Gaming News - August 2003

Irvine, CA (August 14, 2003) - Blizzard Entertainment announced today that Warcraft III: The Frozen Throneä has surpassed 1 million units sold worldwide, according to EDI sell-through, internal company estimates, and reports from key retail accounts around the world.

From Blizzard Entertainment:

Following in the tradition of previous Blizzard games, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne is now the eighth Blizzard product to sell 1 million copies and also to reach #1 in U.S. sales. The game, which began shipping on July 1, is topping PC sales charts in North America, Europe, and Asia.

"We are very excited about the worldwide demand for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne," stated Mike Morhaime, Blizzard Entertainment president and co-founder. "We put a lot of effort into giving players more of everything that Warcraftâ III: Reign of Chaosä offered, in addition to a host of new features, and the expansion set's popularity tells us that our long hours and hard work have paid off."

"Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne is one of the largest PC expansion set releases for us since Diablo II: Lord of Destruction in June 2001. We had high expectations for The Frozen Throne, and it's turned out to be a solid hit," stated Bob McKenzie, director of merchandising for GameStop, Babbages, Software Etc., and FuncoLand. "From what we've seen with previous Warcraft products and other Blizzard games, we expect Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne to remain on the top-10 lists for sometime to come."

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne provides gamers with a vast new chapter in the epic Warcraft saga. In the single-player campaigns, players revisit the war-torn world of Azeroth. Several months have passed since Archimonde and the Burning Legion were defeated at the battle of Mount Hyjal, but now a new evil threatens to plunge Azeroth into darkness once again.

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne expands on every aspect of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, with new Heroes, monsters, magical items, merchant shops, tilesets, over 20 new missions for the single-player campaigns, a bonus RPG-style mini-campaign, and an enhanced user interface designed to give players more control than ever before. Players will also be pleased to find that each army has been bolstered with powerful new units that add even more depth and strategic elements to the Warcraft III experience. Expanded multiplayer options include support for automated tournaments, extensive clan support, and many new maps to explore and do battle on. The game's powerful World Editor has also received significant enhancements, including the ability to link maps together to create custom campaigns.

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne brings all of these new features and enhancements to the fastest-selling PC game ever*, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. To date, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos has sold well over 3 million copies worldwide*. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne is available at retail chains worldwide for Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP and Macintosh® formats, at a price of approximately $35.00. The game is also available directly from Blizzard at (800) 953-SNOW and www.blizzard.com. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne has received a Teen rating from the ESRB.

Since its debut in 1994, the #1-selling Warcraft series has won industry acclaim and has shattered sales records worldwide with over eight million copies sold. In 1995, Blizzard followed the well-received Warcraft: Orcs and HumansÔ with the critically acclaimed Warcraft II: Tides of DarknessÔ, which won multiple Game of the Year awards and is still considered by many critics to be one of the best games ever made. In 2002, Blizzard expanded the boundaries of the epic Warcraft universe with the release of Warcraft III: Reign of ChaosÔ. This third chapter in the legendary saga quickly reached the #1 position on sales charts around the world and has since garnered numerous Game of the Year awards.

Best known for blockbuster hits including the Warcraft series, StarCraftâ, and the Diabloâ series, Blizzard Entertainment (www.blizzard.com), a division of Vivendi Universal Games, 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 eight #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's free Internet gaming service Battle.netâ reigns as the largest in the world, with millions of active users.

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