StarCraft 2 recently came out and sold one million units on day one. Analysts predict that this figure will increase somewhere between five to seven million units sold by December 2010, and those estimates are conservative. When faced with this information, people often shrug and say something to the effect of, “It’s Blizzard, what did you expect?”

Gamers are so accustomed to associating success and quality with the blue Blizzard logo that we are willing to spend money on their products without giving it too much thought, knowing that polished gameplay and high production values come with the package.

Only a minority realize that this widely accepted view is the result of a lot of money and effort spent on Blizzard’s behalf. The company pays an extraordinary amount of attention to the way it is perceived by customers and has managed its reputation so well that most of them believe Blizzard is simply unable to release a bad game.

How many of you have heard of Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans? Probably not many because this point-and-click adventure based on the Warcraft universe was canceled. After a year of intense development, magazine interviews, press tours and built-up hype, Blizzard decided that the game was just not good enough. Fans were in uproar, and an online petition to resurrect the game was formed mere hours after the announcement hit. Blizzard responded to the community but remained adamant in the company’s decision, citing that the game did not provide enough value for their customers and that the company would not sell out on the quality of their games. Continue Reading