It's an RTS... I don't understand what kind of content they could possibly be putting into an RTS that would involve that amount of work. None of Blizzard's games are graphically intensive, so it's certainly not that. What are they planning? 30 to 40 hours Campaigns? Four different game modes for each race?

It sounds more like an attempt to make more money off a single game to me. They know the Blizzard Fanatics and Fanbois will buy all three of them. Why make someone pay $50 when you know they'll pay more for it? Probably going to cost $90-120 to buy all three.

This is highway robbery. Just to go through the story you need to buy all three. Lame.

The hand of Activision has been seen.

Damn.

"The hand of Activision has been seen."

Yea... it really has.

/sigh

I'll be too busy with LBP and UT3 mods to worry about this bullcrap.

My guess is that they don't get it done well balanced in time, so they split it up.

I guess that too...
This even does not look like Actvision, it would look like EA if the things were 10 games instead of 3 (Ultima Online and The-Sims I am looking to you)

Man this reeks of ripping off the customer to me. Unless they are going to sell each copy for $20, there's no way the consumer will feel validated by having to buy 3 products to get the completed whole of 1.

I guess these meatheads need to validate their 6 figure (or more) bonuses that they give out to their executives while screwing the royalties on their devs. They will make a ton of money on this because they have ever consumer bent over the table.

If each product features a similar level of content, and currently Blizzard are talking about 26-30 missions per campaign, then I don't think this will be that big of an issue. They are talking about these in terms of expansions which implies lower prices than the original. Of course none of this is confirmed so the final pricing will be interesting to see. If they are all the same price that will be an issue.

What is a concern is that there is some mention of each release featuring multiplayer upgrades, the implication clearly being that unless you get all three releases you won't get the full experience.

There's a dangerous possibility of splitting your audience there.

"Every consumer bent over the table?" No one's forcing them to buy the game, let alone buy it three times. Yeah, it's a rip-off if each installment is the full $50 (which I doubt), but if it's truly such a bad deal to consumers, then no one will buy it and Activision-Blizzard will end up hurting the most. Such is the beauty of capitalism. I love how people talk about things like microtransactions like they're "big business'" way of forcing the consumer to pay more money than they expected, when it seems obvious enough that if someone buys it, then obviously it was worth the money to them.

Wow... You guys act like you've never bought a Blizzard game before! They always come with the goodness. They have given you no reason to treat this trilogy differently than any of their other great expansions; Brood War, Frozen Throne, Burning Crusade, etc...

It says they will focus on each of the races not prevent us from using them until that respective expansion.

Sadly, I'm having to transfer this to my buy on budget/combi-pack list as my funds and time are limited. Sorry, I know Blizzard have a (Brilliant) habit of delivering a very high level of polish in their games, but the reserve cash in my bank comes first.

I already have Starcraft 1 so problem solved. It already has those 3 races and it runs on affordable normal computers - so no extra hardware required. There's no innovative content or design in Starcraft 2, just a lot of flashy FX that make video card makers happy.

The best part about not buying Starcraft 2, is that I've been bored of Starcraft 1 for more than 7 years. I think we all have been. At this point, most RTS players are even bored with Warcraft 3 - many were bored with it within the first month of its release. It was inferior to Starcraft 1 and inferior to its own mods like DOTA. Starcraft 2 will continue that trend of inferior franchise installments with an increased cost. Sweet, I think I'll buy Fable 2 instead.

Tip to Blizzard: Sell this to Korea only, America does not want your stupid, expensive, and uninventive sequel. Also - get some balls and come up with a new concept. Diablo + Warcraft + Starcraft are getting stale.

I like how this guy above me thinks he speaks for all America, how audacious. Fact of the matter is, I too may be uninterested in Starcraft II, but I'm not so closed-minded as to believe that everyone shares that opinion. The game will sell millions of copies and be adored by critics, so face facts that your opinion is just that: your opinion, and not necessarily everyone else's, so why's it worth getting so riled up about?

Well I have to say, I am incredibly relieved to hear about other people who see this for what it is, a shameless, greedy marketing ploy. You know that there are so many fanatical Blizzard fans out there that think that Blizzard can do no wrong. I really hope that this awakens them. I’ve always hated how Blizzard just milk’s their cash cows instead of producing something original but this is so ridiculously obvious that it just blows my mind. Here’s a link to an article I wrote ranting about something similar.

http://gamezig.com/game-development/originality-where-is-it

“Tip to Blizzard: Sell this to Korea only, America does not want your stupid, expensive, and uninventive sequel. Also - get some balls and come up with a new concept. Diablo + Warcraft + Starcraft are getting stale.”

My thoughts exactly!

I think its great. We get 2 expansions instead of one. Broodwars was a massive expansion with about 12 missions for each 3 races. And a few new units for each race.

At first it seems like you have to buy 3 games. But in reality, each expansion will release about 1 or 2 years after the other and may be bought as a value pack including the other, previous parts of the trilogy in the pack or, as a cheaper option, by itself. So in the end you get more Starcraft, and after 10 years its about time.

Tip to noobs: starcraft is still the best RTS and you stopped playing it 7 years ago because you are a noob.

When The Frozen Throne came out, the Orc campaign wasn't included. Eventually it was a huge three-act thing, and it looked a whole lot like a glimpse of what a Warcraft MMO might be. Unsurprisingly, it did have some similarities to what WoW would end up being. Anyway, they patched the content in with these huge updates. It was pretty cool, and it was worth the wait. Blizzard has a history of releasing good stuff. This is an unusual release, but if they're actually going to make campaigns good enough to be 30 missions long or whatever, and this stuff is all up to Blizzard's past quality requirements, then it could be really great. We could end up getting a great multiplayer game that also happens to have a ton of great campaign levels spaced out over several years.

For me, though, the biggest feature that I want is Blizzard taking a serious stance against hacking/cheating in ladder matches. Seriously, guys. Please start banning CD keys. Making a good game is a waste of time if people can just cheat.

This is too much, i mean they do it just to make more money.. The latest ive head is that Battle.net will cost extra money too!!!

http://diablo3x.com/parts-of-battle-will-cost-money

WTF comon Blizzard

Ok... Blizzard is a multi-million dollar corporation and everyone seems surprised that they're in it for the money. Of course they are. Paying designers/programmers/artists/etc... to make a game is all done for the money and (despite what most posters apparently think) not for the sole purpose of making you happy.

That said, I appreciate what blizz is doing. They're telling us, up front, what to expect from the entire sales cycle of the game. Evidently, there will be 28ish missions in each pack. That's about as many as SC1 or BW. I guess everyone expects three times the content for the same low low price. Its foolish really.

I for one just I'm glad Blizz has told us in advance what to expect, that they're offering linux support, and that they're not going to install rootkits and overzealous DRM to our machines (*cough* EA *cough*).

I really think people should stop and think before they post.

First of all, we don't really know what Starcraft II's campaign is going to be like. It may be something deeply spectacular that costs as much as a full production game would, and if so, they can hardly just package it in with the main game.

I'm not saying it is or isn't, just that people are speaking too soon.

Second, I've long thought that companies need to find a way to raise the price of great games a bit more. The amount of work and content that can be put into a game is capped as long as the price is stuck at $50 or so. Like most people, I always want more out of my games, but unlike many, I'm happy to pay for that extra. That's why I'm fully supportive of MMO subscriptions and episodic content.

Myself, I'd much rather pay $100 for a couple hundred hours of great entertainment out of a top quality RTS than buy two of your average $50 games that are each worth twenty hours of moderate enjoyment.

Before you accuse Blizzard (or Activision) of cheap tricks to make more money, wait for the game and its expansions to be released, set it side-by-side with an equal dollar value of games from any other company, and decide who's really giving you more for your money. I can't say for sure yet, but my guess is that the answer will be Blizzard.

I have outgrown my Blizzard fanaticism that I am no longer craving this game as much as I did with the first Starcraft. I'll just wait until all three comes out and the "Battle Chest" version is offered for half the price.

Probably they have to split up the single-player campaigns to three is to fit all of those cutscene videos. 3 hour of cutscenes, omg ftw bbq!

It seems they're stealing the episodic content idea from Valve, but applying it to an RTS instead of FPS. In this case, I see it as a shameless grab for more money by Blizzard. People are already getting screwed at the pumps and by the pathetic state of the economy. Now Blizzard is trying to put the screws to us too.

Blizzard doesn't need to do this. They've got Wrath of the Lich King coming out in a month and Diablo III on the way also. They don't need to pick our wallets clean. Sadly, I'm going to wait until they come out with a StarCraft II Battle Chest (or whatever they decide to call it) unless it hits the bargain bin before then.

Let the Pancake Flipping Begin! ATVI baby!

How about the following titles:
Star Tony Hawk Craft 15
WOW: Mechwarrior 3 OEM Expansion pack
WOW: Mechwarrior 3 OEM Expansion pack, Walmart only
James Bond meets Ugh Ugh
Star Tony Hawk Craft 16: Macy Perfume counter special
Call of Neferuim;s Duty: 7/11 MnM's Expansian Pack with Slurpee.

"The first of the three releases will focus on game's Terran faction, and will be subtitled Terrans: Wings of Liberty. The second and third, which executive VP of game design Rob Pardo likened to expansion packs, will be respectively entitled Zerg: Heart of the Swarm and Protoss: Legacy of the Void. An overarching storyline will spread across the titles.

Pardo revealed the strategy during BlizzCon's opening ceremonies, according to reports by Shacknews and Joystiq."

this is a classic, nobody is clever anymore except for the people who make them believe they aren't. It's clear to more then one that this is a "strategy" and one that blizzard feels fond of. Although, I do hate the idea of "releasing" 80% and "patching" to 120~%. Gives less confidence in the actual developers themselves... I mean, if your mom said hey the cake is gonna be done in 2hrs but you have to take it out in 40 min, but then bake a different piece of it right after that, then put those pieces together? wow, that sounds like a weird cake... BUT as far as the general public is concerned (the consumers...the real ones too not gamers...) they DON'T KNOW THE RECIPE! so what do they care how it looks or tastes... they already knew they were getting cake...

Because, what's the difference between a release and a patch anyway? I'm guessing you don't pay for one.

and I dislike to point people out but, why does it matter if you make your name anonymous? Isn't that the point of any electronic format besides email? (obvious generalization) and the reason I'm anonymous is because i don't get to make my name cool abbreviations and numbers without people calling me a kiddy hacker....

Well, for give my roots but... HoT^DaY/\/\! Thats a M3G4(b-_-)bU573R!1!11!

That's fine. I expected at least 2 expansions anyway. I was hoping for 1 more after Brood War, actually.

Wow, the vitriol is so thick you can cut it with a knife. I like what they are doing. AS long as the pricing is good they are not losing anything in my eyes. I could see them releasing the first game with only the Terran single player campaign but the whole multiplayer for $40-50 then releasing $20 dollar expansions that would add the other two races single player campaigns.

They said nothing about only being able to play multiplayer after owning all three disks. The first disk has all the models and sounds effects.

All the people claiming that you have to buy all three to get the whole story, are a laugh riot. You have to buy all three if you want the whole story from each race's perspective. If your don't care for the Zerg or the Protoss and their view of the story, you don't have to buy it. It does kind of suck that you are locked into having to get the Terrans but oh well. Deal with it. IF all you care about is multiplayer, then it should be fine.

What would have been even cooler is if they had released a multiplayer only version of the game as the primary game disk and then had each race's single player campaigns as add-on content. That way, you could choose which race to play the story for.

WTH are you all bitching about? Most of you will pirate it anyways...

This is like The Sims Expasion Packs...

Oh jeez, stop whining people.

If a developer took three years to develop a mega-game and it was released with bugs and bad art you'd complain.

If a developer takes the sensible approach and breaks the development up into different products, you still complain that they are trying to rip you off.

Valve have been doing it for years with Half-Life episodes, and Relic/THQ with Dawn of War expansion packs.

Get over it.

This is like The Sims Expasion Packs...
and guitar games versions
and tetris versions
and card game versions........

Anon Oct 13 @ 9:50

...You've never tried to bake a cake with multiple layers, have you.

C'mon, don't deceive yourself. You'll buy all 3 and you'll like them. Blizzard is known for their quality, and there is little doubt all 3 will be quite satisfying. I can't wait - I got to play this at Gen Con last year and it was already a highly polished and great game.