Editing StarCraft (video game) (section)

===Reception===
''StarCraft'' was released internationally on March 31, 1998, and became the [[List of best-selling video games#PC|best-selling PC game]]{{Broken anchor|date=2025-04-29|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=List of best-selling video games#PC|reason=Anchor "List of best-selling video games#PC" links to a specific web page: "Personal computer". The anchor (PC) [[Special:Diff/777274103|has been deleted]].|diff_id=777274103}} for that year, selling over 1.5&nbsp;million copies worldwide.<ref name="1998sales">{{cite web|title=StarCraft Named No. 1 Seller in 1998 |website=IGN |date=January 20, 1999 |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/01/21/starcraft-named-1-seller-in-1998 |access-date=February 16, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303025909/http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/01/21/starcraft-named-1-seller-in-1998 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 }}</ref> In the United States, it was the best-selling computer game of 1998, with 746,365 units sold.<ref name=pcgsales>{{cite journal| author=Staff| date=April 1999|volume=6|issue=4|title=The Numbers Game|journal=[[PC Gamer US]]|page=50}}</ref> It was the country's 14th best-selling release of the period between 1993 and 1999, selling 916,000 copies.<ref name=wargames>{{cite book | author=Dunnigan, James F. | author-link=Jim Dunnigan | date=January 3, 2000 | title=Wargames Handbook, Third Edition: How to Play and Design Commercial and Professional Wargames | publisher=[[iUniverse|Writers Club Press]] |pages=14–17 }}</ref> By April 1999, South Korean players had purchased almost 300,000 units of the game,<ref name=300k>{{cite web| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001118015000/http://www.gamecenter.com/News/Item/Textonly/0,78,0-2648,00.html | url=http://www.gamecenter.com/News/Item/Textonly/0,78,0-2648,00.html | title=Game Spin: On an ''EverQuest'' | author=Asher, Mark | date=April 7, 1999 | work=[[CNET Gamecenter]] | archive-date=November 18, 2000 | url-status=dead }}</ref> increasing to {{nowrap|1 million}} units sold in Korea by November 1999.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=DataStream |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |date=24 November 1999 |issue=79 (December 1999) |page=132 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/b/bb/Edge_UK_079.pdf#page=134}}</ref> ''StarCraft''{{'}}s worldwide sales reached 4 million units by July 2001; [[South Korea]] accounted for 50% of these copies.<ref name=global>{{cite journal | author=Williamson, Colin | title=Gaming Goes Global | date=July 2001 | volume=8 | number=7 | journal=[[PC Gamer US]] | pages=44–47, 50–52 }}</ref> By May 2007, ''StarCraft'' had sold over 9.5&nbsp;million copies across the globe, with 4.5&nbsp;million of these being sold in South Korea.<ref name="usatoday">{{cite news|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2007-05-21-starcraft2-peek_N.htm |title=South Korean gamers get a sneak peek at 'StarCraft II' |access-date=February 16, 2016 |author=Olsen, Kelly |date=May 21, 2007 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225052709/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2007-05-21-starcraft2-peek_N.htm |archive-date=February 25, 2016 }}</ref> Since the initial release of ''StarCraft'', [[Blizzard Entertainment]] reported that its [[Battle.net]] online multiplayer service grew by 800 percent.<ref>{{cite journal| title = Blizzard's Battle.net Remains Largest Online Game Service in the World; Battle.net Dominates Online Gaming Industry With 2.1 Million Active Users; Korea Becomes World's No. 1 Market| journal = [[Business Wire]]| location = [[Irvine, California]]| date = February 4, 1999| url = http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Blizzard's+Battle.net+Remains+Largest+Online+Game+Service+in+the...-a053706429| via = [[TheFreeLibrary.com]]| access-date = June 29, 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305154710/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Blizzard%27s+Battle.net+Remains+Largest+Online+Game+Service+in+the...-a053706429| archive-date = March 5, 2016| url-status = live}}</ref>

Generally, ''StarCraft'' was received positively by critics, with many contemporary reviewers noting that while the game may not have deviated significantly from the status quo of most real-time strategy games, it was one of the best to have applied the formula.<ref name="GSpot"/><ref name="GamePro"/> In addition, ''StarCraft''{{'}}s pioneering use of three distinct, unique, and balanced races over two equal sides was praised by critics,<ref name="ignr"/> with [[GameSpot]] commenting that this helped the game to "avoid the problem that has plagued every other game in the genre".<ref name="GSpot"/> Many critics also praised the strength of the story accompanying the game, with some reviewers being impressed by how well the story was folded into the gameplay.<ref name="ignr"/> The game's voice acting in particular was praised; GameSpot later hailed the voice work in the game as one of the ten best in the industry at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_voiceacting/page6.html|title=The Best Voice Acting in Games: ''StarCraft''|website=[[GameSpot]]|first=James|last=Cheung|access-date=September 15, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004214523/http://uk.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_voiceacting/page6.html|archive-date=October 4, 2013}}</ref> Equally, the multiplayer aspects of the game were positively received. ''StarCraft'' has received multiple awards, including being named as one of the best games of all time by GameSpot, [[IGN]], and ''[[Game Informer]]''.<ref name="GspotAward"/><ref name="popular">{{cite web |title=IGN's Top 100 Games |website=IGN |date=January 1, 2005 |url=http://top100.ign.com/2005/001-010.html |access-date=August 18, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228044210/http://top100.ign.com/2005/001-010.html |archive-date=February 28, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=IGN's Top 100 Games |website=IGN |date=January 1, 2003 |url=http://top100.ign.com/2003/1-10.html |access-date=August 18, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306205104/http://top100.ign.com/2003/1-10.html |archive-date=March 6, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Game Informer's Top 100 Games Of All Time (Circa Issue 100) |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/11/16/game-informer-s-top-100-games-of-all-time-circa-issue-100.aspx |magazine=[[Game Informer]] |date=November 16, 2009 |access-date=November 24, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119181519/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/11/16/game-informer-s-top-100-games-of-all-time-circa-issue-100.aspx |archive-date=January 19, 2016 }}</ref> According to Blizzard Entertainment, ''StarCraft'' has won 37 awards and has received a star on the floor of the [[Metreon]] as part of the [[Walk of Game]] in San Francisco in early 2006.<ref name="awardss">{{cite web | title = Developer Awards| publisher=[[Blizzard Entertainment]] | date = January 1, 2006| url = http://www.blizzard.com/inblizz/awards.shtml| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060814090829/http://www.blizzard.com/inblizz/awards.shtml| archive-date = August 14, 2006 | access-date = August 19, 2006}}</ref>

''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it five stars out of five, and stated that "The quality of the play balancing and the elegance of the design mean that ''StarCraft'' sets a new high watermark for all real-time strategy games."<ref name="NG">{{cite magazine|title=Finals|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=43|publisher=[[Future US|Imagine Media]]|date=July 1998|page=108}}</ref>

The reviewer from the online second volume of ''[[Pyramid (magazine)|Pyramid]]'' stated that "One of the most hotly anticipated computer games of the last two years, Blizzard Entertainment's ''Starcraft'' has had a tremendous amount of hype to live up to. The fact that it ''does'' live up to the high expectations set for it may be the only recommendation it needs."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=152 |title=Pyramid: Pyramid Pick: Starcraft |publisher=[[Steve Jackson Games]] |website=[[Pyramid (magazine)|Pyramid]] |date=1998-06-12 |access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref>

Although at the time ''StarCraft''{{'}}s graphics and audio were praised by critics,<ref name="allgame"/> later reviews have noted that the graphics do not compare to more modern games.<ref name="ignr"/> The capacity for the game's [[artificial intelligence]] to navigate units to waypoints also faced some heavy criticism, with ''[[PC Zone]]'' stating that the inability for developers to make an effective pathfinding system was "the single most infuriating element of the real-time strategy genre".<ref name="PCZ"/> In addition, several reviewers expressed concern over some familiarities between the unit structures of each race, as well as over the potential imbalance of players using [[rush (video gaming)|rushing tactics]] early in multiplayer games.<ref name="GameRev"/> Blizzard Entertainment has strived to balance rush tactics in later updates. The Nintendo 64 version of the game was not received as positively by reviewers, and was criticized for poor graphics in comparison to the PC version. However, critics did praise the game and [[THQ|Mass Media]] for using effective controls on the gamepad and maintaining the high quality audio.<ref name="GameProN64"/><ref name="GSpotN64"/><ref name="IGNN64"/>

At the [[1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards|inaugural Interactive Achievement Awards]] (now known as the [[D.I.C.E. Awards]]), ''StarCraft'' won "Computer Entertainment Title of the Year", and tied with ''[[Age of Empires (video game)|Age of Empires]]'' for "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year|PC Strategy Game of the Year]]".<ref name="Winners1998">{{cite web |title=The Award - Winners |url=http://www.interactive.org/html/award/awardwin98.htm |website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |access-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980615090115/http://www.interactive.org/html/award/awardwin98.htm |archive-date=June 15, 1998}}</ref><ref name="WinnersAre">{{cite web |title=And the Winners Are... |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/and-the-winners-are-/1100-2463867/ |website=GameSpot |access-date=6 April 2023}}</ref>
''Starcraft'' also won the [[Origins Award]] for Best Strategy Computer Game of 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1998/list-of-winners |title=Origins Award Winners (1998) |publisher=Academy of Adventure Gaming, Arts & Designs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031072248/http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1998/list-of-winners |archive-date=2007-10-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1998, ''[[PC Gamer]]'' declared it the 5th-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "a strategy game that continues to evolve and surprise many months after its release, and that currently represents the state of the genre's art".<ref name=pcgtop50>{{cite journal | title=The 50 Best Games Ever | date=October 1998 | volume=5 | number=10 | journal=[[PC Gamer US]] | pages=86, 87, 89, 90, 92, 98, 101, 102, 109, 110, 113, 114, 117, 118, 125, 126, 129, 130 }}</ref>

With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide by February 2009, ''StarCraft'' became one of the [[List of best-selling video games|best-selling games]] for the personal computer.<ref name="bestselling">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.next-gen.biz/news/blizzard-confirms-one-frontline-release-09 |title=Blizzard Confirms One "Frontline Release" for '09 |date=February 11, 2009 |access-date=May 12, 2009 |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |author=Kris Graft|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825135123/http://www.next-gen.biz/news/blizzard-confirms-one-frontline-release-09|archive-date=August 25, 2010}}</ref>  It has been praised for pioneering the use of unique ''factions'' in RTS gameplay,<ref name="ignr" /> and for having a compelling story.<ref name="GSpot" />