Um, I hate to burst your bubble, but Starcraft II looks like an expansion pack for Starcraft (with prettier graphics I spose)

That said, I don't think Halo Wars will be great.

No, the best RTS in 2009 will be a surprise. If BFME3 is released in 09 then we have a clear winner

I think he was referring to Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot 1. But I'm wondering which Crash game you think is better than a Mario game.

As iv never played starcraft i dont know how it is, but i have played AOE AOM and they are amazing games and it halo wars is anything like them, I belive it will be a better game. However knowing the popularity of star it will by far sell the most copies.

Ok, we are talking RTS now, so I will chime in again on RTS and general and the specific question here.
1. Want to talk underrated RTS titles, well, I have two series for people to consider: Kohan and Warlords: Battlecry. Kohan does things more strategically, and offers some great twists to things. And Warlords: Battlecry well, it provides more of everything and a better interface. Plus throw in a persistent hero. And there are a LOT of factions. Both games are sprite based, rather than polygons (ok, last Kohan used polygons), but if people hype Starcraft still, then Battlecry and Kohan should be looked at. Oh yes, and the AI is good in both series.
2. Starcraft 2 is now set to be a trilogy, with each faction getting its own full campaign.
3. As far as sales and whatnot goes, I would expect Starcraft 2 to outsell Halo Wars. HOWEVER, if Halo Wars does for RTS what Halo did for FPS, expect Halo Wars to be looked back as much more of a groundbreaking title than Starcraft 2. Not sure how exactly Starcraft 2 is going to redefine or expand the RTS genre at all. It will likely sell great, but not be genre defining. What Halo Wars has the chance to do is put RTS on the map on consoles the way it has never been done before. And, once that happens, look for RTS to start leaving the PC market the way FPS has. Oh, it will still be there, but the top production titles will appear on consoles.

So, Halo Wars wins the war, while Starcraft II wins the sales battle.

Age of Empires 2 sold 2 million copies only 3 months after release.  The Age of Empires series has sold over 20 million copies.

Age of Empires series was designed because someone wanted to play Warcraft with random maps and decided to wrap it in a historical motif to be different.

Vlad, he was reffering to the fact that Halo 3 sales will see a boost once the expansion 'drops'(get it).

Duh.

Also, it will see a boost when the retail price of Halo 3 drops.  It is still $59.99.  So Halo 3 has sold 9 million at $60 at the least with a lot selling at more than that.

SC2 hands down. I'm a big Halo fan, and and a big RTS fan, and I can say there's no way Halo Wars will be as good as SC2. I'm looking forward to both, and they're 2 of my 3 most anticipated games of the year, but I can say objectively that

1) PC is theconsole of choice for RTS, no question. A mouse and keyboard offer the best RTS experience, noone disagrees with this.

2) Blizzard are the undisputed Kings of RTS. King may not even be a strong enough title. Whoever kings answer to, that is what Blizzard is to RTS games.

In short, even if Ensemble does RTS the best it possibly can be done on a console, Sc2, without innovation, just updated to what is expected of 2009, will be better. That said, if Halo Wars comes out for the PC as well, maybe it can give SC a run for its money. Not sales wise, of course. The Blizzard name + StarCraft reputation will ensure SC2 sells obscene amounts. But Halo Wars has the potential to be a better experience on the PC. (But doubtful)

Also, for those who think that Starcraft is so incredibly better than the AOE series. AOE 2 is at 92% and Starcraft is at 93% on GameRankings.

I think sales wise there will probably be no debate that StarCraft II should beat Halo Wars as for which would be better quality wise that is yet to be seen but I definitely wish for StarCraft