Blizzcon 2009 Blog

X-Play Fall Specials: BlizzCon Tonight at 6:30 PM!

8 Comments Posted September 4, 2009 - By Dana Vinson

X-Play Fall Specials: BlizzCon Tonight at 6:30 PM!

This fall, X-Play takes you to the biggest gaming events in the world, and brings you exclusive, inside previews and information about the most highly-anticipated game titles before their release. We’re covering BlizzCon, Halo: ODST, Pax 2009, Modern Warfare 2, Tokyo Game Show 2009 and much more.

Don't miss any of X-Play's fall specials. Next up is BlizzCon, which premieres tonight at 6:30PM ET. Get the scoop on the newest World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, and Starcraft 2 news straight from the source.

And then, make sure you stay with us through the fall, as X-Play brings the world of gaming home to you. Here's the schedule.

PAX 2009 - September 8 & 9
Halo: ODST - September 10
Brutal Legend - October 1
Tokyo Game Show 2009 - October 5, 6 & 7

To get ready for tonight, check out G4tv.com's BlizzCon coverage here.

Tags: Blizzcon 2009, G4, GamesCom 2009, PAX, Tokyo Game Show, Tokyo Game Show 2009, Videogames

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I personally cant wait for what comes from the Tokyo Game Show since its pretty much the last word in gaming for the year.

Posted: September 7, 2009 by ShadowAssassin88

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X-Play Fall Specials: BlizzCon Friday, Sept. 4th @ 6:30 PM

4 Comments Posted September 1, 2009 - By Mike D'Alonzo

X-Play Fall Specials: BlizzCon Friday, Sept. 4th @ 6:30 PM

This fall, X-Play takes you to the biggest gaming events in the world, and brings you exclusive, inside previews and information about the most highly-anticipated game titles before their release. We’re covering BlizzCon, Halo: ODST, Pax 2009, Modern Warfare 2, Tokyo Game Show 2009 and much more.

Don't miss any of X-Play's fall specials. Next up is BlizzCon, which will premiere Friday, September 4th at 6:30PM ET. Get the scoop on the newest World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, and Starcraft 2 news straight from the source.

And then, make sure you stay with us through the fall, as X-Play brings the world of gaming home to you. Here's the schedule.

PAX 2009 - September 8 & 9
Halo: ODST - September 10
Brutal Legend - October 1
Tokyo Game Show 2009 - October 6, 7 & 8

In the meantime, check out G4tv.com's BlizzCon coverage here.

Tags: Blizzcon 2009, G4, GamesCom 2009, PAX, Tokyo Game Show, Videogames

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i'm totaly going next year

Posted: October 27, 2009 by insanet1i

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Photos: Razer StarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty Ghost Messenger Bag

8 Comments Posted August 28, 2009 - By r_pad

Earlier in the month I wrote about Razer (best known for its gaming mice) making a line of StarCraft II messenger bags. I got my hands on the first of these bags -- the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Ghost model, which was available at BlizzCon 2009. I previously wrote about the Zerg bag, which will be available to the public at a later date. For now, enjoy these photos of my excess (and awesome) baggage.

When you're done, leave a comment (please) and let me know what you think of the bag. Would you proudly wear it in public? Or is it too "gamer" for you? Personally, I'm thinking of flying to Seoul just to show the bag off -- the chicks at the Internet cafes will totally dig it.

Tags: Blizzcon 2009, MMO News, PC Gaming, Style

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lol redringsofdeath u sound like a kid who everyone thinks is a geek at school.

Posted: August 30, 2009 by amazingjakeo

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The MMO Report: Blizzcon 09 Special

18 Comments Posted August 27, 2009 - By Patrick Roche-Sowa

It's that time of year again. Yes, the late summer brings high temperatures, back-to-school sales, and the annual nerd pilgrimage to the Anaheim Convention Center for Blizzcon. This year the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm, was revealed; which includes two new races, flying mounts, a world-wide event changing the landscapes for all of Azeroth, and a level-cap raise to 85. Yeah, it's that awesome. So let our guest correspondent Morgan Web get the answer you want direct from the source, and check out the spectacle that was Blizzcon 2009!

The MMO Report: Blizzcon 09 Special »

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Tags: Blizzcon 2009, G4, MMO News, PC Gaming, The MMO Report, Videogames, Videos

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Interesting, hadn't ever really looked at Ultima Online. Kinda disappointed with the graphics. Looks like Diablo 2. Kinda sad for a late 2009 MMORPG. You'd think with Mythic putting out Warhammer online with it's high-end graphics that they could do better than a top down early 90's RPG graphics engine :(. But they did say it was "political" too, sadly, WoW is falling victim to these same people who won't be happy til we're grinding through AQ and MC again, in rehashed tier 1 and tier 2 gear,...

Posted: September 3, 2009 by john81575

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X-Play Fall Specials: Gamescom

Leave a Comment Posted August 26, 2009 - By Mike D'Alonzo

X-Play Fall Specials: Gamescom

This fall, X-Play takes you to the biggest gaming events in the world, and brings you exclusive, inside previews and information about the most highly-anticipated game titles before their release. We’re covering BlizzCon, Halo: ODST, Pax 2009, Modern Warfare 2, Tokyo Game Show 2009 and much more.

Don't miss any of X-Play's fall specials. It all gets started as X-Play presents Gamescom 2009, starting Monday, August 31st at 6:30PM. Catch a preview of Mass Effect 2, Castlevania, Star Wars: The Old Republic and a hands-on demo of Dirt 2.

And then, make sure you stay with us through the fall, as X-Play brings the world of gaming home to you. Here's the schedule.

BlizzCon - September 4
PAX 2009 - September 8 & 9
Halo: ODST - September 10
Brutal Legend - October 1
Tokyo Game Show 2009 - October 6, 7 & 8

In the meantime, check out G4tv.com's Gamescom coverage here.

Tags: Blizzcon 2009, G4, GamesCom 2009, PAX, Tokyo Game Show, Tokyo Game Show 2009

Analysis: What Battle.net 2.0 Will Do And Why The StarCraft II Beta Isn't Out

15 Comments Posted August 25, 2009 - By Brian Leahy

Battle.net 2.0 StarCraft II

Blizzard Entertainment formally announced its plans for Battle.net 2.0 at BlizzCon 2009 along with the features the company hopes to include at and after the release of StarCraft II, which will be the first game to run the updated service. The service will remain free and integrate with World of WarCraft and future Blizzard games.

The major features of note and their purposes:

A "Real ID" system, tying CD-keys to specific accounts. This is being done to prevent "smurfing" where skilled players create new accounts to play against less experienced players in the matchmaking system.
A tiered ladder system, with levels of play for multiple skill levels. Players will be placed into different tiers on the ladder after playing enough games for the system to determine his or her skill level. Ladder seasons will play out for each tier, making ladder play applicable for all players, not just for skilled gamers.
Custom game publishing and filtering. Want to play something other than Defense of the Ancients? StarCraft II will allow map makers to "publish" their maps to a database, giving them control over their work and allowing users to search and download maps without having to join games. Premium maps can be offered for a cost with some of the revenue going to the author(s).

The first two planned features are major for keeping players that would otherwise grow tired of losing online. Blizzard's Rob Pardo explained during the presentation of B.net 2.0 that the goal with the tier system is to give every player the chance at winning 50 percent of their games by matching them up with opponents of similar skill levels. Combined with the Real ID system to prevent smurfing, this should ensure that the competition is fair and yields worthwhile games for every player. WarCraft III's auto-matchmaking system was actually fairly good at finding matches, but was plagued by smurfing.

Tags: Apple, Blizzcon 2009, PC Gaming, Videogames

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I'm getting the game cause sc1 owned, and its gonna be a nice rts as always, blizz does a wonderful job always and well as i am a huge mmo player in wow, its nice to take a break from time to time to play other things :D. tho i am hoping the beta comes out soon and i can be apart of it

Posted: September 1, 2009 by NexusFenrir

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Blizzard Discusses (Well, Teases) Its Plan For Returning To Consoles

15 Comments Posted August 25, 2009 - By Patrick Klepek

Blizzard Discusses (Well, Teases) Its Plan For Returning To Consoles

Everyone wants Blizzard to make a console game. The studio hasn't touched consoles since StarCraft: Ghost was canned and despite off and on rumors that various platform holders were courting Blizzard to release a version of World of Warcraft, nothing's come of it. At BlizzCon 2009, however, Blizzard started deliberately hinting in interviews it's moving towards a console project.

"I can tell you that philosophically, the company is interested in consoles," said Battle.net project director Greg Canessa to Shacknews. "Many of us are console gamers. We all have Xbox Live gamertags, and we all play Xbox at home, and so we love Xbox. And we love Sony and other platforms as well. We have a great deal of respect for them."

Canessa said if Blizzard embarked on a console project, it wouldn't want to spend a bunch of time retooling a computer game -- it should naturally fit. The hot rumor around BlizzCon, perpetuated by Blizzard employees in interviews, was Diablo III could make the jump onto a game pad. Another issue, Blizzard told Shacknews, is bringing the Battle.net experience onto consoles, too.

"How that would work, the details, I have no idea," said Canessa. "Couldn't tell you today. [pause] I actually do have an idea, but I can't talk about it. [laughs]"

Source

Tags: Blizzcon 2009, PC Gaming, PlayStation 3, Videogames, Wii, Xbox 360

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Blizzard would definitely be better off creating a new game that is actually designed for a console. Just the idea of something completely off the wall and original from Blizzard would be huge. If any of the PC based games were converted to console the game just wouldn't have the same feel to it..

Posted: August 29, 2009 by Nasty_Gamer

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Diablo III Game Director Interview - The Endgame Won't Be Repeated Boss Runs

2 Comments Posted August 24, 2009 - By Brian Leahy

Blizzard Could Deliver Two Games In 2010, Not Necessarily Diablo III

After getting some hands-on time with Diablo III, including the recently revealed Monk class, I was able to sit down with game director Jay Wilson to talk about the Monk, itemization & player economies, and why you probably won’t be doing endless boss runs in the end game of Diablo III.

G4: In your vision for Diablo III, is the endgame going to be a lot like Diablo II, where players are doing Pindle runs and just repeating the same content over and over or will it explore a greater variety of content?

Jay Wilson, Diablo III Game Director: It’s definitely better if the players explore more of the game. It will be a lot more fun for them, but players will gravitate toward the route that is fastest for what they want. Even if that route makes them crazy… even if that route is not fun at all. It’s not their fault. It’s our fault as designers. It’s our job to make sure that the path of least resistance is also the path of most fun.

We do have specific systems planned for the late game and our goal for those systems is to make sure that players are experiencing as much of the content over again as possible.

The best example of where we feel we do this well in our other games, in World of WarCraft, is the quest system, which really gets you to move all over the world and do lots and lots of different things. The basic, core actions of the game are very repetitive. It’s not that they’re not fun, but the boredom with anything comes with repeating the same thing in the same way. If you could repeat the same thing in a different way it stays interesting a lot longer and that’s definitely going to be a goal for us.

Read the full interview for more on Diablo III.

Tags: Apple, Blizzcon 2009, G4 Web Exclusive, PC Gaming, Videogames

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@Ra3000

Believe me... I thought I would be too... but once I played all of them at Blizzcon... I realized that they are all fun and great... I'm not really sure what your looking for if your bummed.. Because they have a great variety of classic archetypes. I'm guessing your waiting of a Rouge/Ranger character to show up?

Posted: August 25, 2009 by Ewoc

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World of Warcraft: Cataclysm BlizzCon 2009 First Impressions

7 Comments Posted August 24, 2009 - By Jake Gaskill

You may think you know what to expect from Blizzard's recently announce expansion World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, but until you read G4tv.com's Brian Leahy's first impressions of the game from the show floor at BlizzCon 2009, then you don't really know what you think you know. In this preview, Brian takes a look at two of the game's new races: the Horde’s Goblins and the Alliance’s Worgens, and what he found may surprise you.

"The racial abilities of the Goblins are also humorous, but useful. The first allows the player to launch themselves forward with a jetpack, jumping a long distance. I’m curious as to what areas in the current game will now be reachable with this racial ability. The second uses rockets to throw an instant direct-damage spell at a targeted enemy. The most useful racial for the end game might be the Goblin’s ability to call in a 'Pack Hobgoblin' giving the player access to his or her bank for one minute. If only there was one for Auction House access…"

What? You didn't think I'd give away the best bit in this post, did you? For the really good stuff, you'll have to check out Brian's full preview.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Debut Trailer »

Tags: Blizzcon 2009, MMO News, PC Gaming

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This is going to be a entire new experience to the game and will bring back thousands if not millions to the game because everything about it will be new the 1-60 goblins&worgen,new zones&changed zones leveling will no longer be the same old boring routine but somthing to actually look forward too. Also new BG's and raids everything you should expect to see and more in a MMO that will surely keep WoW #1

Posted: August 28, 2009 by Prowlerr

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Diablo III BlizzCon 2009 Hands-On Preview -- Monk Class Will Blow You Away/Apart

4 Comments Posted August 24, 2009 - By Jake Gaskill

Blizzard’s eagerly awaited Diablo III gets more drool worthy every time it’s on display, a fact that our own Brian Leahy is all too familiar with, and sadly found out all over again during BlizzCon 2009. Mr. Leahy managed to grab some hands-on time with the game, and sends back this report, which features plenty of great details about the game's mechanics, presentation and design, as well as a solid introduction to the newly revealed Monk class.

“I quickly got a quest to eliminate a cult that had taken over a city and moved deeper into the desert through from the cliffs. Enemies swarmed from off-screen and on top of the cliffs and were quickly dispatched with my dual-wielded maces, one doing fire and the other doing cold damage. The first items dropped and I was hooked all over again.”

If you think that sounds cool, then you definitely need to check out Brian’s full preview here. If you don't think that sounds cool, then we can no longer be friends.

Diablo III BlizzCon 2009 Monk Gameplay Trailer »

Tags: Blizzcon 2009, PC Gaming

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I'm just ready to horde peoples ears.

Posted: August 24, 2009 by Arguello

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Diablo III BlizzCon 2009 Monk Debut Cinematic And Gameplay Trailers

6 Comments Posted August 24, 2009 - By Jeffrey Kanjanapangka

If you've been under a Blizzard media blackout for some reason over the weekend, then you might of missed the awesome, new Diablo III Monk trailers that spawned out of BlizzCon 2009. Here they are below for the few of you left to see them.

If you like your dungeon crawling up close and personal, then the Monk might be for you. Hit the jump for the actual gameplay trailer.

Diablo III BlizzCon 2009 Monk Reveal Cinematic Trailer »

Tags: Apple, Blizzcon 2009, PC Gaming, Videogames, Videos

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Wow that has really got me excited for the game. The monk is pure awesomeness!!

Posted: August 25, 2009 by Nerd_Herder

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More Details On World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm

60 Comments Posted August 21, 2009 - By Patrick Klepek

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Debut Trailer »

After much rumor mongering, the latest World of Warcraft expansion pack is finally official. Titled Cataclysm, Blizzard is promising some pretty major changes to the World of Warcraft landscape. The once-defeated dragon Deathwing has risen from the ashes and wrecked destruction upon the world, fundamentally changing the environment gamers have come to known and love permanently.

Brian Leahy broke the news earlier today when it was announced at BlizzCon 2009, but Blizzard's press release has some more details on the new features in Cataclysm:

Two New Playable Races: Adventure as the cursed worgen with the Alliance or the resourceful goblins with the Horde.
Increased Level Cap: Advance to level 85 and earn new abilities, tap into new talents, and progress through the path system, a new way for players to customize characters.
Classic Zones Remade: Quest to level 60 as you never have before. Familiar zones across the original continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms have been reforged by the cataclysm and updated with new quests and content.
Flying Mounts in Azeroth: Explore Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms from a whole new perspective.
Guild Advancement: Progress as a guild to earn guild levels and guild achievements.
New High-Level Content: Explore newly opened parts of the world, including Uldum, Grim Batol, and the great sunken city of Vashj'ir beneath the sea, and enjoy even more high-level raid content than in previous expansions.
New PvP Zone & Rated Battlegrounds: Take on PvP objectives and daily quests on Tol Barad Island, a new Wintergrasp-like zone, and wage war in all-new rated Battlegrounds.
Archaeology: Master a new secondary profession to unearth valuable artifacts and earn unique rewards.
New Race and Class Combinations: Explore Azeroth as a gnome priest, blood elf warrior, or one of the other never-before-available race and class combinations.

What features are you most excited about?

Tags: Blizzcon 2009, MMO News, PC Gaming

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it is awsome i cant wait for it !!!!!!!

Posted: August 24, 2009 by jaota79

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Battle.net 2.0 Features Detailed - Online Persistence, Ladders For All Skill Levels

20 Comments Posted August 21, 2009 - By Brian Leahy

Blizzard Entertainment's Rob Pardo revealed the planned features for Battle.net 2.0, which will launch in 2010 with StarCraft II and be incorporated into World of WarCraft. The biggest change is the introduction of what Blizzard is calling "Real ID" that should eliminate "smurfing" accounts and ensure better matchmaking. Games will be tied to a specific account much like Steam or other digital distribution services. Battle.net 2.0 will be free, however.

Pardo believes that the new matchmaking system is more powerful than Microsoft's TrueSkill and when paired with Real ID, it should help players of all skill levels get into games that they have a chance to win. On this point, the ladder system has been improved to take player skill into account. After a player completes around 10 games, they will be placed into a skill tier. Within each skill tier, the player is matched up with 99 other players in 100 player divisions. The focus of the season is on competing with these 99 other players with tournaments taking place at the end of each season between division leaders.

As a dashboard, Battle.net 2.0 is always on and will allow for cross-game/cross-realm chat and players will be able to see which friends are online while in singleplayer. There aren't any groundbreaking features here, but it brings Battle.net up to Steam's level and will help World of WarCraft players transition into StarCraft II.

StarCraft II will also support a Marketplace, which will not be available at launch, but added later. This is where custom map makers can offer up their maps for free or for a small fee, taking in part of the revenue. Pardo compared it to Apple's iPhone App Store. Custom maps can also be published to the server so players can see what is available, comment and rate them, and download them without having to join games. Custom games can also be filtered so you can find custom maps that aren't DotA.

Battle.net 2.0 Image Gallery...

Tags: Apple, Blizzcon 2009, PC Gaming, Videogames

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The problem is, are the maps going to be a few cents here or there? Or is going to be a dollar a pop? And as far as people getting paid for their work, most do it because they want to, most of those maps made in sc1 where from people who enjoyed doing it and obviously did it for free and will do it for free. These guys where talking like features that have been in games for the past few years are something brand new and completely awesome that they just introduced. All their energies have...

Posted: August 24, 2009 by GamerNx

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World of Warcraft: Cataclysm BlizzCon 2009 Announcement Trailer

15 Comments Posted August 21, 2009 - By Jeffrey Kanjanapangka

The world of Azeroth is shaken to it's very core as Blizzard debuts the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm trailer in all it's glory. Catch all the new features and gameplay additions all packed in premium Blizzard fashion.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Debut Trailer »

Tags: Apple, Blizzcon 2009, MMO News, PC Gaming, Videogames, Videos

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voiceover is annoying. i didn't like the wow demo, though this looks quite cool. if i'm going to get an mmo, its got to be the old republic, or lotro if they bring out some really nice new expansions

Posted: August 21, 2009 by Bleugh07

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Blizzard: StarCraft II Beta In 2009

9 Comments Posted August 21, 2009 - By Brian Leahy

After the opening ceremony at BlizzCon 2009, CEO Mike Morhaime announced that the StarCraft II beta should start this year when questioned about the test.

The beta hinges on the launch of the new Battle.net, which is set to be revealed later today at BlizzCon.

Whether or not the beta will hit this year is anybody's guess, but the fact that Blizzard is showing off B.net 2.0 today is promising.

Tags: Apple, Blizzcon 2009, PC Gaming, Videogames