Posts with tag midnight-launch

Here's a bit of sad news for all WoW players not lucky enough to live on the west coast: Blizzard CM Bashiok has announced that the official Cataclysm start time for all North American servers will be Dec. 7 at midnight PST. This will include servers on other time zones. So, sorry eastern time people. You may be able to pick up your copies of the game at midnight EST, but you'll have to wait a few hours for the west coast to catch up before you play.

The full announcement is as follows:

Bashiok

Wondering exactly what time you'll be able to begin playing your goblin or worgen or making your way to level 85? On all North American realms, World of Warcraft players who upgrade to Cataclysm will be able to begin experiencing the new content at 12 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) on December 7, whether they purchase the digital download through Battle.net or buy a physical retail boxed version in stores. Players will not be able to access Cataclysm expansion content prior to 12 a.m. PST, regardless of how they upgrade or what time zone they're located in.

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World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion (available Dec. 7, 2010), from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.

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I'm sort of wondering to myself whether there's any real point to writing a Breakfast Topic this morning. Some of you already have Wrath and have probably spent the last several hours in a caffeine-fueled genial haze exploring Northrend -- or, alternatively, cursing your server's lack of stability and punching holes in nearby walls. Clearly you are in no fit state to be enjoying any breakfast that's not Red Bull or espresso.

Some of you, like me, don't yet have Wrath and are anxiously awaiting a delivery or the opening of a store that's stocking it. Many of these folks spent a little time with me, Adam, and Mike in Ustream chat last night and got to witness: a). my first experience with IRC (painful, wasn't it?) and: b). a suspiciously-penned patch note of dubious veracity confirming that Ghostcrawler hates Paladins (see above), and: c). Mike deciding to fish instead of go to Northrend. For a few minutes, anyway.

And some of you are comatose WoW Insider staffers whose articles today will be written by your household pets. I don't judge. We're all friends here.

But I am madly curious as to what everyone's up to this morning, provided they're awake enough to click options on a poll. What are you up to in the day following Wrath's release?

Just a quick note here for our readers who are lined up (or are planning to line up) at a GameStop: we're getting reports that GameStop stores are having serious issues with credit cards at the moment, and according to Adam Holisky, a number of people are being turned away or asked to bring cash in order to pay for the game. So far we've confirmed that the issue is occuring at GameStops in Madison, Fargo, Las Vegas, and Kansas City. We haven't heard about any issues occurring at other stores' midnight releases, so for the moment we're assuming that the issues are specific to GameStop's system and they're aware of the problem.

So, just as an FYI if you've reserved a copy at a GameStop, you may want to bring enough cash with you to cover the game's cost just in case yours is one of the affected stores. I'll update this post as more information becomes available.

UPDATE: Yep -- from both comments here and emails we've received, it's pretty apparent that it's a nationwide issue for GameStop. Credit card authorization has to be done manually so things are, as one of our readers has put it, "taking forever." Take cash, folks.

Wrath of the Lich King is nearly upon us and WoW Insider is waiting in line with the rest of you. If you're not braving a midnight launch yourself, you can live vicariously through our pictures of the crowds, updated as often as we can get internet connectivity. Have pictures of your own launch event? Toss 'em our way by mailing aroundazeroth AT wowinsider DOT com and we'll add them to the mix!

Today's the day! After years of speculation and months of waiting, Blizzard is finally officially releasing Wrath of the Lich King. More than a few people have grabbed their copies already, but the vast majority of us are heading out to midnight launches all over the country (and indeed, the world) to pick up the game's second expansion.

Blizzard has their own launches planned (there's a rumor going around that the NYC event is canceled, but we've confirmed that's not true -- everything is still on as planned), and so do we here at WoW Insider -- in all the places that we're going out to take pictures and grab our own copies, we're inviting you to come along with us and say hi. We've reprinted all the meetups after the break -- I'll be in Chicago, we'll have people at the Blizzard events in Anaheim and Austin, and in North Carolina, California, Maryland, Minnesota and Florida, and our own Jennie Lees is hosting an event in Scotland. Take a look after the break, and if you happen to be in the area, definitely come out and meet us.

No matter where you are, good luck getting the game, and have a terrific time. We'll be around tonight with coverage of the event as it happens, interviews with devs on the scene, and of course in-depth coverage of our (and your) first steps into Northrend. Today is the day!

Live in Arkansas and can't make it to one of our meetups around the country tomorrow night? Author Richard A. Knaak will be holding a book signing at a store in Fayetteville, Arkansas. There will be copies of the new Night of the Dragon and Warcraft Legends vol. 2 available, but it's at Hastings Bookstore, so I'm not quite sure they'll have copies of Wrath there -- you may have to make a stop at a game store before or after. But if you're in AR and missing out on the festivities elsewhere (and are a fan of Knaak's Warcraft fiction), it's a place to be.

And speaking of Warcraft fiction, Blizzplanet has the news that Blizzard is publishing three of the extended lore books in audio form, read by Dick Hill, an award-winning "Golden Voice." No news yet on whether the books will be in iTunes (that's pretty much the only way I listen to an audiobook these days, is downloaded onto the old iPod), but it's probably what'll happen. So if you've been putting off reading up on the lore because words hurt your eyes, maybe your ears will be able to do the job for you.

When Gamestop first started taking pre-orders for Wrath of the Lich King, they told their customers that they would be open at midnight for the launch. About a month ago, however, the Gamestop stores in malls had to cancel their midnight launches. When I asked my local mall Gamestop employee while taking the mini-gamer trick or treating, I was told that the malls were charging too much to keep the doors open and that all Gamestop mall stores were canceling midnight launches.

I informed my friends who had pre-ordered and they went to cancel their pre-orders only to be told that Activision was paying the mall costs and the midnight launches were back on schedule. When I called to confirm, I was told the same information but that the employee would not be quoted.

So I called Gamestop Corporate. The marketing department refused to comment saying that they would not release information about a publisher covering any costs for Gamestop. He was very irritated, to put it mildly.

In less than a week, at 12:01 AM on 11/13/08, Wrath of the Lich King will be available and (hopefully) live on the servers. If you, like many of us, are planning to get the expansion immediately, how are you going to get it? After all, there are so many options:

• Pre-Order for in-store pickup: You can pre-order your copy and then pick it up when it is available. This works great if you are going to a Midnight Launch or you just want to make sure it is available when you are able to get to the store.
• Pre-Order for delivery: You can pre-order your copy to be delivered to your door. Amazon even gives an option to have it delivered before midnight. Though if you want the Collector's Edition, you have to catch Amazon during one of the brief windows it is available.
  

More options are after the break.

Finally, the day has come. Our designers here at WoW Insider have been working on a long-awaited new design for the site, and finally, you get to see the fruits of their work. Welcome to the brand new WoW Insider, just in time for the launch of the game's second expansion.

And that's not all -- from now (actually, we kicked off this morning already) until Wrath's launch, we're going into overdrive. We'll have multiple contests every day until November 13th -- we're giving away some of the coolest stuff inside and outside of the World of Warcraft, and all you have to do to win it is keep an eye right here on the site (yes, even you too, EU folks). As we announced a few days ago, we're hosting multiple reader meetups all across the country, too, so if you're in the area, you can come with us to get your copy of Wrath at the midnight launch, and maybe win some stuff there as well.

And of course, we'll have what we always have: unprecedented coverage of this game and its players. Stay tuned for all the Wrath previews we can post -- we'll have looks at all the new zones in Wrath of the Lich King, your guides to which quests to look for while leveling, walkthroughs of all the new instances, where and when to get your new addons, and we'll let you know exactly where to spend your next ten talent points and what to do with your new talents and abilities. If you need to know something about Wrath of the Lich King, it'll be on this site just in time for launch.

After the break, find out what's new around WoW Insider's redesign.

Blizzard's holding official launches across the world, various retailers in all sorts of places are planning out midnight launches, and we here at WoW Insider are no different -- we'll be covering the release all across the world, and we're inviting you readers to come out and join us wherever we are.

We've got a full list of meetup locations after the break -- I'll be in Chicago, co-lead Dan O'Halloran will be at the Fry's in Anaheim covering the Blizzard event there (Chase Christian will be in Santa Barbara, also in CA), and Elizabeth Harper will be in Austin, where Blizzard devs will be meeting and greeting as well. We've also got reader meetups planned in North Carolina and Minnesota (where BBB will be passing out buttons), and our own Jennie Lees will be picking up Wrath in Edinburgh, Scotland. And if you're in Orlando, BRK and Mania from Petopia are holding their own event down there.

Stay tuned to this post for more updates (if we've missed anyone on the team, they'll add their information here), and feel free to organize your own meetups and events in the comments. The second expansion launches next week -- let's party!

The devs have said all along that we'll be getting patch 3.0.3 before Wrath of the Lich King launches, and it's pretty obvious that we will. It's a pretty important patch overall. The game is playable without it, but there is a lot of balance fixes in the patch that is crucial to the launch of a whole load of new content. I don't doubt we'll get it before we hit Northrend. The question is... when?

Will we get it tomorrow? It's a possibility, but from the sounds of things it's kind of unlikely. I don't think we've ever had a patch didn't happen on a Tuesday (though I may be mistaken), so if it's not tomorrow that only leaves November 11th for a patch prior to launch. Alternatively, maybe they'll roll it out the night of Wrath's launch, so when you pop in those install discs you get to patch, too. Considering midnight launches though, it would be really unusual if they rolled out the patch the evening of November 12th. Personally, my money is on patch 3.0.3 being pushed live on November 11th, and if the devs announced patch maintenance for tomorrow while I write this I am going to eat my hat.

It's November, the onset of the cool months, the time when winter's chill begins its fast approach. In less than two weeks, the World of Warcraft will be transformed completely with the arrival of one of the most anticipated games of the year. We've been given a teaser through the game-changing Echoes of Doom, but most of the good stuff is in Northrend. It's an entire new continent with more quests, more mobs to kill, ten more levels, and one totally badass bad guy we eventually need to kill.

There will be midnight launches all over the United States and select countries all over the world. Some of you have already pre-ordered, some will be lining up at the stores, while a few will wait out the initial rush of players who will be needing a bigger boat. Are you excited? How are you playing the game these last few days of The Burning Crusade? Are there things you wish to accomplish before Northrend opens up? Like reach Level 70, maybe? Well, you have about two weeks. Get hopping. The weather's about to get really cold.

Blizzplanet's got the deets on a Future Shop midnight launch going on in Canada (eh?), so plans of Wrath midnight launch events are starting to sneak out into the world. Blizzard will be doing their usual schtick in Los Angeles, and this time also in New York, San Franscisco, and Austin, where developers go out to stores to sign and say hi while people buy their game. Our good friends BRK and Mania are hosting an event in Orlando, Florida, and I'll be picking up my game at the Gamestop just south of Clark and Diversey in Chicago (and I'll probably invite you all out for a drink or two beforehand at a bar around here, if you're interested). We're also planning some more events around the country here at WoW Insider -- stay tuned for more information about when and where things are going down.

And if you've got information about a special midnight launch event going on around the country (or if, hint hint, you happen to work for a retailer and want to give us an inside scoop on what they've got planned, anonymity assured), please do drop a note on our tip line. The Burning Crusade launch was the biggest expansion launch of all time ever, and Wrath, with its return to Warcraft III lore and the increase in Blizzard's playerbase, is shaping up to be even bigger.

If you're interested in getting Wrath of the Lich King at a midnight launch with Blizzard employees present to sign your copy and discuss the game, Blizzard will be holding officlal midnight parties around the globe. For the moment, it looks like Amsterdam, Anaheim, Austin, Berlin, London, Madrid, Mexico City, New York City, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Stockholm, and Taipei will all have official midnight launches, complete with extra copies of the Collector's Edition Wrath on hand and Blizzard developers, executives, and CM's around.

I've gone to the different WoW sites to see if there's any hard info on non-U.S. midnight launches and can't find it yet. I've possibly just missed it, so please let us know if there's information available on which stores outside the States will be hosting an official Blizzard launch. The one thing that we do know is that each site's launch will occur at midnight local time November 13th, and while there will be a ton of stores doing midnight launches, the official ones are just the locations where the Blizzard folks are going to be.

U.S. official launch sites ahead!