Fans of World of Warcraft, StarCraft 2 rejoice for you will get yet another chance to congregate with others who share your same passion. Blizzard has given out information regarding Blizzcon 2008 via press release. To find out more about this event, head on over to the full article.

Curious as to when the next BlizzCon will be held? Well, you are not alone as World of Warcraft players over at the game's official forums keep on pressing blue posters for answers.

Bornakk did provide an answer but sadly, it isn't the one players wanted to hear. Go over to the full article via the "read more" link below to know Blizzard's full response on the matter.

  

The goodie bags handed out at this year's BlizzCon contained a lot of excellent and curious things. One of which is a beta key for an unnamed Blizzard project. Now, World of Warcraft players are currently discussing at the official WoW Forums what exactly these keys are for.

Blizzard forum moderator Nethaera mentioned that it is still undetermined as of now what specific project the beta keys can be used. We should take note that a lot of players used to believe that it is going to be for StarCraft II as it was the only newly announced Blizzard game as of that time.

Now that the Wrath of the Lich King has been revealed, it is also possible and highly probable that the keys are for the new WoW expansion. Regardless if it's for SC II or WoW: WotLK, Nethaera reminded everyone that those who don't have the beta keys shouldn't worry. The blue poster explained:

Please don't forget that the BlizzCon beta keys represent a very small portion of our beta community when it's time for a beta. We take players from various sources when it's time for beta so that as many people as we feel necessary are given the opportunity to help us test.

But guys the question remains: Are the beta keys for StarCraft II or for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King? Or could it be for an entirely new project that hasn't been announced yet? You can tell us what you think through the comment section below.

 

Excitement from the recently concluded BlizzCon 2007 is still running abuzz up to now. In a recent post from the Blizzard's official website, the winners of the various contests hosted during the BlizzCon was finally announced.

The different types of contests include: movies, with winners for different categories such as best in drama and best in comedy; singing, fan art, cosplay, dance, and even a sound alike contest. All sorts of media have been posted on the site, regaling the winners with pictures, mp3s and even videos of their respective genres.

Indeed, after taking a look at the winners, there's no doubt that they truly deserved their hard-earned victory. Anyone interested on what the winners look (or sound) like, they can visit the Blizzard website for more details.

Take a look at the complete list of winners after the jump!

For those of us who didn't quite make it to BlizzCon, here's a very big treat courtesy of Gametrailers - the complete Story Mode video walkthrough of StarCraft II. Trust us when we say this - this is a must-watch, more so if you've been itching to know more about the game besides the tons of info we've already reported on.

In this mammoth four-parter of the Story Mode walkthrough, we get a sneak peek at how Jim Raynor's aged. While he somewhat follows the tradition of badasses becoming even more badass with age he's definitely in his own league, having broken away from former alliances to fight on his own. We also get a look at how the briefing screen looks like - no more talking portraits and heads, they're actually there in the scene with Raynor.

Best part of the walkthrough? Right at the tail end of Part 3 - where the guy conducting the demo uses a cheat code to unleash two high-end Terran units, the Battlecruiser and a giant beast of a mech to finish the mission he's just taken.

StarCraft II is definitely looking better and better. Enjoy the videos!

Parts 2, 3 and 4 after the jump!

 

One of the guys over at Xfire.com named Artaxs was at the recent BlizzCon 2007 and was able to play demo versions of the World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King and StarCraft 2. More importantly, Artaxs had a chat with some of the community managers regarding the latest developments for the MMO expansion.

Before we get to that one though, let us first talk about the much-anticipated sequel to the real time strategy game that captured the hearts of PC gamers last decade. According to Artaxs, he was able to play as Terran in StarCraft 2. No one is talking about release dates yet, though. As always, Blizzard said that the game will be released when it's ready.

Regarding the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, Artaxs learned that Northrend will not be entirely covered with ice as the developers didn't want to commit another "Kalimdor mistake" - miles and miles of desert that's quite boring, to really be honest about it. Furthermore, the opening zone is going to be a coastal area bordered by a Sequoia and Redwood forest to the north.

There's also a new profession known as inscribing. Flying mounts will be available to level 75 or 78 players. Artaxs said that Blizzard wants to keep players grounded for a while to be more familiar with the new locations.

Blown away, are we? Yes, it's true: the Warcraft movie is confirmed to be budgeted with over US$ 100 million (to compare, "LotR 3" had around US$ 90 million, while "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" got around US$ 120 million). This and a couple other details about the upcoming movie have been outlined during the BlizzCon event.

A panel composed of Paul Sams (Blizzard chief operating officer), Chris Metzen (Blizz chief creatives officer), and Thomas Tull (Legendary Pictures chairman) talked about the movie coming out. Aside from revealing their budget, here's the long and short of the Q&A session:

• it's scheduled for a 2009 release
• live-action with digital effects
• will run for about two hours to two and a half hours
• Thrall, Cairne Bloodhoof, Bolvar Fordragon likely to appear, Arthas won't
  
• no director, no actors named yet

Sweet. Expounding on the story now, they say that it won't be like LotR - a "journey type of tale." Their silverscreen adaptation of Warcraft will revolve around the aches and pains experienced by the various races as tensions between them rise. They actually thought of basing the movie's story line on the very first RTS game - a story between the humans and orcs. But now, because of how much the franchise has grown, the story has to be far meatier than that.

Right now, the plot would be told from the perspective of the Alliance and will be set about a year before the events in World of Warcraft. To give some vague comparison, Thomas Tull was eying a blend of blockbuster elements like those found in 300, Gladiator, and Braveheart. Epic fun? Hellsyeah.

The picture above was taken from the Q&A session at BlizzCon. It shows an actual storyboard panel used for the movie, and it shows Teldrassil, the big "life tree" of the Night Elves.

And moving over to the other side of the Con-populated week, Blizzard Entertainment has just announced the unveiling of the first-ever hands-on demonstration of StarCraft II (PC, Mac) while still on its early stages of development. And new to the real-time strategy game's development track was the introduction of the Terran race, now improved with revamped units.

 

First offs, the Terran race has also adapted to the space conflict, gathering new technologies and upgrades to combat the Zerg infestation and the zealous Protoss. New units such as the Banshee aircraft, the Cobra hover tank, and a super unit called Thor now join the rank of battle hardware spec'ed for decisive victory.

Additionally, coinciding with the gameplay demonstration provided at BlizzCon 2007, Blizzard also provided the early levels of the single-player campaign. The campaign hinted at the game's storyline and plot struggles while familiarizing gamers with some of the series' characters. Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, had this to say in the official announcement via press wire:

Since announcing StarCraft II at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in May, we've been hard at work bringing our ideas for the game's Terran race and single-player campaign to life. We’re excited to be sharing these new features and gameplay experiences with our players and seeing their reactions.

And just to share the excitement with those unfortunate to be at the event, Blizzard has also released a collection of Terran-focused screenshots and more concept art on the game.

StarCraft II screenshots: introducing the spankin' new Terrans

 

Compiled visuals right at the full article after the jump!

"I want to go to BlizzCon" - This is the statement that engulfed my very being as I glossed over the goodie bag contents and merchandise that will be available at this year's BlizzCon.

As most would know, those attending will be getting a goodie bag chock-full of Blizzard goodness. Among the contents include a redeemable code for a Murloc costume in World of Warcraft, a beta key, StarCraft II Magnet, BlizzCon Souvenir Show Guide, World of Warcraft J!NX T-Shirt, and a Heroes of Azeroth Starter Deck.

Blizzard and the other companies attending have filled the bags with more than enough swag to make any gamer happy.

In addition to this, they will have loads of Blizzard-related stuff that will be on sale in the event. They will be selling Magnet Sets, Soundtracks, Shirts, Caps, Novels, WoW TCG related items, Novels, Posters, and even PC Peripherals.

If you're going to Blizzcon, be sure to click on our read link to see the items for sale and the corresponding prices. After all, there's nothing worse than having all that stuff available and not bringing enough cash to pick some up.

Blizzard has sent 'round an official press release announcing the BlizzCon 2007 gaming festival. The two-day convention will kick off this Friday, August 3 at the Anaheim Convention Center.

"We received an overwhelming response to our first BlizzCon in 2005, and we’ve looked forward to being able to come back and spend another weekend with our players ever since," said Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment.

"Our employees and our partners have worked hard to make this a memorable experience for the attendees, and we’re hoping everyone truly enjoys the show."

This year's event will feature two days of gaming, contests, developer Q&A panels, and tournaments, as well as the first-ever chance for the gaming public to play StarCraft II. The show will conclude with performances by comedian Jay Mohr, Video Games Live, and World of Warcraft-themed rock band Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain. Blizzard's global staffing team will also be on hand to accept materials and discuss any job-related questions.