Did you know the episode was actually shot on the Burning Crusade alpha server? (Blizzard simply made it so that anyone who got in the way of filming mysteriously vanished...) Or that filming didn't stop until 3AM on the day the show was to air? These, and many other interesting tidbits about the making of South Park's very own World of Warcraft machinima can be found in Machinima.com's interview with Frank Agnone (Producer), J. J. Franzen (Technology Supervisor), and Eric Stough (Director of Animation). So if you're a big fan of South Park and wanting a look behind the making of the show or a machinima maker curious as to how television got involved in the art it's worth a read!

[Thanks, Barb!]

Reader Nelson sends in this screenshot showing that in the Burning Crusade, yes, you will be able to wield the infamous Sword of a Thousand Truths. Just like the South Park kids. Of course, the screenshot could be faked, but if so the image looks awfully clean to me.

The guys at 1up.com are linking to a Wikipedia article where World of Warcraft fanatics are taking apart the infamous WoW South Park episode bit by bit to point out any inaccuracies. Don't these people know they sound exactly like the Comic Book Guy and should give it a rest? Apparently not.

The show was fun to watch, and I get that there were some oddball, not-quite-faithful Warcraft moments in the episode, but beyond a quick mention, is it really worth keeping track of all of them? I guess this is amusing for some people, but I tend to put this kind of obsessive nerd behavior in the same category as the guy who paints himself in his team colors or the dude who learns Klingon. I am a super-huge geek, no doubt, but this kind of stuff crosses my limit of what is worth caring about. But hey, to each his own.

What do you guys think? Way too obsessive, or just some people having fun?

Regardless of how funny this episode may or may not have been, one thing needs to be said...

Their use of the WoW engine in the episode was AMAZING. Blizzard had to have given them a bunch of help, and for that I give Blizzard a lot of credit. A lot of companies would shy away from a South Park tie in, but Blizzard knows their target audience. Maybe this is why they make so much darn money.

As for the episode itself, while the plot didn't make a whole lot of sense from an actual game standpoint (and it doesn't have to, as this is, you know, a cartoon), they seemed to take care to mention actual places and keep things fairly consistent within the game. From Butters' frustration at only four Alliance races to choose from to bragging about questing in the Fargodeep Mine, they did a decent job trying to keep things grounded in the game. You can tell they have at least one WoW fan writing for the show. And who is betting we might see a Sword of 1000 Truths at some point in the WoW universe?

Of course, some things in the episode weren't consistent with WoW game play (human hunter?), but again, this is a cartoon meant to entertain the masses, not just the WoW geeks who tune in. The stereotype of the fat, lazy WoW player was out in full force, but if you are playing for 18 hours a day, everyday, it might be hard to be fit and trim.

All in all, I was pretty entertained. However, if I was not a WoW fan, I'm not sure if this would be among my favorite episodes. My playing WoW added a lot, and I don't think I'd have enjoyed it nearly as much as an outsider looking in. Either way, the marriage of South Park and WoW was certainly something to see, and will surely keep the WoW community buzzing for a while. What did you guys think? Funny? Lame?

Oh yeah, one more thing...you can rest assured we will be launching Hello Kitty Island Adventure Insider very, very soon.

I wondered yesterday if World of Warcraft was going to be the main focus of South Park this week or just a minor plot device. My question is answered. WoW is going to be featured on South Park in a very, very big way. If the preview clip on the front page of WoW.com (thanks to Medivak for the quick heads up) is any indication, it looks like WoW and the millions who play are going to be savagely mocked by the South Park crew.

This is going to be fantastic!

And no matter how brutal the parody, Blizzard has to LOVE the South Park spotlight with the Burning Crusade right around the corner.

UPDATE: Thanks to the comment crew, we have the original clip on Youtube. Additionally, we also have another clip from the show, via South Park Studios. Thanks to Agrar and Tim for the info!

UPDATE #2: The synopsis for the WoW episode at South Park Studios reads: "The boys dedicate their lives to defeating a mad gamer and saving the World of Warcraft." Is the mad gamer Professor Chaos? Elizabeth Harper? Who knows! Am I hyping this episode a little too much? For sure!

According to this article in the Denver Post, when South Park returns for their 10th season this Wednesday, the episode will include a riff on World of Warcraft. The article is not clear about whether WoW will be the sole focus of the episode or just a minor plot point.

South Park has a pretty good track record of video game parody, with the PSP episode and the original Towlie episode standing out. Cartman was especially proud of his 360 last season, but the poor guy had to settle for the Core model.

So what are we in for? Cartman griefing newbs on a PvP server? Butters meeting a hot Night Elf? You can catch the episode this Wednesday night at 10 PM on Comedy Central.