This isn't exactly shocking news (this just in: Blizzard has an advertising budget!) but it is worth noting: Mark C. was
watching the NBA playoffs the other day and lo and behold, guess which familiar logo appeared during a halftime sponsorship. Apparently the announcer even read off the name of the game during a tag. I don't think Mark is exactly right about it being one of the "first non-sports games being advertised in a sporting event" (I'm pretty sure I've seen one of those
Killzone 2 or
Call of Duty spots during my Cubs games lately), but it's the first time we've seen WoW promoted outside of
the usual TV spots.
It's interesting to note, too, that it's being presented during the NBA playoffs as well -- I've seen more
WoW twitterers tweet about the hockey playoffs lately than the basketball equivalent. Then again, Mark also says he saw it on the NBA TV subscription service, so maybe it was targeted at people who are willing to
subscribe to a digital service. And just for the heck of it, we'll also point out that it was an LA (Blizzard is in Anaheim) vs. Houston (Blizzard also has an HQ in Austin) game, so maybe it was geographically targeted as well.
But this will probably not be the last time you see
WoW in this context. Keep those eyes open.
Jun 7th 2010 at 7:00PM 
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From goblins and worgens to mastery and guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.
