World of Warcraft
"World of Warcraft" was first announced by Blizzard at the ECTS trade show in September 2001. Released in 2004, development of the game took roughly 4–5 years, including extensive testing. The 3D graphics in "World of Warcraft" use elements of the proprietary graphics engine originally used in "Warcraft III". The game was designed to be an open environment where players are allowed to do what they please. Quests are optional and were designed to help guide players, allow character development, and to spread characters across different zones to try to avoid what developers called "player collision". The game interface allows players to customize appearance and controls, and to install add-ons and other modifications.
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
"Warcraft II" debuted at #2 on PC Data's monthly computer game sales chart for December 1995, behind "Myst". It held the spot in January 1996, but dropped to #3 in its third month. The game stayed in PC Data's top 3 from April through October, securing first place in April, August and September. After falling to #5 in November, it exited the top 10 the following month. "Warcraft II" achieved worldwide sales of 500,000 units within three months of release, and of over 1.2 million by November. This made it the world's most commercially successful computer game of the year as of November, according to PC Data. In the United States, it was the second-best-selling computer game of 1996, again behind "Myst". The game sold 835,680 copies and earned $34.5 million in the region for the year. To capitalize on this success, Blizzard released the "Warcraft Battlechest" on November 11, which bundled "Warcraft: Orcs & Humans" with "Warcraft II" and the "Into the Dark Portal" add-on.