After the BlizzCon website experienced a lot of downtimes due to the sheer number of people trying to get tickets to BlizzCon 2008, Blizzard president Mike Morhaime has stepped in to announce that the company will be selling another 3,000 tickets. There's a bit of a catch, though. Find out in the full article.

Contrary to what the many fans who shook their heads in disbelief believed when the news of the two publisher's pending merger hit the press, the deal apparently wasn't spurred by Vivendi and Activision. In fact, Paul Sams of Blizzard Entertainment revealed that the merger was pretty much their decision as well - or at least, they chose the company they wished to merge with. Get the full story at...well, the full story!

If you thought you knew everything about Blizzard, think again. Methinks someone will have to update the company's Wikipedia page soon, for while Blizzard Entertainment's top dogs took to the stage at DICE 08, they revealed the company's history in a segment called "From Developer to Worldwide Publisher." And with the reminiscing came a little eye-opener: a list of games they've cancelled over the 17 years of their existence.

Here's an update on the DICE Summit 08: Blizzard CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime and VPs Rob Pardo and Frank Pearce talk about how they were able to develop their company.

They also shared how they were able to achieve much success due to their operations without corporate interference. More information in the full article.

DICE Summit 08 had much to offer with the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, and games such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, BioShock, and The Orange Box came home as big winners, garnering four awards each.

Individual achievements by Mike Morhaime and Ken Kutaragi were also recognized by The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. Details in the full article.

More speakers have been added to the 2008 D.I.C.E. Summit's speaker roster. Joining the roster for next year's event are PaRappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura, who is currently working on a new music title for the Nintendo Wii, and newly-appointed Entertainment Software Association president Michael D. Gallagher. More new speakers at the full article.

With the imminent merger of Blizzard and Activision, some people have expressed concern about how the Activision-Blizzard merger may affect Blizzard's longtime customers. Despite having released an Activision-Blizzard merger FAQ, Blizzard has taken the time to answer more questions related to the upcoming merger, this time courtesy of Blizzard president Mike Morhaime.

Find out what Mike Morhaime had to say after the jump!

World of Warcraft on the Xbox 360? The thought has crossed the gamers several times in the past.  What about now, with Vivendi's impending merger with Activision? Mike Morhaime's got the 411 on this possibility over at the full article.

Two gaming giants, Activision and Vivendi Games, recently announced the big decision to merge and become a stronger third-party developer and publisher for all video game platforms. Naysayers among fans surfaced as expected, but Blizzard Entertainment's co-founder and president Mike Morhaime wants to assure everyone that quality of games won't suffer.

Details await at the full article!

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!