Apparently all those fans lining up around the block to buy Activision Blizzard's (ATVI: sentiment, chart, options) World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King weren't just a window dressing. According to a blog entry at Silicon Alley Insider, the expansion pack to the company's wildly popular World of Warcraft (WoW) series shattered the 1-day PC sales record, selling 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours. "That's at $40 a pop, for more than $100 million in first-day sales. But the revenue doesn't end there -- WoW subscribers also pay about $15 a month..." says SAI.

Furthermore, ATVI received some praise from the brokerage community today. According to an article from the Associated Press, Citi Investment Research told investors in a research note that consumers continue to snap up ATVI's other hot title "Guitar Hero: World Tour." Meanwhile, Lazard Capital reiterated its "buy" rating on the shares. Checking with Zacks.com, there are a plethora of bullish analysts, with 14 of the 17 analysts following the shares rating them a "buy" or better. But, with plenty of hot titles like "Lich King" and "Guitar Hero" selling better than expected, brokerage firms may be hard pressed to downgrade ATVI anytime soon.

The new has been a boon for the stock in today's trading, with ATVI rallying more than 3% amid a bout of heavy selling pressure on Wall Street. The stock has dropped more than 36% so far in 2008, but short-term support in the 9-9.50 region could buoy the shares during the short term.