WoW: 2.4 million Burning Crusade copies sold in 24 hours
According to Blizzard, and based on reports from select distributors, 2.4 million copies of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade were sold worldwide in the expansion set's first 24 hours at retail. With an estimated combined total of 2.3 million copies sold in North America and Europe, Burning Crusade has become the fastest-selling PC "game" (it's technically an expansion) ever in the two regions. Despite lines forming, overcrowding, and server instability, 1.7 million North American and European players managed to log in and upgrade to Burning Crusade status by the end of the first day (just hours before Gullerbone reached level 70).
The worldwide release, which also included Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, followed by Australia and New Zealand, was not without its distribution blunders. Romania, home to more than 10,000 WoW account holders, was sent a mere 1,600 copies of the expansion (even though Blizzard supplied roughly 4 million copies worldwide). Still, the launch marks a great, albeit anticipated success for Blizzard, and will no doubt drive WoW's dominance for months to come.
