Tech Link: Diablo III May 15 [yeah, 2012]

So finally, this long awaited game will be released. I have my pre-order since last year placed on Amazon. Here's hoping I can get it by May 15. Been a heck of a loooooong wait since D2, and I can hardly wait for this next installment!

Tech Link (Gaming): Blizzard DOTA (!?#@)

This has got to be one of the coolest thing Blizzard will be making as one of their official maps. I have always been a fan of DOTA, and with Blizzard releasing their very own version, with heroes and such, I can't be any happier. I am pretty sure that Blizzard will ensure that heroes will be fairly balanced, easy to play and learn, and like their other games, hard to master. I am not surprised, when there's actually full games released based on DOTA, Blizzard should have done this as well a looooong time ago.

Tech Link (Gaming): Cologne's soil will quake heavily!

What does Intel and FanBoy have in common (aside from lovin' Intel products?). Well, they are both Blizzard supporter!

Intel, together with ESL (Electronic Sports League) is sponsoring a Starcraft II tournament game in the Intel Extreme Masters event. There are 16 players who will compete for the event, and 14 of them have already been predefined (lucky them). Check out more of the details below...

Brag: And I just paid my Pre-Order Fee

I got a call from DataBlitz earlier, informing me that I finally got my "Pre-Order" approved for Starcraft 2: Collector's Edition. However, they won't accept full payment even after I insisted. They accepted 3k, and gave me a receipt and a "pre-order" form but I still can't say it's 100% sure.

Tech Link (Game): STARCRAFT® II: WINGS OF LIBERTY™ IN STORES STARTING JULY 27, 2010

Eeeew, so the June 2010 rumor is just that, a rumor. But hey, it's not so bad as it gives us FanBoys something to drool on. And what's more, there is now an official statement released today about the availability of the game.

Tech Link (Game): SC2 on June 11?

You know how it is for Fanboys, we get excited for anything and everything related to the things we love. So apparently, a German site found out something about the release date of Starcraft II. Of course, me being not included with CB (Close Beta) is really gearing up for this game. After all, the last Blizzard I played is Warcraft III (yeah, I played WoW but I never got past the free trial days). Expand to read on more...

Tech Link (Gaming): STARCRAFT®II: WINGS OF LIBERTY™ COLLECTOR'S EDITION ANNOUNCED Special edition of Blizzard Entertainment

Awww, Blizzard fanboys should ready their wallet (I should)! SC2 Collector's edition is already announced, and as most of you know, Closed Beta (CB) has been running for quite some time already (unfortunately, despite my rigs awesome config, I am not selected). I can almost smell the game. Read more..

Tech Link (Game): Starcraft 2 is real!

This must be the best news ever for the long time fans of the Starcraft game. I, for one, am so delighted to know that the successor to the one of most succesful RTS game of all time is more than just a rumor, but a reality. This announcement renewed my excitement as a gamer, as I have been lagging behind in playing any kind of game.

The announcement is actually just part of my excitement, but what really blows my mind the fact that it is still an RTS. World of Warcraft is a big dissapointment for me, after Blizzard decided to port this game into MMORPG, I begun to shy away from the game. Warcraft III and Frozen Throne are great games, but WoW is just a bummer for me.

Of course, I am not saying Blizzard is a bad company for wanting to make money, it's the fact of life that business is there to make money. They are living up to their promise of providing great game, and my friends who are WoW players swear how good it is. Of course, there are quirks, but nothing is perfect. I tried it for 10days, then played with it whenever I can (usually, less than an two hours per month) before I gave up as I don't really like that genre.

Anyway, I will surely be refreshing the official website from time to time to read up more on the developments of the game. And don't forget to watch out the game trailers and demo gameplay, it rocks big time.

Check out more about this game on Blizzard.

Press Release: WORLD OF WARCRAFT:® THE BURNING CRUSADE™ NOW AVAILABLE

My favorite game developer, Blizzard*, has just announced today that the first expansion to their world-reknowned game WoW, Burning Crusade, is now available at your nearest favorite store. I always love Blizzard* titles, except that time is not something I always have nowadays, at least, time for myself. In any case, if you are not in the situation as I am, you may want to get addicted more and more by diving in with the expansion.

First expansion for Blizzard Entertainment®'s massively multiplayer online role-playing game launches in multiple regions
IRVINE, Calif. – January 16, 2007 – Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that World of Warcraft®: The Burning Crusade™, the first expansion set for the world's leading subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft, is now on sale throughout North America and Europe. The expansion will be available in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand on January 17, with availability in mainland China and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau to be announced at a later date. World of Warcraft is played by more than 8 million gamers around the world.

"The Burning Crusade is the single largest expansion we've ever created, and we're grateful for the support shown by our beta testers and the millions of World of Warcraft players worldwide during its development," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment®. "We're excited to share all of the new content with players, and we're certain that they'll enjoy the quality and breadth of new experiences that The Burning Crusade offers."

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade adds a tremendous amount of new features and content to World of Warcraft, including Outland, a massive new continent for players to explore, as well as flying mounts, which will allow players to reach locations in Outland that would be otherwise inaccessible. Over the course of their new adventures, players will be able to take their characters up to level 70, gaining powerful new abilities along the way. Hundreds of new quests and monsters and several unexplored dungeons will offer exciting new challenges, while the new Blood Elf and Draenei races, each with capital cities and starting zones, promise a fresh start to current and new players alike. The jewelcrafting profession, socketed items, and expansive new player-vs.-player features round out the offering in World of Warcraft's first expansion. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade is now available at retailers nationwide for Windows® 2000/XP and Macintosh® at a suggested retail price of $39.99. A special Collector's Edition of the expansion is also available, at a suggested retail price of $69.99. This limited-edition package includes the expansion on both CD-ROM and DVD, the Art of The Burning Crusade coffee table book, an exclusive in-game pet, a behind-the-scenes DVD, two World of Warcraft Trading Card Game card packs and three exclusive cards, a map of Outland mouse pad, and the official soundtrack CD. The World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion requires the original World of Warcraft game, which is now selling for a suggested retail price of $19.99. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade has received a Teen rating from the ESRB.

For more information on World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, please visit the official website for the expansion at www.worldofwarcraft.com/burningcrusade.

Source:WORLD OF WARCRAFT:® THE BURNING CRUSADE™ NOW AVAILABLE

Tech Link (Gaming): World of Warcraft 2nd Year Anniversary Sweepstakes

Happy Halloween for the FanBoyz!!! I will be taking an early off from the office and will be basking in some gaming at home. Wohooo! Then tomorrow, you might miss me posting a daily update because I'll be busy visiting my relatives and seeing old friends. So while still waiting for my update, why not lazy yourself with Blizzard's latest event. I'm a heavy Blizzard fan, and I really love their games. Expand for more..

World of Warcraft 2nd Year Anniversary Sweepstakes
Do you remember the first time you set foot in Orgrimmar and saw the watch fires burning on the parapets? What about the first time you saw the hot molten iron flowing beneath the catwalks of the city of Ironforge or gazed at the towering statues of the heroes of the Alliance in Stormwind? It has been two years since players first entered the world of Azeroth to forge such memories, and to celebrate the second anniversary of the launch of World of Warcraft, we will be awarding prizes to our loyal players over the next five weeks! Click here for more details.

Source:World of Warcraft 2nd Year Anniversary Sweepstakes

Press Release: Blizzard Entertainment Licenses Havok Physics Technology

This should be very very interesting. I have always been a fan of Blizzard* because of the awesome game titles they brought to the PC Gamers. I can still remember sleepless nights playing Warcraft I, and gets even excited with Warcrat II, learned how to use Battle.Net with Starcraft and slashing monsters in the Diablo series. I never liked their console game though, and I am just mildly amused with WoW, not that WoW is bad, but it's just that, Starcraft has more appeal to me.

I also love the Diablo series, but not the Diablo II Expansion storyline, but I might say that while story is great, the replayability is not that addictive. I guess it all boils down to "been there, done that" kind of thing for me. "Diablo I" blew me away, storyline and twist was great and I loved their animation (which, at that time, is already more than decent). The gameplay of Starcraft and the strategies it offered because of diversity of "race", is just so addictive. I was even compelled to join Battle.Net games, unfortunately, I suck.

Now, I still play Warcraft III, but mostly DOTA. I never played any other game aside from this, I guess I am just too old :(. Anyway, expand to check out the latest Press Release and join me in drooling and awaiting for the next big Blizzard* project.

Blizzard to use Havok 4.0 for both PC and Mac platforms

San Francisco, September 14, 2006 – Havok, the premier provider of interactive software and services to digital creators in the game and film industries, announces today that Blizzard Entertainment® has licensed Havok 4.0, the market-leading game-play physics and animation solution.

“Havok 4.0 will add power and flexibility to our development process,” said Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re looking forward to utilizing this technology with our upcoming games.”

Released in July this year, Havok 4.0 is a modular suite of artist tools and run-time technology that enhances Havok’s industry-leading game-play physics and animation products (Havok Physics™ and Havok Animation™). It also introduced two new products - Havok Behavior™ and Havok FX™.

With Havok 4.0, game developers can select from a modular suite of technologies and tools spanning game-play physics, character animation, behaviors and special effects, optimized for the widest range of platforms, including Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCEI) much-anticipated “PLAYSTATION®3” computer entertainment system, Microsoft’s 64bit Windows operating system, and now Apple Mac.

Jeff Yates, Havok’s Vice President, Product Management comments, “The Mac is an important piece of technology and because of the cross-platform nature of Havok’s technology, the port to Mac was easy to do. Furthermore, Blizzard Entertainment’s commitment to OS X and to the Mac community is a good indication of the growth potential of the Mac as a games platform. Blizzard has always put out great games on the Mac, and we look forward to Havok becoming a part of that tradition.”

Source:Blizzard Entertainment Licenses Havok Physics Technology

Press Release: BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT® AND LEGENDARY PICTURES TO PRODUCE LIVE-ACTION WARCRAFT® MOVIE

I have always been a fan of Blizzard* games and so this news is really a drool factor for me. I have started enjoying their games, starting from the epic original Warcraft, and first ever Diablo. My fanboyism with Blizzard solidified when they released Starcraft, and then Broodwar. Though I stopped buying their game when they released their very first MMORPG (due to monthly cost), I still love the series.



I have played all Blizzard titles on the PC except the MMORPG, but I did tried it before and then gave up after awaking to the fact that I can not sustain my "hobby". Reality sets in, and then I am, for the first time, away from Battle.Net forum and away from Blizzard site in general. I can not imagine how long I have been absent from the site and their titles except my occasional DOTA game, so I am almost completely out of any real "affection" to Blizzard.

But this time around, I guess I can manage to spend a "movie fee" and return to where I love most: Blizzard Epic creations. However I missed Kerrigan and whatever happened (or will happen) to her, I'd make do with the movie. Anyway, enough with the blabber, and here's the scoop on the news:

BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT® AND LEGENDARY PICTURES
TO PRODUCE LIVE-ACTION WARCRAFT® MOVIE

Fantasy game franchise played by millions worldwide to become major motion picture

IRVINE, Calif. -- May 9, 2006 -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and Legendary Pictures today announced that they have entered into an agreement to develop a live-action film based on Blizzard Entertainment®'s award-winning Warcraft® universe. Based on the terms of the agreement, Legendary Pictures has acquired the movie rights for the best-selling game universe, and both companies are now focused on translating the high-quality Warcraft entertainment experience to the big screen.

"We searched for a very long time to find the right studio for developing a movie based on one of our game universes," said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment. "Many companies approached us in the past, but it wasn't until we met with Legendary Pictures that we felt we'd found the perfect partner. They clearly share our high standards for creative development, and because they understand the vision that we've always strived for with our Warcraft games, we feel there isn't a better studio out there for bringing the Warcraft story to film."

"One of our goals at Legendary Pictures has been to bring heroic stories to life in groundbreaking ways, and it's inspiring to work with a company such as Blizzard that takes that approach with each of its products," stated Legendary Pictures chairman and CEO Thomas Tull. "The Warcraft universe is possessed of such a rich mythology and, as such, serves as an ideal platform as we go about translating that universe into what we intend to be a major event film."

Blizzard's Warcraft games have developed a loyal following since the series debuted in 1994. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness™, released in 1995, won multiple Game of the Year awards and is still considered one of the best games ever made, and Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos™ broke multiple sales records when it launched in 2002. World of Warcraft®, Blizzard's latest entry in the critically acclaimed franchise, has quickly become one of the world's most popular online games, with more than 6 million paying customers worldwide.

"From our first Warcraft game to our latest novels, our intention has always been to develop a rich fantasy universe that could support stories and products in many forms," stated Chris Metzen, Blizzard Entertainment's vice president of creative development. "In addition to being a truly rewarding experience for us, the creation of this motion picture also feels like a natural next step for the Warcraft universe."

"It's not always the case that interactive game properties lend themselves to proper adaptation to film," said Jon Jashni, Legendary Pictures' chief creative officer. "We are intending to approach this as we would the adaptation of a best-selling novel: respect the essence of all that it is but also build upon that fertile base while translating it into a new medium."

Further details about the upcoming Warcraft movie, including director, cast, and targeted release date, will be revealed in the months ahead.

Source:Blizzard

Tech Link (Gaming): Worldwide Invitational Tournament Mini-Site Launched

A few days ago, I posted about the Worldwide Invitational Tournament. Just now (or maybe a few hours ago), Blizzard* launched a mini site to be fully dedicated in covering for the upcoming event.

In that mini-site, Blizzard* will give daily updates, post replays, upload results, and provide interviews, before, during and after the conclusion of the event. You should really give the mini site a try as it really looks very spiffy. And after a minute of dabbling, I already found an "Easter Egg". Honestly, I don't really know if anyone has found it already, but hey, no one told me about the Easter Egg and I feel uber FanBoy for getting to see that Easter Egg, besides, it's just been launched as can be seen on Blizzard's posting time dated January 25 2006. Is this a secret announcement of an un-announced sequel of their famous game? Oh wow, I'm just dying to hear the announcement.

Anyway, the Easter Egg clue is [*_{see spoiler info below}*], go check it out and spread the word about the Easter Egg, redirect them to this web site, and discuss it among fellow fanboys! By the way, if you don't like a spoiler on where to find the Easter Egg, then don't scroll below past the source/link to the mini site. But in case you can't find the Easter Egg, and has given up on finding it, check the clue past the link.

Source:Blizzard Mini Site

And here's a spoiler....scroll below to find the location of the Easter Egg...

Update: Crap, I just checked the BNet forum and it seems like it's not a spoiler actually *lol*. Shows how long I've been out from the Bnet Forum Scene =)...



***Spoiler Alert***
Scroll the web page way down to the bottom. At the middle section, there is what appears to be a Hologram with lights coming out of it. If you hover your mouse over the lights, the cursor pointer changes into a hand. If you leave it there for a few seconds, a "text" will appear which says "Help me Jim Raynor...you're my only hope!". If you click it, Ms. Sexy but "Infected Kerrigan" appears =)...

Tech Link (Game): Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational 2006

I don't really understand Korean, but one thing is clear, Blizzard Entertainment* is really, really, really huge in Korea.


I particularly love the games they are exhibiting at the event. There's World of Warcraft Battlegrounds, World of Warcraft Burning Crusade, Starcraft Ghost, and of course, the game that started the craze and professional gaming career in Korea, non other than Starcraft.

I always believe the Koreans knows how to set up an event, but this time, it is really grand. They have the large stage, and looking at the site, they'd probably invite known celebrities to join the event. Just look at those babes!

Here's what is Blizzard* has to say:

Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational 2006
Blizzard is proud to announce that our second Worldwide Invitational will be held next month in Seoul, Korea on February 3-5. The Worldwide Invitational will be home to an invite-only StarCraft tournament as well as the Warcraft III Season Three Finals.

The StarCraft invitational players will be announced in the days leading up to the event. Season Three of the Warcraft III ladder ended in December and the finalists from the season-ending qualifiers will be playing in the Season Three Finals. Click here for more information.

You can also go directly to the Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational 2006 site.