NPD: Dawn of War II topples the Lich King in first week
As reported last week by GI.biz, the NPD Group revealed THQ's new RTS, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, had topped PC sales for the week ending February 21 -- knocking World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King down to second place in the process. We'd analyze the data ... only there is no data to analyze; the NPD Group didn't include unit sales on its list. So, the lingering question remains: Is Dawn of War II a new trend in PC sales or was this simply a surge for a new -- and anticipated -- title?
That's a question which can't be answered until new data -- hopefully with numbers -- shows us second-week sales of the game. THQ is in dire need of a cash injection after a February announcement in which company announced plans to axe 600 jobs and analyst rumblings it has a 50% chance of bankruptcy. However, after a week's worth of sales and toppling the current (Lich) king of the PC market, it is possible that the publisher may not have such "mediocre product" as analyst Mike Hickey once theorized -- and, if all else fails, it could always unleash 50 Cent.
