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Dell drops the price on the Warcraft laptop


Just in case the original $5k was too much for you on that Dell Warcraft laptop deal, Dell has apparently dropped the price to a still pretty high $4k, or $3999. That's still more than our questionable pricing out of the laptop and all of the goodies that come with it, but then again, it is a sweet gaming-spec, Warcraft branded laptop -- can you really put a price on a paradise like that?

And yes, it still does come with all the old stuff, including Alliance or Horde branding, all the Warcraft software, and a bunch of other goodies including those beta keys that we still have no idea are for. Where Dell found $1000 to cut out of that deal we can't figure either, unless... you don't think they were just topping more than a cool grand of straight profit on this deal, were they? Sneaky moneymaking bastards!

Update: Apparently we now know where they got $1000 out of the deal -- it doesn't come with all the extras any more. According to reader DevilStick, who chatted with a Dell sales rep, all it comes with is the mousepad and possibly a laptop bag. So the novels, the beta keys, and all of the books and other goodies were limited time only.

Update II: Dell themselves have contacted us with the news that the sales rep DevilStick chatted with was wrong: even at the lower price, it still does come with all the goodies. So if $5k was too much, but $4k is worth it to you to have "the ultimate Warcraft laptop," order away.

Blizzard and dealing with the expanded WoW universe

Zv of Destromath has an interesting argument on the forums -- he says that Blizzard has overextended themselves, and that by producing everything from trading cards to credit cards to WoW minis, the board game, and the upcoming movie (and he even forgot the FigurePrints and Dell deals), they've lost sight of what they should be working on: the game itself. While Zv does admit on the second page what Bornakk points out on the first (that it's not the same people or even the same company working on all of this stuff, and that the devs are still working on designing the game, not writing a script for the movie), there is still the same old argument here when anything goes mainstream and starts selling a brand: has the original material been neglected?

It's up to you, of course, whether you think that's the case or not, but there's no question at all that Blizzard is a completely different company because of World of Warcraft. Before this game, they were a popular-but-still-boutique games studio famous for just a few quality titles in even fewer franchises. But now, they're part of not one but two multinational corporations (one of which shares their name), and they oversee a global empire not just of rights and license releases, but of millions of players and financial interests all over the place. As Zv says, why are they making more deals for expensive swords when they still claim they don't have the manpower to let us use flying mounts in Azeroth?

The problem here is that you can't really second guess Blizzard -- despite the fact that you may agree or disagree with the decisions they've made, there's no question that they've got a successful game on their hands and that they've done nothing but make money with it. But though the Warcraft licensing universe seems to be growing at an exponential rate, we hope (and we'll find out, we guess, with the release of patch 2.4 and the expansion), that the core game is still as strong as ever.

Day 3 of the Dell XPS WoW Edition giveaway


Told Greatfather Winter what you want for Christmas? Check.

Transformed your mount into a flying Reindeer? Check.

Entered today to win a Dell XPS M1730 WoW Edition laptop? Head on over to the giveaway post where you can enter once a day with your preference of Horde or Alliance edition. Then check it off your list.

You can also read up on our hands on review of the new system as well as join the debate: is it really worth the price? Then come back each day from Monday to Friday before noon for another chance to enter. Because winning one of these bad boys is gonna be the best Christmas gift of all.

Analysis: Is the WoW laptop worth it?


So as you've probably already heard, Dell is releasing an ultraswank gaming laptop computer, bedecked in WoW paraphernalia like no computer ever has been before. If you're a WoW fan, this is the clearly the ultimate bling in laptops to own-- the kind of computer that Mr. T plays his Night Elf mohawk on. But it retails at a whopping $4500, which makes it too rich for my blood, and probably too rich for yours.

Still, it does come with a lot of stuff-- not just a sweet 17" laptop, but also lots of Blizzard swag, and even that FigurePrints coupon. But the burning question is: when you add it all up, is the WoW laptop really worth it? I could probably think of better ways to spend $4500, and I'm sure you could, too. But if we really did want all of this stuff, and had the money to buy it with, would the Dell deal really be a bargain?

That's what I'm planning to find out. After the jump, we'll break down what you get with the set, what it costs, and whether or not this Dell deal really is the WoW fan's biggest dream, or whether or not you could save some cash just by buying it all separately.

Gallery: Dell XPS M1730

Alliance branded Dell XPS M1730Horde branded Dell XPS M1730Alliance branded Dell XPS M1730Horde branded Dell XPS M1730Alliance branded Dell XPS M1730

Continue reading Analysis: Is the WoW laptop worth it?

Dell announces World of Warcraft edition laptops


This morning Dell has announced their new XPS M1730 World of Warcraft edition laptop. Details are a bit sketchy, but the hardware configuration seems to match the rest of the XPS M1730 line-up, with a few extra touches for the WoW player on the go:
  • custom World of Warcraft cases design for Alliance and Horde
  • a built-in Logitech GamePanel LCD (perhaps akin to that on the G15 keyboard?)
  • pre-loaded with World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade, and all content patches
  • the package comes with all sorts of WoW-related swag, including a key to upgrade your account to the collector's edition and a beta key for a future Blizzard game
If you happen to be in the market for a $4500+ gaming laptop (yes, you read that right), the installed content patches alone may make this one worth a look. (To those of you who haven't had the pleasure of installing World of Warcraft from its original game disks: trust me, you never want to.) Our friends over at GameDaily are already asking: is it worth the price tag?

Gallery: Dell XPS M1730

Alliance branded Dell XPS M1730Horde branded Dell XPS M1730Alliance branded Dell XPS M1730Horde branded Dell XPS M1730Alliance branded Dell XPS M1730

It begins: Dell and Blizzard teaser page is up


Dell and Blizzard are up to something. Last week a teaser page went up on Dell's site hinting at big news, but giving little detail. It's safe to assume that Dell has found a new way to market its XPS gaming line of notebook computers with the blessing of Blizzard, but how this particular pairing of corporate entities is going to play out is anyone's guess.

This is not the first time the two have worked together. Last fall Dell and Blizzard gave away five $3200 XPS M1710 Limited Edition notebooks. That was just for logging into the game and was promoted by Blizzard. This new pairing is being promoted by Dell, so they may have something different in mind this time.

Either way, you can sign up on the teaser page to be notified by e-mail when they are ready to send out their big announcement. There are also 6 beautiful pieces of World of Warcraft desktop backgrounds to download in various sizes.

Reader WoWspace of the Week: March 7 - 20

This week, Ben sends in some interesting images, and writes:

I've been tempted to send in a shot of my workspace for a few weeks now after seeing the WoWSpaces of the week, and now I guess I've gotten around to it.

So here 'goes, from left-ish to right:

- my Logitech X-230 speakers
- a note from my mom congratulating me on the arrival of my new PC
- a newspaper clipping about DST changes
- under that, a greeting card and some weird round orange post-its
- my television remote
- cream soda x2 (awwww yeah)
- a J!NX bumper sticker (yep, it's stuck on right on there)
- a page from an old Nintendo Power magazine about Ken from Street Fighter II
- partially under that, my DS charger

Continue reading Reader WoWspace of the Week: March 7 - 20

Dell makes custom BC laptop; '70s want their art back

Apparently there was more than one keynote today (who knew?). Michael Dell at CES this morning decided to strike while the BC iron is hot and come up with a very limited edition (read: 2 made) M1710 laptop with some custom airbrushed WoW art on it. I can't find a better picture than this one; it looks like your standard Blood Elf vs. Draenei shot.

Kotaku writes that these are to be auctioned off on eBay, though Dell's own site appears to claim that only one of them ever existed, and it was given away at the keynote at CES. Being a Mac person, I didn't really want one anyway. And that art is giving me flashbacks to the Janitor's epic mural in the latest Scrubs episode: "usually you have to go to a van convention" indeed.

I'd link to Dell's page on this device, but it's buried in a horrendous Flash layout, and therefore seems to be unlinkable. If you really feel the need to subject yourself to it, click here and then click "M1710 Burning Crusade" when the Flash loads.

[via Kotaku]

Update: Engadget confirms that the 2 laptops will be "auctioned off to benefit World Harvest."

Win a new computer! By doing what again?

Is it just me, or is this new Blizzard contest to give away a hot gaming computer being carried out a little awkwardly? Don't get me wrong, I think being given a chance to win a sweet rig is great, but I need a little bit more than a paragraph of RP and a vague "We're looking for players to complete more than 25 quests in 5 weeks" to go on. Are those just quests in game? Are they being tracked automatically? Do I have to sign up anywhere else?

For now, the answers to those questions seem like Yes, Yes, and No. Neth is answering questions as fast as she can, but it's still a little confusing. Bottom line seems to be just keep questing (any level, repeatable are OK, must all be on one character), and Blizzard will let you know if you've won. Twenty five quests doesn't seem that hard to finish in 5 weeks (especially if you just roll a Horde and go to the Barrens, there's about eleventy zillion quests there), but then again, maybe the devs (working hard on BC, of course) just got a computer to give away and wanted to come up with the easiest, non-stress way to do it. "What? Computer? Fine, just tell the players to earn XP, and give it to someone who does."


A few players are also raising concerns that the whole thing is just a ploy to sell their information to Dell, but the CMs are shrugging off any suggestions that this is anything but what it seems to be. Every contest has fine print, guys, and there's also plenty of it on the agreement you "sign" after every patch. If Blizzard wanted to sell your information, I'm guessing they'd have done it by now.


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