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Midsummer Fireworks tonight
Don't forget, if you don't happen to already be out and about and looking at real fireworks this evening, the celebration will be happening in Azeroth as well. This evening, I believe every hour on the hour, firework displays can be seen over all the major cities in Azeroth (Booty Bay has been my favorite place to watch in the past, but I'm interested in seeing what happens in Shattrath this year as well). Additionally, there will be free booze outside the city gates, so get drunk and party!And if you haven't done the Midsummer quests yet, don't forget that IcftB will be running all over the world this evening also-- that will kick off around 8:00 pm EST. No matter what you're up to today in-game or out, have a great and safe time, and happy Fourth of July from all of us here at WoW Insider!
Happy Midsummer Fire Festival!
Yup, the festival of flame is appearing in Azeroth starting today through July 5th. There will be bonfires in the cities, new quests to be run, and new rewards to be had (Toasted Smorc is some tasty stuff, and that +44 healing is nice, too). And of course, coming next week around July 4th, the fireworks will fly over Azeroth's cities yet again.I'm kind of excited to see what new stuff there will be to find in Outland-- I especially enjoyed the new Children's Week stuff this year (even though it took long enough to show up), and so I wonder how they celebrate Midsummer Fire in Nagrand or Shattrath. Can you imagine what fireworks would be like in Netherstorm, if they indeed have exhibits up there? Should be cool-- or in this case, hot.Enjoy the Midsummer Fire Festival-- I'll see you out by the bonfires.
Mario is a music fan
We spent this last weekend rocking out at Bonnaroo down in the drought-ravaged state of Tennessee, and look who had a prime spot right between What stage and Which stage! Yep, it's our own overalled mascot. With his mushroom habit and hairy neck, Mario fit in nicely with a good portion of the crowd. Maybe he was responsible for the orange confetti that rained down during the Flaming Lips show on Saturday night. With the insane heat, there was sure to be a fire flower around there somewhere.
GameCity returns to Nottingham in October
In 2006, Nottingham Trent University held a gaming festival, apparently it was enough of a success to warrant a sequel this fall. The GameCity 2007 festival will be held at the university October 24-28. Yes, that's awfully far away, but it gives those Brit cos-players enough of a head start on putting together their outfits.There is very little information about the festival, but we're guessing it'll be like last year's -- except bigger. According to the website, "among the excellent treats coming very soon is a fantastic competition from PlayStation." We're guessing they mean Sony, which has a strong presence on the island. Most of the festival is free and some of the events are reasonably priced. It's nice to see regional gaming conventions doing well, we're sure to learn more as the fall approaches.[Thanks Jules]
Wondering why the Lunar Festival ended early?
If you checked the calendar in advance (it was updated today), it informed you that the Lunar Festival was scheduled to end on the 8th of March -- that would be this Friday. However, if you've bothered to log on to the game at all, you'll notice that all of the decorations are gone and the elders have vanished. Whyso? Apparently, the calendar was in error -- according to Blizzard poster Ommra, the festival was supposed to last 19 days. So if you were waiting for the last day to turn things in, or the last minute to run around hunting elders (like I was -- I know, I'm a slacker), you're stuck waiting for next year.
Gundam Lantern, 1:1 scale, lights up Taiwan lantern festival
As part of a celebration for the Lantern Festival, a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar year, the Taiwanese district of Jiayi put up a 1:1 scale model of the original Gundam in lantern form. Traditionally, an animal lantern is used as the central display, but this year a competition was run and as you can see, the RX-78 Gundam lantern won out. Not that the citizens had any choice in the matter: paper sheets have never looked so formidable. It still does "NOT!" top our Engadget pumpkin though.
iTunes to sell Sundance films
MSN movies reports that under a new deal, iTunes will sell many of the short films premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. The films will also be available via streaming at the Sundance website. The article says this deal is nonexclusive so filmmakers will be able to make their own deals with distributors. I tend to find Sundance shorts tedious and a bit self indulgent, but there are always some gems to be found among them. Unfortunately, this deal does not include the full length features from the festival. The festival takes place between the 18th and 28th of this month in Park City, Utah.
Taiko Festival Master gameplay footage
If you've never given Taiko Drum Master a whirl, we highly suggest you do. Yes, we understand you probably do not own a PS2, what with it being the "devil's machine" and all, but that's what friends are for! Next time you're over a pal's house "borrow" their console and "suggest" that they purchase the game. Of course by "borrow" we mean "steal" and by "suggest" we mean "take their wallet, use their charge card, and leave their body in the river." It's not like they were much of a friend anyway. They owned a PS2...Clearly we neglected to take our meds today. Even clearlier is the fact that we can't be that insane if we recognize our own insanity and our own need to take medication for said insanity. However, the clearliest is that Taiko Festival Master looks fun in the video that is embedded into the post, after the break.
Mid-Midsummer Fire Report
Well, the festival of Midsummer Fire has been going on for a while now, and I have to admit, I basically forgot about it after about a day...Oh, I took the quests to seek out the fires throughout the lands, and I did get that really nifty Cinder Elemental that saved my butt a couple of times, and some nice experience, but all in all, my opinion on the event so far has been...blah.For one thing, I'm tired of Stormwind looking all dingy & smoky. This is one of the reasons I stopped spending so much time in Orgrimmar; the air is almost thicker in the game than in my room...and that's saying something.What about you folks? Have you enjoyed the event so far? Should Blizzard make this an annual occurrence? Chime in...
New Patch Brings Midsummer Fire Event
Well, it's about time for another holiday...and no, that Children's Week crap didn't cut it. As reported on XGPGaming, starting tomorrow, June 21st, the festival of Midsummer Fire will kick off in Azeroth, with dancing, quests, and a huge fireworks display to close it all off. The report states: * Bonfires have been lit across Azeroth in festival camps to rekindle the spirits of its celebrants and ward off ancient evils. These sacred flames are guarded by flamekeepers and it's rumoured that the myriad powers of the flames includes both cleansing and blessing. * Dancing around ribbon poles is a popular activity amongst friends and fellow celebrants in the many festival camps. Although traditionally a focus for the joyous celebrations, all participants will without doubt appreciate the resulting resistance to heat! * Fire Festival quest givers can be found in the capital cities. As the celebration of the flame is spread throughout the land of Azeroth there will be many new perilous journeys to embark on with exciting seasonal rewards to match those heroic enough. There is no announcement of the event on the official Blizzard page as of yet, and the patch notes don't make mention of it, either, but it sounds legit to me, so I guess we'll see if it appears tomorrow. If so, remember you heard it here first....or, second, rather.
