Listen up, QuakeCon attendees: id Software's LANtastic event is changing venues to the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, the location of the show in 2004 and 2005. The people most affected by this change are folks who made reservations at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. Those who made reservations through the QuakeCon website have had their room "automatically canceled." Reservations at the Gaylord Texan will be at an equal or lesser rate, and reservations will begin "very shortly."

The dates for QuakeCon have not changed. The event will be held August 13-16 and is still a free event open to the public; however, if you plan on bringing your own computer, you'll have to register ASAP.

Registration for id Software's annual QuakeCon extravaLANza begins this Friday, March 6, at 9:30PM ET. QuakeCon 2009 is free, but registration is required, especially if you plan to bring your own computer.

QuakeCon will frag the frak out of the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas, between August 13-16. Special room rates ($145, not bad!) are available for those who want to stay in the hotel -- but it's probably best not to dawdle on grabbing those. No word yet if Rage or Doom 4-EVA (not working title) will be shown.

[Via Big Download]

There will be gibs aplenty next summer as id Software and QuakeCon organizers have announced that QuakeCon 2009 will take place in Dallas, TX from August 13 through 16. For the third year running, the annual frag fest will be held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel, and as usual will be free to anyone who can squeeze through the door.

As in years prior, the weekend gathering will play host to news, events, tournaments and what organizers dub as North America's largest BYOC (Bring-Your-Own-Computer) LAN party. For those wishing to sleep at ground zero, the hotel has a special QuakeCon reservation page, and everyone can begin warming up their GPUs when online registration opens the evening of March 6, 2009. Campers beware.

Oh, those sly PC hardware manufacturers. As if it wasn't bad enough that they keep building better, more powerful rigs every six seconds, id Software's Todd Hollenshead believes they also secretly benefit from software piracy. No stranger to the public flogging of the illicit C:\ scourge, the CEO candidly told GamesIndustry.biz that manufacturers typically "line up on the wrong side of the argument."

"They have lots of reasons as to why they do that," he said, "but I think that there's been this dirty little secret among hardware manufacturers, which is that the perception of free content - even if you're supposed to pay for it on PCs - is some sort hidden benefit that you get when you buy a PC, like a right to download music for free or a right to download pirated movies and games." Hollenshead believes that this is what motivates manufacturers to stick up for the law-abiding minority when it comes to issues like peer-to-peer sharing.

"I think that if you went in and could see what's going on in their minds, though they may never say that stuff and I'm not saying there's some conspiracy or something like that - but I think the thing is they realise that trading content, copyrighted or not, is an expected benefit of owning a computer." Heck, the only reason we got one was to steal quotes from Tom Bramwell's interviews.

After months of teasing us with crummy off-screen snaps of its forthcoming "post-apocalyptic open-world shooter," id Software has evidently heard us shouting "Show us your RAGE!" (in our best Raging Raven impersonation) and caved in. Behold: two nice, high-res screens of the game. Yep, two. But at least they're really purty.

Some on staff are wowed by the textures. Others are happy to see that Sloth from The Goonies is still getting work. Still another faction here at Joystiq HQ is frantically checking Pricewatch in hopes of scoring some good deals on the hardware upgrades they'll need to play this beast at 2 billion x 1 billion resolution on their PCs.

We haven't played Doom RPG, so we're not exactly sure how meshing an id FPS with a role-playing game model will work. But we have to say that after watching the above QuakeCon footage of Wolfenstein RPG, we're at the very least intrigued.

If we have one regret, it's that the game is coming to cell phones instead of Apple's sexy new behemoth. Sadly it seems like we'll have to wait for Carmack's "graphical tour de force" for a portable id game that doesn't look like straight yuck.

Whatever form the next game in the Doom saga takes, it will do so with a name other than simply Doom IV. id's Tim Willits told Big Download during this week's QuakeCon that the previously revealed Doom sequel will still have Doom in the title, but will adopt some form of hellish subtitle instead of a number, roman numeral or otherwise.

The designer noted that the decision was made, at least in part, because the fourth game in the series will not be a continuation of the events seen in Doom III and its expansion. As for what we can expect from the forthcoming Doom something something, who's to say, though it'll probably involve demons, a shotgun and -- if Doom III was any indication -- us wetting the bed.

Straight from QuakeCon 2008 come some piping hot Wolfenstein goodies from the upcoming game, namely the trailer and a gallery of images. It might look like The Ghostbusters Meet Hitler, or the opening scene of the first Hellboy movie, but we're excited about the supernatural side of World War II. Thank you for that, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

This is a lot more footage than what we saw at Activision's "Not An E3 Event" event earlier this month, and it looks like it has some potential. The paranormal parts look decent, but why does some of it make us think of Call of Duty... 1? Hopefully we'll get some better looks in the coming months ahead, culminating in some Halloweenalicious spooky soldiers.

At the recently concluded QuakeCon 07, Orcs & Evles was shown off to the press. Considering the game was announced back in January, we're glad to finally be able to see something on the game. It's also revealed, during the sneak peek, that the game will be available this holiday season.

The level we get to check out is the Prison. While the atmosphere looks to be on point, we have to say that moving the hero around looks pretty cumbersome and difficult. Also, we get to see one of the game's bosses, but it's kind of dark so it might be hard for you see.

Hit up the video past the post break and let us know if you think the jump from cell phone to DS is a good one.

Even though we couldn't liveblog the QuakeCon keynote, that didn't mean we weren't taking notes. It's Sunday, the final day of this giant BYOC (bring-your-own-computer) LAN party organized by volunteers right in id's backyard: Dallas, TX. Want to see how things went down on Friday night, when they announced Rage, their first game built using the id Tech 5 engine? Or how about the status of the next Wolfenstein game (hint: they're making one). Or how about John Carmack's thoughts on cell phone game development (if anyone can get us excited ...).

6:10pm - We're all filing in.

6:17pm - Todd Hollenshead takes the stage. Sponsor thanks; QuakeCon 2008 date is already set! (July 31 - August 3, 2008). He announces that the Enemy Territory: Quake Wars beta is open to all attendees both at the BYOC LAN, and as a downloadable beta once you get home. (The crowd goes wild). An October 2nd ship date is already set for ET: QW so mark those calendars.

6:24pm - OMG! Wolfenstein news! A new game is in development! ... and that's it. We already knew that much. No other news, just the teaser. Thanks for nothing, id!

At the recent QuakeCon, id Software announced more than just Rage for the PS3. They also officially confirmed for the first time that the new Return to Castle Wolfenstein game is coming out for the PlayStation 3 as well. Previously only announced for the PC and the 360, this is welcome news for PS3 owners. While we already have a pretty heavy shooter line-up ahead of us, the Wolfenstein games have been able to carve out their own comfortable niche in the shooter genre. Something about shooting cyborg Nazis just never gets old ...

During its QuakeCon 2007 press conference, id Software announced plans to form a second development team tasked with creating Quake Zero, an updated, possibly sugar-free version of Quake 3: Arena. The 'Zero' in the title refers to the game's price tag -- it'll be made available for free (supported by advertising dollars, natch) and playable in web browsers for PC and Mac, reports Shacknews.

Said id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead, "We appreciate what you guys have done over the years in building the popularity of [Quake 3]. "We also like 'free.'" We'll keep you informed as to when you can expect to play Quake Free, er, Zero.

The finest railgun in the business will be making its way to Xbox Live Arcade as id announces Quake Arena for Microsoft's download service. Previously, this release was merely a rumor fueled by a surprise listing on the ESRB website, so it's great to finally have an official word to go on.

Also true to the ESRB listing is that Pi Studios -- best known for their work on the Call of Duty series and the upcoming Mercaneries 2: World in Flame -- is behind the port.

No comment as to when Quake Arena will see release was made by id.

idTech is real ... and it will finally arrive in a brand new game, Rage. Simultaneously developed for PC, Mac, PS3, and 360, Rage will use the second generation of id's "Megatexture" technology. What does that mean? 20GB worth of texture information will be squeezed through the engine's technology to deliver visually stunning scenes. Regardless of the compression, the game will require two DVDs for all platforms ... but the PS3.

The need for added space in the HD-era of games is clear. Blu-ray's added storage allows the game to run on a single disc. The game itself is a departure for id, where it will try to combine "60 percent shooting and 40 percent driving." After a comet smashes into the Earth, players will have to fight the monsters that roam the wasteland.

id plans to make Rage a 20 hour single player experience, and plans to offer co-op. Also, in a surprising change of pace, their aiming for a suspiciously safe Teen rating. The game will ship "when it's done."

[Thanks, Karl W.!]

Unveiled in June at Apple's WWDC conference, id Software's new IP has been finally given a proper identity at QuakeCon 2007 -- and it's not Return to Quoom 3D. Shacknews reports that Rage, the first game to be built upon the id Tech 5 graphics engine, will feature a strong driving element through expansive outdoor environments, in addition to the frenzied firing of unnecessarily large weapons that gamers have come to expect from the developer. Speaking at a QuakeCon keynote, id co-founder and programmer John Carmack noted, "Everybody knows we're going to do a good job with the run and gun action stuff...but we are branching out."

Carmack did not specify which platforms he'd be unleashing the Rage upon, but explained that the game and its obscenely large textures would be shipping on two DVD discs (day and night cycles confirmed!) and one Blu-ray disc. We reckon that implies the same platforms id targeted for their new engine at the WWDC conference, namely PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Mac. We'll be sure to let you know once platforms have been officially designated.