While going over the exhibitor list for E3 this year, I noticed that Blizzard wasn't on the list of attendees. I'm not sure if this is because they will be with Activision or if it is because they do Blizzcon every year but it got me into doing some research.
Blizzcon this year is August 21-22. Ironically, tickets go on sale today @ 9 AM Pacific for $125!!!
I was surprised that ticket prices were so expensive. That and also there is Direct TV pay-per-view coverage.
Maybe I am just underestimating Blizzards' drawing power. Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo. It's amazing that those three franchises can warrant such an event. I almost see it as stuck up. Why do I feel this way?
I realize and understand everything that Blizzard has done for the video game genre, but is this a case of PC love while I mostly play consoles?
Brad and community, please chime in...
David
Has anyone been before?
12 comments:
Can't say I have. Ticket prices have been very pricey, though it looks interesting to attend.
I think that a part of Blizzcon's draw is supposed to lie in areas other than showcasing the games themselves. Think girls dressed as Blood Elves dancing on stage, buffets, card and minature tournaments, faux gladiator matches and jousting, elekk riding and whatnot.
Ultimately this is all just to bolster the hype for their games, mind you. And, yes, I do agree that the company seems to be exhibiting a certain amount of hubris.
Blizzard does seem to think very highly of themselves, as they should. World of Warcraft is monopolizing the MMO market, Starcraft is still being played world wide after ten years, and Diablo revolutionized online class based games. But there is a fine line between being proud, and being self indulgent. I'm not really sure where Blizzard stands.
Blizzcon is a waste of money, time and effort.
Especially because Blizzard is more like an icy wind at best these days.
Blizzcon isn't really a PC love festival so much as it's a worshiping of one of the few good PC developers. Quakecon is more like a PC love festival. But this is just pure speculation, as I've never been to either, nor do I plan to.
Blizzard SHOULD think highly of themselves. They have a successful MMORPG with over 10 million active subscribers. More than 10 million people all over the world have bought a copy of this game, and have played in the last 30 days. If that doesn't warrant a large conference, where a fraction of those people come together to celebrate their love for the game, and the company that made it, I don't know what does.
I think it's a snub thing to do on blizzard's part. They should think highly of themselves, they have that right. Anybody in the gaming world knows. Starcraft, warcraft, Diablo. Holy shit.
But having their own "expo" for their own stuff is just a "hey, we're better than most of those publishers, why waste the time and effort?".
imo, them showing up and presenting at E3 helps the gaming market, and hell, the community. Especially PC gaming, which is sort of a dying breed lately. Even then, in this kind of economy, they decide to just maybe save a buck, and not present at both E3 and their own expo, but choose their own shit.
blizzard, while i love them for the games they make.. i fucking hate the way they do business.
Well, from what I see of Blizzard they can be a very entertaining company, and pretty funny in some of the little jokes, april fools ideas and easter eggs they put in.
I haven't been to Blizzcon, but it does sound kind of interesting. I expect a lot of it is seeing upcoming games, playing things, meeting others and the developers and getting some exclusive extras like beta invites and novelty items in WoW, etc.
Blizzard do tend to seem more in tune with their community than most game developers, given how the secret cow level in Diablo 2 grew from people starting false rumours about their being one in the original.
I also saw some footage from a Blizzcon conference on class changes for WoW, and the way they spoke and joked about seemed to relate to the fans pretty well.
As for the ticket prices and everything Blizzard is a business and should logically try to make money from what they do.
Blizzard have basically the biggest mainstream MMO on the market, and in the past have produced other brilliant games that are still played to this day (Diablo 2 and Starcraft for example, especially the latter I hear is one of the main pro-gamer games in Korea to this date).
They have done a lot, even using things like Battle.net for their games online component which is something that hadn't really been done before back then.
Anyway in short Blizzard have mostly made nothing but groundbreaking, incredibly popular games. Such achievements coupled with the vast subscription base likely makes these events worthwhile for both the fans to enjoy themselves and for Blizzard to interact with them and make some extra money in the process.
They usually give out keys for special in-game WoW items (like the murloc suit they did a while back) which can probably be sold on ebay for more than the tickets cost.
I think that Blizzard has has the right to think highly of themselves. To date Blizzard has not made a game that is anything less then fantastic they might be the only developer to date that can claim this. This is due to the fact that they hold themselves to such a high level of quality.
Think of their two canceled games the Warcraft adventure game and starcraft ghost. Now my money is that had they released these games they would have been good. Solid 8's for many reviewers however Blizzard has such a high standard for their games that they are willing to put a kabosh on perhaps millions of dollars in development on these games simply due to the fact that they were not excellent.
I honestly wish more developers were like blizzard, we might not see as many games come out. But sure as heck we would see a lot less shovel ware and a lot more fantastic games.
Only company that I can think of that matches Blizzard's awesomeness is Valve. But Valve is a bit more underground to those who are not PC gamers and the fact they never really advertise their games. I literally saw 3 commercials for Left 4 Dead, then that was it.
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