Diablo 3
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Blizzard acquires Diablo3.com, nothing to see (yet)
Several weeks ago, Diablo3.com, an independent fansite, posted a provocative countdown set to end today, May 1st. The site teased that today would be the day that "half the web" links to the domain ... well, let us save you the click. Of the two potential outcomes posed by WoW Insider, we get the far less interesting one: Blizzard has acquired the Diablo3.com domain from Roger Barr (aka "Mockery") who is transitioning his fansite to a new domain, more appropriately dubbed, Diablofans.com.Currently, Diablo3.com redirects to Diablofans.com, but eventually it will redirect to Blizzard.com, and after that...? Mr. Mockery notes that Blizzard has reminded him that the acquisition of the domain is not an official announcement of Diablo III, but Mockery can't help but speculate that "this is a confirmation of sorts that they're working on the next Diablo game." True that.
Diablo3.com hosts countdown for May 1st
Our friends at Blizzplanet sent along a mysterious little tip. Diablo3.com is not actually a Blizzard site (at least currently) -- it appears to be somehow affiliated with Blizzplanet's network (there are also links to WoW Radio, so we're checking with them to see what's up as well). But on both Diablo3.com and Blizzplanet, there is now a countdown leading up to thirteen days from now, which lands us squarely on May 1st. On Blizzplanet, there is a note that says "The Church of the Triune will be shaken in..." On Diablo3.com, the message is much more practical: "The number of days until half the web links to Diablo3.com. But why???"So what's happening on May 1st? Best case scenario, of course, is the official announcement of a third title in the Diablo series. I wouldn't hold your breath on that one, however -- while it has been rumored for a long time, it seems unlikely that Blizzard would break the news on an unofficial site. But then again, maybe it won't be an unofficial site by then -- if diablo3.com was sold to or otherwise obtained by Blizzard (they obviously own the trademark), and is switching over on May 1st, that would definitely be enough reason for "half the web" to link to it, even without an official announcement of the game.Either way, we'll keep an eye on it. Keep in mind, also, that Blizzard is having the WWI at the end of June (and both Diablo II and its expansion were released on June 29, of 2000 and 2001 respectively. We're not sure what this countdown means yet, but this summer definitely seems like the right time for an official Diablo 3 announcement.Update: Whois info on Diablo3.com shows that it's currently owned by Roger Barr, who runs I-Mockery, another link on the sidebar. So this could all just be a hoax or publicity stunt. We'll find out on May 1st, I guess.
Will Diablo 3 be announced at GC 2007?
GC is a kind of European E3/PAX that is located in Leipzig, Germany. It is a trade fair for the Video Game Industry as well as a hands-on exhibition for the game playing public. All of the major players will be there including Microsoft, EA, Nintendo, etc.Today (August 22) at 10:30am Leipzig time, the day before the Games Conference opens to the general public, Blizzard is holding a press conference. The topic? "Presentation / Demo new games". Are they going to be giving new info about StarCraft II and Wrath of the Lich King? Probably. Are they going to finally announce the project that their third development team is working on? There is a lot of speculation that yes they are and it is Diablo III.Right now, Diablo.com redirects to the Blizzard.com home page. Diablo3.eu was getting a forbidden error but is now directing to the UK Diablo II expansion site. Worldofwarcraft.com/wrath also was showing a forbidden error up to being announced at BlizzCon.I'm pretty excited at the prospect as that was my biggest disappointment at BlizzCon. Do you think they will announce a new game at GC? If so, what do you think it will be? Or am I just being unrealistically optimistic yet again? I guess we'll find out soon.Update: So far, nothing new has been announced at GC.[via BlizzPlanet]
Upcoming Blizzard announcement to be a new Starcraft?
With the countdown continuing on Blizzard's homepage, there's plenty of speculation on what Blizzard is cooking up. Warcraft 4? Starcraft 2? Diablo 3? I'm staying out of the speculation game, myself -- as much as we might guess and hope for a specific product, Blizzard is good at throwing us surprises. However, the Starcraft 2 rumors are growing in volume, fueled by the recent discovery of a Starcraft2.com page owned by Blizzard Entertainment which redirects viewers to Blizzard's main site. Gamespot went live with the story on Tuesday, and since then I've heard it just about everywhere. Reports of it are crowding my inbox. Barrens chat can't stop talking about it. And Blizzard rumors even seem to dominate OOC chat in Lord of the Rings Online. But is this really a sign that we're going to be hearing all about Starcraft 2 this weekend?My magic 8-ball has informed me signs point to no. Or even if Starcraft 2 is what we're going to hear -- this isn't really a sign of it. The domain record from Network Solutions tells us that Blizzard has owned Starcraft2.com since 1999 and the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine shows the page redirecting to Blizzard's main home page since at least 2002. Starcraft2.com is neither new nor has it recently changed. No, Blizzard doesn't own Diablo3.com (it's a Diablo 3 news site), Warcraft4.com (an advertisement site), WorldofStarcraft.com (a German WoW site), or WorldofDiablo.com (a German Diablo site). But does the fact that they've owned Starcraft2.com for eight years now mean anything relevant to the coming announcement? I think not.[Thanks to numerous tipsters]
Diablo 3 is coming, an argument
Over on diablo3.com, one loyal fan has posted a rather convincing argument -- actually, a series of arguments -- for why Blizzard must have Diablo 3 in the works. Considering the success of the first two installments, especially Diablo II, another sequel seems like a no-brainer. Of course, when you're still profiting from an even more successful title like World of Warcraft, as Blizzard is, a new Diablo game isn't a pressing matter. Our opinion? Sit tight. Diablo 3 will happen -- maybe it is happening -- but the game isn't going to be in our hands until Blizzard has ridden the WoW wave a bit further.
