A few weeks ago, we posted about a countdown on the site that was going towards May 1st, and if you check your calendars, you can see that the day has come, and Diablo3.com is now redirecting to Diablofans.com. There is a post on the site saying that Blizzard contacted the site a few months ago to pick up the domain name, and while the owner (who also runs I-Mockery) wanted it to stay a fan site, he couldn't help but sell to Blizzard. We had speculated that it would mean an official takeover, and while it hasn't actually happened yet (right now the redirect is in place, and we're not sure how long that'll be the case), it looks like we were right.The Tauren Marines are coming!
That's right, for all of you lore enthusiasts who like to speculate as to whether Azeroth is in the same universe as Aiur, here's your proof. The Terran confederacy, on the lookout for new recruits for the meat grinder, has stumbled upon a planet known to its inhabitants as Azeroth, and has taken a special interest in a group of anthropomorphic bovines with bizarrely well developed horticultural skills. They've managed to recruit a group of the younger, wilder bulls, creating a new corps of soldiers that have taken on the nickname of "Mad Cows."
We're incredibly excited to see what repercussions this could have not only for Starcraft, but for the World of Warcraft itself! It is likely that we'll see an in-game event or patch soon in which the Terrans land on Azeroth in order to recruit the Tauren. How will the Tauren accept a group of space-faring aliens who look suspiciously like the Humans who are usually regarded as their enemies? How will the Terrans react to the Humans themselves? Will there be any technology sharing? I'm sure many Engineers will be dying to get their hands on the schematics for their very own Vulture land mount, and the Cenarion Circle may want to compare notes with the Terrans on fighting giant bug-like creatures. Of course, those of you with the Zergling pet may want to consider hiding them for a while, lest a Firebat mistake you for an Infected Terran.
Tickets for the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, being held this year in Paris, France, are now on sale according to the official website. The event, taking place on June 28th and 29th, promises to be a big one. Not only will there be invitational tournaments, but you can expect developer panels, auctions, loot galore, and the thing we're most looking forward, playable versions of Wrath of the Lich King and Starcraft 2.
If you have any chance of being able to make it out to the City of Lights this summer, we'd strongly recommend buying a ticket, it sounds like it's going to be a blast for Blizzard fans, whether competitive tournament play is your thing or not. We'd also recommend staying tuned to WoW Insider for all the latest information on this event and the Wrath of the Lich King expansion!
When Vivendi acquired Activision -- or was it Activision acquiring Vivendi? these business deals confuse me -- to form what the soon-to-be Activision-Blizzard late last year, many players were concerned about how this would affect our beloved MMO. Blizzard assured its players with an FAQ on the forums about the merger stating, in no uncertain terms, that it would not affect Blizzard's games in any way (except to improve them, presumably). Activision CEO Bobby Kotick recently spoke with Next Generation, however, and talked very much like the businessman, discussing possible revenue models for their stable of games. He mentions how Activision-Blizzard must figure out StarCraft's business model for the future, "with in-game advertising and sponsorship" which he says "presents a tremendous opportunity for the future."
Gallery: GDC08: Blizzard's approach to MMOs
Continue reading GDC08: Live from Rob Pardo talks about Blizzard's approach to MMOs
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| WoW Insider Arena Tournament | FRI nights |
| WSG weekend | 5/16 - 5/19 |
| Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza | SUN 2p - 4p |
| Midsummer Fire Festival | 6/21 - 7/5 |
| Worldwide Invitational in Paris | 6/28 - 6/29 |
| BlizzCon 2008 in Anaheim, CA | 10/11 - 10/12 |
machinima Blizzard screenshots ptr pvp sunwell wow-moviewatch shaman patch-2.4 screenshot sunwell-plateau warcraftmovies raiding wotlk Arena dailies gallery around-azeroth wrath-of-the-lich-king shattered-sun-offensive daily-quests aroundazeroth Gear isle-of-queldanas wrath
| # | Blogger | Posts | Cmts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Schramm | 103 | 9 |
| 2 | Adam Holisky | 59 | 42 |
| 3 | Daniel Whitcomb | 52 | 48 |
| 4 | Amanda Dean | 39 | 0 |
| 5 | Moo Money | 33 | 28 |
| 6 | Elizabeth Wachowski | 31 | 3 |
| 7 | Eliah Hecht | 31 | 21 |
| 8 | Zach Yonzon | 30 | 0 |
| 9 | Robin Torres | 22 | 21 |
| 10 | Alex Ziebart | 22 | 2 |
| 11 | Matthew Rossi | 19 | 85 |
| 12 | Sean Forsgren | 13 | 0 |
| 13 | Lisa Poisso | 12 | 4 |
| 14 | Amanda Miller | 9 | 0 |
| 15 | David Bowers | 7 | 12 |
| 16 | Jennie Lees | 7 | 8 |
| 17 | Shelbi Roach | 5 | 1 |
| 18 | Scott Andrews | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | Krystalle Voecks | 4 | 3 |
| 20 | Christian Belt | 4 | 0 |
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