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Apparently Blizzard has another unannounced game in the making according to a recent session during last weekend’s Blizzard Invitational.

According to the video posted above, Rob Pardo not only talks a bit about Diablo III, but also mentions a separate development team working on an as of yet unannounced project and that the recent job listing for a next-gen MMO had nothing to do with WoW.

The speculation that this could be the much rumored StarCraft MMO is sure to get more heated with arcane comments such as these, but then again it could be a completely new franchise which would be interesting as well.

“The idea of a new franchise is very intriguing to employees of the company,” explains Blizzard COO Paul Sams [Actiontrip]. “Are we ever going to release a new one? I would absolutely say we will at some point. I just don’t know when that day will be quite yet.”

The video posted above, has English subtitles for a reason according to the email sent to us from Onlinewleten, it was so loud in the background. Enjoy the trailer.

Thanks: Onlinewelen

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Fans of Blizzard’s popular RTS, Starcraft, have been waiting eagerly to get their hands on the highly-anticipated sequel almost since the first game came out. Well, if the internet rumblings are to be believed, they may not have to wait much longer. Right now, it looks like a handful of retail stores’ websites (specifically, Best Buy, Circuit City, and GameStop) are all showing a release date of December 3rd for Starcraft II. Granted, a retail chain pinning a release date on a game happens all the time, and is frequently proven wrong; but three chains with the same specific date at once? I guess a couple of them could be getting their information from one of them, but this is still a pretty unusual occurrence. This kind of bumps up the possibility of a 2008 release from “maybe, but don’t hold your breath” to “about 50-50,” in my book.

Via Joystiq

Blizzard usually produces games that can run on the majority of machines out there, but when you see footage from the upcoming Starcraft II, you have to wonder just what sort of machine you’ll need to run it. Well it seems the Spanish magazine, Micromania, recently took a trip to Blizzard’s offices and managed to unearth the system requirements for the game. Bear in mind though, that these are not the official specs for the game, as Blizzard has not verified any of them:

Minumum Requirements
GFX: GeForce 7/8 Series or Radeon 1000/2000 with 256 MB RAM
CPU: Pentium 4
RAM: 1 GB
Internet: ADSL 1 Mbit

Recommended Requirements
GFX: GeForce 8000 or Radeon 2000 series with 512 MB RAM
CPU: Core 2 Duo or Athlon X2.
RAM: 2 GB
Internet: ADSL 3 Mbit

Optimal Requirements
GFX: Geforce 9000er or Radeon 3000er Series
CPU: Core 2 Duo 3 GHz or Athlon X2
RAM: 2GB with DualChannel mode

Those are some fairly steep requirements for a Blizzard title, if these do turn out to be the final specs. Of course, by the time the game actually reaches store shelves, maybe they’ll be much closer to the norm.

Via Unofficial Starcraft 2 Forums

Blizzard has announced the next BlizzCon will be held this October in Anaheim, California. This will mark the third such convention, which has now expanded to two convention halls in order to accommodate more attendees. As usual, the whole event will celebrate all things Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo-related:

“Whenever we’ve been able to meet and interact with Blizzard gamers from around the world, it’s been a great experience for us,” stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re looking forward to seeing even more of our players at this year’s BlizzCon and delivering another entertaining and informative event for them.”

The event will rake place in the Anaheim Convention Center from Oct. 10-11.Tickets are expected to go on sale for $100 each in the next few weeks through www.blizzcon.com. Last year’s BlizzCon sold out quick, so if you’re planning to go, you’ll want to snag your tickets soon. And since Activision pulled out of E3, this will probably be the place where we can finally sit down and play Starcraft II (or possibly Diablo 3, if the signs are to be believed).

Via Press Release

The good folks over at Blizzard have launched their revamped online store complete with digital downloads, a beta lottery and CD key registrations.For the moment, the only games you can download digitally are the StarCraft Anthology, Warcraft III, and the WarCraft III Frozen Throne expansion, this is the first time any Blizzard game has been made available via digitally distributed releases - sans WoW of course. Plus, owners of Blizzard games can register their CD keys on the site which adds titles to their Blizzard account, and download them for free. Diablo II downloads are not currently ready, so you may want to check the site often.

Also, Blizzard is holding a beta lottery which will allow registered users to be entered into a drawing for beta access. This is so that users whose account is drawn will get the first shot at being part of the next beta they launch, which will most likely be their currently unannounced “Next-Gen MMO”.

Here is a list of PC titles that can be registered and downloaded from the Blizzard Store:

• Diablo II (coming soon)
• Diablo II: Lord of Destruction (coming soon)
• Diablo II Battlechest (coming soon)
• StarCraft
• StarCraft Battlechest
• StarCraft Anthology
• Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
• Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Expansion Pack

For more information on the Blizzard Store and the beta lottery, check out the official site.

Thanks: Shacknews

Cracked has compiled a list of video games that would have been awesome if they could just get off the ground. For the most part, I have to agree with their picks and comments on why they would rock and why they will most likely never see the light of day. I won’t ruin the fun for you by exposing all the titles. Beside some of those pics and videos are really great.

All of these games seemed like a really great idea at the time, but have been plagued with problems. For instance, the author strikes true on the subject of Duke Nukem Forever when he claims that “3D Realms seem to be stuck in some sort of time paradox where the more work they put into the game, the further it gets from being finished.” Some of the titles like Starcraft: Ghost have adapted to other media. Anabelle Terra aka Ghost agent Nova stars in her own manga series, “StarCraft: Ghost Academy”, based on the game concept. However there is at least one on the list that may yet see the light of day. Over on Diablo3.com and Blizzplanet there’s a countdown running; supposedly for a big announcement on Diablo 3 coming May 1st.

Check out “10 Highly Anticipated Video Games You’ll Never Get To Play” on Cracked.

StarCraft II continues the epic saga of the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg. These three distinct and powerful races will clash once again in the fast-paced real-time strategy sequel to the legendary original, StarCraft. Legions of veteran, upgraded, and brand-new unit types will do battle across the galaxy, as each faction struggles for survival.

Featuring a unique single-player campaign that picks up where StarCraft: Brood War left off, StarCraft II will present a cast of new heroes and familiar faces in an edgy sci-fi story filled with adventure and intrigue. In addition, Blizzard will again offer unparalleled online play through Battle.net, the company’s world-renowned gaming service, with several enhancements and new features to make StarCraft II the ultimate competitive real-time strategy game.

Features:

• Fast-paced, hard-hitting, tightly balanced competitive real-time strategy gameplay that recaptures and improves on the magic of the original game
• Three completely distinct races: Protoss, Terran, and Zerg New units and gameplay mechanics further distinguish each race
• Groundbreaking single-player “story-mode” campaign
• Vibrant new 3D-graphics engine with support for dazzling visual effects and massive unit and army sizes
• Full multiplayer support, with new competitive features and matchmaking utilities available through Battle.net
• Full map-making and scripting tools to give players incredible freedom in customizing and personalizing their gameplay experience

StarCraft II does not have an official release date for Mac or PC as of yet, so check back with us often.You can view more screens for the game here.

Tuesday was the day the internet went cuckoo. April 1st has always had a strange vibe to it. Some believe it is a day to kick back and have a few good laughs, but I see it as a day where you can’t trust anyone or anything. Nothing could have been more true of this past April Fools Day though, as it seemed the entire internet had come up with their own special practical joke. At first, it was pretty fun to come across some fake trailers and news bits poking fun at current events and the like. Unfortunately, it kind of began to wear thin as the day went on, and it seemed like every other website suddenly thought they were the cleverest bunch in the whole world. Still, some of them I have to admit were just classic. Thus, I’ve constructed this list of the Top Ten Online April Fools Jokes that I saw that day. Continue after the break for a glimpse into internet April Fools Day insanity.

Read the full article

The folks over at Blizzard are very amusing and today they released a batch of funnies in honor of April Fool’s Day - so don’t be fooled by the following additions to your favorite games.

First off, we have the new hero class: The Bard who after “ages spent singing of the heroic exploits of others, the bards of Azeroth are finally stepping into the spotlight on their own terms, proving once and for all that while just about anyone can pick up a sword or cast a spell, only a true hero can vanquish evil with the power of ROCK! ”

Next up we have the Diablo Pinata. Instead of being stuffed with candy it is stuffed with “fully functional replicas of iconic Diablo items and artifacts. Parents will be delighted to know that instead of the empty calories and sugar rushes yielded by typical piñatas, their kids will be getting additional exercise while they re-enact their favorite Diablo moments, such as the burning of Tristram or the slaughter of the Zakarum priesthood, all while using authentic weaponry from the game”.

Then of course we have the new “playable” class for StarCraft II, the Tauren Marine from the obscure planet of Azeroth which was “Found to harbor a dizzying selection of humans, mutants, and aliens in a state of perpetual superstition and conflict. The most physically imposing of these warrior races were the so-called ‘tauren,’ an anthropomorphic bovine genotype with super-human stamina, overpowered racial combat abilities, and bizarrely well-developed horticultural skills.”

Finally, last but certainly not least Blizzard has given us the gem that is World of Warcraft: Molten Core - coming to a console near you. According to the press release for this “must have” game of the future:

World of Warcraft: The Molten Core will include both single-player and multiplayer versions, fully loaded with nine different shapes (and possibly colors) representing the current World of Warcraft character classes. A future expansion will introduce a tenth shape, representing the death knight hero class. Blizzard also plans to include a full-featured voice-chat system, as well as a fully customizable user interface that allows players to personalize their joystick button with several different functions. A free attunement cartridge rounds out the offering, providing instant access to the complete World of Warcraft: The Molten Core entertainment experience.

Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: The Molten Core Collector’s Edition, also announced today, will include tinted cellophane TV overlays, further increasing the array of colors available to players. Additional Collector’s Edition features, as well as details on the upcoming World of Warcraft: The Molten Core beta test, will be revealed closer to release. World of Warcraft: The Molten Core will initially be available for the Atari 2600 platform, with plans for additional console systems to be announced in the near future.

Complete with concept art to the “actual” 2-bit graphics this one is the funniest of them all - complete with trailer.

Be sure and look around the internet folks, because somewhere within its bowels, some poor sap of a gaming site is going to take at least one of these seriously.

To get the full nonsensical effect of the hilarity, click here. Be sure and watch all the trailers - they are totally worth it.

How time files when you are having fun. Ten years ago March 31, 1998 StarCraft was released, and the RTS genre has never been the same.

I can not do this game justice with anything I say about it so I will let Blizzard do it themselves:

On March 31, 1998, Blizzard Entertainment released StarCraft, a revolutionary real-time strategy game pitting three powerful and distinctive races against each other in a war-torn galaxy. In StarCraft, the resourceful terrans, mysterious protoss, and relentless zerg find themselves in a confluence of events that has only one possible outcome: an epic war for conquest and survival.

The year of its release, more than 1.5 million copies of StarCraft were sold around the world, making it the bestselling PC game of 1998. To date, it has sold more than 9.5 million copies worldwide. A considerable number of those copies have been sold in South Korea, where the game continues to enjoy unprecedented levels of popularity.

Augmented with the essential Brood War expansion pack, StarCraft remains one of the most popular online games in the world. Its legacy as a cornerstone Blizzard Entertainment franchise as well as a classic of the real-time strategy genre was recently brought back into focus with the announcement of StarCraft II.

Here are some of the notable features of the original StarCraft:

* Three distinctive races, each with unique units, technologies, attributes, and abilities
* A unique single-player campaign that introduces players to the epic characters and gritty sci-fi setting of the StarCraft universe
* Fast-paced multiplayer play over Battle.net, Blizzard’s proprietary online gaming service
* The ability to create custom maps, units, and campaigns with the fully featured Campaign Editor

Multiplayer
StarCraft’s gameplay supports a wide range of player skill, with play at the highest levels characterized by elite multitasking and micromanagement skills, as well as precise tactics and consistent execution. This led to StarCraft’s rise as a competitive multiplayer game and its adoption by professional gaming leagues.

Battle.net, which was introduced alongside Diablo, evolved with StarCraft’s release, and was tremendously important in the game’s multiplayer popularity. Besides the existing matchmaking capabilities, ladder rankings were introduced, along with more detailed user profiles, including wins and losses.

As was the case with Diablo, the combination of compelling gameplay and well-implemented multiplayer support resulted in a dedicated and passionate player base.

Popularity
After its release, StarCraft rapidly grew in popularity around the world. In South Korea, it quickly became the preeminent multiplayer game in the country, and was instrumental in the rise of professional gaming there. The game is still as popular as ever in a country where top StarCraft players are celebrities and their competitive matches are watched by millions on national television networks.

The Brood War expansion, released in 1998, is an essential component of the StarCraft experience. In addition to a new single-player campaign, several new units and abilities were introduced, as were many game-balance changes that represented the new standard in StarCraft competitive play.

StarCraft II
On May 19, 2007, in Seoul, South Korea, Blizzard Entertainment officially announced the development of a sequel, StarCraft II. Continuing the story of the protoss, zerg, and terrans, the sequel intends to take the single-player and multiplayer strengths that were developed in StarCraft and elevate them to new height

So lets all raise our glasses to StarCraft. May it continue to give us enjoyment, and may Blizzard hurry the hell up with StarCraft II.

Source: Blizzard

Tickets for the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational Tickets are now on sale. Gamers from all over the world will be converging on Paris, France June 28-29, 2008 for this special event. Attendees will be treated to Q&A sessions, eSport competitions and a chance to get some hands on experience with World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and StarCraft II.

Tickets are priced at €70 / £55 for both days. You can order your tickets on the official Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational website.

Starcraft was probably one of the most popular RTS’s ever made. Even now, almost a decade after its release, people the world over are still playing it (especially in Korea, where it’s pretty much a sport all its own). How could anyone ever top something like that? I don’t know, but Blizzard’s certainly up to the task. In this video, lead producer, Chris Sigaty, explains how the Zerg have evolved in the upcoming sequel. One thing that’s sure to cause screams of anguish from your rivals is that all of the Zerg units can now burrow. Also, the queen has now been changed to a central defensive unit that can essentially add buffs to your units and buildings. It already looks like gamers everywhere are going to have to come up with new strategies for this one.

Honestly, I can’t get enough Starcraft II news. The other day, we posted a trailer for the game that was shown in Korea, but now you can actually see and view the trailer without the “shaky cam view.” In addition to that, there’s another trailer after the break showing more Zerg rushing action that focuses a bit more on the mutalisks. It looks like Blizzard wasn’t kidding around when they said there were going to be many more units on screen. It’s actually hard to even tell what’s going on in some of these battles.

Read the full article

It’s like some weird monthly ritual to have new information for the upcoming Starcraft II to suddenly spring up out of nowhere. In Korea recently, Blizzard revealed a new intro trailer for the Zerg which was pretty awesome-looking. Unfortunately, it’s shot off a screen, so it’s a little fuzzy and hard to hear. One thing’s for sure though: those Zerg rushes are going to be epic.

In a recent podcast from Blizzard (a.k.a. a “Blizzcast”), VP of creative development, Chris Metzen stated that the studio’s upcoming Starcraft sequel “feels like the best work we’ve ever done.” Considering this is the guy who created the storylines for the original Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo franchises, those are probably words that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Metzen went on to say:

“It’s been very, very rewarding to see this thing take shape. Just getting back to that Blizzard of yesteryear where it’s not all about WoW - don’t get me wrong, I love WOW! But we’re so much more than that.”

As someone whose never even touched WoW and still thinks Blizzard is one of the best video game studios around, I’d say he’s spot on in thinking they’re “so much more than that.” And I think I speak for just about everyone in the PC gaming community when I say, “You’re making a sequel to arguably the best RTS to date. It had better be your best work ever.”

At last week’s DICE event, one of the things that perked up many an eyebrow was a presentation by Blizzard execs where, at one point, they listed several games that had been canceled by the famed developer. Aside from the fact that most people had no idea Blizzard had ever worked on these titles, a number of people noticed the curious absence of Starcraft: Ghost on the list. Many people still remember the stealth-based shooter that would have players traveling through the Starcraft universe in the third person, particularly since it looked almost complete the last time it was seen before being put on “indefinite hold.” Well, MTV’s Multiplayer blog decided to go straight to the source and asked Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce whether the game was actually canceled or not. Pearce’s response:

It never was technically canceled. It’s just a focus thing for us right now. We’ve got a finite amount of development resources and a lot of different things that we want to focus on so there’s always the possibility, but right now we’re spending our time on “World of Warcraft” and our expansion “Wrath of the Lich King” and “StarCraft II.”

Translation: “World of Warcraft is so popular that we don’t really have to worry about any new games for awhile.” On the plus side, it looks like there’s still some hope for Starcraft: Ghost. It just might take a decade before it ever sees the light of day again.

Via MTV Multiplayer

At this year’s DICE summit, Blizzard execs, Mike Morhaime (CEO and Co-Founder), Rob Pardo (Senior VP of Game Design), and Frank Pearce (Executive VP of Product Development) spent some time talking about the company’s history in a segment called “From Developer to Worldwide Publisher.” While they naturally covered Blizzard’s history and their commitment to quality, the part that apparently had everyone buzzing was when they listed a number of games that had been outright canceled. The list was meant to illustrate that Blizzard is willing to halt development of a title if it doesn’t seem to be living up to their standards, and included some known titles like Warcraft Adventures (pictured), but also a few others:

• Games People Play
• Crixa
• Shattered Nations
• Pax Imperia
• Denizen
• Warcraft Adventures
• Nomad
• Raiko

Strangely enough, the once highly-anticipated title, Starcraft: Ghost, was missing from the list. No doubt, this is going to cause rumors of a coming revival to circulate throughout the internet for awhile.

Via Kotaku

These rumors of an MMO based on Starcraft keep springing up every so often, and every single time, my heart jumps. This isn’t a gleeful jump, mind you; it’s more the feeling you’d get if you’re car was careening over a cliff, and you realized your life was about to end. Nevertheless, it seems an online game operator in China, Netease.com, is claiming they are looking to enter the foreign market by licensing their services for “Starcraft Online,” which will be developed by Blizzard:

Caijing Magazine reported that the first foreign online game to be operated by Netease, which used to rely on independent R&D, will be Starcraft Online, developed by US-based Blizzard, quoting an industry insider as saying.

Netease CEO Ding Lei didn’t confirm the market saying, adding that the company is observing many online games and has not signed any formal license contract.

So basically, who knows just how reliable this information is? Right now, all we know is Blizzard is working on an MMO and early speculation (plus the fact that they haven’t worked on a new franchise in over a decade) suggests that it has something to do with either Diablo or Starcraft. We’ll just have to wait and see what new diabolical plot the folks at Blizzard devise to steal our lives.

Via Trading Markets [image via Penny Arcade]

If you played through the original Starcraft’s story in the right order, Jim Raynor was one of the first main characters you commanded. He was a marshal on the first Terran world the Zerg invaded and was an integral part of different battles against them, until the Confederacy tried to have him arrested and he turned rogue. After fighting against the Confederacy and gaining the trust of the Protoss, Raynor’s troops have now dwindled as they are constantly on the run from an old rival of his; which is where Starcraft II opens up. From the sounds of things, it seems Raynor is one of several “heroes” which will — I assume — function like the heroes in Warcraft III; providing buffs to units and casting spells and such. Frankly though, the game could be just a re-skinned version of Warcraft III, and I’d still buy it the day it came out.

Via Official Starcraft II Site

Here’s the biggest understatement of the day: Starcraft is pretty popular in South Korea. And by “popular,” I mean there are televised competitions, gaming leagues, and people who literally live in compounds where they train all day just to play Starcraft. So what’s the next step for the Koreans’ relationship with Starcraft? How about using it to teach people English? A publisher in Korea has actually published a book titled, “Starcraft English,” which runs through every shred of language in the game to help students understand the English language a bit more. The book explains every phrase spoken by the in-game units, breaks down their names into different parts to explain other words, and even teaches the meaning behind the game’s copyright info.

I guess it makes sense in a way. Since Starcraft was only released in English in Korea, this might be how many people are exposed to the language. Some might argue that random choice phrases from a science fiction game may not provide enough for people to get by in an English-speaking society, but I disagree:

“Hey, man, you want to go grab something to eat?”

“Let’s move!”

“Alright. Oh, man, it’s cold in this car.”

“Wanna turn up the heat?”

“Good idea. What sort of music do you want to listen to?”

“Rock and roll!”

“Sounds good. Okay, do you know what you want to eat?”

“My path is set.”

Sadly, I could continue this sort of conversation for quite some time, but I’ll spare you all.

Via Siliconera