For a release that seemed like it would never get here, Diablo III is finally set to arrive on PC in under two weeks. Â But will the grueling development process for Diablo III payoff for Blizzard? Â According to analysts, they do believe that Diablo III will put up strong numbers for Activision.
Arvind Bhatia of Sterne Agee believes that the game will have strong first year sales, and do even better in the long run, according to Industry Gamers.
“We think Diablo III, which 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.”
More importantly for Activision and Blizzard’s bottom line is the company’s jump into payment processing for in-game transactions. Â Blizzard is set to rake in 15% on sales in game, taking a transaction fee on all dealings in the real money auction house that is set to arrive shortly after the game’s launch. Â The Diablo III auction house will allow players to sell items that they earn in-game, for real cash.
