We usually don’t hold too much stock in industry analyst predictions, but there is probably some truth in the latest comments from analysts Cowen & Company who predict that Diablo 3 will sell 5 million units in the first year.
Cowen analyst Doug Creutz has predicted that the sales figures will be boosted by 1 million thanks to the World of Warcraft Annual Pass scheme Blizzard put in place. Creutz has stated that Activision’s strong line-up of titles which includes the WoW and SC expansions, Diablo 3 and CoD will boost Activision’s shares.
Since 1996, the Diablo franchise has sold more than 20 million units so the 5 million figure for Diablo 3 should be attainable if Blizzard get the marketing and promotion right.
This prediction is also the same as Michael Pachter’s back in May 2010.
Source: Gamasutra via RPGReporter.