Reception and Cultural Impact
| Game | GameRankings | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| StarCraft | (PC) 92.85% (N64) 77.12% |
(PC) 88 (N64) 80 |
| Insurrection | 48% | — |
| Retribution | — | — |
| StarCraft: Brood War | 96% | — |
| StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | 92.39% | 93 |
| StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm | 85.59% | 86 |
The StarCraft series has been a commercial success. After its release, StarCraft became the best-selling PC game for that year, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide. In the next decade, StarCraft sold over 9.5 million copies across the globe, with 4.5 million of these being sold in South Korea. Since the initial release of StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment reported that its Battle.net online multiplayer service grew by 800 percent. StarCraft remains one of the most popular online games in the world. After its release, StarCraft rapidly grew in popularity in South Korea, establishing a successful pro-gaming scene. Pro-gamers in South Korea are niche media celebrities and StarCraft games broadcast over three television channels dedicated to gaming. StarCraft has won numerous Game of the Year awards, is often described as one of the best real-time strategy games made, and is widely credited with popularizing the use of distinct and unique sides—as opposed to sides of equal ability and strength—in real-time strategy games.
Although Insurrection and Retribution were not particularly well received, StarCraft: Brood War generally received very positive reviews, with an aggregate GameRankings score of 95.00%. The magazine PC Zone gave Brood War a short but flattering review, describing it as having "definitely been worth the wait" and also drew note to the cinematic cut scenes, stating that they "actually feel like part of the story rather than an afterthought." IGN stated that Brood War's enhancements were "enough to enrich the core gameplay without losing the flavor" while GameSpot noted that the expansion was developed with the same level of care as the full game.
The release of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty resulted very well, it has sold 1.8 million copies within the first forty eight hours of release which breaks the record of best selling strategy game in the history of the gaming industry and has received very positive reviews with an aggregate GameRankings score of 92% and has been nominated as the "Best PC Game of 2010" on Gamespot. As time came from release, Korea already hosted a number of tournaments, for example, the GOMTV Global StarCraft II League (GSL).
Read more about this topic: Star Craft Series
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—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
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—James L. Hymes, Jr. (20th century)