> having nobody but Blizzard able to make something that complex ...

> Warcraft 1 had just 4 programmers

This to me sounds like the market for games has changed, such that larger projects are now more viable. Smaller projects with a handful of people may still be viable, but look tiny in comparison.

One of my favourite games of that era, Thief, also had a very small team.

Hold it right there, taffer!