Worldwide-Invitational
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Report: 'Nintendo, Mario in the world 1000 million for the new Wii'
Today's most confusing headline is brought to you by the Google translation of a Nikkei Net report that New Super Mario Bros. Wii has topped ten million (not one-thousand million) units sold worldwide since its release in mid-November (and early December in Japan). Frankly, we're downright shocked that this kind of game -- with such an unsavory cast of characters -- could sell like gangbusters. C'mon, all they ever do is kill each other! The figure Nintendo is not sharing is the number of relationships that New Super Mario Bros. Wii has destroyed. Three and counting for me -- making it at least 30 million worldwide! Let's just say, Mom and Dad and a certain someone who is dead to me aren't allowed to visit again until they learn proper Propeller Suit etiquette.
New BlizzCon 2009 schedule available
Mere minutes after we posted the fact that Blizzard had retracted their previous schedule, they released a new one. The layout of the new schedule is less pleasing to the eyes and a bit harder to read, but there's certainly some interesting stuff there.For example, the first panel after the opening ceremonies is a "World of Warcraft Preview Panel." Previewing... what? Personally, I'm going to throw money down on Cataclysm. Also, it appears the PvP panel is gone. Folded into the two 1-hour long "class, item and profession" panels, perhaps? Then again, the PvP panel was really about the arena and battleground maps last year, wasn't it? If there's a Cataclysm preview, it very well might be a part of that. The Guild is also no longer competing with a WoW panel, and there's a new panel first thing on Saturday about breaking into the gaming industry. Plus, a 'live raid' panel probably similar to what they had at the last Worldwide Invitational: Watch one of the top guilds in the world tackle a high-end raid boss. Algalon, perhaps? Cool stuff. BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
Breakfast Topic: Do you use heirlooms?
Heirlooms are something I've not really had much experience with but as I've been doing Wintergrasp a lot since hitting 80 (prior to my burnout, that is). However as the prospect of re-rolling a very different kind of class becoming more promising, so did heirlooms. I remember hearing about them at last year's WWI and it sounded like a great idea at the time. A way to may have your main help out an alt. I would be able to outfit my lowbie toon with decent gear that gets better as she levels. Plus I like the fact they are an homage to classic WoW by taking their names and graphics from weapons no one ever uses anymore.Oddly I don't know anyone in my guild who uses them but I'm pretty sure someone out there is buying them. I see lots of people regularly clustering around the sellers in Wintergrasp Fortress, diligently checking which item they want for which alt but it seems like the only reason to buy them is if you're an altoholic.With this in mind, I'm curious, constant readers, did you buy heirlooms in order to make leveling an alt easier? Are they worth the expense? Did they make it easier to level and did you reuse them with multiple alts? What if you've never used them before, do they seem more appealing now the new items have been revealed on the PTR?%Gallery-66638%Patch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW, and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest. WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 for all the latest!
U.K. Times covers BlizzCon
One of the Technology writers, Murad Ahmed, from the U.K. Times went to BlizzCon this past week and apparently had a pretty good time. I'm positive he doesn't actually play the game, and he admits to being a little lost, especially when it comes to the frenetic action of the professional arena tournament (although, truthfully, I often have a hard time following it too). But he did seem to hit upon the major draw of the convention -- namely, getting to hang with your fellow gamers, and hopefully guildies if you're lucky, and enjoying a giant get-together where the person next to you is virtually certain to get a WoW-related joke. As a bonus, Mr. Ahmed got to interview James Taplin, one of our readers (BlizzCon attendees will know him as one of the people at the WoW Insider meet-up, and later the 3rd place winner in the /silly competition), who confirmed that the social aspect of both the game and convention are really the big attraction. I think it's precisely that aspect that has a tendency to be somewhat overlooked by the mainstream media (although let's face it; it's probably not something you'll pick up on unless you've played the game with people you genuinely like), but the Times also covered the WorldWide Invitational here, so they're no strangers to Blizzard events. While there's no information in the article that's really new, it's an interesting and generally positive perspective on the convention.Thanks to James and Rhys for writing in!
Patch 3.0 PTR round-up
The public test realm has just gone live, and if you've got any characters on it (or if you'd like to go copy some), you can head on over to enjoy all of the patchtastic frivolity likely to descend sometime soon. In case you're catching up to the rest of us, patch 3.0 is another large content patch specifically designed to transition the player base to the upcoming expansion Wrath of the Lich King. We won't be seeing Death Knights or Northrend (or at least, we're pretty sure we won't, unless they're planning on a big surprise). We will be seeing all of the 1-70 class changes, new features added to the default UI, barbershops, Inscription, a raid buff system overhaul, and more, in addition to four European servers closing due to Russian player migration. Read on for a quick guide to what you can expect:
Win beta keys and a Tyrael pet in a level 1 race
This Friday and Saturday, Worldofwar.net will be holding two "level 1 character" race events on as-yet undisclosed U.S. servers. 5 Worldwide Invitational cards, entitling the bearer to a Wrath of the Lich King beta key and a Tyrael pet, will be awarded to the winners. The character you enter in the race must be level 1, cannot have any weapons or armor equipped, and will be disqualified if you die, disconnect, or try to sneak any stat-enhancing item on the toon. Apart from saying that they'll be holding the races at 6:00 PM server time on both days, they're staying mum on which server or starting area they'll be using in an effort to minimize potential cheating or a mob of ganking spectators. Two things: I'm not sure how they're planning on splitting 5 WWI cards among the winner/s of two races, so you'll probably have a slightly higher chance of winning a card in one out of the two events. Secondly, although they haven't given out server names, they do say that both races will take place at "18:00 PST (server time)," so it's possible that both will happen on Pacific servers. They'll post the server names and starting areas on their site before each race starts, so check back, and good luck!
Faction Champion in 8885
From the 2008 Worldwide Invitational, we learned of a new way that we'll all be grinding faction reputation come the expansion. Namely, you will be able to become a faction's Champion. This is not a permanent change, and you are not stuck with only one faction, Instead, you simply put on the tabard and la! You are the new Champion. We were told that if you run a Coilfang dungeon wearing a Lower City tabard, you will gain the usual reputation for the Cenarion Expedition from the dungeon, as well as Lower City reputation. Supposedly, the tabards, usually acquired at exalted, will be moved to friendly or honored. While this makes me and my hard-earned tabard collection a bit sore, the prospect of earning reputation for any faction that I need, without running their dungeons over and over, is quite appealing. Here are the Champions we know of so far: Argent Champion Ebon Champion Champion of the Kirin Tor Wyrmrest Champion The descriptions are all the same. For example, "You champion the cause of the Argent Crusade. All reputation gains while in level 80 dungeons will be applied to your standing with them." To me, this seems to call the original quotation into question, as the current description makes it sound as though, instead of gaining reputation from the dungeon, and from the tabard, your dungeon reputation will simply count toward whichever faction's tabard you are wearing. Of course, that is still mightily handy. We'll be able to run the dungeons that contain the gear we need, while acquiring the reputation we desire.
WoWlympics closing ceremonies today
Well, sort of. Our favorite wiki celebrates the recently concluded Olympics in Beijing by hosting a Worldwide Invitational card giveaway (which has a Beta key and Tyrael pet) called the WoWlympics which ends today at 11:00pm UTC. The contest is fairly simple -- visit their site and look for clues that jump from one page to the other. It's a fun, informative scavenger hunt that won't take ten minutes (alright, I'm lying, it took me about an hour or two because I got completely stumped with No. 2). Have fun with it and try not to cheat and look for the answers all over the web, although lore nerds might find it a real breeze. This is one of your last chances to get into the Wrath of the Lich King Beta, as well as one of the very few chances you'll get to own a dancing miniature angel, so shoot the guys over at WoWWiki an e-mail before 11:00pm UTC. Tell 'em we sent ya.
WoWWiki Olympics is underway
With about a week left to go in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, our favorite wiki WoWwiki gets with the Olympic spirit and holds the WoWlympics, a scavenger hunt-type contest over at their site. With the help of Blizzard, WoWWiki is giving away five Wrath of the Lich King US Beta keys and twenty Worldwide Invitational cards which contain the codes for EU Beta keys and the Tyrael vanity pet. Both US and EU Beta keys can be converted for use between regions as necessary.The WoWlympics kick off with Clopper Wizbang asking players to search the site for five missing items, each located on a WoWwiki page, providing clues along the way. Each item or wiki page is worth one entry to the WoWlympics sweepstakes, with a bonus three entries for finding all five -- a total of eight entries eligible for the grand draw. You've got until the 25th of August to find all five rings -- and if you're stumped, you might just need the help of a lore nerd. If you're a sucker for scavenger hunts, eager to get into Beta, or want a mini-avenging angel, head on over to WoWwiki's WoWlympics page and get started!
WoW Radio Pass the Torch contest on August 8
If you're not completely holed up in a cave somewhere, you're probably aware that some big sports event called the Olympics is happening in August. Of course, August also marks the start of a new season for our friends over at WoW Radio, who are holding a contest to celebrate their onslaught of shows. In keeping with the Olympics, WoW Radio is calling their August contest "Pass the Torch", and are giving away twenty (!) Worldwide Invitational cards as prizes. Just in case you didn't know, those cards contain the codes for a key to the Wrath Beta and a mini-Tyrael pet. How do you join? Simple. Listen to their radio shows! Starting August 8 (or what the Chinese consider to be the lucky 08/08/08), five of their radio shows will be their torch-bearers. During each show, there'll be an 'Olympic ring' -- you'll know them when you hear them, according to WoW Radio -- containing a secret word. The five secret words will form a phrase, which you should then send to their e-mail address to be entered in their grand prize draw. Winners will be announced on the 15th of August on Blue Plz! Head on over to WoW Radio now and keep an ear out for those secret words!
Wrath Beta keys sent out to BlizzCon and WWI code holders
Numerous reports are coming in that the Wrath Beta keys are making their way to players now. Attendees of last year's BlizzCon in Anaheim, California, and the Worldwide Invitational in Paris, France, received a card with a code for a "future Blizzard title" as part of their goody bags. Wryxian confirmed over at the official forums that the said title was Wrath of the Lich King and urged everyone to register their codes immediately. Players who do so will be prompted to enter the codes from the cards as well as their e-mail address, as Beta access information is sent through e-mail. Reader Phi mentions that it doesn't matter when the codes were claimed. She registered her code right after BlizzCon last year while her boyfriend registered only yesterday after Blizzard's announcement, and both received their keys today. If you're one of the lucky few who attended either Blizzard event or managed to snag a beta code through other channels like eBay, registering the code should see you receiving invites in the mail. WoW Insider's Elizabeth Harper, who attended both, received two invites to the Beta eight minutes apart from each other. The official e-mail from prompts players to follow the step-by-step instructions over at Blizzard's official Beta page. Thanks to everyone who tipped this in!
WoW Moviewatch: Video Games Live performs a Warcraft Medley
With the flurry of activity surrounding the Worldwide Invitational, the live stream was the best thing that you could watch if you weren't in Paris yourself. During the closing ceremony, Video Games Live performed a Blizzard-centric symphony. For those that missed it, VGL is organized by Tommy Tallarico, the MC, and Jack Wall, the conductor. Both have composed music for video games for years, but now also travel around the country working with leading orchestras to perform that music live on stage for audiences.After viewing the closing ceremony, I checked out their website and discovered that they were performing in Austin, Texas two weeks later! Armed with ticket and video camera, I wasn't sure what to expect, but was thoroughly pleased with the performance. They can only play about 20 of their roughly 50 arranged pieces per night, so I was treated to music from Final Fantasy, Warcraft, Starcraft, Super Mario Brothers, Halo, Metal Gear Solid, and many others. In between the segments were games, costume contests, and commentary. At the end, they offer a meet and greet with the crew, as well as some video game industry professionals occasionally. In all, it's about a 5 hour event.If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...Read on after the jump for more tidbits about Video Games Live ...
How to claim your Mini Tyrael
So you went to Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational and received a card with a mysterious code for an in-game item (which we later discovered was a miniature version of Diablo's Archangel Tyrael, to be added in patch 2.4.3)... but are now at a loss at how to pick up your adorable new companion? The new new Mini Tyrael is claimed in a different place than any other in-game items -- so for those of you who attended WWI (or picked up a code on eBay), here's what you need to do...
Cinemassively: The Demise
This is the tale of a machinimator and one of the most epic World of Warcraft machinimas made today. The Demise is a story of forbidden love that will bring tears to your eyes as you realize what happened. Created by Surgee, for Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational machinima contest, he painstakingly rendered it on his old machine. Surgee silently vowed to himself that he would quit making machinima if he didn't win the top prize of a new computer. It was getting to be too difficult and time-consuming on his old one. Alas, the grand prize went to Olibith, for a movie about a woman's chest. However, The Demise will serve as a memory of the great contribution that he gave to WoW machinima![Thanks, #machinima on Quakenet IRC!]If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.
WoW Moviewatch: Final Warcraft VI
Baron Soosdon asked me to hold off on showing the last of his Worldwide Invitational machinima contest entries, Final Warcraft VI, until he "remastered" it. Apparently he fine tuned some things that he previously rushed on to meet the deadline. Of course, he had a little help from his friends -- Pinkhair, Caruu, and Mister "Don't forget me!" Drewbie. For all the Final Fantasy VI fans, this machinima closely follows the cinematic ending for the Playstation version.WARNING: Certain browsers are having crashing issues with this movie, so we moved it after the jump.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
The Art of War(craft): How WoW as an eSport can actually work
If you're even moderately interested in Arenas, I hope you caught the live stream of MLG Orlando yesterday, hosted by GotFrag TV. The stream quality was much better than the one from the Worldwide Invitational, and it was truly entertaining, um... television. A lot of video entertainment is available through the web these days, and GotFrag TV has been providing topnotch coverage of the Major League Gaming World of Warcraft Arena tournament series. As a student of Arenas, I've found the coverage to be extremely fun and educational. This is competition at its highest level, where players actually get paid, or win money, for playing. And just like any sport, there are a few special elements that make it interesting to watch. The starsEvery sport has its stars. You have athletes like Tiger Woods being the face of golf, or Kobe Bryant being the guy you either love or hate in basketball (for the record, I've been a Kobe fan since he got drafted by the Hornets in 1996), or even Maria Sharapova for tennis, who doesn't even necessarily have to win in order to be fun to watch (I mean, look at Anna Kournikova). Tournaments, when they're in a televised LAN format -- as opposed to online, such as the Blizzard-sponsored 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament -- means that audiences will actually get a glimpse of the players behind the characters. Just like sports stars, these players need to have some special quality that holds the interest of fans. Let's go through a few examples.
WoW Moviewatch: The Demise
Few World of Warcraft machinimas stand the test of time. Here Without You is a great example at over three years old, yet still manages to touch us today. The Demise may have just been recently released, but the story is incredibly emotional and will hopefully resonate for years to come. It revolves around a girl who is alone in the world, until she discovers a "portal" to love, happiness, and ultimately, loss. It brought a tear to this blogger's eyes.I blogged about Olibith's Worldwide Invitational machinima contest-sweeping video, The Bountiful Chest, yesterday. Today, I want to show you the video that should have won. While there's nothing wrong with the winning entry, this one just seems far superior in terms of subject matter and effort. Surgee put a tremendous amount of work into The Demise, yet promised himself that if he didn't win, he would give up. I, for one, think that he should continue![Thanks, #machinima on Quakenet IRC!]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: The Bountiful Chest
(Viewers be warned that this will probably offend some of you. For regular readers, on a scale from Tunasushi to The V-Day Riot of '08, The Bountiful Chest will be somewhere in between.)As a female, what happens in this video is a regular occurance. Well, besides the end part. However, Blizzard must have felt it special enough to award it their top prizes for the machinima contest at the recent Worldwide Invitational. Olibith machinimated a short story, The Bountiful Chest, written by Vilaeryn and narrated by Shockdingo. Since it's not very long, I'll sum it up with the moral of the story being to look us in the eyes. You're not fooling anyone![Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Cinemassively: The BS-1337 Nuclear Rocket
During Blizzard's recent Worldwide Invitational in France, a World of Warcraft machinima contest took place. While Olibith swept most of the prizes, some of the non-winning videos were quite good. Baron Soosdon took second place in the commercial contest with his machinima of the BS-1337 Nuclear Rocket. With over 9000 megatons of pure evil, this device is perfect for the villain on the go!If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.
WoW Moviewatch: Baron Soosdon goes to WWI
What happens when you give a machinimator a camera and send them off to an event like Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational? They come back with a video report ... starring their avatar. Go figure!Despite the absence of a flesh and blood Baron Soosdon, it was interesting to see the convention from the eyes of a first-timer. If you look carefully at the part where he discusses the costumed girls, you'll see a real live Dopefish, though! Other coverage includes the Blizzard museum, dance and costume contests, and the closing ceremony. He wasn't able to capture the machinima contest because it literally lasted only a few minutes. In one of the most disappointing displays, Blizzard cited that they had run out of time with the other contests and only showed a few seconds of each winning video. We know that Olibith managed to win three prizes, though!If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
