Starcaft II

It's been a eventful week for people awaiting Starcraft II and BlizzCon didn't dissapoint. The event revealed that the still unreleased Blizzard sci-fi RTS game would in fact be released as three stand alone titles with each of the game's three playable races getting their own single player game (full multiplayer will still be released in the first game with the other two being basically stand alone single player expansion packs).

Now Blizzard has released 14 new screenshots showing off some pretty action packed gameplay from the long awaited sequel and we have added them to our already huge gallery of shots from the title. It seems the Terran, Zerg and Protoss have no mercy as they pound each other into dust with tons of units, weapons and general chaos. Again, there's still no release date but at least we know more of what to expect.

Blizzard revealed a new player class for Diablo III during Blizzcon today but it had even bigger news for its upcoming sci-fi RTS sequel Starcraft II. Our sister site Joystiq reports from Blizzcon that the game will actually be released as three separate titles. Whaaaaaaa? Yep, that's how we feel.

Apparently, Starcraft II's three playable races (Terran, Zerg, and Protoss) will have their own separate stand alone retail game release. There's no word on which will be released first and how long people will have to wait in between game releases. And no, there's no word on a release date.

These StarCraft II gameplay trailers were shown at Blizzcon 2008. the first video features the Zerg against Terrans, while the second has the Protoss taking their turn beating down Terran Marines.

Download HD StarCraft II Blizzcon 2008 Gameplay Trailer #1 (77 MB)
Download HD StarCraft II Blizzcon 2008 Gameplay Trailer #2 (76 MB)
Check out all the StarCraft II downloads

Yeah, the Tokyo Game Show may be happening right now but that event is almost all console games. The real cool PC cats know that the place to be this weekend is BlizzCon 2008. And we can report that thanks to our friends at our sister site WoW Insider Big Download will have exclusive coverage of the events going on at the Anaheim Convention Center beginning today and ending on Saturday.

Specifically our special WoW Insider correspondents will be covering the non-World of Warcraft games that will be shown at BlizzCon. Yep, that means both Starcraft II and Diablo III will be covered on our site (and it looks like Diablo III will be playable to the public for the first time this weekend). Of course WoW Insider is your best bet for coverage of all of the World of Warcraft related news and events at the event and we want to thank the team for their help in covering BlizzCon for us. It's going to be a very cool couple of days and we hope you stick around for it.

We are just a couple of days away from the start of BlizzCon 2008 and Blizzard has been updating the official web site with more info on what will be happening at the convention on Oct 10-11 at the Anaheim Convention Center. One big development is that Blizzard will be streaming "selected" portions of its various game tournaments from the BlizzCon web site so folks who are unable to attend can at least see some of the tournament action for free.

Also, people unable to attend can enter the Original Question Contest. You can submit a Blizzard related games question and Blizzard team members will answer a select number during BlizzCon. People who have their questions selected for answering will get a prize package of BlizzCon related merchandise as well as an ATI graphics card.

We are just a few days away from the start of Blizzard's latest edition of Blizzcon and this week the event's official web site has revealed the full schedule and floor plan for the Oct. 10-11 show. The event, which is completely sold out even with $100 tickets, is being held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

As you can see from the schedule, Blizzard is planning at least a couple of panels on their two upcoming announced titles, the sci-fi RTS game Starcraft II and the fantasy action-RPG Diablo III. Of course panels and events for their MMO World of Warcraft are also being held. The schedule also has the times for the various tournaments and contests and their closing ceremonies. The interactive map gives attendees the locations for all of the various stages as well as the many exhibitors.

[via WoWInsider]

We are just a couple of weeks away from the start of Blizzcon 2008 (to be held at the Anaheim Convention Center on Oct. 10-11) and this week Blizzard revealed more info about what will be happening at their (sort of) annual gathering of fans of their games. Comedian and actor Jay Mohr will return for his second appearance at Blizzcon as he will host the live contests. In addition, fellow comedian and actor Patton Oswald will host the closing ceremonies. That event will include a concert by Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain, a band formed by Blizzard team members.

As previously reported, DirecTV will broadcast 16 hours of live high definition footage from Blizzcon and that will be co-hosted by Spike TV's Geoff Keighley. Members of Blizzard will drop by the DirecTV broadcast during Blizzcon desk to talk about their work and the convention. They will also show a tour of Blizzard's offices and if DirecTV owners have the proper DVR they can download high-def cinematic trailers of upcoming Blizzard games. Remember if you sign up for DirecTV via the Blizzcon site by Tuesday, September 30 you can get the Blizzcon pay-per-view event for free (a $39.99 value).

A while back we mentioned that the DirecTV satellite TV service would be offering exclusive HD coverage of this October's Blizzcon event via pay per view. This week DirectTV announced the details on how new subscribers to the service would be able to get the Blizzcon coverage for free.

Simply put, any new DirecTV customers who sign up for the service by September 30 will be able to get the Blizzcon pay per view for free. Existing customers will have to shell out a whopping $39.95 for the same privilage. That pay per view will offer at least eight hours of HD coverage per day of Blizzard's sort of annual event on October 10-11. Anyone who orders the pay-per-view will also get a cool World of Warcraft in-game item; a polar bear mount with a murloc that waves a Blizzcon flag.

Blizzard is having a busy day today. In addition to announcing the release of the music soundtracks for several of their games on iTunes, the official Starcraft II web site has posted up three more images from the long awaited sci-fi RTS sequel. The new shots deal with two of the three factions in the game, the Protoss and the Zer, going at it as only they can do.

While some have still got the idea that Starcraft II might actually be released before the end of the year, that doesn't appear to be the case. A recent report from an Asian Activision Blizzard retail event stated that Starcraft II "should" be released sometime in 2009. As usual, Blizzard's official statement on the game's release is "when it's done."

Games from Blizzard Entertainment not only have great gameplay and terrific CGI cut-scenes they also have some of the best music soundtracks in the industry. Earlier this week we reported that a free song from the Diablo III CGI trailer has been made available for free on iTunes and today Blizzard announced that soundtracks from a number of their older games have now been made available via Apple's music download service.

Some of these tracks have only been available until now in collector's editions of Blizzard games or on sale at part Blizzcon events. Six soundtracks are currently available for Starcraft, Diablo II, Warcraft III and three World of Warcraft soundtrack albums. Blizzard's podcast can also be downloaded via iTunes.

This is one of those news posts that we kind of have to post, even though we know that it's basically speculation. Still, Starcraft II is a game that is certainly generating tons of buzz, even though the Blizzard sci-fi RTS sequel was announced well over a year ago.

Now, the fan site Starcraftwire.net claims to have a report from a recent retail conference in Asia held by Activision Blizzard in which the newly merged game publisher stated that Starcraft II "should" be among the publisher's game line up next year (a.k.a. 2009). Now the fact that they said "should" instead of words like "definitively" and "positively" and "we really mean it this time" is a big clue that Blizzard is still in control of the game's fate. So while the publisher may want Starcraft II to come out in 2009, there's no certainty that it actually will make that date.

Chances are you are not one of the folks lucky enough to get tickets to the October 10-11 Blizzcon. Blizzard's sort-of annual event sold out of their regular ticket pool a number of days ago and the announced lottery has only 1,500 picks left. However, SteelSeries, the PC gaming keyboard and accessory company, is running a content where two people can win tickets to the event.

Not only that but SteelSeries will fly them to the event on their dime, put them up in a hotel room and give them $200 in spending money (which should buy them a couple of meals in the highly expensive concessions set-ups in the Anaheim, CA Convention Center). There are a number of other prizes that can be won if you don't get the grand prize.

Last week Blizzard announced that it would hold a lottery to sell the remaining 3,000 tickets for this October's Blizzcon 2008. Today the official Blizzcon web site revealed the details on how the lottery will take place. People much have had a Blizzard account before 9 pm PT on Tuesday, August 12 (when Blizzard announced that the first batch of tickets have sold out). You must also be an adult, have not already purchased tickets for Blizzcon 2008 and live in a long list of countries.

There will be an op-in period beginning later today and ending August 24 where people can enter an eligible Blizzard account to get a chance to purchase the $100 Blizzcon tickets. More detailed info on how all this will work can be found on the Blizzcon site (and yes, it's a tad confusing).

So the way Blizzcon ticket sales were handled was a bit of a bust for pretty much everyone. The Blizzcon web site got overloaded with traffic when tickets went on sale for the October 10-11 event in Anaheim, CA and as a result many fans who might have had a chance to purchase a ticket got, well, screwed. Thankfully, Blizzard has a partial solution to that issue.

In a new message on the Blizzcon web site by Blizzard president Mike Morhaime, he apolgized for how ticket sales were handled and announced that they have found a way to work with the Anaheim Convention Center to offer up 3,000 more tickets to Blizzcon. Those tickets will be offered up in a lottery with details to be announced later. You must have had a Blizzard account by 9 pm PT on Tuesday, August 12, when it was announced that Blizzcon tickets were all sold out, to be eligable to enter the Blizzcon ticket lottery.

Earlier today Blizzard Entertainment announced plans to bring Starcraft II and various back catalog titles, including Warcraft III, to mainland of China. In the three-year licensing deal with NetEase.com, Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology Limited will bring the Battle.net Platform and various Blizzard titles to the Chinese gaming market.

"This partnership is a sign of our continued commitment to our players in China and to the local industry," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment.

In the terms of the agreement Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology Limited will bring the classic titles; Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the Battle.net platform and StarCraft II -- when it is made available -- to mainland China.