Posts with tag announcements

Ten years is a long time. Ten years ago, in 2004, I was 20 years old and entering my third semester of college--also entangled in endless piles of paperwork while I prepared to spend a year studying at the University of New South Wales in Sydney for the calender year 2005. Ten years ago, in November 2004, World of Warcraft officially launched.

The mark that WoW has left on the gaming industry is indisputable--but we're not here for musing retrospectives. At least, not yet. We're here because there's going to be a whole bunch of fun in-game events to celebrate WoW's first decade of existence, and Blizzard has given us a lovely preview of what at least a few of them are.

Well, BlizzCon is over and done with, and what a crazy two days it's been! The official announcement of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, new races, stat changes, new raids and dungeons, new progression paths, guild leveling, the beautiful Tricia Helfer as Kerrigan in StarCraft II, the Diablo 3 Monk class ... my brain is positively swimming in new stuff. There was something for everyone here, except maybe those hoping for new info about the next-gen MMO.

So, I asked you guys a few days ago what announcement you were waiting for at BlizzCon. Some of you got your wishes, looks like! What was your favorite announcement made at BlizzCon? Anything got your blood pumping? Some special phrase into a microphone that warmed the cockles of your heart? Don't be shy. We all fell a little in love this year. Let the world know, and be at peace.

BlizzCon is just a day away now! WoW.com staffers are gonna be haunting the grounds in full force and are likely to leave some ectoplasmic residue (read: drool) on a number of demo tables and panel floors, depending on what's announced and shown at the event. And the announcements are, at least for most everyone but Blizzard, still a mystery. Popular opinion (and the ability to put two and two together) seems to indicate the unveiling of a new WoW expansion, but why stop there? After all, there are three other games that Blizzard is working on -- or so they say -- so it's quite possible that we'll see some big ol' infodrops about those titles too.

Or maybe Blizzard will through us for a loop and treat us to two days of Premonition raids and panels about J. Allen Brack's ponytail. It is a mystery!

So what are you holding out for? StarCraft II release date? Diablo 3 bombshell? Next-gen MMO reveal? Glossy eight-by-tens of Zarhym in shades and a leather jacket (so dreamy)?

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BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.

A joke thread over on the official forums started me wondering about this. What announcements might we see at BlizzCon next month? Personally, I'm expecting on the following:

• StarCraft 2: We know there will be a playable version there, but what else will we find out?
  
• Diablo 3: There have been rumors floating around the net about Diablo 3 for quite some time, and this would be the perfect opportunity for Blizzard to announce it.
• The upcoming MMO: Blizzard has hired some MMO developers specifically for a "next-gen" MMO (read: not World of Warcraft). Hopefully we'll get some juicy details on what they're working on!
  
• Movie(s): I hope to hear some more detail on the upcoming World of Warcraft movie, and perhaps confirmation to the rumored Diablo movie.
• The next expansion: I fully expect Blizzard to announce the next World of Warcraft expansion at BlizzCon this year -- though how many details they'll have we can only guess.

But what do you expect (or hope!) to see at this year's event?