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April Fools: StarCraft II's Terran base is more than meets the eye
It's the biggest StarCraft II announcement since the game itself -- and would make Michael Bay proud. Blizzard today unveiled the largest unit to date in its RTS franchise: the Terran Terra-Tron. This hulking bipedal war machine is actually built from the combined pieces of an entire Terran base. The base "transforms," if you will.As if its sheer mass and weapons load-out weren't enough to intimidate Zerg and Protoss adversaries, the thing speaks. Phrases such as, "Hell, it's transformin' time" and "Terra-Tron, terrorize!" should turn any rush into a retreat. Blizzard has videos of the Terra-Tron doing big things on the game's official site -- but hurry, it might be gone come April 2.[Via BigDownload]
Kaplan on being the "Cruise Director of Azeroth" at GDC '09
Jeffrey "Tigole" Kaplan, former WoW Lead Designer who just recently headed off to work on Blizzard's new MMO, held a panel at the Game Developer's Conference earlier this week in San Fransisco called "Cruise Directior of Azeroth," in which he talked about some of the design decisions behind World of Warcraft, where Blizzard got their inspiration for a lot of the gameplay now made famous by the game, and even some of the mistakes they made in putting the world's most popular MMO together.WoW Insider had correspondents there on the site, and they sent back audio of Kaplan's speech. We've paraphrased the salient points, and you can find them all after the break. There's some really interesting stuff in there, including the fact that in the past two years, 80 billion quests have been completed in North America's Azeroth alone, and just who is behind the frustration that is The Green Hills of Stranglethorn (hint: it's Kaplan himself).Hit the link below to see what Kaplan told the crowd at GDC.%Gallery-48658%
Blizzard Insider Issue 30 released today
Issue 30 of Blizzard's newsletter, the Blizzard Insider, is hitting inboxes this afternoon. These newsletters don't come often, but when they do, there's always some good stuff the comes along with it. On the World of Warcraft front, beyond the screenshots and fan art, we have a few new pages to check out: A primer for the upcoming World of Warcraft content patch, Secrets of Ulduar A chapter out of the upcoming Warcraft novel Arthas: Rise of the Lich King that you can preview online A reminder and a few notes about the ongoing Arena Tournament For our general Blizzard fans among our readership (which is a pretty large number of you/us), we have a couple of Diablo III and Starcraft II items from the community:
Battle.net accounts coming to the EU
Blizzard's various websites (official WoW site, the Armory, etc) have all been down for maintenance today, and we had no real idea why. Word is coming in from the EU that the switch to Battle.net accounts that we talked about previously is finally coming about. Portions of the official EU site are redirecting to this Battle.net login page.We knew this would happen eventually, especially since the name of the Authenticator changed on the PTR from being World of Warcraft specific to a more broad Battle.net name, but the fact that it's coming without formal notice is a bit surprising! If you're unfamiliar with what a Battle.net account actually is, it's more or less the same as your WoW account but instead of an account name, it uses your e-mail address and it spans all Blizzard games. Considering the Starcraft II beta is rumored to be starting quite soon, this is probably good timing for the switch.We have no idea if this switch is happening in the US yet, but it's probably a safe assumption that it will. Or if it hasn't, we'll be seeing it very soon. If we find out more, we'll be sure to let you know.Update: It does look like this is coming to the US soon as well.[Thanks to everyone for the tips, and Kumbol for the screenshot]
StarCraft: Ghost concept art surfaces, game hasn't
StarCraft: Ghost was originally poised to be a direct competitor to the Splinter Cell and Metal Gear franchises, with similar action and stealth gameplay. Set four years after the events of StarCraft: The Brood War, it was once a hotly anticipated title for Blizzard fans. Yet, the game has eluded retail shelves after years of delays and swapped hands.A gaggle of concept art is now available online of what once was Sam Fisher and Solid Snake's worst nightmare... a girl! For a little back story on the StarCraft: Ghost insanity, here is your daily history lesson: 2002 - StarCraft: Ghost is announced (at TGS), under the development eye of Nihilistic Software (of Conan fame) 2004 - Numerous delays forced Nihilistic to cede development duties to Swingin' Ape Studios (makers of Metal Arms: Glitch in the System) 2005 - A GameCube version of SG is officially canned and Blizzard decides to hold off on further development to assess the upcoming generation of consoles Mid 2006 - StarCraft: Ghost is put on 'indefinite hold' by Blizzard, who has since moved on to StarCraft 2 development Late 2006 - StarCraft Ghost: Nova was released in bookstores setting up the back story for the (now likely) vaporware title 2008 - Blizzard does not include Ghost in a presentation at D.I.C.E. referencing canceled games; Blizzard claims it was never officially canceled 2009 - Yeah, the game still doesn't exist
Korean pro Warcraft player says 'zug-zug' to a half-million dollar contract
Korean professional gamer Jae Ho "Moon" Jang has signed a three-year, $486,500 contract to play with WeMade FOX in the Korean gaming leagues. His manager is working on introducing more quality players as there "aren't many first-class players in Korea." Um, if you're, like, really good at Warcraft/StarCraft ... now's the time to start learning Korean.Best part: Jang isn't even the highest paid professional Korean player, just the highest paid Warcraft player. Top billing goes to his WeMade FOX teammate, Yoon Yeoi "NaDa" Lee, who signed a contract for $521,250 to play StarCraft back in 2007. Wow.[Via VG247]
StarCraft fans ticked about voice-over changes
This is one of those stories you're either going to really care about or be utterly ambivalent to, so just hang in there with us, OK? Reports indicate that the voice actors who played Jim Raynor and Kerrigan in the original StarCraft are being replaced in the sequel, the news of which was apparently the equivalent of dropping -- is there a really big bomb in StarCraft? If so, it was like dropping that on the SC fan community.As you can see here, every tool in the fanboy arsenal from petitions to YouTube videos are being deployed. Hoping to get in on the fun, we put the question to you, the Joystiq Biomass:%Poll-27264%
The Queue: Good morning Azeroth!
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today. Welcome to this edition of The Queue. It's 11:00 a.m. Do you know where your children are? Hopefully they're firmly planted in some sort of edumacation. I am so smart, S. M. R. T., I mean S. M. A. R. T.AlexW573 asked..."How many reasonably geared (entry 80 raiding) people does it take for TBC 25man raids?"
Activision Blizzard voted most likely to succeed
An industry survey put together by GI.biz has voted WoW's own Activision Blizzard as the most likely videogame publisher to succeed in 2009. Not that surprising -- not only do they have the Warcraft behemoth under their belt, but Starcraft 2 is rumored for a release this year, as is a sequel to 2007's best selling game, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and a Guitar Hero spinoff called DJ Hero.And who knows what BlizzCon will hold -- even though we're only now reaching the steps of Icecrown, the time is ripe for Blizzard to start hinting at content patches that come after 3.1, or maybe even expansion number three. Blizzard and their parent company at Activision are on top of the world right now, so there's no question why 30% of the industry folks surveyed said they'd have the biggest 2009 around. We can't wait.[via Joystiq]
Starcraft 2 'in the final stretch,' beta this year 'unless something crazy happens'
The official forums for Starcraft II were recently alive with the hustle and bustle of curious Zergling enthusiasts when a member of the much-anticipated game's dev team dropped in to answer a few quick questions. Most of these dealt with gameplay intricacies, which he answered in explicit detail -- though when it came to the game's release and beta schedules, his responses were fairly ambiguous (much to the chagrin of the rabidly excited forumgoers).To manage these unanswered queries, Starcraft II lead developer Dustin "Cavez" Browder began a new FAQ thread, in which two titilating timelines were referenced -- first, he explained that the beta will be opening in 2009 "unless something crazy happens." Second, while he couldn't give any set-in-stone answers regarding the game's launch date ("our target dates are not something we hit more than half the time," he explained), Browder teased that the dev team is "in the final stretch." Sounds like it's nearing completion -- could Starcraft II be Blizzard's promised "frontline release" for this year?
Blizzard in August: BlizzCon 2009 announced
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/BlizzCon_2009_announced_2'; Blizzard Entertainment has announced details of this year's BlizzCon event, the celebration of all things Blizzard and the most convincing reason for WoW players to leave the house. This year's event will take place Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22 at the Anaheim Convention Center, in four convention halls (last year's event was contained in a mere three).The event will feature panel discussions from Blizzard staff, tournaments, contests, playable demos of upcoming Blizzard games, an auction, and, of course, merch. Blizzard has yet to offer information about price, availability, or method of purchase for tickets. Keep rapid-firing F5 on www.blizzcon.com for more information. Actually, don't do that -- if Blizzard's servers crash, they'll just have to buy more, and the cost might show up in ticket prices.%Gallery-34238%[Via WoW Insider]
BlizzCon 2009 announced
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/BlizzCon_2009_announced_2'; Blizzard, apparently deciding that listing BlizzCon so late last year was a bad idea, announced today that there will indeed be a BlizzCon 2009 according to a post on our sister site, WoW Insider. This year's BlizzCon will be held on August 21st & 22nd at the Anaheim Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA. Among the many things that we're told to expect this year, Blizzard fans can look forward to: Hands-on play time with upcoming Blizzard Entertainment games Discussion panels with Blizzard Entertainment developers Competitive and casual tournaments for players to showcase their talents Community contests with great prizes Commemorative merchandise based on Blizzard Entertainment's game universes A silent auction More exciting activities and attractions to be announced With the further announcement that they're planning to open up additional space in the convention center, more people should be able to attend versus last year's numbers. Also, considering Blizz's love of announcing big things at events, perhaps we'll get some news on this new MMO they're working on. Now, if they can fix the issues with the failoc that cropped up last year, this should be an interesting event for all those who love Blizzard games. One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
Activision loses money, Blizzard to release one marquee game per year
Activision-Blizzard held a conference call for the press yesterday, and so there's all kinds of financial and release news floating around out there. The biggest news isn't necessarily Blizzard-related, but it does mean that our game's company is finally feeling the crunch a bit: Activision-Blizzard reported a loss of $72 million in the last quarter, and their outlook for the coming year fell short of analysts' expectations. Even though that sounds bad, it doesn't mean things are necessarily bad, though: Blizzard themselves added nearly a billion dollars to the total, so while A-B might not be doing so well, B is doing just fine.Blizzard CEO Paul Sams also announced during the call that the company is now aiming for "one 'frontline' title per year," though not necessarily World of Warcraft related. That likely means that we'll see the first Starcraft 2 this year -- our friends at Joystiq have a quick report on the beta appearing soon, as well as the Battle.net revamp we've been waiting for. And it also means that (unless Blizzard is really rolling on Diablo III, which I doubt, given its condition when we played it at last year's BlizzCon), that we'll be looking at mid/late 2010 for the release of the next WoW expansion.Besides the loss of the $72 million (it's always in the last place you look), things seem to be hopping at Blizzard and their parent company. Should be a pretty busy 2009 for them.
StarCraft 2 beta coming in '09, on 'next-generation' Battle.net
It's been over a decade since the original release but if you were betting on an aught nine release for StarCraft 2 (or one of the StarCraft 2s, as the case may be), you may only be half-right. While he wouldn't confirm what its "one frontline" release for 2009 will be (it's a grudge match between Diablo 3 and StarCraft 2), Blizzard's Paul Sams did say that a StarCraft 2 beta test would be "coming up in the months ahead" running on top of a "basic version" of a "new Battle.net architecture."Basic version? Maybe he just meant "free version." Regardless, Sams elaborated, "Over time, we'll be adding features to deliver a second-generation Battle.net experience." With everything Blizzard seemingly gathering under the Battle.net banner, we're eager to see what the guys in Irvine are cooking up.%Gallery-3311%
Blizzard gives E3 the cold shoulder
Blizzard doesn't need you, E3! "Activision Blizzard Inc." is showing up at E3, but one half of that power couple already plans to stay home and count its money ... and laugh at all the broken homes it's created with World of Warcraft. Giant Bomb has been told by a Blizzard rep. that the powerhouse developer will "not be attending or participating in E3 2009."Don't worry, kids. If you want to touch the Blizzard goods, it'll probably be at a public event and the company is gonna make you pay for the privilege! Put that $100 aside for Blizzcon now (if it happens this year) and prepare to hit F5 like a monkey as soon as tickets go on sale for a (slim) chance to enter the Blizzaphile lovefest. [Image]
New Starcraft 2 screens 'make it rain' zerglings
Click above to play "Where's Waldo's half-eaten corpse?" What's this, more StarCraft II screenshots? Admittedly, we're a bit powerless to stop ourselves from looking at these 10 or so new images from a Fansite kit that Blizzard discreetly updated (our compatriots say only eight of these are new, but we count two more that we've never seen before). If you take nothing else from these screens, just remember that zerg rushes still elicit a sensory overload billed directly to your occipital lobe. Latest pics are in the front of the gallery. So Blizzard, how about a public beta soon to feed our addiction? %Gallery-3311% [Via Big Download]
Clickable: Decide StarCraft 2's Dark Templar unit
click for THREE new screens (hint: the first three) If you're reading this, then you're still alive. Congratulations -- you must be drinking plenty of fluids and living off of stored "energy." But we're gonna have to ask you to put aside those delicious StarCraft II screens you've been digesting for the past 55-plus hours and fulfill your next test as a Blizzard devotee: Vote for the final version(s) of the Protoss unit Dark Templar -- right here. (Just don't hold your breath for a game credit.)Oh, and when you're done, here are three new screens that are simply to die for: %Gallery-3311%[Via Big Download]
Warning: New StarCraft 2 screens
click to embiggen (it's your funeral) var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/NEW_StarCraft_2_Screens_PICS'; We're posting these new StarCraft II screens (we count six) with much reservation. After all, someone out there woke up this morning with no intention to die. But, having seen these new depictions of war-waging micro machines, this someone has triggered an inescapable obsession. Our friend will sit and stare until the eyes bleed, the throat dries and the body wavers. Eventually, this poor soul will keel over and, yes, drop dead. The doctors will call it many things: dehydration, exhaustion, heart failure. But we know the true cause. Love.%Gallery-3311%[Via Big Download]
Blizzard releases Starcraft 2 Battle Report
Blizzard has released the first of what is to be a series of Starcraft 2 battle reports -- narrated videos of a match from the alpha version of the game. Here, we see associate game balance designers Matt Cooper and David Kim playing a 1-on-1 as Protoss and Terran, respectively, with commentary provided by lead designer Dustin Browder and e-Sports team member Robert Simpson.The announcers are comically enthusiastic at times, especially when a particularly mobile Protoss probe manages to run circles around a marine. If that sounds like something you'd rather not hear or f you're trying to watch this at work, a transcript is available below the video so that you can follow along. The official Joystiq Crystal Ball™ is telling us that when SC2 is released (even it doesn't know when), the forums will light up with cries of unfair Marauder rushes.Protip: HD version available on Big Download.
Blizzard humbly denies keeping PC gaming alive
In a recent interview with PC Retail, Blizzard's COO Paul Sams gives us a look into the present and future state of the company after the launch of the record-breaking Wrath of the Lich King expansion for World of Warcraft. Sams touches on the work Blizzard is doing between Starcraft II, Diablo III and their upcoming "unannounced" MMO, still in the works.What we found most interesting about this interview was Sams' view on PC gaming, discouraging that water-cooler rumor that MMOs (namely WoW) are keeping PC gaming alive in this troubled market. He points out that their support of games like Starcraft II and Diablo III shows that they believe in the longevity of PC gaming across the board. "I think that there's always going to be a very big place for PCs – they are multi-use devices." Sams stated. "Consoles are brilliant, but at this stage are not multi-use devices, or at least not compared to a PC."[Via WoWInsider]
