BlizzCon 2011 Highlights Roundup
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We take a look at the best moments of this year’s convention that celebrates all things Blizzard.
As the dust settles at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, the thousands of gamers from around the world return home, happily weary as they fondly clutch their Blizzard merchandise and memorabilia, not to mention the memories of a weekend dedicated to the games of their beloved developer.
No fewer than 26,000 Blizzard fans made the gaming pilgrimage to Anaheim, with thousands more watching the events live from around the world via e-ticket. If you weren’t amongst them, then let me bring you up to speed with the biggest and best bits of BlizzCon 2011.
Stunning Cinematics and Playable Pandas
BlizzCons have a reputation for being a time for big news, and 2011 was no exception. Not only were there two spectacular cinematic trailers for the forthcoming Diablo 3 and StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm, but the next World of Warcraft expansion pack was also announced to the crowd of baying Blizzardites.
Mists of Pandaria will be the next WoW expansion, allowing players to reach level 90 and explore the newly revealed island of Pandaria. From the trailer, you can see a heavy Asian influence that is extremely reminiscent of Kung Fu Panda. This similarity is reinforced by, well… the giant Panda monks that inhabit the island: the Pandaren.
Naturally, Mists of Pandaria has had a mixed reception, as shown by the near 50/50 split on likes/dislikes in this YouTube video. Many have embraced the slightly lighter approach to the game’s new content, as the Pandaren have been a minor part of WoW lore for many years now as brewmasters and such. Others have railed at what they see as the supposed “kiddy” emphasis placed upon the expansion.
Love or loathe them, the Pandaren are about to join Azeroth as the 13th playable race of the game. For the first time ever, the player will be able to choose which faction their Pandaren character will join: Horde or Alliance.
Additionally, WoW will have a new class to experiment with in the form of the monk, a melee class who utilizes spiritual energy to smite its foes.
A Deal Most Cunning
Along with the big game announcements, Blizzard released another piece of news that had me speechless with its impact. Mike Morhaime, Blizzard’s CEO, announced that he had a hell of a deal for World of Warcraft fans who were interested in getting Diablo 3.
The offer is this: Commit to an annual subscription to World of Warcraft and Blizzard will give you a digital copy of Diablo 3, entirely for free! That’s the full version of the game, not a demo or a beta, but the whole nine yards.
The move is, in a word, sheer business brilliance on Blizzard’s part. Having lost approximately 1 million subscribers to the MMO through the course of the past 12 months, this is the ideal way to tempt many of the lost members back.
Imagine all the Blizzard fans didn’t play enough WoW to warrant the expense of a subscription, but who are incredibly excited for Diablo 3. These players might just be tempted back to WoW by the thought of a new expansion coupled with the significant savings they can make on by cutting out the cost of Diablo 3.
Also, with BioWare’s MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic just around the corner, this move will lock in thousands if not millions of players who really only have the time and money to justify subscribing to a single monthly MMO fee. It is, in a word, genius.
The cherry on the top? An exclusive in-game WoW flying mount: Tyrael’s Charger. (See image above)
StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm ups the Scale
StarCraft 2’s new chapter got an awful lot of attention at BlizzCon 2011 as the development team warms the RTS up to a white hot point. Expect bigger, badder and more varied battles than ever before as you take on control of the Swarm in single player and a host of new units for each race in multiplayer.
Check out our weekend’s coverage for a comprehensive look at how StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm is shaping up.
Endlessly Creative Cosplay Costumes and Celebrations
It’s said every year, but the quality of the cosplayer’s creations continue to astound the audience as they demonstrate their love of Blizzard titles and the characters that they breathe life into.
See the top entrants as well as the three lucky winners of the BlizzCon 2011 Costume Competition.
Blizzard DOTA Brings All Games Together
Although it’s a minor project, it was fascinating to see how the Blizzard DOTA development is coming along.
DOTA stands for Defense of the Ancients and it was originally a custom scenario from Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos. The simple but effective idea of the game was for each team to destroy the opposition’s heavily guarded structure called an Ancient. Players could level up their heroes and were assisted by AI controlled allies.
Blizzard DOTA takes that simple idea and makes it about 100 times more badass by combining playable heroes from ALL the Blizzard games. Want Warchief Thrall from Warcraft franchise to fight back-to-back with Zeratul from the StarCraft series? You got it! Arthas teaming up with Nova? Not a problem!
It’s this kind of epic but slightly goofy creativity that Blizzard sometimes demonstrates that secures them a place in my heart as one of my top three games developers along with BioWare and Valve.
Top Tier Tournament Gamers Give it Everything They’ve Got
E-Sports are growing in popularity at a rate which is sometimes hard to appreciate outside of the Asia-Pacific region. China is tucking into the phenomenon with gusto, perhaps aiming to emulate the same national love of StarCraft 2 that South Korea exhibits.
Blizzcon 2011 was another fantastic showcase for the diverse and passionate enthusiasm for e-sports that continues to gather pace around the globe.
Not only were the regular StarCraft 2 and World of Warcraft arena tournaments a thrilling spectacle but, for the first time ever, BlizzCon hosted the finals for the Global StarCraft 2 League. Up until now, GSL events have always been held in South Korea, making BlizzCon 2011 an historic occasion.
Too Much to Take in
Even with the help of live streams from each of the convention’s areas, there’s such a wealth of art, design and developer being explored throughout the convention’s many discussion panels and Q&A sessions that it’s neigh-on impossible to take it all in.
Hopefully this highlights roundup gives a good enough impression of the event itself. All that’s left to do now is start the speculation on what will be happening at BlizzCon 2012!
