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Facebook SEOUL  South Korean videogamers were in a celebratory mood Monday following Blizzard Entertainment's unveiling of its sequel to the wildly popular StarCraft game over the weekend at an extravaganza attended by thousands of fans. "Since StarCraft I was a masterpiece, I have a great expectation for Starcraft II," said Nam Jae-wook, a 23-year-old researcher for an information technology company. "I am biting my nails and waiting for it to come out." Blizzard, a U.S.-based unit of French media company Vivendi SA, made the Starcraft II announcement over the weekend in game-mad South Korea at the two-day 2007 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational. Gaming is big business in South Korea, where there are professional teams sponsored by some of the country's biggest companies. Top players can earn salaries in excess of US$100,000 (euro74,000). The original Starcraft, which debuted in 1998, is a battle saga featuring clashes between the Terran, a human race, and outer space beings the Protoss and Zerg. Gamers can play by themselves or against others on the Internet via Battle.net, the company's gaming service. The new version will include various technical improvements, including images that appear three-dimensional, said Christy Um, a Blizzard spokeswoman in Seoul. Also, players will be able to better personalize their game playing-tools such as maps, Um said. The company gave a sneak preview of the game — similar to a movie trailer — and a brief demonstration to a nearly full 16,000-seat indoor arena at Seoul's Olympic Park, Um said. The presentation was even broadcast live on a Cable TV channel dedicated to gaming. But Blizzard was tightlipped regarding other details, such as when the sequel will be go on sale. "As with all Blizzard games, we will take as much time as needed to ensure the game is as fun, balanced, and polished as possible," the Irvine, California-based company said in a release. Still, that didn't seem to bother South Korea's gaming world, where the announcement itself was enough to generate excitement. "People are talking about it everywhere," said Joo Wan-ho, an official for local game company WEBZEN Inc. "Unveiling Starcraft II in Korea shows that Korea has become a big market in the game world." About 9.5 million copies of the original StarCraft have been sold globally, according to Blizzard, which does not release breakdowns for individual countries. South Korea, however, accounts for almost half of the sales. HanbitSoft, the local distributor, says StarCraft has sold 4.5 million copies there. Blizzard also makes of other popular games including World of Warcraft. South Koreans were elated that their country has assumed such a prominent place in the international gaming community. "I am extremely proud that Blizzard came all the way to Korea to unveil the upcoming Starcraft II," said university student Park Sung-jin, 21. The weekend event also included competitions involving players from eight countries and regions — Canada, Poland, China, Taiwan, France, the Netherlands, the United States and South Korea. Associated Press Writer Hyun-ah Kim in Seoul contributed to this report. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Enlarge Blizzard Entertainment via AP StarCraft II is the sequel to the long-running and popular StarCraft, which has sold 9.5 million copies worldwide and become a near obsession among gamers in South Korea. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.