14 DAY TRIAL // The analysis firm Cowen & Company has estimated that the upcoming Diablo III hack and slash video game from Blizzard and Activision will managed to sell more than 5 million copies during the first year on sale.
Doug Creutz, who is an analyst with the firm, says that about 1 full million copies will be linked to the MMO World of Warcraft and its extensive player base.
Those who purchase an Annual Pass for World of Warcraft will get free access to Diablo III on launch day.
The analyst also says that, despite the high expectations that Blizzard has for the real money auction system that will be included in the game, it is difficult to estimate how popular it will prove after launch, especially given that the player base has responded negatively to its announcement.
So far the Diablo franchise has managed to sell more than 20 million units since the first game in the series was released way back in 1996.
Blizzard has long refused to talk about the actual launch date for Diablo III and only recently confirmed that it will be available all over the world on May 15, with all those interested able to pre-order the game digitally or reserve a copy in a retail store.
The 5 million sales estimate does not take into account possible Diablo III sales on home consoles, although Blizzard has made it clear that a port of the game is being worked on.
Recently, the company also announced that the Player versus Player component of the game would not be available on launch but assured the fans that it would be added at a later date.
The game also suffered some pretty important re-designs during the closed beta stage, with Blizzard taking steps to streamline the game experience and make Diablo III simple to pick up and play regardless of previous experience with the series.