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Assassin's Creed Mega Bloks will let you build the perfect killing machine
Mega Brands and Ubisoft will release Assassin's Creed branded Mega Bloks building sets later this year, the companies have revealed. The announcement offers no details about the sets though Ubisoft SVP of marketing and sales, Tony Key notes, "This collection captures the spirit of Assassin's Creed bringing to life the characters and rich historical settings in a fun way." It might seem strange to couple a murderous, traditionally M-rated series with a children's toy designed for tykes 8 and up, but it's not uncommon. Halo, another M-rated series known for violent gameplay, also has a line of Mega Bloks toys. If the Halo figures are anything to go by, the upcoming Mega Blok assassins should look just adorable while stabbing victims in the neck.
Holiday gift ideas for World of Warcraft players
Tis the season for Winter Veil -- or for those of us out here in the real world, a variety of gift-giving holidays. While getting gifts may be as easy as waiting for them to arrive, giving clever gifts that show you care takes a little more thought. It's not too late to start picking out gifts for your loved ones -- and WoW Insider is here to help you out. Digital goods like pets and mounts may be all well and good, but there's a vast variety of real-world items that are sure to delight anyone on your shopping list as well. If you're a WoW-player looking for gifts for your WoW-playing friends, check out the list we've compiled of cool gift ideas for the holiday season. Alternatively, you can always slip this handy article to your friends and family that are wondering exactly what's on your wish list this season!
Looking for holiday gifts? WoW Mega Blocks on sale at Amazon
If you're on the hunt for holiday presents for your fellow WoW-players, you might want to consider the World of Warcraft-themed Mega Bloks sets -- they're fun to put together and make excellent additions to the toy layout on your desk or bookshelf. (Everyone keeps toys scattered on their desks, don't they?) To help you along, Amazon is currently offering a lot of sets at a big discount, bringing some of the pricier sets within easy financial reach. Sets on sale right now include: Arthas & Sindragosa for $14.00 (60% off) Sha of Anger for $12.99 (68% off) Deathwing's Stormwind Assault for $45.00 (55% off) ...and plenty more. Many of these discounts are offered by third-party Amazon retailers, but most of the deals we looked at (and all the ones above) were shipped by Amazon, so we wouldn't expect you to have any trouble getting your hands on them. But like most of these Amazon sales we have no clue when prices might jump back up to retail -- so if you're interested in picking up some Mega Bloks for yourself or your friends, get shopping! [Via Reddit]
Winners announced for Build Big, Win Big Mega Bloks contest
The winners for Blizzard's Build Big, Win Big contest from Mega Bloks have now been announced on the official website. While there could only be one Grand Prize winner, the contest result showed off ten third prize winners, and five second prize winners as well. The Grand Prize winner, Bradley Tingstad, gets to celebrate with one year of WoW and a gigantic pile of prizes, including copies of all five World of Warcraft Collector's Editions. That's one heck of a prize! The contest, announced late last year, asked enterprising builders to combine their World of Warcraft Mega Bloks sets into new combinations. The winning entries did just that, some with astonishing results, and all with a display of imagination and creativity. Blizzard's post on the official website has photos of the Grand Prize entry -- a remarkably adept replica of a goblin shredder -- as well as the second place winners. For photos of the third prize winners, as well as more images of the winning entries, you can head to the official Build, Big, Win Big! Facebook app.
Mega Bloks sponsors World of Warcraft Build Big, Win Big contest
If you're the kind of person who enjoys building set toys, like World of Warcraft Mega Bloks, then this contest is for you. To quote the contest instructions: Take your Mega Bloks World of Warcraft sets and stack, rearrange, redesign and recombine 'em into never-before-seen creations. We want to see how big, impressive and creative you can be with your sets. Once you're ready, snap some pictures of your masterpiece and submit them through our official "Build Big, Win Big" Facebook Contest. So if that's you, head over to the Facebook page and see if you want to enter. Time is short - the contest ends in two days. The grand prize winner will get five CE's, one for classic World of Warcraft and one for each of the expansions. There are plenty of other prizes to win as well, check the official rules here for details.
World of Warcraft Mega Bloks commercial airs
Don't call them "LEGOs" or "Blocks," although we would forgive you if you did make one of these common mistakes when dealing with Mega Bloks. The definitely-not-LEGO toymaker is releasing a series of World of Warcraft sets and now has the commercial to prove it. The 30-second spot shows the creation of Stormwind castle, one of the Horde zeppelins, and several action figures of WoW characters (including Arthas). Each has interchangable armor, which is right in step for what you'd expect from an MMO franchise. Spare 30 seconds to watch it after the jump and decide if you're going to buy a few of these for... a lucky little boy or girl whom you might know.
Watch the first World of Warcraft Mega Bloks commercial
World of Warcraft Mega Bloks hit store shelves back in August, but Mega Bloks has only just revealed the first commercial for the product lineup. The commercial, which you can watch above, shows off the currently available sets, including Deathwing's Stormwind Assault and Goblin Zeppelin Ambush. If you're curious as to the quality of the products, WoW Insider has previously previewed the Goblin Zeppelin Ambush set, which should tell you what you need to know.
Blizzard headed to New York Comic Con
If you're headed to New York Comic Con this week, keep your eyes peeled for Blizzard. Blizzard Entertainment will have both panels and signings at NYCC this year, including a publishing panel with Blizzard Publishing Lead Micky Neilson, Lead Quest Designer Dave Kosak, and author Michael Stackpole. During the panel, they'll be revealing the next World of Warcraft novel, which should be the Vol'jin story mentioned during the AMA on Reddit last month. Judging from his presence at the panel, it's likely this is the story Stackpole will be writing. You can catch the panel Saturday, October 13 from 2:45-3:45pm in Room 1A14 at the Javits Center in New York. There will also be a panel from UDON on Friday, October 12 from 7:45-8:45pm in Room 1A06. The UDON panel will be giving a scoop on a future collaboration between Blizzard and UDON, a Blizzard-themed tribute art book and contest. And if you're looking to get your copy of Pearl of Pandaria signed by the author and artist, you can find Micky Neilson and Sean "Cheeks" Galloway at the IDC Booth, #1238, on Friday from 12-1pm. Blizzard will also have a presence at a ton of booths around the convention center, everything from Mega Bloks to comics and publishing. For the full list of scheduled events and booths, head the official website.
Mega Bloks offer 10% off to celebrate Mists launch!
In celebration of the launch of Mists of Pandaria, Mega Bloks have been kind enough to inform us that for a limited period they are offering 10% off on all purchases of World of Warcraft Mega Bloks sets with a spend of $50 or more. To get this offer, you need to head over to coupons.com and grab the coupon, then get shopping for Mega Blocks and build your own Theramore scenario with as many opening quests as you like! If you're wondering what these Mega Bloks things are all about, WoW Insider's very own Alex Ziebart recently wrote a complete account of his construction of a fairly awesome goblin zeppelin, rather similar to the one that dropped the mana bomb on Theramore. And back in July, we had a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the Mega Bloks creative process, as well as a preview of the first season of Mega Bloks sets!
Mega Bloks: Goblin Zeppelin Ambush hands-on
Can you guess what happens when you lose your digital camera the night before you receive a preview set of the newly released World of Warcraft Mega Bloks? If you guessed the preview gets delayed by two weeks while you desperately search for your camera before breaking down and buying a new one, you're right! The most common gripe people seem to have with World of Warcraft licensed Mega Bloks isn't an actual critique of the product -- it's the fact that people want LEGOs rather than Mega Bloks. The comparison is unavoidable, and even this hands-on contains a bit of it. But after having played around with this set for some time, and equipped with experience with LEGOs since I was a child, the comparison between the two companies feels increasingly inappropriate. Yes, both companies produce toy building blocks, but the goals of the two products feel different. To me personally, it feels that the goal of LEGOs is to build, whereas the goal of Mega Bloks is to play. There's overlap in these activities, the creativity of building is absolutely an aspect of play, but the two products approach the activity from two different directions. They just happen to meet somewhere in the middle.
Blizzard panel and Sam Didier at the San Diego Comic-Con 2012
WoW Insider has received a tip that there will be a Blizzard panel at the San Diego Comic-Con! From 2:15 to 3:15 on Thursday, July 12, Chris Metzen (Blizzard Entertainment SVP, story and franchise development) and special guests will be hosting a panel in room 6BCF. The panel is listed as a product showcase for WoW, StarCraft and Diablo, and the blurb says that they will "reveal never-before-seen licensed products and plans for 2012/2013. Talk to the designers, writers and artists themselves as we dig into Mega Bloks, novels, comics, statues and more." This panel will, of course, include a Q&A alongside the reveals mentioned above, so if you're in the San Diego area and already have tickets to Comic-Con, this sounds like a fantastically exciting opportunity to hob-nob with the Blizzard team and quiz them about everything you need to know about their games. But wait, there's more! Sam "Samwise" Didier, the art director at Blizzard Entertainment responsible for creating much of the artwork for the Warcraft, StarCraft, and the Diablo series and the senior art director on StarCraft II, will be in the Artists' Alley at table DD-09. The Artists' Alley gives Comic-Con attendees the chance to meet and greet some of their favorite artists, and you might even be able to buy original art, sketches, and exclusive, limited edition prints and sketchbooks. I would have loved to put in a link to buy Comic-Con tickets, but it seems from the website that it is completely sold out. So close to the time, I'm guessing this isn't a great surprise -- but still, a shame. So if you're lucky enough to have tickets, head on over! [Thanks for the tips, Serrotatauren!]
Behind the scenes with Mega Bloks World of Warcraft
Last year at BlizzCon, Blizzard announced that Mega Bloks would be producing a line of World of Warcraft building block sets. Mega Bloks has just released a video that gives a "Behind the Bloks" look at the process. The headquarters of both companies are explored, and the actual fabrication of the blocks is demonstrated. Also showcased are the Deathwing Stormwind Assault and Goblin Zeppelin Ambush playsets. Andrew Sparkes, vice president of kid and collector brands at Mega Brands, Inc., narrates the video along with Nick Carter, vice president of art and cinematic development at Blizzard Entertainment. They discuss the timeline of the product, the relationship between the two companies and the inspirations behind the playsets. The Mega Bloks World of Warcraft website links to previews of the season one sets, which are due to be released some time this summer.
World of Warcraft Mega Bloks season 1 revealed
Remember way back when Mega Bloks announced that it was creating a line of Warcraft sets? Which lore pieces would make for the best building block sets? Which characters did we want to see? Well, season 1 of the Mega Bloks Warcraft line has been revealed, and it is amazing. One of the larger sets includes Deathwing and Stormwind, where you can recreate your favorite cinematic moments from Cataclysm! Faction packs include Ironoak the night elf, Ragerock the orc, Valoren the blood elf, and the ever-exciting and fancily named Colton the human paladin. Mount packs include Swift Gryphon with worgen rider, Goblin Trike with goblin rider, Flying Machine with gnome pilot, and Swift Wyvern with tauren rider. There are also three other larger sets, including the Lich King and Sindragosa, Demolisher Attack Horde versus Alliance, and the Goblin Zeppelin. However, my favorite set of them all (and proof that the folks over at Mega Bloks play World of Warcraft, are Warcraft fans, and understand the nature and feel of this game) is The Barrens Chase Set. The Barrens Chase set is the quintessential WoW setup -- dorky night elf riding his cat in hot pursuit across The Barrens, chasing the most awesome orc on the planet, riding a rocket. This is World of Warcraft at its best. Check out all of the new sets in our gallery, and look for them in stores soon. %Gallery-151889%
Mega Bloks wants fans to channel their inner Thrall
Mega Bloks has a well-known partnership with Blizzard to produce buildable block sets based on the Warcraft and StarCraft franchises. It kicked off this relationship at BlizzCon with a life-size Thrall statue made out of Mega Bloks, allowing fans to pose with the blocky former Warchief of the Horde. Now, Mega Bloks is asking fans to "channel their inner Thrall" for a chance to win a life-size Doomhammer made out of Mega Bloks. You can enter right now by submitting a photo with one (or more, ostensibly) of the following conditions: Pose like Thrall (Stand proud, warrior!) Pose as Thrall (cosplay) Pose with Thrall (BlizzCon statue, figure, etc.) Then ask your friends, guildies and coworkers to vote for your photo when it appears on the contest page. You can also vote for your favorite one (mine is, of course, our good friend Orkchop's) while you're there. The contest ends in a week, though, so you should probably enter it soon if you want to get your hands on that Doomhammer!
BlizzPlanet goes to Toy Fair 2012 in New York
Toy Fair 2012 started up on Sunday, Feb. 12, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, where many companies announced awesome new licensed Blizzard products that we're definitely excited about. The event ends tomorrow on Wednesday, Feb. 15. BlizzPlanet has been on the scene to report back on all of the new products coming stamped with the Blizzard seal of approval. MEGA Bloks showed up with new prototypes for the World of Warcraft MEGA Bloks sets coming soon, with cool catapults and orcish scenary. Giant MEGA Blok Thrall was on hand to pose with fans. Insight Editions showed off its Diablo III: Book of Cain, and USAopoly made one of the biggest announcements with World of Warcraft Monopoly and RISK: StarCraft. DC Unlimited continued to show off its figures for the World of Warcraft series, many of which were delayed for a long time for unknown reasons. However, these figures are coming, and they look great. Check out BlizzPlanet for coverage of all of the licensed Blizzard products showing up at the convention.
The MMO Report: Giving it away for free edition
Today on The MMO Report, Casey chronicles DC Universe Online's F2P growing pains ("It's almost like they're giving it away for free," he says cheekily) before moving on to the Total Recall MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic's server types, Guild Wars 2's pet system, and the bizarre addition of Second Life to the FBI's watch list for criminal gangs and drug traffickers. "Way to give criminal organizations a wonderful idea, FBI," jokes The Beard. This episode also sees the return of Uncle Casey's mailbag and a new contest to devise an MMO Report-themed drinking game. Winners will receive (what else?) World of Warcraft-themed MEGA Bloks. Casey ends the show on a Skyrim note: "For some reason, I am always drawn to the most useless skills and end up creating a character that's only good at talking to people and getting lower prices on things but not so great at killing things." Sounds like some of my toons! Hit the break for the full episode!
Win a Mega Bloks Thrall figure from WoW Insider
Visitors to BlizzCon 2011 got an exclusive lil' Thrall figure courtesy of Mega Bloks, and if you didn't make it to the con, then you might not ever get this particular mini-World-Shaman -- that is, of course, unless you get one from WoW Insider! We happen to have five Thrall figures to give away to lucky readers. For a chance to win, all you have to do is comment on this post by Friday, Nov. 11 at 11:59 p.m. PST. There are a few rules, of course! You can only enter once, and make sure you have a valid email address attached to your profile, since that's how we'll get hold of you if you win. Only legal residents of the 50 United States and Canada (excluding Quebec) can enter, and you have to be 18 years of age or older. See the complete official rules for details.
MMO Report: Ah crap it's BlizzCon again edition
"Ah crap, it's BlizzCon again?" asks Casey Schreiner in this week's MMO Report. 'Fraid so! At the Anaheim con, Casey interviewed World of Warcraft Lead Producer J. Allen Brack about the Mists of Pandaria expansion, covering the neutral Pandaren race, the Monk class, the talent system overhaul, pet combat, world bosses, battlegrounds, challenge mode, retro dungeons, and beer. He also found time to chat with a few fans, cut in line, sniff markers, wade into a loot elemental money machine, polish off some voiceovers for Jaina and Thrall, and play with WoW-themed LEGOs. I mean, MEGA Bloks. Casey's takeaway? "We all learned something very valuable here: that internet rumors can sometimes be true. So thanks for ruining Christmas, The Internet!" Enjoy the MMO Report just past the cut.
BlizzCon 2011: Mega Bloks Thrall figure and more
Earlier this year, it was announced that Blizzard would be teaming up with MEGA Brands, Inc. to release Warcraft- and StarCraft-themed Mega Bloks sets. It looks like they're definitely going to have a presence at BlizzCon 2011, and the toys look great. BlizzCon attendees can look forward to a Thrall giveaway figure as an exclusive gift -- but there's plenty more to be had, including a limited edition Battlecruiser. Only 3,000 of these Battlecruisers were produced, and they are available for purchase to all BlizzCon attendees and Virtual Ticket holders. You can order yours on the official Mega Bloks BlizzCon site. Oh, but that's not all. Attendees can also tweet to win by taking their photo with a massive Mega Bloks statue of Thrall. On top of that, you can also enter to win a chance for a one-of-a-kind Mega Bloks Frostmourne replica by guessing the number of bloks that went into creating the sword on display at the Mega Bloks booth. Be sure to stop by Booth C-303 to take a look at the Mega Bloks creations and get in on the contest action! Turn to WoW Insider for all your BlizzCon 2011 news and information. Get ready to kick off the weekend with the WoW Insider Reader Meetup cohosted by Wowhead, and look for our liveblogs of the convention panels, interviews with WoW celebrities -- and of course, lots of pictures of people in costumes. It's all here at WoW Insider!
Blizzard teams up with Mega Bloks for Warcraft and StarCraft sets
Big Blizzard licensing news -- Blizzard has teamed up with MEGA Brands, Inc. to release Warcraft- and StarCraft-themed Mega Bloks sets. You might remember the Halo Mega Bloks sets as another of Mega Bloks' video game releases. These are Blizzard's two largest franchises, so it's a pretty substantial acquisition for Mega Bloks. What is most interesting to me about this licensing partnership is Blizzard's consolidation and general changing strategy regarding the World of Warcraft and StarCraft intellectual properties. In South Korea, StarCraft is already on everything you can imagine, and licensing in general is one of Blizzard's biggest assets (as it is for most content creators.) Does this licensing deal signal a renewed push to put Warcraft and StarCraft on lots of new, carefully hand-picked products? Suffice to say, I am excited about Blizzard's licensing future. The sets are scheduled for release in summer 2012. We have no news on what characters or settings will be featured in the sets, but our imaginations can happily wander. Will we get vehicles? Iconic location play sets? Lore exposition in block form? I've got a few ideas...
