Diablo II: Lord
of Destruction Shatters Sales Records Worldwide
With Over 1 Million Copies Sold; Vast New Product
Becomes Fastest Selling Expansion Set Ever
Blizzard
Entertainment(R) today announced that Diablo(R)
II: Lord of Destruction(TM) has surpassed 1
million units sold worldwide, according to NPD
INTELECT(a) and key retail accounts from around
the world.
More
than 2 million units of the game have been
shipped to retail to satisfy demand for the
fastest selling expansion set in PC game
history(a).
Following
in the tradition of other Blizzard titles, Diablo
II: Lord of Destruction becomes not only the
sixth Blizzard product to sell 1 million copies,
but also to reach No. 1 in U.S. sales. The
expansion, which shipped on June 29, is topping
most PC sales charts in North America, Europe and
Asia.
In
its first week alone, the game captured a record
17.7% of total U.S. PC game market share, also
according to NPD INTELECT(a).
"We
are very pleased by the worldwide demand for
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction," stated Mike
Morhaime, Blizzard Entertainment president and
co-founder. "We worked very hard on
increasing the gameplay and depth of Diablo II
and the expansion's popularity is confirmation
that our long hours and hard work have paid
off."
"Diablo
II: Lord of Destruction has enjoyed a stellar
debut at retail," stated Bob McKenzie,
director of merchandising for Babbages, Software
Etc. & GameStop.com. "Sales of the
expansion have rivaled those of the Diablo II and
based on our experiences with the previous Diablo
products, we expect Diablo II: Lord of
Destruction to remain a top seller throughout the
year," added McKenzie.
In
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, players travel to
the Barbarian Highlands of the North in pursuit
of Baal, the last surviving Prime Evil. Traveling
with a horrific army of demonic minions, Baal
plots to corrupt the powerful Worldstone that
protects the whole of the mortal plane from the
forces of Hell, thus damning the world for all
eternity.
Key
features of the expansion include two new
character classes, the Assassin and the Druid,
each equipped with 30 unique skills and spells.
Players will also enjoy the opportunity to take
their veteran Diablo II characters on the new
quests found in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction.
A
new Act set in the Barbarian Highlands, complete
with 6 new quests and hours of further
challenges, unfolds as players strive to stop
Baal and his followers from destroying the world.
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction also features
support for 800x600 resolution, giving the player
a larger field of view and superlative graphic
detail.
Debuting
in June, 2000 Diablo II has dominated PC game
charts with sales of 4 million copies worldwide
according to NPD INTELECT(a) and key retail
accounts around the world. The game has also been
awarded several accolades including the
prestigious Computer Game of the Year, Computer
Role Playing Game of the Year and Game of the
Year for 2001 by the Academy of Interactive Arts
and Sciences.
When
the original Diablo was released in 1997, it was
considered a critical success and reached number
one on NPD INTELECT(a) during its first month in
stores. The game has sold in excess of 2.5
million copies worldwide and was honored as the
number-one selling computer role-playing game in
1997 as well as being named Game of the Year by
Computer Gaming World.
Diablo
II: Lord of Destruction was developed by the
Blizzard North design team and supports
Windows(R)95/98/2000/XP/NT and Macintosh(R)
formats. The hybrid Macintosh format is currently
available in English and Japanese language
versions. A retail copy of Diablo II is required
to play Diablo II: Lord of Destruction.
Available
at most computer and software retail chains
worldwide, the expansion set is selling for
approximately $35. The game is also offered
directly from Blizzard at 800/953-SNOW and www.blizzard.com. The game has
received a Mature rating from the ESRB.
Best
known for blockbuster hits including the
Warcraft(R) series, StarCraft(R) and Diablo(R)
series, Blizzard Entertainment(R) (www.blizzard.com), (a division of
Vivendi Universal Interactive Inc.) is a premier
developer and publisher of entertainment software
renowned for creating many of the industry's most
critically acclaimed games.
Blizzard's
track record includes six number-one selling
games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The
company's free Internet gaming service
Battle.net(R) reigns as the largest in the world
with millions of active users.
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