The difference is that Reach will top off and die out. SC2 will sell for all eternity.

Okay so merger wasn't the correct term, as that would imply cooperation from both sides in order to make it a reality. The point I was trying to come across is that the canyon between PC and console gaming from 2 gens ago has shriveled into a crack. Next generation it will only be a 'fine-line', when you can start installing various apps and programs onto consoles that'll make them even more PC like. USB PC peripherals will be easily adapted to consoles. Computer mouses will be extremely plug-n-play. Operating systems will evolve into something more PC-like. That fine-line between next-gen consoles and PCs may completely disappear 2 gens from now.

I mean, look at cell phones. 7-8 years ago, they could call and text. Now they can browse the web, have apps installed on them, pick up Wifi signals, etc. Even THEY are becoming more PC-like. Smart phones 5 years from now will be able to do almost ANYTHING your PC can do now. Even the Ipod can now browse the web and play games. 

Reach will easily sell for more than 6 months with a $59.99 pricetag. While Starcraft 2 will make a big part of the sales sales with a <$30 pricetag. I will pick my copy during slow summer months 2011 for $19.99.

That is why a Halo 3 had the biggest launch in entertainmet industry ever in 2007 (topped by Harry Potter book, topped by Modern Warfare 2 later) I can't remember a PC game ever being close to achieve this. Frontloaded sales are not always a bad thing as long as you get the most money in the early months.

You're out of your mind. Starcraft 2 won't drop price for at least a full year. It's a fucking Blizzard game.

Microsoft also spent dozens of millions of dollars just to market it, not even mentioning the fact that Halo 3 had a huge budget. Console games have a much, much lower margin of profit, and the necessary millions spent on marketing makes the console industry only viable to big budget games, which is why you won't see small, independent developers making retail games anymore there.

And it's funny that you mentioned MW2, because only 30% of Activision's profit comes from consoles. Where do you think the rest is from?

The 3mil figure does not include Korean version. Starcraft 2 is still in Open Beta in Korea. It will lauch arround mid september so I espect sale numbers do double  by around the mid of october.

Funniest thing, I've read on this forum today.  Thanks for the laugh.  Veteran PC gamers know that Blizzard, like Nintendo do not drop the prices on their games nearly as quickly as other developers.  Look at the retail price of SMG today versus release date.  That is what you can expect from Blizzard.  I see no more than a $10 drop in a 1 year span.

Reach may sell more units at $60, but the profit realized by SC2 will DWARF its profit output.  That is what really matters in business.

dirtyP, just.....just stop.

You're making up numbers and trying to compare halo to starcraft, presumably, because 360 is the greatest console of all time (AMIRITE?).

Starcraft 2 will go down to 19.99 if a company is stupid enough to take a loss on a product that will sell for double that.

This is how it has always worked for blizzard game series.

The first game comes out. Stays at full price for 6 months . Then it goes down to like 45 and stays there for a while,. at most, dropping to 39.99.

Then the expansion comes out priced at 40$ and a bundle with a guide releases for 65-70$. Over the next year the bundle comes down to 50, and both games go down to 30$.

There it stays for a while. There might be some special sales, but the price hovers around 30$. Then the second expansion comes out. The original goes down to 20 $, and the first exp sells for 20$ and the second expansion sells for 40. The bundle sells for 40. They then release something like a "warchest" with both expansions, the game, and an artbook and strategy guide, maybe 2. That sells for 70 $

You do realize that starcraft 1 with the expansion is STILL 19.99$ right? After 10 years.

I bought Warcraft 3 with TFT for 19.99 in 2006.

I thought it was a 2003 (RoC) and a 2004 (TFT) game, but I was wrong. it is 2002 / 2003.

So 3 years later I picked both up for 19.99€. I might have to pay 10€ more than that.

And Shio could you please tell me where you get the 30% number from?

According to the latest annual financial report it the PC business is very small for Activision (excluding the MMORPG / WoW)

Here are the numbers (revenue):

1. Xbox 360 with 857 million USD
2. PS3 with 584 million USD
3. Wii with 584 million USD
4. PS2 with 174 million USD
5. PC with  164 million USD

PC PLUS MMORPG = 1412 million USD
consoles = 2199 million USD
Handhelds = 244 million USD

It might be that the MMORPG part makes more profit than consoles, but it is no big news that WoW is big. The rest of the PC business is pretty small as you can see at the numbers above. That is what I am saying for some time now. The PC business is mainly MMOs or facebook games. There is steam, which is a profitable platform for Valve and a good way to distribute your games, but since iD, Epic and Valve are making console games, the PC business is hurt.

I don't want to troll, these are just my thoughts.

How many games that have been worth playing did Activision release on the PC? I count 0. The only one worth playing buying has been WoW and Starcraft 2. Seems to me that the PC single-handedly beats 360 and the PS3 when fairly matched. MW2 was a crappy game, with crappy implementation, so I really don't knwo what they expected. Funny how Blizzard and Valve are doign a-ok on the PC by itself.

That was 2009 my friend.

AFAIK:

• Prototype
• X-Men Origins Wolverine
• Modern Warfare 2
• Monsters vs Aliens
• Wolfenstein

All those games combined made a revenue of 164 million USD on PC. And the HD cosnoels saw the exact same games and made a revenue of 1441 million. So how does the PC beat PS3 / Xbox 360 without the MMOs?