Blizzard vs. Relic Entertainment in The Escapist's March Mayhem
by Mike Schramm 
Mar 25th 2009 at 7:00PM
The good folks over at the Escapist are giving March Madness a little game developer spin -- they've pitted 64 different videogame developers up against each other in an NCAA Basketball-style showdown, with readers voting for which dev moves on to the next match. And our favorite developer, Activision-Blizzard, is still in the running after a few rounds: they've beaten Wideload Games and Crytek, and are currently facing Relic Entertainment (makers of the Dawn of War RTS series, as well as the classic Homeworld). Unfortunately, Escapist had to list them as "Activision-Blizzard," though what we're really voting for here is Blizzard, since companies who make Activision's other hits (like Infinity Ward, who make the best Call of Duty games, as well as Neversoft, who've overseen most of the Guitar Hero games lately) have their own places in the showdown.Blizzard's got a tough road ahead, though -- if they win, they're likely facing fan favorite Harmonix (heck, I love Harmonix), and then will probably show down against either Bioware or Rockstar, both extremely popular developers. The other side of the bracket will likely have heavyweights like Nintendo and Valve coming out of it, too, so it'll be a tough road if Blizzard wants to make it to the top.
To vote, you just have to head over to The Escapist's forums -- the next round starts tomorrow morning, and every few days they're moving the developers on to the next matchup. The final round will be decided on April 8th, and while of course winning means nothing at all, this is a nice chance to show off your developer pride. Say what you want about the recent class changes, but Blizzard has given you Starcraft, Diablo, and World of Warcraft -- how can you not vote for them?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Humor
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Posi Mar 25th 2009 7:08PM
I can NOT vote for them because of Activision. Blizzard was great on it's own. I've only seen them go downhill since the buyout.
Dreadskull Mar 25th 2009 7:14PM
Activision Blizzard won't get to the top, that's for sure.
UNLESS there's a huge portion of WoW players there who have never played any of the amazing games done by companies like Bioware, Rockstar, Valve, etc.
Zul Mar 25th 2009 7:15PM
I have to agree, especially when you take Activison in mind...
tchernobyl Mar 25th 2009 7:18PM
Eh. Even after the merger, i say the strength of the blizzard name alone will carry it onwards. I predict a showdown between blizzard and valve, honestly :P
Evaline Mar 25th 2009 7:22PM
Never heard of Harmonix before this. Guess I should play other games more often, I guess.
Bioware would get my vote though, I simply love every single one of their games.
CactusHam Mar 25th 2009 7:45PM
Harmonix made Rock Band
Evaline Mar 25th 2009 7:56PM
Rock what?
Kidding! Sort of...
TheKarmaPolice Mar 26th 2009 9:31AM
they made Rock Band and Guitar Hero 1 & 2
Thallium Mar 25th 2009 7:26PM
I really don't care about the bracket, but while you're there you should check out Zero Punctuation. Bloody hilarious.
tchernobyl Mar 25th 2009 7:30PM
agreed, though some of his more recent stuff feels a tad forced. Still, excellent stuff. Iwant to see him *officially* review WOW someday, not just say it's the 800 pound gorilla/best mmo's will be.
Gene Mar 25th 2009 8:22PM
Wait.. the Escapist has other stuff besides Zero Punctuation?
tchernobyl Mar 25th 2009 8:30PM
surprisingly, yes! none of it is any good though :P
Hollow Leviathan Mar 25th 2009 10:17PM
That ' s completely untrue. Check out Unskippable for as many lulz as Zero Punctuation.
Xigageshi Mar 26th 2009 2:31AM
and more to the point, escapist itself is much much more than zero punctuation. far and away the best place to find interesting stories on video games as an art form, a medium and a place in our hearts.
oh and i'm sorry, blizzard is great and all, but bioware is getting my vote, been looking forward to dragon age since gencon, neverwinter and kotor were both fantastic, and purely from a communication with community standpoint, head over to swtor.com (starwars the old republic) and read one of the developer blogs, for instance the one on creating a world.
they get into much more technical detail when talking about their process than blizzard ever has, that if nothing else tips it to them in my book.
TheKarmaPolice Mar 26th 2009 9:32AM
Yeah, Unforgotten Realms, Unskippable and (Un) Zero Punctuation
And also I'd like to point out that the March Mayhem "ad" they put before the videos is incredibly bad
Tridus Mar 26th 2009 5:51AM
I wouldn't be surprised to see Blizzard lose.
These things are all about who can get their fanbase to bother going to vote. Smaller companies tend to do better at that then bigger ones, because they're a more tightly kit group.
For example: last year Turbine (Lord of the Rings Online) beat Harmonix (Rock Band). So far this year, Ironclad (Sins of a Solar Empire), beat Sony. They lost the next round though to Konami.
Hollow Leviathan Mar 26th 2009 1:47PM
Are you sure it ' s less about motivating the fan base and more about the inherent preferences of the escapist crowd? I suspect escapists who vote will outnumber the migrant fans who vote, meaning this is more about who escapist appeals to more than anything else.
P.S. Sony has been doing a lot of things wrong lately and Sin of a Solar Empire is freaking fantastic.
Jeremiah Mar 26th 2009 10:12AM
It's started! Vote Blizz everyone!
Pope Jamal Mar 26th 2009 11:56AM
Ah yes, "The Escapist":
"Imagine if your favorite game were a cupcake: or mayhaps, a twittering bird. The shrill song of the cockatrice of the genre, fused within the essence of the void of another time; long ago lost in the winds of change. Beaten hither and yonder by the sands of time.
Yes, and the ice level was not that good: 7/10"
and if it's not that it's:
"Jack-balls! Cocks in pudding, water closets, and twisty nipples! I do game reviews with flash animation and you only pay attention to me because I have a "British" accent. This game is stupid and genitals genitals genitals!!!"
Yeah, I'll pass on the Escapist. Thanks anyway.
Thander Mar 26th 2009 2:11PM
As much as I've liked Blizzard over the years, Nintendo has just too much history of good games not to vote for them. Sure, a lot of their franchises are stale now but they still come out with original ideas here and there.