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New BlizzCon 2009 schedule available
Mere minutes after we posted the fact that Blizzard had retracted their previous schedule, they released a new one. The layout of the new schedule is less pleasing to the eyes and a bit harder to read, but there's certainly some interesting stuff there.For example, the first panel after the opening ceremonies is a "World of Warcraft Preview Panel." Previewing... what? Personally, I'm going to throw money down on Cataclysm. Also, it appears the PvP panel is gone. Folded into the two 1-hour long "class, item and profession" panels, perhaps? Then again, the PvP panel was really about the arena and battleground maps last year, wasn't it? If there's a Cataclysm preview, it very well might be a part of that. The Guild is also no longer competing with a WoW panel, and there's a new panel first thing on Saturday about breaking into the gaming industry. Plus, a 'live raid' panel probably similar to what they had at the last Worldwide Invitational: Watch one of the top guilds in the world tackle a high-end raid boss. Algalon, perhaps? Cool stuff. BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
Blizzard retracts posted BlizzCon schedule
EDIT: New schedule is up. You can find it here.This morning we were greeted with the schedule of BlizzCon panels and everything was nice and comfy. No mention of the next expansion in the panels, but that was to be expected. After all, the class panel was on there and I'm sure Ghostcrawler would love to talk for an hour about what the classes will be like in WoW 4.0.2.But then this afternoon the schedules disappeared. Suddenly they were giving the Blizzard page not found error. Neth has since appeared and said that "the actual schedule is yet to be posted up." But we want to be sure that you know what they posted, and at least what the outline of BlizzCon will look like – even though it appears there'll be changes. Draw your own conclusions about what Cataclysmic event could cause this.So below are screen grabs of the schedule Blizzard didn't want you to see. We'll update when the new schedule is released.%Gallery-70355% BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
Blizzard maps out BlizzCon
There she is, the BlizzCon map for 2009. As you can see, there's an extra hall than last year (and two more halls than a few years ago) -- Blizzard has rented out the flnal hall of the convention center, so there are four whole halls filled with Blizzard activity. This also means that they don't have to go into the conference rooms on the second floor -- the panels will be held either on the mainstage or in the new panel discussion stage area. We're not sure where Ozzy will be held; in the past, concerts have been over in the arena attached to the convention center, but with one big room dedicated to a main stage, Blizzard may just set things up in there this year.Everything else is pretty expected -- there'll be a Retro Arcade and an Art Gallery again, and statues of Kerrigan, Illidan, and the Orc and Wolf model to check out. One interesting note is that there are playable areas for both Diablo III and Starcraft II (we'll probably see the singleplayer mode of that game playable for the first time) as well as World of Warcraft, so if a new expansion is announced, we might get to see some of it playable already. And of course, all of Blizzard's partners will be in attendance as well. Excited yet? BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
BlizzCon schedule posted
Blizzard has posted the schedule for this year's BlizzCon event, and there aren't too many surprises at all. We already expected to see most of the panels, so while there'll be the usual favorites like lore and art panels for each game, and two different World of Warcraft class panels (those are always fun, with devs confronted by players with class balance issues), there aren't any unexpected sessions popping up. They haven't revealed, say, a "new WoW expansion" panel, or a "next-gen MMO" panel.That doesn't mean those won't happen -- it probably does mean we won't see demos for anything announced at Friday's keynote, as the schedule is pretty full already, but in the past when Blizzard has announced an expansion, for example, they usually spend a lot of time in the "Dungeons and Raids" panel talking about what they're doing with the new material. We'll have to see.Finally, it appears, somewhat strangely, that the live DirecTV broadcast on Friday might actually cut off the end of the popular contests at the end of the day -- the broadcast ends at 8, and the contests end an hour later. Hopefully stream subscribers won't miss out on some of the fun. They won't have that problem on Saturday, as the broadcast runs all the way through Ozzy's concert. And of course, don't forget to add our meetup on your own schedule -- we're kicking things off on Thursday night. Sounds like fun!Update: Blizzard has since retracted the schedule.Update x2: Blizzard has posted a new schedule. BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
Preparing for BlizzCon: Last minute travel tips
BlizzCon approaches! Preparing for BlizzCon is your regular source for tips on how best to prepare for Blizzard's gaming extravaganza. These helpful hints are particularly suited for convention rookies. But if you are a con veteran, we'd love to hear your advice and wisdom in the comments as well.BlizzCon is this week! Here are some last minute tips for making your trip incident-free.Air Travel Is your flight on time? Almost all airports these days have websites that give weather and flight status. Also, you can call your airline to verify everything is ok. Get there early. If you are checking luggage, this is particularly true. Check in at least an hour before your flight if you are carrying on all your things. 2 hours is best if you are checking luggage. Check in online. Most airlines will allow you to check in online and print your boarding pass 24 hours before your flight. Don't forget your I.D. You absolutely need your I.D. for getting on the plane and getting your BlizzCon badge. Keep it in a safe place on or severely close to your person. Pack properly. Overweight and oversized luggage costs extra. This is the link to what you cannot bring on the plane. Also, if you are carrying your toiletries on, don't forget 3-1-1.
Cast of The Guild making an appearance at BlizzCon '09
Fans and followers of the popular web series The Guild, loosely based on World of Warcraft, should be excited to know that the show's cast will be making an appearance at BlizzCon this year! Blizzard Community Manager Nethaera confirmed the news with an announcement on the official forums. Blizzard's forum post on the subject says that The Guild will have both its own booth and its own discussion panel at BlizzCon, where the cast (like geek goddess Felicia Day) will show off exclusive clips from the show's upcoming third season. This is a great move by Blizzard, given that the show is clearly based off of WoW and the communities for each share quite an overlap. If you've never seen The Guild before, now would be a good time to catch up on what you're missing from this award-winning show at http://www.watchtheguild.com. BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
Preparing for BlizzCon: Costumes
BlizzCon approaches! Preparing for BlizzCon is your regular source for tips on how best to prepare for Blizzard's gaming extravaganza. These helpful hints are particularly suited for convention rookies. But if you are a con veteran, we'd love to hear your advice and wisdom in the comments as well.Many people will be wearing costumes to BlizzCon. If you are one of them, there are a few things you should know: If you want to enter the contest, you should enter online by August 17, 2009. Blizzard will accept entries at the con, but only if enough people didn't pre-register. They have changed the costume rules a bit. You need to be wearing or holding any props you have. If you are bringing your costume for the competition, but not wearing it all day, see an Information Kiosk. There will be no general storage options available. More costume tips are after the break.
BlizzCon 2009 Goody Bag is full of StarCraft goodness
Despite the earlier announcement that StarCraft II would be delayed, it looks like BlizzCon 2009 is going to be all StarCraft all the time. Blizzard recently revealed through the BlizzCon website and a humorous post by Nethaera that the official swag bag will contain an exclusive "Raynor" n00bz vinyl figure in addition to Grunty, the in-game murloc pet in a StarCraft II marine uniform and a StarCraft-themed Authenticator. Although Grunty is a World of Warcraft pet, all three items are StarCraft-centric.Although Blizzard reveals these items, it's likely that there will be more swag awaiting BlizzCon participants considering past Blizzard events have had a plethora of items from bottle openers to beach balls. These items, presumably, are the literal and figurative big guns of the set -- perhaps to be accompanied by (taking a wild guess here) Diablo hand sanitizers, Warcraft toenail clippers, and a host of other tiny things attendees are likely to lose right after they've picked up the goody bag. The "Raynor" n00bz figure is not for sale, but is among a line of cartoonish vinyl toy figure products that include Ragnaros, Ghoul, and Murloc designs that will go on sale on the show floor next week. Blank n00bz figures will also be available for Blizzard fans to have a hand at creating their own designs in the tradition of designer toys such as Dunny or Qee. While we're guessing at what else could be in the goody bags, check out last year's swag in the gallery below. %Gallery-34142% BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
Preparing for BlizzCon: What to pack in your suitcase
BlizzCon approaches! Preparing for BlizzCon is your regular source for tips on how best to prepare for Blizzard's gaming extravaganza. These helpful hints are particularly suited for convention rookies. But if you are a con veteran, we'd love to hear your advice and wisdom in the comments as well.If you don't travel often, packing can be rather daunting -- particularly with all of the post-9/11 air travel precautions. Because you'll probably be bringing back more than you take, I recommend checking a bag rather than trying to carry everything on the plane. Yes, the baggage claim area adds extra time, but checking your luggage will allow you to bring a larger bag and you'll avoid having to worry about 3-1-1.Though I have been humbled (and educated) by reading the exploits of a truly expert packer, I used to travel a lot for business and have several tips for the infrequent traveler heading to BlizzCon.
Looking for interview subjects at BlizzCon for 15 Minutes of Fame
The WoW.com team will be at BlizzCon in force this year. Between liveblogging the big announcements and resisting the siren call of the Diablo 3 demo stations, we want to talk to you, the loyal readers, and we don't mean just at our 3rd Annual WoW.com BlizzCon Meet Up. We are planning a special BlizzCon edition of our weekly interview series 15 Minutes of Fame and are looking for some candidates for the column. We are especially interested in interviewing those WoW players who have a unique approach to the game. Are you the oldest player in the game who doesn't play with family? Are you the youngest and shouldn't be reading this site without adult supervision? The guild leader who does things differently? The guy who plays without the UI/Keyboard/Talents, etc.? Are you famous for something in or out of Azeroth? Should we interview your entire guild at once?If you think you bring something special to how you play the game and will be at BlizzCon next week, send us an e-mail at 15minutesoffame at wow dot com explaining what makes you a candidate for this special BlizzCon Edition of 15 Minutes of Fame. We'll pick the most interesting stories and contact you to make arrangements to meet during the convention for the interview. If we get enough interesting emails, we may even pick more than one.Please send your emails by Monday, August 17th to give us time to read through them all and coordinate the interviews. Don't leave your story and contact info in the comments of this post, send them to 15minutesoffame at wow dot com."I never thought of playing WoW like that!" - neither did we, until we talked with these players. From an Oscar-winning 3-D effects director to a custom action figure artist and even a bunch of guys who get together for dinner and group raiding in person every week, catch it on 15 Minutes of Fame.
Pocket Books releases signing schedule for BlizzCon
Our friends at Blizzplanet have posted the official Pocket Books signing schedule for BlizzCon -- both Richard Knaak and Christie Golden will be live in attendance and signing throughout the weekend, and you can find the full schedule after the break. Both Knaak and Golden have written popular Warcraft novels, so bring your copies and you might walk away with them signed.As far as I know, this is the first sign of a schedule we've seen for the convention. Blizzard usually does announce a schedule of panels and events a few days ahead of time (and of course, when you get your packet there at the door, there's a program with the full schedule inside), but they usually cut it pretty close. As of this writing, eight days until showtime, there is no official schedule yet posted on the site.But this will give you at least one thing to plan on seeing (and we can tell you for sure that Friday morning will be the official keynote, with Saturday evening being the Ozzy show, if the way they've done it in the past is any indication). And as long as you're making a schedule up, don't forget to stop by our meetup on Thursday night -- not only will we have WoW.com staffers live in attendance, but there will be door prizes galore. More info on that soon.Schedule after the jump.BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon, you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there are some great looking costumes.
Preparing for BlizzCon: What to pack in your backpack
BlizzCon approaches! Preparing for BlizzCon is your regular source for tips on how best to prepare for Blizzard's gaming extravaganza. These helpful hints are particularly suited for convention rookies. But if you are a con veteran, we'd love to hear your advice and wisdom in the comments as well.Backpack, messenger bag, extra large purse -- whatever you are toting into the Anaheim Convention Center should be filled with a few basic things in order to get the most from BlizzCon. The catch is that it cannot be any bigger than 10"x20" and it cannot contain any of the following: Desktop computers, laptops, electronic storage devices (unless you have a press pass) Glass bottles, cans, large containers (this limits some of your food options should you choose to carry-in) Alcohol (leave your cool flask or teeny airplane booze bottles in your hotel room) Weapons and fireworks (Captain Obvious is making giggle noises.) Join us after the break for what you can and should stuff in your BlizzCon-bag.
BlizzCast episode 10 released
Zarhym has announced on the forums that BlizzCast episode 10 is out right now for your listening pleasure. In the official podcast, he talks with Lead Encounter Designer Scott Mercer and Senior Game Designer Dave Maldonado about patch 3.2 and the Argent Tournament instances released with it. Strangely, it sounds like the podcast was actually recorded before the release, but of course now everyone knows that we fight the Black Knight in the 5-man and what the dailies are all about. Especially if you've been paying close attention to the testing on the PTR, lots of the "news" about patch 3.2 won't be all that surprising.They also look forward to BlizzCon: all of the developer panels and meetings that go on there, both from the perspective of fans (hey, we actually can be literate and reasonable instead of QQing all the time!) and from developers (turns out they are "not just blue text" -- who knew?!). It's not a super groundbreaking podcast, but as a wrapup to the release of 3.2 and a short preview to BlizzCon, it works just fine. And there's a bonus: Zarhym is offering up a contest -- answer some questions about the podcast after you listen to it, and you could win a "fabulous prize." The rules give away what the prize is: a Draenei vs. Blood Elf diorama or some action figures.And remember, if you've missed any of the BlizzCast episodes so far, you can find them both in iTunes or over on Blizzard's site, or just read our wrapups here on WoW.com.
Ozzy at BlizzCon confirmed!
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/music/Ozzy_Osbourne_to_play_at_BlizzCon_2009'; It's not a rumor and it's no longer a surprise - Ozzy Osbourne is going to appear at BlizzCon 2009, according to the program details of DirecTV. Unless Blizzard's partner for the live stream content is just goofing around, "a special appearance" pretty much confirms that the Prince of Darkness is going to perform in Anaheim this August. The news first started as a rumor that sprung from Zakk Wylde's Twitter message about a month back, corroborated by another rumor that another guitarist would be performing with Ozzy at BlizzCon.Here's to hoping that Ozzy Osbourne's special appearance means he'll actually rock out on stage. As cool as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain are, I'm sure Samwise and his crew will actually enjoy the show (and who says they won't join up for one big supergroup?). Azeroth has its own Prince of Darkness, but having the real deal perform should be a special treat, just as it's sure to be something all fans can look forward to. It seems like another incentive to get the DirecTV package in addition to that cute, gun-toting murloc. With BlizzCon stepping up in the show department, I wonder what other big things are in store for us this year.Ozzy UK Blizzard commercial after the jump!Thanks, Milkingit!BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon, you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there are some great looking costumes.
More fuel for the "Ozzy at BlizzCon" fire
Here's another rumor that points at just who we might be seeing on stage BlizzCon -- over on Roadrunner Records' Blabbermouth.net news website, there's a rumor going around that guitarist Gus G., who's part of a band called Firewind, will be playing with Ozzy Osbourne at this year's BlizzCon. This isn't the first time we've heard Ozzy might be there -- Zakk Wylde, who is apparently on his way out of Ozzy's band, previously mentioned that he might be playing there, but Blabbermouth says Zakk is out and Gus is in.Now, before you go all nuts over the excitement of seeing the Prince of Darkness at BlizzCon (and we don't mean Arthas), keep in mind that this is only the second in a series of rumors, both from sources who may not exactly be familiar with BlizzCon anyway (they're only writing about this because they're interested in who's playing guitar with Ozzy, not what's going on at Blizzard's convention). So we definitely don't know for sure what's going on at BlizzCon yet -- don't pack your "Bark at the Moon" t-shirt until you've heard the official announcement from Blizzard.Still, that would be an incredible show. I like Video Games Live and all, but they've never performed "Crazy Train" for us.Thanks, Rob!BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon, you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there are some great looking costumes.
Preparing for BlizzCon: Virtual attendance options
BlizzCon approaches! Preparing for BlizzCon is your regular source for tips on how best to prepare for Blizzard's gaming extravaganza. These helpful hints are particularly suited for convention rookies. But if you are a con veteran, we'd love to hear your advice and wisdom in the comments as well.So you weren't able to get tickets either by purchasing or winning them (though there is still time to win). Do you still want to experience BlizzCon, but without the odor and sore feet? There are ways to view the event from the comfort of your own home, for a fee, of course: DIRECTV is offering pay per view coverage for $39.95. There is also a special (that ends today) for if you are not a DIRECTV customer, but join up through Blizzard that offers the coverage for free. There will also be internet streaming footage. The price is also $39.95 and you don't have to be a DIRECTV customer to sign up. The tournaments will be streamed for the low, low price of free. Of course, we'll be covering every drop of BlizzCon here on WoW.com, but if you want to watch any cataclysmic announcements with your very own eyes, these options will make you part of the virutal audience.BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon, you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there are some great looking costumes.
Blizzard streaming BlizzCon tournaments for free, in HD
Blizzard has announced that they're streaming most of the tournaments at BlizzCon this year yet again -- even if you don't sign up to the DirecTV feed, you can still watch most of the Arena, Starcraft, and Warcraft III matchups online on the BlizzCon site. And this year, for the first time, you'll be able to watch them in full HD quality (assuming that your connection can hold up). There will be one full stream dedicated to Arena matches, and one stream split between Warcraft III and Starcraft tournament coverage.And what you see should be some of the best players in the world -- all of the qualifiers from North America, Korea, Europe, and Taiwan will be in attendance to vy for the top spot and the $25,000 per-player prize. The stream will be running both days of BlizzCon, coming up in just a few weeks on August 21st and 22nd.[via Starcraft.org]BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon, you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there are some great looking costumes.
Preparing for BlizzCon: Contest roundup
BlizzCon approaches! Preparing for BlizzCon is your regular source for tips on how best to prepare for Blizzard's gaming extravaganza. These helpful hints are particularly suited for convention rookies. But if you are a con veteran, we'd love to hear your advice and wisdom in the comments as well.Time is running short on the contests to win tickets to BlizzCon. If you still want to go, but don't have tickets, here are the contests that you can still enter to win: Steelseries: Ends Friday, July 31. 2009. Razer: Ends Monday, August 3, 2009. Nvidia: Ends Saturday, August 1, 2009. Alienware: Ends Friday, July 31, 2009. Kingston: I can't find when this ends, but the entry form still works as of this writing. Even if you don't have tickets, we would still would love to see you at the Anabella on Thursday, August 20th. Good luck!BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon, you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there are some great looking costumes.
Speculating on a new resource system for Hunters
As we said on the podcast this weekend, one of the most interesting things to come out of the Hunter Q&A last week was that vague about "long-term plans" to "[remove] the need for hunters to rely on a different resource system then mana." That one kind of came out of nowhere, and the answer was even more vague: basically, they promised to talk about it at BlizzCon. Of course, that's what our attracted our attention: is Blizzard planning on getting Hunters off of their mana system completely?That would be quite a change -- since the beginning of the game, Hunters have relied on mana as their "resource" -- Warriors have Rage and Rogues have Energy, but Hunters somehow got looped in with the other DPSers as mana users. That doesn't make much sense -- not only does it depend on Intelligence (a stat which Hunters don't really have a reason to go after anyway), but it's lead to the problem of keeping Hunters powered up. Hunters are almost continually out of mana, and Blizzard has made some wacky mechanic tweaks (with both AotV and Replenishment) to try and keep them up and running.
Richard A. Knaak, other authors will be signing at BlizzCon
Part of the fun of BlizzCon is that beyond all of the dev panels and crazy mainstage stuff going on, there's also the big convention hall full of things to see and do. All of Blizzard's licensing partners usually show up, so Upper Deck usually has games going on, FigurePrints shows off their wares, and all of the computer companies usually have some fun rigs on display. And now we've learned that, as usual, Pocket Books and TokyoPop will have booths set up, along with their usual stable of authors and artists. Richard A. Knaak has confirmed on his website that he'll be there, so if you're going, be sure to bring along your copy of War of the Ancients, and maybe you can get it signed.Our staff is hoping for a Christie Golden appearance as well, and while she doesn't have anything about BlizzCon on the website yet (she is at ComiCon this week, though), we're presuming that she'll be there. Medievaldragon of Blizzplanet is apparently also presuming it: he's included her with Knaak in his headline about the show (see update). So hopefully she'll be around, and Ziebart and Whitcomb can take their treasured copies of Arthas over and do some fanboy groveling.Should be excellent. We'll be doing our best to get some interviews with these folks here on the site as well, so even if you're not with us in Anaheim, you'll still get a chance to hear from some of your favorite Warcraft authors. BlizzCon ahoy!Update: Medievaldragon has gotten back to us, and he says that he's heard from Golden herself that she'll be at BlizzCon. Get those books ready for some signin'!BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon, you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there are some great looking costumes.
