Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/One WoW player controls 36 characters simultaneouslyhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/12/one-wow-player-controls-36-characters-simultaneously/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/12/one-wow-player-controls-36-characters-simultaneously/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/12/one-wow-player-controls-36-characters-simultaneously/#commentsFiled under: ,


Long-time World of Warcraft players have probably had run-ins with "multiboxers", players with multiple accounts who control more than one character at a time, during their illustrious adventuring careers -- but we're fairly sure no Azerothian has ever seen anything like this. A WoW player by the name of Prepared, using the terrifying eleven-computer rig you see above, has begun tooling around Azeroth in his own 36-shaman raid party. When asked how he controls so many characters at once, Prepared was unable to respond, as he is an octopus.

However, he was able to share some of the financial demands imposed upon his single-player raid machine, such as his six-month subscription plan for each of the accounts, which runs him $5,711 annually. He also plans to pick up 36 copies of the title's upcoming expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, which he estimates will cost him $1,500. The price doesn't bother Prepared, who remarks, "there are more expensive hobbies out there than World of Warcraft." Yes, like that black tar heroin "hobby" our uncle Marco recently took up.

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]]>blizzardmultiboxingwowGriffin McElroy2008-10-12T16:30:00+00:00BlizzCon, day onehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/11/blizzcon-day-one/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/11/blizzcon-day-one/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/11/blizzcon-day-one/#commentsFiled under: ,


Were you one of the many who didn't have the opportunity to make it out to Blizzneyland... er, we mean BlizzCon, of course... this year? Never fear, because Joystiq is on-hand to tell you exactly what's happening on the show floor. Enjoy BlizzCon from the comfort of your desk chair, away from the lines and the crowds and the delicious Diablo 3 gameplay... but we digress. On with the show. See our live coverage of:
Stay tuned for more news from Blizzneyland... er, BlizzCon... throughout the day.

Gallery: BlizzCon 2008: The Experience

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]]>blizzardblizzard-entertainmeblizzconblizzcon-08blizzcon-2008d3diablodiablo-3sc2starcraftstarcraft-2world-of-warcraftwowElizabeth Harper2008-10-11T15:30:00+00:00Wrath of the Lich King's gentle PC requirementshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/08/wrath-of-the-lich-kings-gentle-pc-requirements/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/08/wrath-of-the-lich-kings-gentle-pc-requirements/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/08/wrath-of-the-lich-kings-gentle-pc-requirements/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


There's no denying that World of Warcraft's latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, is likely to have a purple (epic) orange (legendary) launch. The only thing standing in the way of the WoW faithful from getting their Northrend on is the new tech specs a meeting with Arthas will require.

PC:
  • Windows XP SP3 or Vista SP1 (Windows 2000 no longer supported)
  • Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1.5 GHz (up from 800 MHz Intel/AMD). Dual-core recommended.
  • RAM: 512 MB/1 GB for Vista, same as before. 1 GB/2 GB recommended.
  • Video: GPU with hardware transform and lighting and 32 MB VRAM, same as before. Recommended 128 MB VRAM.
Mac:
  • Mac OS X 10.4.11 (10.3 no longer supported)
  • PowerPC G5 1.6 GHz or Intel Core Duo. G4s are no longer supported. Intel 1.8 GHz recommended.
  • RAM: 1 GB, up from 512 MB. 2 GB recommended.
  • Video: Hardware transform and lighting, 64 MB VRAM. 128 MB VRAM recommended.

Although it's a boost up from The Burning Crusade expansion, Wrath won't require most to get a new PC. Blizzard has already stated that it loves its money more than pushing the graphics envelope and will evolve WoW slowly over time not to lose customers.

[Via WoW Insider]

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]]>activision-blizzardblizzardrequirementsworld-of-warcraftwowwrath-of-the-lich-kingAlexander Sliwinski2008-10-08T13:30:00+00:00The best of WoW Insider: September 30-October 7, 2008http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/08/the-best-of-wow-insider-september-30-october-7-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/08/the-best-of-wow-insider-september-30-october-7-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/08/the-best-of-wow-insider-september-30-october-7-2008/#commentsFiled under: , ,


BlizzCon is almost upon us -- this weekend, thousands will descend on Anaheim to celebrate Blizzard and its games, and Blizzard developers will share their wisdom with us about Wrath of the Lich King, Diablo 3, and Starcraft II. And WoW Insider will be there: if you're going, make sure to come by our big reader meetup on Thursday night at The Lost Bar, and if you're not going, stay tuned to the site all weekend long for live-on-the-scene coverage.

News

Features

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]]>blizzardblizzconconventiondeath-knightsglidermatticusmetzenpatch-3.0.2socialtigolewowwow-insiderJoystiq Staff2008-10-08T01:00:00+00:00Blizzard awarded $6 million in Glider suithttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/01/blizzard-awarded-6-million-in-glider-suit/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/01/blizzard-awarded-6-million-in-glider-suit/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/01/blizzard-awarded-6-million-in-glider-suit/#commentsFiled under:


Blizzard has been awarded $6 million in damages from its suit against "bot" maker MDY Industries, the same suit it won back in July. MDY makes the World of Warcraft Glider software, allowing players to automate their avatars while they're AFK. The BBC reports that the Glider program cost $25 and it's believed the company sold around 100,000 copies.

Not that Blizzard is done yet. The company originally wanted double or triple the damages awarded. The case actually goes back into litigation this January and Blizzard will push on some remaining issues, like whether MDY violated the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act and whether the Glider programmer will have to pay damages out of his own pocket.

[Via Massively]

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]]>activiision-blizzardblizzardglidermdymdy-industriesworld-of-warcraftwowAlexander Sliwinski2008-10-01T19:30:00+00:00Wrath of the Lich King only on DVDhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/26/wrath-of-the-lich-king-only-on-dvd/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/26/wrath-of-the-lich-king-only-on-dvd/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/26/wrath-of-the-lich-king-only-on-dvd/#commentsFiled under: ,

One of the secrets to World of Warcraft's popularity is that even older rigs are able to run it pretty capably. But it seems that a portion of that market may be left out in the cold when expansion Wrath of the Lich King launches this fall -- it will be arriving solely on DVD, with not a CD-ROM to be had. (Get it? Left out in the cold? Frozen throne? Arthus? Nothing for that?)

That doesn't mean they'll never get in -- Burning Crusade was a digital download two weeks after its retail release -- but it seems a little unfair to slight our underpowered friends. On the bright side, maybe they'll have a few more free hours for all those WoW-addict pastimes like kayaking and hooking up with attractive people.

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]]>blizzardworld-of-warcraftwowwrath-of-the-lich-kingJustin McElroy2008-09-26T10:00:00+00:00Bejeweled add-on coming to World of Warcrafthttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/20/bejeweled-add-on-coming-to-world-of-warcraft/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/20/bejeweled-add-on-coming-to-world-of-warcraft/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/20/bejeweled-add-on-coming-to-world-of-warcraft/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


There are many ways to deal with the boredom that can sometimes strike during lengthy World of Warcraft sessions -- other than walking away from the computer to partake in a more enjoyable activity (that's just unthinkable). Some people level up new characters. Some people head to the Barrens area to spew their hate-speech towards like-minded scoundrels. However, the virtual denizens of Azeroth will soon be wasting their time using a popular, real-life time wasting engine -- PopCap's uber-successful casual puzzler, Bejeweled.

The in-game add-on began as a homebrew Bejeweled clone from Michael Fromwiller, cleverly titled Besharded. Fromwiller developed the add-on as a method of killing time during long raids and farming sessions, but it wasn't too long before PopCap caught wind of the MMO mini-game. Instead of issuing a timely cease and desist, the casual gaming colossus hired Fromwiller to create a more polished version of the application. The add-on will launch this coming Thursday -- it would probably be wise to put in as much quality time with your WoW-playing acquaintances before then, as you won't be seeing them again for quite some time.

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]]>add-onbejeweledbeshardedblizzardpopcapworld-of-warcraftwowGriffin McElroy2008-09-20T20:30:00+00:00AGDC08: The Psychology of the MMO Gamerhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/16/agdc-the-psychology-of-the-mmo-gamer/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/16/agdc-the-psychology-of-the-mmo-gamer/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/16/agdc-the-psychology-of-the-mmo-gamer/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


The first panel we attended at Austin GDC was entitled "The Psychology of the MMO Gamer," which seemed to hold a mythical amount of promise. Sure enough, once the panel began it was clear that these people had gathered a couple of days before and said, "So hey... what can we talk about?" It was a bit disorganized, but some good stuff came out of it, particularly finding out how a six-year old can grief you with pudding. Read on to find out how you too can learn this devious and delicious skill.

The panel consisted of Sean Dahlberg of EA Bioware (Mass Effect), Troy Hewitt of Flying Lab Software (Pirates of the Burning Sea) and Meghan Rodberg from Turbine (The Lord of the Rings Online), and two doctors of psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Samuel Gosling and Dr. James Pennebaker. With a group that decent on a panel, you'd expect some sort of an agenda, but they just busted out with discussing why characters fake their own deaths or the deaths of loved ones in a game. "For attention," was the short and sweet psychological answer.

But, should game masters and game support people be paying attention to this? Should someone get banned if they do this? Should they ignore in-game requests for memorial services? They can go pretty wrong, as it did in the case of this Warcraft funeral where rival players swooped in during a "moment of silence" and killed pretty much everyone. Forums also get choked with these types of posts, and people will sometimes set up a memorial site, and these end up getting bombed with porn and worse. What's a game support tech to do?

Likewise, what should they be doing about griefing? For those of you not in the know, or lucky enough not to have experienced it, griefing is when one player tries to ruin the gaming experience for everyone else. Meghan told us how her six-year old daughter gave her a pudding and, after she ate it, was told, "I licked it." A griefer at age six! Awesome.

One audience member had a very good point: "What does it matter if they do all this, because they're playing an RPG? Isn't the point that they're supposed to act like someone else? Not themselves?" True to a point, we'd say. As long as you're not actively trying to ruin the game for someone else, what's the problem with it? More so, what can game developers do about it? Besides the banhammer, which just leads people to create new accounts, there's not much.

Their general consensus was that the best thing to do about it is to promise that the situation will be reviewed, and then basically do nothing. You know, like filing a complaint about a character on Xbox Live. Those seem to get zapped into the ether where they vanish in a haze of nothingness. What other options can game designers incorporate? The panel discussed the "jail" system that was a part of Ultima Online, which doesn't sound like a bad idea, or the "ignore" feature where players get flagged and put on "ignore" if they continue to grief. Only they don't know they're being ignored, so they finally just leave.

Doctor Gosling noted, "But this is all superficial. You're fixing something after the fact when you need to be addressing the underlying cause of the problem." Sean chimed in as well, saying, "The more anonymous someone can be in any situation, then the greater the chance is that they'll act out." That definitely seems to be true. For now, the best option seems to be what Doctor Pennebaker said, "Just do what I do in my classes that have 500 students in them. Just pretend like you care about each and every one of them. There's no possible way I can actually care about them, but I can give them the illusion that I do."

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]]>AGDCAGDC-08Austin-GDCGriefingMMOWoWKevin Kelly2008-09-16T16:00:00+00:00It's official: Wrath of the Lich King coming November 13http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/15/blizzard-ad-dates-wrath-of-the-lich-king-for-november-13/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/15/blizzard-ad-dates-wrath-of-the-lich-king-for-november-13/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/15/blizzard-ad-dates-wrath-of-the-lich-king-for-november-13/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Popular World of Warcraft database site Wowhead has unveiled what it's claiming to be an official (and rather gigantic) Blizzard ad that reveals the official Wrath of the Lich King release date: Thursday, November 13. To celebrate, Wowhead is raffling off 10 beta keys. Though we know the expansion is due in Q4 2008, Blizzard has yet to confirm the date, either via press release or its website -- in other words, don't take this as gospel until we get an official statement. Update: The ad is now also appearing prominently on Thottbot, though it should be noted both it and Wowhead are owned by the same company. Update 2: Blizzard finally made it official (more official than a generous ad buy, at least). In other news, the Thanksgiving Day traditions of millions of families just got kicked in the sweetmeats.

Check out WoW Insider for more WotLK coverage than you can shake a Cross-eyed Stick of Information Overload at.

Gallery: Wrath of the Lich King

Draenei Warrior and Tauren ShamanBeef versus beastDeath Knight and Shaman face-offPlague Spitter vs. Death KnightAn orc warrior in the Nexxus

[Via WoW Insider]

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]]>activisionactivision-blizzardblizzardbreakingnewssocial-lifeworld-of-warcraftwotlkwowwrath-of-the-lich-kingRoss Miller2008-09-15T03:02:00+00:00What's the difference between WAR and WoW?http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/11/whats-the-difference-between-war-and-wow/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/11/whats-the-difference-between-war-and-wow/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/11/whats-the-difference-between-war-and-wow/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Despite appearances of similarities, Warhammer Online and World of Warcraft are very different games. Looking at screenshots and videos will only tell you so much, because it's under the hood where you'll find the differences. That's where this handy guide comes into play. It's here to explain why certain quests in WAR are considered "public" and what "instances" are really all about. Unlike our previous guide, this is for the total MMO newb.

The MMO genre has been slow to evolve. A primary reason being that games take a long time to come to market. So what's so special about these two games that you'd actually want to know the differences between them? Click on through to find out.

Gallery: What's the difference between WAR and WoW?

Warhammer Online PvEWarhammer Online PvE, cont.World of Warcraft PvEWorld of Warcraft PvE, cont.Warhammer Online PvP

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]]>blizzardeaelectronic-artsjoystiqfeaturesmassivelymythicwarwarcraftwarhammerwarhammer-onlineworld-of-warcraftwowKyle Horner2008-09-11T09:02:00+00:00World of Warcraft will slowly update graphics to stay freshhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/27/world-of-warcraft-will-slowly-update-graphics-to-stay-fresh/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/27/world-of-warcraft-will-slowly-update-graphics-to-stay-fresh/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/27/world-of-warcraft-will-slowly-update-graphics-to-stay-fresh/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


When a company has one of the most successful MMORPGs games of all time, the last thing anyone there wants to do is throw a wrench into what the customers' rigs can handle. To that end, the Blizzard team explained in a few interviews last week that World of Warcraft's graphical updates will happen over time with expansions. Don't go expecting something like World of Warcraft 2 or a major graphics overhaul, which might hurt the customer base.

In an interview with VideoGamer.com, Blizzard's Rob Chilton explains that "usability" has always been more important to the company than technical prowess. Obviously, Blizzard's judgment on how to run Azeroth, compared to those who yearn for a full-blown graphics overhaul, has paid off in million billions for the developer.

Source -- Brack clarifies graphical update plans (WoW Insider)
Source -- WoW graphical reboot may never be necessary (VG)

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]]>activision-blizzardblizzardgraphicsworld-of-warcraftwowwrath-of-the-lich-kingAlexander Sliwinski2008-08-27T16:00:00+00:00Bambi brings vengeance to Wrath of the Lich Kinghttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/27/bambi-brings-vengence-to-wrath-of-the-lich-king/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/27/bambi-brings-vengence-to-wrath-of-the-lich-king/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/27/bambi-brings-vengence-to-wrath-of-the-lich-king/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Perhaps the vagaries of reality have finally taken hold and you've done it. You've canceled the WoW account. Now you're back together with the Mrs., you've re-memorized all your kids' names, and you've got something that approximates steady work. Life, it would seem, is perfect. Then you heard the siren call of Wrath of the Lich King and - what is this? - you shut it out. Fine ... be strong.

But can you shut out the opportunity to drive your Sword of a Thousand Truths deep into the spotted fur of Bambi's mother? Sure, you cried during Bambi like everyone else did, but can you really resist transforming sweet, innocent Bambi(na) - spotted in Wrath's Northrend - into the crazy-eyed "Vengeful Bambina"? Blizzard's hoping you can't. But what if the kids see what you've done? You'll lose it all! Again!

[Via WoW Insider]

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]]>BambiWorld-of-WarcraftWotLKWoWWrath-of-the-Lich-KingChristopher Grant2008-08-27T09:58:00+00:00Wrath of Lich King cinematic debuting at Leipzighttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/18/wrath-of-lich-king-cinematic-debuting-at-leipzig/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/18/wrath-of-lich-king-cinematic-debuting-at-leipzig/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/18/wrath-of-lich-king-cinematic-debuting-at-leipzig/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Blizzard announced today that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King's opening cinematic will premiere at the Leipzig Games Convention. The clip will be shown this Thursday, August 21, at 1PM German standard time (7AM Joystiq time).

We'd speculate about what Blizzard has in store for a big reveal at Blizzcon, but with Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 and WoW in play, who knows what the company could announce. We'll see what happens on October 11.

[Via WoW Insider]

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]]>activision-blizzardarthasblizzardblizzcon-2008cinematicleipzigleipzig-08world-of-warcraftwowwrath-of-the-lich-kingAlexander Sliwinski2008-08-18T17:45:00+00:00'Bulk' of BlizzCon tickets sold out, remainder go on sale at 11pm ET tonighthttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/12/blizzard-store-blizzcon-tickets-sell-out-come-back-then-sell/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/12/blizzard-store-blizzcon-tickets-sell-out-come-back-then-sell/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/12/blizzard-store-blizzcon-tickets-sell-out-come-back-then-sell/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

As of 3:50 PM ET according to the World of Warcraft forums, Blizzard reinstated the BlizzCon ticket sales after "murloc failing" the first time earlier this week. But within 30 minutes the Blizzard store was listing the tickets as sold out ... then it came back up ... and now it's sold out again. Additionally, there are a few unverified reports of credit cards being double- and triple-charged without even receiving confirmation of a ticket.

While you shake your Epic Fists of Anger (with +2 fire damage) at them for yet another botched launch, our calmer friends at WoW Insider remind us that Worldwide Invitational tickets sold in multiple rounds and that more BlizzCon tickets -- with hopefully less technical malfunction / malfeasance -- could be given out at a later date. For a more detailed chronicling of the BlizzCon ticket drama, check out WoW Insider.

Update: A WoW forum poster is reporting that a billing service rep is telling her that the tickets are being sold in phases at the moment to keep up with order processes and that it's going to cycle between "sold out" and "available" repeatedly today until they really do sell out. When you're not busy refreshing the Blizzard store listing, practice typing in your account information really fast.

Update 2: Blizzard has posted an official statement on their website: "The bulk of the BlizzCon tickets we had available were sold out within minutes of ticket sales going live again this afternoon. We have a small reserve of tickets left -- to make these available to some of you who might not have had a chance to purchase yet, we will be releasing the remaining reserve tickets for sale tonight, August 12, at 8:00 PM PDT. We appreciate the enthusiasm everyone has shown, and wish we were able to accommodate even more attendees at this year's BlizzCon."

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]]>blizzardblizzconbreakingnewsdiablodiablo-3starcraftstarcraft-2world-of-warcraftwowRoss Miller2008-08-12T16:50:00+00:00Blizzard offering XP, mounts for recruiting friendshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/06/blizzard-offering-xp-mounts-for-recruiting-friends/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/06/blizzard-offering-xp-mounts-for-recruiting-friends/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/06/blizzard-offering-xp-mounts-for-recruiting-friends/#commentsFiled under: , ,


When we try to convince people to play World of Warcraft, it's usually because we despise them and want their real world lives to crumble around them as they try to convince themselves that their new sword is so much better than their last one. But be careful: Thanks to Blizzard's new recruiting push, others' motives for trying to rope you in may not be so pure.

Those who invite friends to the game and persuade them to pay for two months up front will get a free Zhevra mount, the ability to summon their referred friends and triple experience when they're questing together, up to level 60. It's tempting, but we hear that if you recruit a friend to Fury, you get the whole game. You know, just something to think about.

[Via WoW Insider]

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]]>blizzardworld-of-warcraftwowJustin McElroy2008-08-06T12:00:00+00:00Achievements coming to Diablo III and Starcraft II, linked to Blizzard accounthttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/03/achievements-coming-to-diablo-iii-and-starcraft-ii-linked-to-bl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/03/achievements-coming-to-diablo-iii-and-starcraft-ii-linked-to-bl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/03/achievements-coming-to-diablo-iii-and-starcraft-ii-linked-to-bl/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Do you find it difficult to slip the fact that you conquered a certain titular Lord of Terror into your daily conversations? Feel insecure when bragging about your latest successful Zerg Rush to your colleagues? Blizzard's got your back -- in a recent interview with MTV Multiplayer, World of Warcraft lead designer Jeff Kaplan revealed that there will be achievements in Blizzard's next two highly anticipated projects, Diablo III and Starcraft II.

These achievements will join the recently revealed achievements for WoW (which will make their debut with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion) -- however, Kaplan revealed that eventually, achievements from the three games will be linked to your Blizzard account, forming a "Blizzard Level". Kaplan likened the system to the Xbox Live gamerscore -- only without all the embarrassment one must suffer after earning 780 points from Pimp My Ride.

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]]>achievementsblizzarddiablo-3starcraft-2world-of-warcraftwowGriffin McElroy2008-08-03T11:30:00+00:00Wrath of the Lich King coming Q4 2008http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/wrath-of-the-lich-king-coming-q4-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/wrath-of-the-lich-king-coming-q4-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/wrath-of-the-lich-king-coming-q4-2008/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

After the beta announcement, we knew the hour of bewilderment was almost upon us. Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime announced in a conference call (via Shacknews) that the latest World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King is coming this year between October or December. Morhaime actually said it was coming out this year, but "it's not coming out in the July to September quarter," which after hours of calculations left us certain of the Q4 2008 window. Brush up on your WotLK news care of WoW Insider.

[Via WoW Insider]

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]]>activisionblizzardbreakingnewsmike-morhaimeq408world-of-warcraftwotlkwowwrath-of-the-lich-kingRoss Miller2008-07-31T23:12:00+00:00iPhone gets (unoffical) World of Warcraft appshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/iphone-gets-unoffical-world-of-warcraft-apps/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/iphone-gets-unoffical-world-of-warcraft-apps/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/iphone-gets-unoffical-world-of-warcraft-apps/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

A marriage of MMO powerhouse World of Warcraft and mobile phones may seem technically unsound, but it's not exactly a pipe dream either. First there was the guy who sort of, kind of but not really was able to get WoW up and running on his iPhone, then there was Blizzard's own admission that it was trying to find a way to utilize cell phones for some sort of WoW application.

Now, it seems the team's been beaten to the punch by a couple of new iPhone apps. The first, Warcraft Characters, allows you to enter character and realm name and check out a few character stats (no gear, though). The second, WarcraftStat allows you to check your realm's status even when you're out and about, the implications of which are almost too depressing to consider.

OK, so they're not exactly fully-featured, but hopefully they'll pacify until Blizzard gets busy.

[Via WoW Insider]

Source -- Warcraft Characters
Source -- WarcraftStat

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]]>iphoneworld-of-warcraftwowJustin McElroy2008-07-31T13:50:00+00:00Wrath of Lich King's Blue Eye of Sauronhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/wrath-of-lich-kings-blue-eye-of-sauron/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/wrath-of-lich-kings-blue-eye-of-sauron/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/wrath-of-lich-kings-blue-eye-of-sauron/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The world of Warcraft (and subsequently World of Warcraft) owes a lot to Lord of the Rings ... but this is outright thievery! We jest, of course, but The Eye of Acherus does bear a striking resemblance, palette swap notwithstanding, of a certain bling-seeking, fiery ocular orb. The folks at WoW Insider have more on how the orb is used in questing.

In other WotLK news, check out what WI is dubbing the quintessential Death Knight armor set.

Gallery: Wrath of the Lich King: The Eye of Acherus

Eye of Acherus vs Eye of SauronDeath Comes From On HighDeath Comes From On High, IIController OrbBig Eye, Small Eye

Gallery: Death Knight Blue Rewards

Death Knight armorDeath Knight weaponsDeath Knight cloaksDeath Knight trinkets, rings, etc.

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]]>death-knighteye-of-acheronlord-of-the-ringslotrsauronworld-of-warcraftwotlkwowwrath-of-the-lich-kingRoss Miller2008-07-31T11:30:00+00:00BlizzCon tickets on sale August 11http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/29/blizzcon-tickets-on-sale-august-11/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/29/blizzcon-tickets-on-sale-august-11/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/29/blizzcon-tickets-on-sale-august-11/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

blizzcon
Blizzard announced today that tickets for BlizzCon 2008 will go on sale Monday, August 11. Tickets will be priced at $100 a pop (as if Blizzard and co. weren't already deep enough in our pockets) and be available directly from blizzcon.com. The third semi-regular gathering of elves, trolls and spacemen will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in -- where else? -- Anaheim, California on October 10 and 11. For those unwilling to venture forth, DirecTV will be broadcasting a pay per view version right to your dome in "crystal-clear HD" (scientifically proven to be better than real life). As a bonus, new DirecTV subscribers will get the televised BlizzCon access for free.

While no one knows for sure just what blessings Blizzard will bestow upon its faithful at BlizzCon, you can bet on seeing more of the Wrath expansion for World of Warcraft, along with some new details about Starcraft II and Diablo 3. If you plan to make the pilgrimage out to Anaheim, buy your tickets early -- there's not exactly room for everyone.

[Via WOW Insider]

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]]>blizzardblizzconblizzcon-2008breakingnewsdiablo-3starcraft-2wotlkwowJames Ransom-Wiley2008-07-29T15:14:00+00:00