With Diablo III all set for a May 15 launch, analysts have projected that the game is expected to ship at 3.5 million units this year.
"We think Diablo III, which is releasing after a gap of 12 years since the launch of Diablo II, has the potential to sell more than 4 million units life-time. We note that Diablo II had sold 4M units by August 2001 or 14 months following its initial release in June 2010," said Arvind Bhatia, Sterne Agee and as reported in GamesIndustry.biz.
Diablo II which was released in 2000 sold over 4 million units in its first 14 months and the new sequel is a much better game in regards to its performance.
One of the great aspects of Diablo 3 is how the game stays true to its foundational roots. Game development company Blizzard, integrated new graphics, classes, characters, and improved online features into its latest title, but the overall gameplay remains intact.
An example can be seen through the game's static isometric camera view. With modern games, camera views can be manipulated, zoomed, and pan according to the player's wishes. But in Diablo 3, developers kept the same camera view in place as it has for past Diablo titles.
The game is a sequel to Diablo II and is a fantasy/horror-themed action role-playing game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. Diablo III is the third series in the Diablo franchise featuring hack and slash and dungeon crawl genres.
For the first time in the game's series, developers has come up with two versions of the auction house system which are gold-based auction house and real-money action house in Diablo II. In this auction house system, nominal transaction fee will be deducted from the seller if the item that has been put up on auction is sold.
Coming back after 12 years, developers with the auction house system maybe in order to win back their loyal gamers and attract more fans and customers.
For the first time in the game's series, Diablo III has come up with two versions of the auction house system which are gold-based auction house and real-money action house. In this auction house system, nominal transaction fee will be deducted from the seller if the item that has been put up on auction is sold.
"Blizzard seems to think they've got a blockbuster on their hands, too. They've been advertising D3 like crazy on the web and on television. They're planning to launch the game simultaneously in multiple countries on May 15th, with several midnight events to mark the occasion," writes CinemaBlend.
Fans can join the party as they wait for the release of the game and avail special promotions including 30% off all used video games, video game accessories, books, and CDs during the midnight release party on 14th May as per the press release by Hastings Entertainment, multimedia entertainment superstore retailer.
This is also way of increasing the sales of the game to the fans who are waiting for its release. The game will be released on May 15 in North America and Europe and on June 7, 2012 in Latin American countries and Russia.
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