SC2 was billed as the game that would turn the western world to esports, but Blizzards attempt at competitive gaming showed that they learned nothing from how SC1 got successful. Korea was in recession during the late 90s, the cost of a computer and broadband connection was too high for many people, so internet cafe's became hugely popular. Back in those days Blizzard were working to get their games in as many hands as possible, and SC1 had a "spawn install" which meant you could install your friends copy of the game on your computer, and play multiplayer games as long as one person had an authentic copy.
Apart from making a great game, Blizzard made it very accessible to play. So many people played it that a market for watching it jumped up. SC2 is exactly the opposite. High price, no LAN, no spawn installs, one account per-purchase, can be banned for letting other people play your acc. It's the exact opposite approach taken by the current leader in competitive gaming in the west, League of Legends. Haven't even mentioned the game play which is IMO inferior to SC1 (not to mention WC3) for a competitive spectacle.
But aside from all that, yes the game probably made them plenty of money, so can be classed as a success in one sense.
