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WoW: Wrath of the Lich King launching in China this month
It's been a long time coming, but World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King will finally launch in mainland China on August 31. The release date comes nearly two years after the second expansion pack invaded the free world. China is a tad behind the times in Azeroth, as the next expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, is planned for release later this year elsewhere. China's latest World of Warcraft operator NetEase has faced a series of unfortunate events trying to keep the game running (and cash flowing) from the region. Obviously Activision-Blizzard is seeing enough money from China to make all the political hassles worth it.
Blizzard releases WoW patch 3.0.8, first since Lich King's launch
Don't panic, click to view the guide Blizzard has released its first post-Wrath of the Lich King update for World of Warcraft. There are a plethora of changes, including the much-requested ability to create a Death Knight in any realm, provided you've got a level 55 character tied to your account (prior to this, you needed a level 55 on the same server). We're not even going to try to delve any further into the patch notes. Instead, we'll kindly point you in the direction of WoW Insider for a full in-depth analysis. If for whatever reason, your auto-updater isn't working, you can download the patch via BigDownload.
Wrath of the Lich King hits GameStop's credit card system for 500 damage
And now a scene from tonight's epic, midnight raid: Wrath of the Lich King casts Credit Card Overload. Wrath of the Lich King hits GameStop for 309. GameStop parries. Wrath of the Lich King hits GameStop for 403. GameStop's credit card servers suffers a 10% durability loss. Wrath of the Lich King crits GameStop for 1,300,296. Wrath of the Lich King crits GameStop for 296,129,423,127. Wrath of the Lich King has slain GameStop's credit card servers! Our friends at WoW Insider have the scoop. We'll have more from the Wrath launch later today. After the break, see the same battle with an interface add-on! Gallery: Wrath of the Lich King Midnight Launches
Europe is now addicted to Wrath of the Lich King
Our World of Warcraft friends (some of whom may or may not work as professional WoW bloggers) have been prodding us incessantly to remind us that (a) Wrath of the Lich King is coming out worldwide on November 13 and (b) Europe is hours ahead of North America. Applying applicable logic, we can use (a) and (b) to deduce (c) Europeans are now exploring Northrend via the latest WoW expansion on European servers. Why should you care? If you're a Western Hemisphere MMO addict, you might have a new reason to hate your friends across the pond -- at least for a few hours. If you don't care about MMOs at all, well, here's a post about Far Cry 2. Check out WoW Insider for more in-depth coverage than you can shake a Death Knight at. Remember, folks, Wrath of the Lich King officially comes out midnight tonight, so make an effort to see your WoW-playing buddies this one last time.
7-11 sells Wrath of the Lich King early
Apparently unhappy with "Operation 72 Oz. Frozen Soda" and "Project Huge Bag of Funyons," 7-11 has launched yet another salvo in the Obesity War: Starting sales of World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King early. Our friends over at WoW Insider have received a picture from a fan able to procure a copy of his very own. We'd take this opportunity to mock them, but we're sure WoW fans are already running to their local 7-11 for the chance to sit motionless for hours at a time, days earlier than their friends. Well, OK, they're probably not running.
The Lich King invades World of Warcraft
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/The_Lich_King_is_attacking_the_World_of_Warcraft'; On the eve of Wrath of the Lich King's launch, the World of Warcraft realms are facing an assault by Arthas, the Lich King himself. Our friends at WoW Insider are live at the Orc capital city of Orgrimmar, risking virtual life and virtual limb to keep you updated. WotLK will officially launch November 13. Gallery: Orgrimmar is under attack!
Wrath of the Lich King weapon turns you into a Guitar Hero
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Guitar_Hero_in_World_of_Warcraft'; Blizzard has created a new weapon for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King that temporarily transforms you into into Bergrisst, the rhythm guitarist of cross-medium metal group Level 80 Elite Chief Tauren, complete with a shred-tacular guitar solo. The axe, dubbed the Arcanite Ripper (based on the Arcanite Reaper), is dropped by Tenris Mirkblood in Karazhan. We've embedded video of the Ripper, courtesy of WoW Insider, after the break. Here's hoping the rest of the band makes an enchanted item cameo. Wrath of the Lich King will ruin your holiday plans November 13. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
Wrath of the Lich King zombie plague covering Azeroth
Though the gaming industry fat cats have yet to seriously address our demands for a zombie-themed MMO (do we need to throw another demand-wrapped brick through the front window?) tonight's event in World of Warcraft has given us something close. You see, Arthas – the titular Lich King – is sort of a jerk and, as such, he's planted a bunch of "Conspicuous Crates" around the land of Azeroth. Open one: You're a zombie! Touch another zombie? Bam! You're a zombie. If this plague sounds familiar, we'd direct you towards this post from 2005 (lo those many years ago) detailing an unintentional plague that spread through Azeroth (and the servers that power it). Blizzard has, in short, taken that "Blood Plague" and harnessed it as a world event, similar to the Scourge invasion that preceded the release of The Burning Crusade. Unsurprisingly, WoW Insider has all the details, reporting, "The threat is growing -- we're getting word of huge zombie raids forming outside the capital cities ..." Shhh. You had us at "huge zombie raids." Gallery: Wrath of the Lich King Zombie Event
Wrath of the Lich King Collector's Edition detailed
Here's the thing: selling a Collector's Edition for a game made for collectors isn't fan service ... it's stealing. But if you're comfortable with that, and want to slip a crisp $70 bill into Joe Blizzard's overstuffed g-string, here's what he's offering in exchange: The Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack, helpfully jammed onto a DVD-ROM (take that, floppies!) A 208-page WotLK art book ... full of art Frosty, the baby frost wyrm – an exclusive in-game pet (what, no plushie?) A DVD jam-packed with dev interviews, intro cinematic (plus director's commentary) Soundtrack CD, featuring the #1 hit single: "Waltz of the Lich King" Mouse pad (adorned with a handy map of Northrend) Two starter decks for the collectible card game (see: collectors!) and two exclusive cards You can try to resist, collectophiles, but alas ... you can't. Blizzard will once again triumph over frugality, and your epic quest for debt-free living will end on November 13th. [Via WoW Insider]
Wrath of the Lich King release date: November 13
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/WotLK_release_date_11_13_08'; This is it! It's happening, just as the ancients had foretold. Blizzard has officially revealed the release date for its latest get-rich-quick scheme. Wrath of the Lich King – the second expansion to the sorta-popular World of Warcraft – will cast an icy blue glow over retail shelves everywhere on November 13th for the doesn't-include-your-subscription asking price of $39.99. That means you have exactly two weeks before Thanksgiving to storm the shores of Northrend with your fancy new Death Knight, mess up some undead frost wyrm dragons, earn as many Achievements as possible, and put Arthas on ice for good. In the meantime, if you're curious what any of that means, crawl through Massively's "What's new in Wrath of the Lich King" primer, embedded below. Gallery: What's new in Wrath of the Lich King
It's official: Wrath of the Lich King coming November 13
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/WotLK_release_date_11_13_08'; Popular World of Warcraft database site Wowhead has unveiled what it's claiming to be an official (and rather gigantic) Blizzard ad that reveals the official Wrath of the Lich King release date: Thursday, November 13. To celebrate, Wowhead is raffling off 10 beta keys. Though we know the expansion is due in Q4 2008, Blizzard has yet to confirm the date, either via press release or its website -- in other words, don't take this as gospel until we get an official statement. Update: The ad is now also appearing prominently on Thottbot, though it should be noted both it and Wowhead are owned by the same company. Update 2: Blizzard finally made it official (more official than a generous ad buy, at least). In other news, the Thanksgiving Day traditions of millions of families just got kicked in the sweetmeats. Check out WoW Insider for more WotLK coverage than you can shake a Cross-eyed Stick of Information Overload at. Gallery: Wrath of the Lich King [Via WoW Insider]
Bambi brings vengeance to Wrath of the Lich King
Perhaps the vagaries of reality have finally taken hold and you've done it. You've canceled the WoW account. Now you're back together with the Mrs., you've re-memorized all your kids' names, and you've got something that approximates steady work. Life, it would seem, is perfect. Then you heard the siren call of Wrath of the Lich King and – what is this? – you shut it out. Fine ... be strong. But can you shut out the opportunity to drive your Sword of a Thousand Truths deep into the spotted fur of Bambi's mother? Sure, you cried during Bambi like everyone else did, but can you really resist transforming sweet, innocent Bambi(na) – spotted in Wrath's Northrend – into the crazy-eyed "Vengeful Bambina"? Blizzard's hoping you can't. But what if the kids see what you've done? You'll lose it all! Again! [Via WoW Insider]
Wrath of the Lich King coming Q4 2008
After the beta announcement, we knew the hour of bewilderment was almost upon us. Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime announced in a conference call (via Shacknews) that the latest World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King is coming this year between October or December. Morhaime actually said it was coming out this year, but "it's not coming out in the July to September quarter," which after hours of calculations left us certain of the Q4 2008 window. Brush up on your WotLK news care of WoW Insider. [Via WoW Insider]
Wrath of Lich King's Blue Eye of Sauron
The world of Warcraft (and subsequently World of Warcraft) owes a lot to Lord of the Rings ... but this is outright thievery! We jest, of course, but The Eye of Acherus does bear a striking resemblance, palette swap notwithstanding, of a certain bling-seeking, fiery ocular orb. The folks at WoW Insider have more on how the orb is used in questing. In other WotLK news, check out what WI is dubbing the quintessential Death Knight armor set. Gallery: Wrath of the Lich King: The Eye of Acherus
Wrath of the Lich King goes beta
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/World_of_Warcraft_Wrath_of_the_Lich_King_Beta_Is_Starting'; On a Thursday night after all the E3 shenanigans (and during our party, no less), we have word that Blizzard has begun the Wrath of the Lich King beta. Sources have told WoW Insider that the alpha phase reportedly shut down a few days ago and that invites should be going out soon for the beta. Additionally, a Blizzard site has gone live to help gamers get the beta set up. Are you one of the lucky few to get an invite? You can check out the patch notes here. Gallery: Wrath of the Lich King
Wrath of the Lich King beta registration now open in US
Blizzard has opened US registration for the Wrath of the Lich King beta. American World of Warcraft players should probably head over to this page now and register for a chance to opt in. Two helpful reminders: Registering for the beta does not guarantee you a chance to play. It just adds your name to a pool of potential players that Blizzard will choose from. Beware of e-mail scams. This is the official URL: https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/beta-opt-in.html Whether or not you get into the beta, be sure to check out WoW Insider for up-to-date coverage. [Via WoW Insider]
WoW Insider goes hands-on with the Death Knight
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Hands_on_with_the_WoW_Death_Knight_class_at_the_WWI_in_Paris'; The MMO-obsessed at WoW Insider managed to get some hands-on time with Wrath of the Lich King's Death Knight class while at this weekend's Blizzard Worldwide Invitational. Take a look for impressions and information on the gameplay, skills and talents of this soon-to-be overused class. General gameplay impressions Blood spells and talents Unholy spells and talents Frost spells and talents Don't forget to check out all of Worldwide Invitational coverage, from World of Warcraft to Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3.
All World of Warcraft classes dissected at WWI 2008
You can't escape World of Warcraft at Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational. Between class-specific panels and the giant WoW dev panel. Here's a look into the future of each of the classes, including a ton of information on the upcoming Death Knight class: Death Knight Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior
Vivendi: Wrath of the Lich King coming second half of 2008
In a press release announcing Q1 2008 results (PDF File), Blizzard owner Vivendi Universal asserts that the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King is "anticipated to be released in the second half of 2008." Mark your calendars, as we suspect the Christmas season is going to be a lot less productive. While we always expected release this year, Blizzard, who has yet to make a formal announcement, is notorious for delaying games until they've met some in-house standard of quality. Our attention is now focused intently on Blizzard's WWI event in Paris next month. [Via Big Download] Read (PDF File)
A dwarven explosion of Wrath of the Lich King info
Last night Blizzard waved its Arcane Staff of Embargo Lifting, unleashing an torrential downpour of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King information from an event held recently. Our friends at WoW Insider, whose invitation must've gotten lost in the mail along with ours, are gathering all the news from around the internet. In case you missed anything: Gamespy's hands on with Wrath of the Lich King Dungeons and Raids in Wrath of the Lich King More of the Wrath of the Lich King impressions and information coming out The Death Knight class revealed Gamespy Interviews J. Allen Brack A flood of videos are also coming in. We've embedded several from GameTrailers after the break.
