blizzcon2008
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Blizzard: World of Warcraft will do fine, global economic collapse be damned
Alright, so the sky is falling. Pretty soon, the world will be dominated by mohawks, black leather and hand-built muscle cars in a never-ending deathmatch over who gets to eat the roadkill. Okay, maybe it won't be that bad -- but unless you've been stranded on a desert island for the past year, you know that there's a global economic crisis going on. But worry not: MMOs -- World of Warcraft in particular -- will be just fine, according to Blizzard Executive VP Rob Pardo.He said that WoW is immune to economic downturn because it offers an excellent bargain: "People might not want to go out to the movies and spend $100 for a couple of hours and then go to a restaurant. You can go home and pay $15 a month for 100 hours of entertainment if you're staying at home more." A comparable situation from history: during the Great Depression, movies in the United States were only a nickel -- far cheaper than competing, live forms of entertainment, so the movie industry thrived. In fact, some folks credit the Great Depression as a contributor to the rise of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Think the same'll happen to MMOs if this gets bad?
World of Warcraft players will earn experience points in PvP
We almost missed this major revelation on our sister site WoW Insider -- we might not have caught it if Eurogamer hadn't. Deep within WoW Insider's excellent liveblog of the World of Warcraft PvP panel at Blizzcon, you'll find that Blizzard reps let slip that players will soon be able to earn experience points in addition to honor in PvP.That's already possible in WoW's new competitor Warhammer Online, in which it is essentially just as viable to level up to the cap in PvP as it is in PvE. The WoW devs are likely responding to the competition, knowing that they might lose big fans of PvP to WAR. In that vein, they're also ensuring that daily PvP quests are available from levels 10 - 80.It's hard not to look at this as a good change. The only argument against it we can think of is that if a player levels from 10 - 80 entirely in the battlegrounds, he or she will not have the necessary experience to run instances and raids at later levels if a change of course is desired. But that seems like a fairly minor criticism of a long-needed addition to the game.
Blizzard's Kaplan drops hints about next-gen MMO's genre and platforms
Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, World of Warcraft game director Jeffrey Kaplan dropped several vague hints about Blizzard's "next-gen MMO," which is called that because so far the only info we've seen has been in job postings carrying that label. The hints don't count for much, but they're the most we've heard about the game so far.Kaplan, who revealed he is involved in the project, was asked if the game's genre would be science fiction, post-apocalyptic, or historical, and while laughing he responded: "all of those combined!" We're not sure what to make of that. Citing the console experience of the development team, he also hinted at what we already suspected: Blizzard is at least considering releasing its next MMO on consoles. However, the game is "early in development," which makes us wonder if it might not be for today's consoles, but rather the next generation.
WoW paid character customization button discovered, Brack confirms
When curious World of Warcraft players investigated currently-unused images hidden in a build of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, they uncovered a button labeled "UI-PaidCharacterCustomization" which was associated with the character selection screen. Needless to say, that discovery raised some eyebrows. At Blizzcon, Lead Producer J. Allen Brack was asked to clarify.According to WarCry's write-up for the event, Brack first dodged the question, but eventually decided it was necessary to address it. He confirmed that a paid character customization service is in WoW's future, but said that the developers haven't decided what it will entail or how much it will cost yet.Perhaps players will pay to make changes not supported by the barbershop, or perhaps all-new premium customization options will be introduced. If it's the former, then WoW is not headed towards a more microtransaction based future, as that sort of option is similar to the already-existing service that allows players to pay for a name change. If unique premium options are being introduced though, that's a whole different ball game. [Via Rock, Paper Shotgun]
Blizzcon 2008 DVD production panel reveals WoW tidbits
Here's a secret gem from BlizzCon from our sister site, Big Download: The DVD Production panel. The DVD Production team, despite the name, actually oversees most of the video produced by or at Blizzard. That means that they had a hand in the South Park episode "Make Love Not Warcraft," as well as the "What's your Game" and "Lawgiver" commercials.They also work on the gameplay trailers from World of Warcraft, and walked us through the creative process for the patch 2.1 Black Temple trailer, revealing some interesting lore behind Akama's betrayal. Finally, they revealed that they were the force behind the Wrath Gate cinematic. It's no wonder they were able to make such an epic cut scene though: One of their team members was a member of Rufus Cubed Productions, the creations of the epic machinima Return.There's some other nice information from the panel, including the real identity of the villain from "Make Love Not Warcraft" and a preview of the lore of Diablo 3. Be sure to go check it out at Big Download!
BlizzCon 2008: WoW PvP Panel
We're liveblogging the PvP panel from the floor of BlizzCon. Updates start after the break.
BlizzCon 2008: WoW Insider meets The Guild
We here at WoW Insider have been big fans of The Guild since day one -- way before Felicia Day sold appliances or hung out with Dr. Horrible, we knew she and her show were something special. And so, when we finally got a chance to meet The Guild today at BlizzCon, we made sure to take it.They've been doing a lot of press lately -- they've been to ComicCon recently, they're actually hosting a panel here at BlizzCon, and lots of different community sites are sitting down to talk with Felicia and her Guild. So we wanted to try and ask them something they'd never heard before, and we think we pulled it off: the entire cast, made up of Robin Thorsen (who plays Clara), Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo), Jeff Lewis (Vork), Vincent Caso (Bladezz), and Felicia herself submitted to even our strangest questions with grace, dignity, some chipmunk-related jokes, and the kind of pull-together attitude that makes watching their adventures as a guild so much fun.Jeff Lewis had actually just come off the main BlizzCon stage when we retreated behind a curtain for the interview -- he'd done a quick set of silly jokes in character as Vork (right after folks had come up telling their own bad jokes for the joke contest), and as we started talking, all of the cast members were congratulating him on the job he did.
BlizzCon 2008: The costumes
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/WoW_Insider_covers_the_costumes_of_BlizzCon'; The best part of coming to a convention like BlizzCon? Sure, the news is great, and it's fun to meet the devs and fellow WoW players, but let's be serious: everyone comes to see the costumes.If you didn't make it to Anaheim, here's the best part of the convention for you. We'll be updating this gallery all weekend long with all of the costumes we see on the floor, so make sure to check back throughout the next two days to see all of the people that showed up looking silly awesome. Ok, so yes, some of these are more awesome than others. But you have to give it up for anyone who has the courage to go out in public dressed like a Blizzard character.%Gallery-34205%
BlizzCon mount not usable until after BlizzCon
Another quick note here, which I'm posting because the team at BlizzCon is at the Lost Bar right now (I make absolutely no promises as to the sobriety of anyone involved); we've found out that the polar bear mount plus attached flag-bearing murloc given to all BlizzCon attendees and DirecTV subscribers isn't actually going to be usable until after the convention ends. I've just confirmed this with a friend of mine at the con who's logged into the game from his hotel's wireless as well, so this answers a few questions we've gotten about where are on earth all the mounts are with so many people attending BlizzCon or how to get them working ingame.So if you're headed back to your home or hotel and you've been hoping to get your mount (or, like me, you've just been waiting to see it), hang tight for a few days. With BlizzCon ending late Saturday, hopefully we'll see them active in the following week.
Submit a question for the devs to answer at BlizzCon!
Just popping in with a quick note here; even if you're not going to BlizzCon, you can still enter a contest to have a question answered live by the developers.I braved the red tape for you all to figure out the following: You have to be at least 13 years old. You can't be a resident of North Dakota, Connecticut, Vermont, or Maryland in the U.S., Quebec in Canada, or Queensland, Victoria, or the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. Otherwise, if you're a player in the U.S., Canada, most nations of the E.U., South Korea, Singapore, or Australia, you should be eligible. No word on Russian, Mexican, or Latin American players so you guys may, like me, be ineligible. You have until 4:00 pm PST October 11th (this Saturday) to enter the contest. Twenty contestants will be selected to have their questions answered, and if you're one of the winners, not only will your question be answered, but you'll also get a prize package containing various Blizzard swag items plus a new ATI graphics card.The actual submission form is right here if you're interested (with the laundry list of rules here if you want to make sure you're eligible to win), and you can ask any question related to Starcraft, Diablo, Warcraft, or World of Warcraft. Good luck!
Blizzard unveils the BlizzCon store
The 2008 BlizzCon is coming rapidly, and with it, of course, comes exclusive BlizzCon swag. In addition to the goody bag, the BlizzCon store will also be open for business, and Blizzard's previewing the loot you can buy. Among the highlights: You may remember that the goody bags will come with either an inflatable Frostmourne or an Inflatable Paladin-in-a-Bubble. Luckily, if you don't get the one you want, you can buy it at the store. Alliance and Horde T-shirts A talking Pandaren bottle opener. The hardcover version of the WoW comic. Arthas' Helm. A WoTLK cinematic book. There will be lots of Diablo 3 and Starcraft II loot as well, including posters, stress balls, and t-shirts. Check out all the gear at Blizzard's official site, and start planning your budget to buy some stuff. I know I'm planning mine![Thanks for the heads up, Nicholas!]
World of WarCrafts: Failoc T-shirt
Every Thursday, Shelbi Roach of The Bronze Kettle guides you in creating WoW-inspired crafts using real world mats with World of WarCrafts. Failure is part of success. Right? Most will probably agree that the recent BlizzCon ticket sale was largely a failure of epic proportions. Fortunately, out of all the calamity that ensued, the Failoc was born. Now you can have your very own Failoc in custom t-shirt form. Advertise your survival of (or defeat by) the BlizzCon '08 Ticket Fiasco or slap one on your kiddo to reduce the sting off all those "Oops!" moments. Here is what you will need: Plain White Tee Cardboard T-Shirt Form FabricMate Markers (thin tip in green, yellow, orange, red, black, blue, brown and a clear blender) Murloc Print (Large or Small) Tape Click on the images below to view a gallery of step-by-step instructions. %Gallery-29598%
Mike Morhaime apologizes, offers 3000 more BlizzCon tickets
If you haven't heard by now, there were some problems with Blizzcon tickets. A lot of problems. However, it looks like even Blizzard now realizes that they could have done a lot better during those 2 days of Fail Murloc agony. Blizzard President Mike Morhaime has just posted a personal apology for all the trouble with tickets on the official BlizzCon site. In addition, he's announced that they've rearranged their convention hall space and will be able to offer 3,000 additional tickets. In order to avoid the problems of the last batch, they will be sold by a lottery system, and only sold to those with an active Blizzard account as of August 12th, 9 PM PDT, the time when the last batch of tickets was officially sold out. Further details on the lottery will be posted when they finalize their plans. Of course, There's probably far more than 3,000 customers who were put out by the problems, but this is probably as much of an olive branch as we can expect, given that they can't overpack the convention halls and it's likely too late to find or create a new, larger venue. Hopefully though, Blizzard is serious when they say that they will do what it takes to prevent this from happening in the future. We'll look forward to buying our tickets for BlizzCon 2009 without the presence of the Fail Murloc.
BlizzCon DIRECTV package subscribers to get BlizzCon bear mount
Here's some more information that may or may not assuage the rage if you weren't one of the lucky few who fought past the Fail Murloc to get a BlizzCon ticket. DIRECTV subscribers will have the chance to get the BlizzCon bear mount. DIRECTV will be selling a BlizzCon coverage package directly through the official BlizzCon site. This package will be free to any new DIRECTV subscribers who sign up through the site, and cost $39.95 for anyone who's already a DIRECTV subscriber. By purchasing the package, you'll not only get 16 hours of BlizzCon coverage, you'll also get the aforementioned BlizzCon bear mount, the same one that all the con attendees will get in their goodie bag. Sounds like a pretty good incentive to me. The package isn't available for purchase yet, but keep watching the official BlizzCon website to find out when it will be. [Thanks to Rob for the forward!]
BlizzCon 2008 panel list revealed
Now that the scramble for tickets is over, it remains for the wounded and battered veterans of the battle against the Fail Murloc to gird themselves and march forward, looking for succor where they can get it. Luckily, a list of panels for BlizzCon 2008 has been released, giving us something awesome to look forward to as we count down the days. For those of you who can't make it, be sure to check WoW Insider. We'll have liveblogs and notes from each WoW panel so you'll know exactly what was said and how it will affect your gameplaying experience. For the Diablo III and Starcraft II stuff, you'll be able to get the same treatment from our sister site, Joystiq. Check after the break for a complete list of panel titles.
BlizzCon tickets listed as sold out [UPDATED]
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/BlizzCon_tickets_reported_sold_out'; Most of those who wanted to buy a BlizzCon ticket have just been through two horribly rocky days marked by constant refreshing, stylesheet errors, and the dreaded Fail Murloc. For better or worse, it looks like that wait is at an end, as the multiple sources are reporting that BlizzCon Tickets are sold out. This is probably something Blizzard's going to see some backlash on one way or another. Whether it was poor planning, poor servers, an expected deluge of customers, or a combination of all 3 and more, the experience of trying to buy a BlizzCon ticket for most has been anywhere from 12-36 hours of pure agony marked by small 5-20 minutes windows where handfuls of lucky customers made off with the precious tickets. Of course, all hope may not be lost for those who failed to capture a ticket, as this may simply be yet another CSS error. In addition, Blizzard did sell the Worldwide Invitational tickets in waves as well. They may need to do the same for Blizzcon here, if only to give a fair shake to everyone who could never get past the CSS errors and the cold unforgiving face of the Murloc. EDIT: A commenter on the official BlizzCon forums says that a Blizzard phone rep told him they are not sold out. EDIT 2: The ticket page appears to be working again and not showing the tickets as Sold Out. The Fail Murlocs and XML errors continue apace, however. Edit 3: The saga continues. as of 4:40 PST EDT, some sources are reporting the dreaded sold out notice again -- or are having the ticket mysteriously disappear from their cart once they make it to checkout. Edit 4: Nethaera has just posted to say that most BlizzCon tickets are now sold out. However, they will be selling a small reserve starting tonight at 8 PM PDT.
What we're expecting from BlizzCon
As we announced earlier, BlizzCon tickets are on sale. Sort of. Kind of. If you can fight past the store servers. I know I've been getting nothing but the fail murloc pretty much all day. Still, I and the rest of WoW Insider's crack live team will be there come hell or high water, and we'll bring you the news you need to know. In the meantime, we're stuck here refreshing the Blizzard Store. To pass the time, we did a bit of speculation about what we might see in Anaheim on October 10th and 11th. Here's what we decided: What we're sure to see The Wrath of the Lich King Cinematic: Though we still have no solid announcement, Blizzard's already stated that they want to get Wrath out before 2008 is up. Considering that, they must have the opening cinematic pretty close to done. I would be surprised if we don't see it open the opening ceremony, to be completely honest. I'm expecting Arthas and/or a "rebel" Human Death Knight to feature prominently, as well as our first cinematic Gnome shot.
Blizzcon 2008 tickets to go on sale August 11th
According to a new press release, tickets for Blizzcon 2008 will be available for purchase at the event's official website on August 11th. You might not need to buy them, though, because the press release also announced that at least 8 hours of the event will stream live to DirectTV customers pay-per-view style. Prices for the DirectTV route haven't been released yet, but folks who want to actually attend the convention in Anaheim, CA must pay $100 per head. That's probably a fair price if you're a hardcore Blizzard fan who wants to get hands-on time with upcoming games. And then there are the dance competitions! The event will occur on October 10th and 11th.
BlizzCon tickets still not on sale
With the Worldwide Invitational fast fading into memory, everyone's thoughts are starting to turn in earnest to the upcoming BlizzCon 2008, happening October 10th and 11th in Anaheim. One of the number one questions: Where can I get tickets? So far, Netheara can only tell us that they'll let us know, but there's no ETA as of yet. Still, if we're looking at last year's BlizzCon, Blizzard actually has another month before they need to put tickets out to keep pace. In 2007, BlizzCon was held during the first week of August, and tickets went on sale June 12th. That means there was a little under 2 months between the time the first tickets went on sale and the time the event happened. If they follow the same basic timeline this year, we can expect tickets sometime in mid-August. Then again, tickets for the Worldwide Invitational Paris went on sale on March 20th, around 3 months before the Invitational itself. In that case, Blizzard would need to start selling tickets within the next few days to keep pace. In that case, perhaps it's a bit futile to try to predict the exact date that we can expect BlizzCon ticket sales. Either way, keep your browser tuned here, we'll be sure to let you know the minute tickets are available.
For the Horde! BlizzCon 2008 invades Anaheim Oct. 10-11
Blizzard Entertainment announced today that BlizzCon will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center (that's California) on October 10-11 and that tickets will go on sale for $100 (same as last year) in the next couple of weeks. Even though the event will take up three convention halls this year (instead of two), we strongly recommend getting tickets as soon as they go on sale -- last year sold out mighty quickly.Official details will be on the BlizzCon site, but expect WoW Insider to cover all the angles as well. As per usual, Blizzard saves its big announcements for its own events and we're expecting one at its World Wide Invitational this June in Paris. At least we won't be let down with the company's lack of information at E3 this year ... because it won't be attending.[Via Massively, WoW Insider]%Gallery-5475%
