get you, but I am kind of surprised that number isn't larger.

I mean, I can imagine WoW spending that sort of money on making a boat out of frozen money.

I'm strongly considering buying it, dependent on whether or not I can prepare my brain for strategies more complex than "make huge army and destroy everything" and prepare my spirit for the savage beatings I would take if I ever tried multiplayer.

 

[Lt. Vinciti]

"described StarCraft II as one of the company's seven "pillars of opportunity," which could each provide more than $500 million and up to even $1 billion in profit over the total product life span."

Guess What!

Blizzard just bought North and South Korea....and maybe they can buy Activision...?

 

[Biodisaster]

Blizzard just bought North and South Korea....and maybe they can buy Activision...?

Hahahahahaha.

I see what you did there. Good show.