World of Warcraft Blizzcon Photo Update

Posted by Nelson Williams | March 27, 2009

When thousands of Warcraft players gather, what you have there is a party. A really strange, geeky, somehow unclean party. Blizzcon 2008 is no exception, and for those of us who couldn’t make it, Blizzard was kind enough to take pictures and post them up. One-hundred and nine pictures. Of geeks. Of costumes. Of geeks in costumes planning on doing horrible things with those costumes up in their hotel rooms later.

Oh, did I mention the dance contest?

Check out the terrible evidence and photo gallery right here.

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World of Warcraft Opens Up to Questions for Latest Blizzcast Q&A

Posted by Nelson Williams | January 12, 2009

Just in case you have a question that really needs an answer, Blizzard has opened the floor to your queries with their Blizzcast podcast type show thing. This podcast show revolves around interviews with the developers and a look into what life is like under the Blizzard yoke, then ends with a mailbag segment from the community. You can listen to the podcasts here.

You can send in your questions either in mail or as a voice recording, which is nice for those of us who like to hear ourselves talk. Even if you don’t have a question of your own, the forum thread on the subject is hilarious and filled with all the wonderful wit and insight that makes the Warcraft forums such a magical place. Check it out over here.

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World of Warcraft 3.0.8 Patch Fails to Go Live

Posted by Nelson Williams | January 7, 2009

This Tuesday did not see the release of the anticipated 3.0.8 patch for World of Warcraft, instead confronting players with the usual maintenance downtime. There were no changes in world mechanics, such as the ability for any race to ride any mount, nor were class mechanics updated, like the Hunter’s Aspect of the Wild going raid-wide.

Despite the lack of a patch, or indeed any change at all, the players who bitch about nerfs and class imbalance on the World of Warcraft forums have continued to bitch about nerfs and class imbalance on the World of Warcraft forums. We wish them luck with their inevitable panic-induced heart attacks at age 25.

The full patch notes for the update which didn’t happen yesterday may be found at Blizzard’s Test Realm page, but here’s what they look like at present.

General

* Players …

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World of Warcraft, Lich King, Claim 11.5 Million Subscribers

Posted by Nelson Williams | January 2, 2009

To put that into perspective, the US presidential election was decided by about three-million votes, and some European countries couldn’t even aspire to that sort of population. In a recent press release, Blizzard confirmed Lich King sales of over four-million copies in the first month, which makes me wonder when those other many millions of players plan on getting with the program. That number also tags Lich King as the fastest, and best-selling, release of all time, a record formerly held by Burning Crusade. Gee.

You can read the whole press release to discover just how tightly Blizzard has taken the game industry’s balls in their iron claw. If you’re one of those millions who have yet to upgrade, do it! Lich King is great, Death Knights are more metal than the black shores of Hades, and the quest lines are a vast …

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Starcraft 2, Alpha Version in Action

Posted by Nelson Williams | December 20, 2008

Oh hey, look at that. There’s a video up on Blizzard’s site where Matt Cooper as the Protoss and David Kim in the Terran pants go head to head in a Starcraft 2 match. Just like those charming Korean professional duels, this game is narrated by two announcers. New units and new terrain assets are showcased.

You can get ahold of the video here.

From what I can see, it looks alot smoother than Warcraft 3, with a higher polygon count and more organic feel. Even with the new units, the old strategies still work, like cutting down your opponent’s gathering units to cripple his economy. Also, as always, Protoss are dicks.

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A Plush Murloc from World of Warcraft. It Talks. Welp.

Posted by Nelson Williams | December 3, 2008

Not much to say on this one really that the title hasn’t already covered. Blizzard teamed up with J!NX to do a bunch of shirts or something for World of Warcraft. They also got together and made up a plush murloc that talks. Well, murloc talk, anyhow. You can get it here at J!NX.

The song in the background of that video for the little felt sea devil is I Am Murloc, by Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain, and you can see the full thing here.

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Necessary World of Warcraft Add Ons and Plugins

Posted by Nelson Williams | November 29, 2008

If you want to make the most of World of Warcraft, you’ll need a selection of add ons and plugins that give you more information about the world and your character. You’ll want something to help out at the Auction House, so you can make the gold. You’ll need a plugin to help your professions, so you can go and collect all those minerals, ores, and herbs quickly and easily.

When you raid, you’ll also want to be your best. The other people in your group will notice if you’re not performing. Do you get invites to raid as soon as you log in, or are you waiting in the LFG channel, alone, unloved, as darkness falls and the moon rises? The right plugins make the difference.

If you want to be the best, you’ll need some plugins, mods, and add ons to help …

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World of Warcraft 4th Anniversary, Fluffy Bears, and Death Metal

Posted by Nelson Williams | November 23, 2008

Apparently, it’s come time to celebrate the fourth anniversary of World of Warcraft, a fact which I learned by surprise when my post-frozen alleyway undead Little Flower Girl opened her mailbox and a bear jumped out.

That’s right, not only did Blizzard send along a message to its players concerning a successful and incredibly lucrative four years of digital murder simulation, they also attached a lovable widdle baby polar bear pet. Quite a reward for the $50 box + $40 Burning Crusade + $40 Lich King + 48 months of gameplay at $15 a pop I’ve bled out into their insatiable corporate maw.

Also, because the sixty-four billion they pull in annually from Warcraft isn’t enough, Blizzard has unleashed a new suite of celebrity WoW ads featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Steve Van Sandt. The real truth is that actual celebs and Important People really …

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Azeroth the Electoral College

Posted by Helvetica | October 31, 2008

The presidential race is on, election day looming, and curious minds want to know: if Azeroth were a state, who would the population vote for? Players of World of Warcraft are a diverse bunch, but are largely made up of teens and tweens, with a heavy subset of hardcore gamers in their twenties.

While this movie is a bit of an irreverent look at the concept of polling and makes fun of news man-on-the-street news broadcasts about the election, it provides an amusing lampoon of Azeroth and the World of Warcraft itself.

What race/class do you think McCain would be? Obama? Cast your vote here at Vox ex Machina.

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