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Ultra Rumor: CVG says Blizzard announcing Starcraft MMO
CVG is reporting that Blizzard's big announcement at the Korean World Wide Invitational (WWI) May 19 is an MMO based on Starcraft. Either CVG has the best inside Blizzard source ever, or some writer at CVG is begging for a pink slip reporting this as fact. CVG says, "The unveiling of the new installment [of Starcraft 2] has previously been rumoured for the South Korea event, though we now know that the title is in fact (emphasis ours) an online spin-off and not a new RTS game as previously assumed."Despite saying the information is straight-up-fact, we can't help but be in shock and awe of the information. If true, it would open up a Pandora's Box of questions. How far is this MMO along? Will Blizzard really unleash another MMO to compete against their already insane mega-hit World of Warcraft, which sits comfortably perched atop the MMO ladder with 8.5 million subscribers? Starcraft 2, as an RTS, being announced at the Korean event would have made perfect sense, but this "fact" based information that CVG received seems to blow that out of the water.
World of Starcraft information leaked
PC Gamer's online portal, Computerandvideogames.com (CVG) has reported that they have insider information confirming what the gaming world has suspected for some time. CVG states that it is indeed a StarCraft MMO currently in the works at Blizzard and not another chapter in the StarCraft RTS series. According to their article, the new StarCraft MMO will be announced at the upcoming Blizzard event slated for May 19th in South Korea. While I'm thrilled that there is another StarCraft in the pipes, I'm more than a bit curious about how Blizzard are going to be able to translate StarCraft's universe to an MMO. Will you be able to play as Protoss, Zerg, and Terran? Or will the Zerg become the new Scourge -- NPC's for Protoss and Terran players to battle against? Another question to my mind would be about the number of worlds in the StarCraft universe. Will you start on the home planet of your race and then as you gain levels, move to others? How is Blizzard planning on addressing the platform battles in space? Will they add in the option for in-space skirmishes (somewhat like EVE Online) which help to decide who controls different platforms and sectors of space as opposed to it all being land-battles? Or will you just board shuttles (teleport) from planet to platform to planet without ever actually spending much time in space?
Blizzard planning a new MMO -- but which one?
Hot on the heels of rumors that Blizzard might be announcing a Starcraft 2 in the near future, job postings are springing up on Blizzard's web site seeking people for a "Next-Gen MMO" project. World of Starcraft, maybe?World of Warcraft 2? (Though it seems early for a sequel, with Blizzard's development cycle you never know.) World of Diablo? There's no details of yet, which just leaves plenty of room for uninformed speculation. But f you think you have what it takes to work for Blizzard as a Lead Engine Programmer, Lead Tools Programmer, or Lead Technical Artist, it's time to polish up your resume.
Rumor: Blizzard announces Starcraft 2 in May
Multiple sources, including our buddies at Joystiq, are reporting that Blizzard is bringing a big surprise to their World Wide Invitational event, held in South Korea on May 19. And the rumors say that the surprise is none other than Starcraft 2. As in a new race, lots of changes to existing units, and a glorious return to Blizzard's RTS brilliance.It may not be, of course. Blizzard hasn't confirmed anything yet (of course they haven't), except to say that they will be making a big announcement then. They have talked about Starcraft 2 before, and if they're going to release a new Starcraft anywhere, it might as well be in South Korea. But of course the next WoW expansion has to be announced sometime, and Diablo 3 has been going through the rumor mills for a long time, too.No matter what Blizzard announces, you can bet it'll be seen in some form (hopefully playable... drool) at Blizzcon in August. And then whatever it is, considering Blizzard is making it, we'll probably see it on store shelves in early 2015.
Rumor: Starcraft 2 possible, but Blizzard's hiding something
TeamLiquid has apparently translated a post from a Korean website which claims that "according to the game developers," Blizzard will announce Starcraft 2 at Blizzard's World Wide Invitational (WWI) to be held in South Korea. If you've paid any attention to Korea and Starcraft you'll know it's no joke over there. Our "hardcore" gets air quotes compared to Korea's hardcore, which should actually have just been written in all caps, bolded and italicized. Although we have absolutely no idea about the legitimacy of this Starcraft 2 information, we do know that there is a megaton announcement planned around May 19.Speaking with Joystiq, Blizzard wouldn't confirm Starcraft 2, but said they are planning on making a huge announcement at the WWI. Starcraft 2 had previously been hinted by Blizzard's VP of business development. Obviously announcing Starcraft 2 in Korea is only appropriate, as matches are held in stadiums, carried on television and are practically a national sport. This way, Blizzard can announce the next WoW expansion at min-E3 and then save the Diablo 3 announcement for BlizzCon. So if sometime around May 19 you suddenly feel a disturbance in the force and millions of people screaming, that's just South Korea imploding from the news that Starcraft 2 is coming.[Via EvilAvatar]
Nope, World of Warcraft is not on consoles, but Starcraft...?
This one's for all those Blizzard addicts out there -- getting your gaming goodness from the triumvirate of games known as Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft. If you're completely out of the loop, the World of Warcraft players/druggies are celebrating as the release of the WoW expansion pack, The Burning Crusade, smacks their bums back into their chairs for another year of eye-bleeding fun. But this isn't about that. That's what WOW Insider is for. We're here to talk about a new StarCraft title. Yep.Itzik Bassat, VP of... well, Blizzard, pretty much, said this at the Burning Crusade LAuNch party (LAN party, get it?): "I'm a StarCraft player myself and I hope it's not a decade, and we launched StarCraft in 1998, before I'm standing here again, celebrating the next game in the series." While the quote doesn't really make much sense, honestly, it certainly does seem like another StarCraft game is coming. Could it possibly be StarCraft Ghost, the game that was pretty much finished, but canned for last-gen systems? Maybe it got a face-lift for next-gen consoles. Or maybe it's time for a true sequel, a true real-time strategy sequel to the original. We'll keep looking for news on this one. As a side note, World of Warcraft has no plans to be moved onto consoles. Phew.
Blizzard exec hints at Starcraft 2, world reels
Much like the annual Christmas Island red crab migration to the sea, World of Warcraft fans abandoned their keyboards last night to venture into the the considerably more frightening World of Retail. Blizzard's hugely anticipated expansion, The Burning Crusade, enjoyed several midnight launches, one of which took place in London's Oxford Street HMV. Blizzard's VP of business development, Itzik Ben Bassat, took the opportunity to mention that elusive StarCraft sequel."I'm a StarCraft player myself," he said, "and I hope it's not a decade, and we launched StarCraft in 1998, before I'm standing here again, celebrating the next game in the series." Unless he's referring to the sudden resurrection of StarCraft: Ghost (insert unhappy emoticon here), Mr. Bassat is essentially hinting at one of the most obvious and inevitable sequels in a universe that worships money. Be it Starcraft 2 or World of StarCraft, you can rest assured that you'll get your sequel eventually. Whether it'll arrive by 2008, however, seems a bit optimistic in frigid development climes.[Thanks, kc.]
Breakfast Topic: Has WoW broken Blizzard?
Lots of players have cried, at one point or another, that Blizzard, the company, has somehow irrevocably broken WoW, the game, and that they'll never come back, ever. But this morning, I'd like to take a look at the opposite question: has WoW, the game, broken Blizzard, the company?Look at Blizzard before World of Warcraft: They were undoubtedly the king of RTS, with not one but two classic, timeless series under their belts (StarCraft, which is still considered the RTS standard by some, and Warcraft, the third of which is still just as popular). They made Diablo and Diablo 2, two of the biggest, if not the biggest, PC RPGs ever. They came from console roots, and were thinking about reentering them with a 3rd person stealther called StarCraft: Ghost that had earned tons of hype already. And then along comes this game called World of Warcraft. I worked at a game store when word first dropped about this game, and we were confused-- a 3D MMORPG set in the Warcraft universe? How do you do that? But Blizzard had a reputation for spit, polish, and quality by the spades-- while they didn't make many games, the few they made were the best of the best.Cut to now: World of Warcraft is Blizzard's one and only game for the forseeable future. StarCraft: Ghost has been canceled, along with any thoughts Blizzard ever had of reentering the console field. They're now longer a small, powerful games boutique-- now they're the 800 lb gorilla of the gaming world, making deals to put their game in stores, on television, and in movies. And while their game does still have a heck of a lot of spit and polish (they do still have seven million players), they're not so much in the business of cultivating multiple powerful franchises, but instead have gotten very much into the business of hotfixes, bugfixes, and patching.So has WoW broken Blizzard? At this point, it's very hard to imagine Blizzard having or making the resources to do another game (they're tied up as it is with the expansion). WoW has made a lot of players very happy, but it's also tarnished Blizzard's reputation with their playerbase in a way that Diablo and StarCraft never did. And while there's no question that Blizzard is still respected in the game industry, there is a question as to why: is it because they're reeling in the cash, or is it because of the quality of their product? Back in the days of StarCraft and Diablo, the latter was the case. Is it still?
Great PC games without hardcore hardware
If you've got more important things to spend your hard-earned cash on than PC hardware, GameSpot has compiled a list of ten best selling games that can co-exist comfortably with outdated rigs. Both Athlon test systems were equipped with only 256MB of memory, but one system used an AGP Radeon 9250 video card, while the other had a PCI Express GeForce 6200 installed.Games that you would expect to see on a list of low-tech wonders (by today's standards) are here, such as StarCraft and Half-Life: Counter Strike. However, I was more than a little surprised to see resource hogs Heroes of Might and Magic V and Civilization IV included, even at lowered texture and shader settings. Indeed, the review team experienced framerate problems with Heroes V on the PCI Express system. Still, each game performed admirably on at least one of GameSpot's test configurations, and with entries like Sid Meier's Pirates! and GTA: San Andreas included on the list, there's something for everyone. We'd like to hear which PC games (ancient and current) you've been enjoying on older setups.
StarCraft greatness: The perfect SCV Rush
Yeah, this is a bit old, but it certainly deserves another viewing -- especially if you are a StarCraft fan patiently waiting for a sequel. There's a YouTube video up of SlayerS_'BoxeR' and his destruction of a foe using only Terran SCVs. SCVs people! Do you understand how hardcore that is?Watch as this magic man takes down defenseless Zerglings with his massive force of SCVs, not once blinking. This is no mortal, he is a God. In case one video of SlayerS_'Boxer' isn't enough to satisfy your blood thirst, here are a bunch more.
Blizzard Working on Multiple Games, Including Another RTS?
Maybe it's the fact that Blue only releases games seemingly once a millenia (I think we're almost finally approaching Starcraft: Ghost's original release date), but it seems like there's nothing Blizzard's fans love more than rampant speculation about what they're up to next.In that vein, we present the news that Blizzard has updated their Employment Opportunity board once again this past weekend, this time looking for "a talented level designer with experience building levels using any popular 3D Real-Time Strategy game toolset." Did you hear that? "3D Real-Time Strategy"? That almost sounds like it could be Starcra-- nah. Or maybe the next round of Warcra-- nahhhh. Or you never know, Blizzard could even be working on a completely new type of genre, something that combines its success with WoW with its strategic past. Could you imagine a Blizzard MMORTS? It could be anything! Isn't speculation fun?Adding to the fun is another press release that Blizzard dropped today stating that the company will "strengthen its current development efforts by refocusing key members of its console team on other projects within the company." They didn't say much more than that, but I'm guessing it means Starcraft: Ghost is taking even more of a back seat than it had before. The only good news is that the press release also stated that the company will eventually tell us everything we need to know, about all future projects, at a future time. And when it comes to speculation fuel, it doesn't get much more vague than that.
Rumor alert: Blizzard to become all MMO?
If you're one of the millions of gamers who've been waiting with bated breath for StarCraft 2, Diablo 3, or Warcraft 4, you may be experiencing a "WTF??" moment similar to the one I had upon hearing this rumor. According to F13.net, some suits at Vivendi Universal Games have come up with a brilliant money making scheme for Blizzard and their legendary worlds: make all your games MMOs! Fortunately, ShackNews did a little recon, and the official word from Blizzard and VU is that the rumors are false.Not that MMOs don't have their place, but given their debated lack of traditional role-playing elements, RPG enthusiasts would be up in arms if a genre-defining company like Blizzard were to set this precedent. And to deprive the world of two of the best strategy games of all time would only add to the backlash. Let's hope the guys at Blizzard are still gamers at heart, or else the gaming populace will enter a very dark period that will make Tristram look like Disneyland.
All Future Blizzard Games to be MMO's?
Late last night (or early this morning - depending on your point of view) a story started breaking saying that Vivendi had announced in a Wall Street presentation that Blizzard would be moving all of its franchises to the MMO format. They state an expected three year development cycle and $50 million cost per MMO (as compared to Warcraft's 4 1/2 year development and $63 million cost). So will we be seeing a Diablo MMO? A Starcraft MMO? However, the official Blizzard response on the WoW forums has been very clear - they haven't announced any specific development aside from The Burning Crusade, and they have no intention on focusing on a single genre for future games. Another Blizzard employee notes that perhaps there's some confusion between what Vivendi has planned for its own games' division (which operates separately from Blizzard) and Blizzard's own development path.
10 franchises that need to return
Racketboy.com recently offered up this list of 'Classic Franchises That Actually NEED a Resurrection'... Darkstalkers Shining Force Battletoads Strider Killer Instinct Vectorman Starcraft System Shock Road Rash PowerStone Runners-up: Clayfighter, Story of Thor/Oasis, Lost Vikings, Rocket Knight Adventures, Jetman, and Jet Set Radio
Uwe Boll scores Starcraft trilogy rights
From the "news so icky it makes you itch" department, Mike Mullen of AOL Games wrote to let us know that we'd somehow missed his scoop on Uwe Boll's announcement that he'd managed to score rights to direct (and ruin, probably) a trilogy of movies based on Blizzard's hit Starcraft series of real-time strategy games. No actors or actresses have been confirmed, according to AOL, though Boll does have a short list in mind. We're still having trouble believing that Blizzard would ever lend the Starcraft name to a guy known (and reviled) across all of gamedom, but then again, Blizzard parent company Vivendi is known to have quite an appetite for game-to-movie and movie-to-game adaptations. Bloody hell.
Top 10 most memorable villains
IGN has posted a list that is sure to generate some grumbling. But that's what's to be expected anytime you try to cram the baddest evildoers into a list of ten. Here goes: #10 - Bowser (Super Mario) #9 - Dr. Robotnik (Sonic) #8 - Dracula (Castlevania) #7 - Evil Otto (Berzerk) #6 - Psycho Mantis (MGS) #5 - Kerrigan (Starcraft) #4 - SHODAN (System Shock) #3 - Wesker (Resident Evil) #2 - Sephiroth (FFVII) #1 - The Nazis ("too many games to count") What?! No Ganondorf? Blasphemy. So how does your list compare?
East meets West: PC Gamer's trip to Korea
Jim Rossignol, from UK magazine PC Gamer, took a trip to South Korea last year and this account of the gaming culture there takes a look at everything from Starcraft superstars to gaming television and MMO addicts. A culture that revolves primarily around PC gaming, playing games is a very social activity in Korea, and high-profile gamers become celebrities with huge fan clubs. It's not without its problems, though: with many poor quality games, strict censorship and licencing problems, gamers don't have as much freedom to choose as they might like. It's very different to how we work in the West, although some aspects of our culture are converging. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to live in a gamer's utopia, where everyone understands your passion, the answer's quite simple: move to Korea.
