Burning Crusade lights up '07 PC sales chart

Expansion to World of Warcraft sells 2.25 million copies at US retail, original game comes in second with 914,000 sold.

The industry-tracking NPD Group released its list of the best-selling PC games of 2007 at US retailers today, and it's no surprise which title topped the list. With Blizzard's World of Warcraft expansion The Burning Crusade selling 2.4 million copies worldwide in its first 24 hours on sale last January, the game was an instant hit internationally. It did well in the US as well, as the NPD Group's data shows the game moving 2.25 million copies at domestic retailers for the full year.

The Burning Crusade's parent product also proved a hot seller, as the massively multiplayer online role-playing game sensation World of Warcraft was the next best-selling title of the year, with 914,000 sales to its name. Blizzard's genre-dominating MMO debuted in 2004 and has been a frequent resident on the best-sellers charts since its release.

Another 2004 smash hit proved its lasting appeal, as Electronic Arts' The Sims 2 and its expansions claimed four spots on the top 10. The Seasons expansion pack was third, followed by the original Sims 2 in seventh, the Bon Voyage expansion pack at eight, and the Sims 2 Pets expansion at the 10 spot. EA wasn't content with those hits, as another Sim title, Sim City 4 Deluxe, placed sixth on the charts, and the publisher's Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars was fifth overall.

That left just two spots in the top 10 for publishers not named EA or Blizzard. Activision claimed the fourth position on the charts with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, while Microsoft made it into ninth place with the 2005 real-time strategy game Age of Empires III.

Best-selling PC Games of 2007, by units sold
1. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack--Vivendi Games--2.25 million
2. World of Warcraft--Vivendi Games--914,000
3. The Sims 2: Seasons Expansion Pack--Electronic Arts--433,000
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare--Activision--383,000
5. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars--Electronic Arts--343,000
6. Sim City 4 Deluxe--Electronic Arts--284,000
7. The Sims 2--Electronic Arts--281,000
8. The Sims 2: Bon Voyage Expansion Pack--Electronic Arts--271,000
9. Age of Empires III--Microsoft--259,000
10. The Sims 2: Pets Expansion Pack--Electronic Arts--236,000

[UPDATE]: The NPD Group has since issued a corrected list of the best-selling PC games of the year. No explanation for the erroneous list was provided, but the changes are mostly slight; The Sims 2 jumped from seventh to third, and its Pets Expansion Pack fell off the charts entirely, replaced by Microsoft Flight Simulator X. The revised list is below:

Best-selling PC Games of 2007, by units sold
1. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack--Vivendi Games--2.25 million
2. World of Warcraft--Vivendi Games--914,000
3. The Sims 2--Electronic Arts--534,000
4. The Sims 2: Seasons Expansion Pack--Electronic Arts--433,000
5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare--Activision--383,000
6. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars--Electronic Arts--350,000
7. Age of Empires III--Microsoft--313,000
8. Sim City 4--Electronic Arts--294,000
9. Flight Simulator X--Microsoft--280,000
10. The Sims 2: Bon Voyage Expansion Pack--Electronic Arts--272,000

73 Comments

  • Diernes

    Posted Jan 28, 2008 8:36 pm PT

    perfect example that illustrates that although a game/movie/musical artist is popular this doesnt nessarily mean its the best or even good for that matter.

    Just like Britney Spears

    Wow is a yawn fest....

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted Jan 28, 2008 1:00 pm PT

    I will eventually get this game, maybe later this year

  • cardshark86

    Posted Jan 28, 2008 12:36 pm PT

    I resisted WoW until 2 weeks. I'm not a huge RPG fan, but decided to give it a shot as there isn't anything on my radar for like 2/5 months (Assassins Creed, R6 Vegas 2, and Far Cry 2.) I have to admit its great. Which is saying something for a game thats going on 3 years old!

    I can't say I'm not supprised to see Crysis on this. It was kind of a "niche" shooter, for those with the tech to run it. Best shooter of the year in my opinion though (Biochock is 2nd.) COD 4 was like every other COD game, just with a new paint job (for single player anyway.)

    The "casual" PC games always outsell the hardcore games though. Many more casual players then hard core players (unfortunalty.)

  • champmanfan

    Posted Jan 26, 2008 6:34 pm PT

    Thank god I didn't get into any Sim's games. Theres too many now from when it first started (seems like hundreds to me) & would've cost me a fortune plus I would need a spare room just to put all the games in

    Just wondering how many Sim games are there in total including all those expansion packs & how much did it cost to buy them all to date?

  • Thigeic

    Posted Jan 26, 2008 3:07 pm PT

    I just had to check one of those download sites. The illigal once. I was looking at the Call of Duty 4 game, its been downloaded more then 1 million times. Downloading really needs to stop. If not, publisher can just drop the PC market at all

  • roryk666

    Posted Jan 26, 2008 11:19 am PT

    agree with jansdman. i dont play wow anymore but its aimed at the masses. its a game that is designed to give the player ease and it provides more freedom than all other popular mmorpgs. warhammer seems more hardcore and likely to get the existing daoc players, but i really cant see a huge ammount of wow players leaving for it. if anything they'll leave out of curiosity then return to wow

  • jansdman

    Posted Jan 26, 2008 5:45 am PT

    Lol @ osleyee. You think your warhammer will beat WoW? Please don't eat too much sweet it affects your brain IMO.

  • iamkwazywabbit

    Posted Jan 26, 2008 2:46 am PT

    I was lead to believe that Sims 3 was set to be released next year - 09. There's plenty of life in the current incarnation and I can't see EA spending on the next version when the old one is doing so well.

  • skyline7284

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 7:28 pm PT

    Sims isn't goign to die anytime soon, i think it will be a tight race this year, Sims 3 vs New WoW Expansion? vs Spore? vs Battlefield 3 (possible) Lookin good lignup for EA next year

  • willgig

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 3:28 pm PT

    I added up the total amount of money I spent on WOW since january 2005, when I got the game. The game, Expansion, Monthly fee, T-shirts, Custom keyboard, Binders, Strategy Guides, and Atlas. It came out to be over $650 not including tax. But it's been worth it because I spend a lot less than what I would have spent on other things. And I have a huge backlog of games that I haven't finished. I now play WOW on my PC, my wife's PC, My laptop, and my 42" Plasma TV (hooked up to my laptop VIA hdmi)

    WOW is what I always go back to when I get bored with "other" "so called" "modern" games. Got bored with Bioshock in about 5 hours. Crysis took me about 15 minutes to get bored. (I'll buy it later to use as a tech DEMO for my next build) Witcher was ok (Uncensored of course).

    A lot of my purchases have been through Stardock Central though. The Whole Galactic Civ Series, and the Beta of Sins of a Solar Empire. You Purchase the download from them and they send you a retail box when the game is released. Though I've yet to actually use any of the CDs.

    I've also bought a lot of stuff through Steam.

    When NPD starts using DATA from Download sites, then and only then can we get a clear picture.

    My Wife and daughters love the Sims and they get every expansion that comes out. They love it. (Though right now they are playing Wii and Viva Pinata pretty heavily.) Plus my oldest daughter loves to play her characters on WOW. (I came very close to get her her own account so we could play together.) Right now on the PC there's either Cookie Cutter Shooters and RTSs. Then there's WOW and Sims. And all the Pirates love Shooters and RTSs. What do you think is going to sell retail?

    What's your game?

  • osleyee

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 1:55 pm PT

    I am not surprise that the World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion was number one after all the dominate the mmorpg market. I am not trying to make argument but wait and see when war warhammer online reckoning is release ea is going to dominate world of warcraft is going to lose alot of their subcrbers.

  • Circlestrafe

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 1:24 pm PT

    This list is basically useless as it only tracks a small percentage of actual copies sold. Online stores are not even counted. It gives the impression that some lame games are actually top sellers.

  • modem22

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 1:16 pm PT

    EA has 6 of the Top 10, Impressive

  • sophospeare

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 11:34 am PT

    @kaziechameleon Agreed, it would have been nice to see some of those titles. But most games will make a majority of their sales in the first few months so the previous years titles may not show up. Crysis shot itself in the foot by its huge system requirements. However, as people begin to upgrade, it may still sell well in the long run. Another thing to keep in mind is that NPD doesn't track online purchases (like those from Steam) so Orange Box is doing better than this list indicates.

  • Shegevara

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 11:23 am PT

    wow. Game released in 2003 has made the list. That's awesome!

    SIMCITY OWNES ALL!

  • kaziechameleon

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 9:37 am PT

    i still can't believe some of the games on there, i guess that it's all about who was on the shelves the longest but i still thought that one of the fall titles from last year might make it. aside from cod4, like say orange box, witch probably sold huge on steam, or how about crysis?

  • wallpaper42

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 9:17 am PT

    SIM CITY 4! Can't wait for 5.

  • Shadow_Edge

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 8:56 am PT

    Pretty low numbers for a whole year.

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 8:35 am PT

    'gforcefan' actually they do include the digital distribution too. When you see these things you realize how widespread piracy is. Crysis didn't even make the list. Sure many people can't handle it on very high, but when you check the amount of people online playing crysis the number is always 200,000+. It makes you question how righteous gamers are these days

  • Gforcefan

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 7:43 am PT

    One think that many don't seem to understand is that these lists do not include digital distribution. So steam, direct2drive, digital rivers, etc. are not included in these figures.

    Also, developers make a higher percent per game sold than on console titles - so they still make enough money for it to be worthwhile.

  • Char_Zeon

    Posted Jan 25, 2008 7:07 am PT

    crysis has a better single player but COD4 has better multiplayer

  • GodMode

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 11:14 pm PT

    crysis is a system hog, not everyone can afford a freakin super computer to run that thing, plus call of duty 4 is 10X better.

  • thesaxmaniac

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 10:36 pm PT

    I'm so sad. These numbers don't hold a candle to console game sales. Bioshock isn't even in the top ten, nor is Crysis.

  • guru_roodypoo

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 10:09 pm PT

    Heh, not surprised my initial comment got rated down. Nope, I'm not kidding. I don't mean to be inflammatory or System Wars-like. I honestly want to see PC gaming succeed. I want to play good games, regardless of platform. But these numbers aren't encouraging, at all.

    According to VG Chartz' estimates, in 2007, in America alone:
    - Halo 3 sold 4.9 million
    - CoD4 sold 3.7 million across two platforms
    - Mario Galazy sold 2.6 million
    - Guitar Hero 3 sold 5.1 million across several platforms

    And the list goes on. Hence my initial surprise that the PC has only one million seller, and an expansion pack at that. To a publisher looking at these figures, they would observe (quite correctly) that the console market is where they should spend their time and money.

    Crysis isn't on here because of its crazy system requirements. Yes, many of us folk posting here on GS might be hardcore enough to keep our PCs up-to-date, but the average gamer won't have the horsepower to run it.

  • maccaaccam

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 9:53 pm PT

    why do people buy expansions to the sims. if you need a new expansion ever week to keep a game interesting maybe you should find another game to play.

  • Kh1ndjal

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 9:39 pm PT

    good question, who does play these sims games?
    people expect me to get bored of wow but noone seems to get bored of the sims?

  • Pete5506

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 9:12 pm PT

    Go call of duty

  • IIBlackknightII

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 8:59 pm PT

    Wow. World of Warcraft toppedd??????.

  • KingFaticus

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 8:49 pm PT

    "That left just two spots in the top 10 for publishers not named EA or Blizzard. Activision claimed the fourth position on the charts with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare"

    Activision and Vivendi merged-are going to merge
    and Vivendi owns Blizzard too
    so as far as I am concerned there is only one game on this list not owned by either EA or Vivendi...

    I don't think I'll take this report seriously btw....

  • bigmit37

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 7:30 pm PT

    Wow, EA rules these charts.

  • Caboose7293

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 7:26 pm PT

    I still can't figure out who actually plays these Sims games... I think EA buys their own games in mass quantities to boost sales figures.... And the only reason Crysis didn't make the list is cuz people like me don't have a good enough computer to really enjoy it (though I admit it plays GREAT and looks GREATER)

  • sunnystarz

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 7:19 pm PT

    when's the sims 3 coming out?

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 7:08 pm PT

    It's so one-sided near the top, it's not even funny.

  • dunnowhathuh

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 7:01 pm PT

    Call of Duty 4 sure did sell a hell of a lot considering it was released towards the end of the year.

  • rah_mhambrey

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 6:56 pm PT

    hmm cod4 sold 383k copies in 2 months thats like arnd 190k copies a month......crysis was released on 16th of november an it sold 86k copies in 14 days.....so i guess it must have sold around 200k copies by the end of december.....mebbe thats y it dint make the list

  • ReckHavoc

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 6:05 pm PT

    Honestly though.. who wasn't expecting World of Warcraft to yet again dominate the PC games list.

  • o_laggy_o

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 5:47 pm PT

    Where's Crysis?

  • Mush_Mouth

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 5:40 pm PT

    God people, play something else...there's so many games out there and you all play WOW and Sims 2?? I stopped playing WOW and I have so much fun catching up on games I didn't ever buy because I was playing that instead...seriously, there are so many better games out there.

  • Warboss01

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 5:34 pm PT

    Now lets see if the next WoW expansion or Spore can do the same thing; if either ever come out this year.

  • Deihmos

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 5:25 pm PT

    Every year WoW and The Sims dominate these charts and they are both sold online. Next year I am sure it will be the same.

  • Padrepride

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 4:31 pm PT

    Wow, I'm surprised to see Sim City 4 on that list

  • waza000

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 4:25 pm PT

    on this list, the biggest mistake i made was C&C3, totaly !
    and my friends error was to buy Age of Empires 3 because 1 week later he wasn't playing it

    and even if i played wow and quitted it, i won' t say it was a mistake to play it (like so many people do for no reason) because i am able to look back and see that i had fun, even if the fun started to slow down later on

  • NachoPSN

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 4:14 pm PT

    Lol londonrider, +1

  • londonrider

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 4:05 pm PT

    It looks like they have to merge Sims with Warcraft: World of Simcraft 2: Burning Voyage Expansion pack -- Vivendi Electronics

  • CnC_Freak

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 3:54 pm PT

    Woot C&C3 got 5th place!

  • Chainblast

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 3:49 pm PT

    There's a shocker.

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