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BlizzCon 2010 set for Anaheim this fall

March 25th, 2010, 11:14 am by

Another blog interruptus: The all-things-Blizzard-Entertainment game fest BlizzCon returns this fall to the Anaheim Convention Center.

BlizzCon, which will be the Irvine game company’s fifth fan convention, is set for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 22 and 23, 2010.

The convention usually sells out within minutes because it’s one of the rare chances for fans of the company’s games — World of Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft — to get sneak peeks at coming games, meet the developers and snag some rare merchandise. Worldwide, some 11 million gamers play just World of Warcraft. The Blizzard franchise has been around since the early 1990s so it has a large and loyal fan base.

More details will be posted at blizzcon.com.

Here are stories from last year’s BlizzCon:

Missing BlizzCon? DirecTV’s happy to sell you access

August 21st, 2009, 3:38 am by

Big day today. Fans of Irvine game company Blizzard Entertainment are converging in Anaheim for the annual BlizzCon fan fest. I’ll be covering the two-day event but posting updates over our  Blizzard Blog (ya, did you know we had that?) so there won’t be much on Gadgetress. But check the sidebar for lots of good stuff.

For readers who have heard of Blizzard or perhaps one of its computer games — World of Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo — there is big news expected today. Joe Simmons, lead Blizzard blogger, is betting on more details of the upcoming Diablo III, future updates to Warcraft and lots of StarCraft II news since the game is coming out next year.

 But a major announcement could be a completely new game: A mysterious new massively multiplayer game was quietly confirmed some months back. That’s all the world  knows.

It should be the biggest BlizzCon to date. Some 20,000 tickets were sold within 10 minutes. And that’s not counting media, professional gamers, staff and everyone else. I’ll be getting more details as the con progresses so stay tuned — and check for updates on the Blizzard Blog.

Anyway, this being a TV blog, I thought I’d better point out that DirecTV is once again broadcasting BlizzCon as a pay-per-view show for $39.95. It’s not competely minute-by-minute action, but the package will include 18 hours of HD coverage, plus an exclusive in-game pet, Grunty the Murloc Marine. Additionally, subscribers will get free access to the Internet stream. The event will be on channels 122 and 121. More details are at directv.com/blizzcon.

For more BlizzCon coverage, visit our Blizzard Blog. Recent headlines:

Bigger, better BlizzCon coming in October

May 12th, 2008, 10:02 am by

Blizzard Entertainment just announced that it will host its third BlizzCon fan fest at the Anaheim Convention Center on October 10 and 11. Need I say more?

Okay, I will. The Irvine company continues to have fantabulous success with its Warcraft and Star Craft games. This year, the event will occupy three convention halls, instead of two.

I’ll post details as soon as I get them. More information should be posted at Blizzcon.com, but the page still has last year’s information.The $100 tickets, which aren’t on sale yet, do sell out fast so you’ve been warned…

To get in the mood, check out coverage from last year’s show:

BlizzCon: Video of new Warcraft Lich King

August 3rd, 2007, 6:51 pm by

Lucky BlizzCon attendees. They got to play the upcoming “World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.” It could be years before the game is released because of Blizzard Entertainment’s mantra: It’s not ready until it’s done. Video by Register videographer Greg Magnus:

Wrath of the Lich King

Fresh photos from BlizzCon

August 3rd, 2007, 6:00 pm by

Thanks to Mike Goulding, an OC Register photographer, who has taken some fantastic photos of today’s BlizzCon event in Anaheim. Wade through the photos yourself by clicking the image below:

BlizzCon Day 1

WoW’s Lich King details

August 3rd, 2007, 3:09 pm by

Wrath of the Lich King

Do I need to elaborate? By now, details of Blizzard’s expansion to WoW — World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King — is everywhere on the Internet.

But in case you missed it:

Just seven months after updating the massively multiplayer game World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment unveiled today another expansion to the computer game in front of the 8,000 attendees at BlizzCon. It was standing room only in the Hall A at the Anaheim Convention Center, where there was enough seating for 2,800 people.

Frank Pearce, a Blizzard co-founder, is stunned by BlizzCon’s attendanceCalled World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, the expansion will add 10 more levels of game play so players can work up a sweat getting to the new Level 80.

Frank Pearce, Blizzard’s executive vice president of product development (pictured on right), was man of the hour as he introduced the new game and showed video of the work in progress.

The new expansion unveils Northrend in Azeroth — the icy domain of the Lich King from Warcraft III.

There will be new talents, new player-vs.-player modes, new arenas, new battle grounds and new professions, like “inscription” to enhance a player’s spells and abilities.

There is also a new hero character class, the necromantic Death Knight:

Death Knight Another Death Knight

Rumors had been buzzing for months that the new game being announced at BlizzCon would be another Diablo or a non-Warcraft project from its Blizzard North team, which moved to Orange County a few years ago.

Neil Brasfield, a Warcraft fan, shows up in full troll mage uniformBut Neil Brasfield, a Bay-area resident dressed as a “Troll Mage,” said he’d heard Blizzard was going to update WoW every few years.

“It was quite surprising, but not a shock,” Brasfield said. “But more surprising was the hero class. It had been mentioned a few years ago but we hadn’t heard anything about it since.”

After the speech, the crowds headed to the far back corner of the convention center where Blizzard had 500 computers with a working prototype of the Lich King. Players got 30 minutes to try to get a sense of the new game.

500 computers dedicated to “WoW: Wrath of the Lich King” game play

I’ve posted Blizzard’s Lich King Q&A below…

Read the rest of this entry »

Screenshots from WoW: Wrath of the Lich King,

August 3rd, 2007, 11:30 am by

It’s officially 11:30 a.m. in BlizzCon time. As promised, here are screen shots from the upcoming expansion to World of Warcraft: Warth of the Lich King that was just announced by Blizzard Entertainment.

All images courtesy of Blizzard. Click each shot for a larger look.

Borean Tundra Daggercap Bay Grizzly Hills

Westguard Howling Fjord Howling Fjord (looking from clift)

New Agamand Nifflevar (looking outwards) Nifflevar

Utgarde Keep Valgarde Vengeance Landing

For the latest BlizzCon 2007 updates (and anything you’ve missed), click HERE.

BlizzCon 2007 slideshow: The early edition

August 2nd, 2007, 9:33 pm by

Photos shot today inside and outside the Anaheim Convention Center are now available as a slide show. Photos by Register photographer Ana Venegas. Click image to start slide show.

Sneak peek at BlizzCon 2007

More updates coming. For the latest, click HERE.

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