Gaara42, I have no stake in this stock because I don't think I have a good idea of where it will end up. But I think you are making a mistake if you are dismissing Starcraft in South Korea because of piracy and the rise of game cafes AKA PC-bangs.
First off piracy was easy way back when Starcraft first launched in 1998 as it is now. Little has changed in the arms race between the code makers and the code breakers. To say Starcraft II won't sell because of piracy doesn't make sense to me. The first Starcraft sold fine in spite of rampant piracy.
In fact the first Starcraft is really the game that broke open the South Korean software market. Before Starcraft virtually 100% of game software there was pirated. Part of the reason why piracy does not really affect Starcraft is because of the online multiplayer portion of the game. To play online competitively you must have a legitimate copy of the game. Every computer in every PC-bang that runs Starcraft must have it's own licensed copy of Starcraft.
That's the big draw of the game especially in the South Korean market where to this day, 4.5 million prime time viewers still tune in to watch matches broadcast daily by two different TV networks dedicated to gaming.
You also say that the rise in game cafes will hinder Starcraft 2 sales. But I think that the rise in game cafes acutally provides an immediate base of customers that the original Starcraft never had. The day Starcraft II is launched in South Korea, you can bet that every single PC-bang will have their copies loaded up and ready. The PC-bang that does not purchase enough copies of Starcraft II is just committing financial suicide.
Additionally growth in PC-bangs expose gaming to many people who maybe would have never have picked up a mouse in the first place. I think overall PC-bangs are a net positive to sales rather than a negative.
Honestly though I don't know how much this game will sell, but I doubt that things like piracy, game cafes, or competition will really change the numbers for this game. I believe everything once again rides on whether Blizzard can keep the decade long hot streak going and develop another AAA quality game.
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Gaara42, I have no stake in this stock because I don't think I have a good idea of where it will end up. But I think you are making a mistake if you are dismissing Starcraft in South Korea because of piracy and the rise of game cafes AKA PC-bangs.
First off piracy was easy way back when Starcraft first launched in 1998 as it is now. Little has changed in the arms race between the code makers and the code breakers. To say Starcraft II won't sell because of piracy doesn't make sense to me. The first Starcraft sold fine in spite of rampant piracy.
In fact the first Starcraft is really the game that broke open the South Korean software market. Before Starcraft virtually 100% of game software there was pirated. Part of the reason why piracy does not really affect Starcraft is because of the online multiplayer portion of the game. To play online competitively you must have a legitimate copy of the game. Every computer in every PC-bang that runs Starcraft must have it's own licensed copy of Starcraft.
That's the big draw of the game especially in the South Korean market where to this day, 4.5 million prime time viewers still tune in to watch matches broadcast daily by two different TV networks dedicated to gaming.
You also say that the rise in game cafes will hinder Starcraft 2 sales. But I think that the rise in game cafes acutally provides an immediate base of customers that the original Starcraft never had. The day Starcraft II is launched in South Korea, you can bet that every single PC-bang will have their copies loaded up and ready. The PC-bang that does not purchase enough copies of Starcraft II is just committing financial suicide.
Additionally growth in PC-bangs expose gaming to many people who maybe would have never have picked up a mouse in the first place. I think overall PC-bangs are a net positive to sales rather than a negative.
Honestly though I don't know how much this game will sell, but I doubt that things like piracy, game cafes, or competition will really change the numbers for this game. I believe everything once again rides on whether Blizzard can keep the decade long hot streak going and develop another AAA quality game.