The company has decided to hold the next convention in 2013 to focus on finishing Diablo III, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria...

So that pretty much means none of those things will get done by the end of 2012, so Blizz will have nothing to show for a Blizzcon.

Papaw: since Titan is still a couple years off in development.

Blizzard's next-gen MMOG codenamed "Titan" will feature in-game ads to enhance the gameplay experience. (new window)

Sounds like a blast

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude: Papaw: since Titan is still a couple years off in development.

Blizzard's next-gen MMOG codenamed "Titan" will feature in-game ads to enhance the gameplay experience. (new window)

Sounds like a blast

Sounds like a free-to-play model...

I believe subby is correct.

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude: Papaw: since Titan is still a couple years off in development.

Blizzard's next-gen MMOG codenamed "Titan" will feature in-game ads to enhance the gameplay experience. (new window)

Sounds like a blast

Enhance? I don't think that word means what you think it means.

SWTOR killed Blizzcon and Blizzard knows this. They'd rather save themselves the embarrassment of being pwnd by Bioware.

Papaw: amindtat: So that pretty much means none of those things will get done by the end of 2012, so Blizz will have nothing to show for a Blizzcon.

No, it means they'll be releasing all of those in 2012 before Blizzcon would've happened. That means had they decided to hold the event they wouldn't have hardly anything to showcase since Titan is still a couple years off in development.

This is how I see it as well. If there's no Blizzcon this year, it means no big announcement - and since I can't see ANY of those things being so far off that there wouldn't even be a release date by October (except Titan, of course), it means they'll all be released by then, leaving them nothing to pimp as the Big Announcement!! for this year's Blizzcon.

Let's see...

Most of the top WoW guys left to work on Titan.

The Lead Producer of Diablo III just rage-quit after 5 years

Diablo III is having trouble with their Real-Money Auction house

It seems like Blizz-a-vision is turning more and more into Acclaim every day.

Wook: SWTOR killed Blizzcon and Blizzard knows this. They'd rather save themselves the embarrassment of being pwnd by Bioware.

I think they are fully aware they have peaked and are going to do their damnedest to not show it until forced to. They lost me for good halfway through Cata in WoW and turned me off so thoroughly that the first SC2 was the last game I'm probably ever going to buy from them. Diablo3 looks like the game will be great but all the crap around it is just going to piss me off. So I'll pass. I'm not saying they couldn't win me back as a customer, but they would have to reverse a lot of their current policies, and attitudes to do it.


Right now I play a little Skyrim, which is only an okay game in my book, and wait for Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet currently appears to be everything I want in a gaming company.

I do miss the old Blizzard. But nothing lasts.

Eve Online. The classic fall back.

Wook SWTOR killed Blizzcon and Blizzard knows this.

There aren't enough facepalms on the entire intertubes...

Blizzcon cancelled? I blame Ghostcrawler.

Technically they didn't cancel it so much as never schedule it.

BlizzCon wasn't originally going to be a yearly event when they conceived the idea prior to BlizzCon 2005. There was no BlizzCon 2006, then they had them every single year for 5 years in a row.

Still, BlizzCon 2012 would of been a logical time to announce Titan if the leaked product slate from a year or so back can be believed. Looks like they'll either push it to BlizzCon 2013, or announce it somewhere else.

LesserEvil: Wook: SWTOR killed Blizzcon and Blizzard knows this. They'd rather save themselves the embarrassment of being pwnd by Bioware.

Watch yourself... Blizzard fanboys are worse than Apple fanboys. Remember, these are the same people who willingly blow $40 on a 14 year old game, and drool over a sequel years in the making by none of the developers that made the first two games decent (they moved on to make Torchlight).

Well actually Blizzard fanboys have heard every single new MMO is the "WoW killer" for over half a decade now. After the 2nd or 3rd time this happens, it's pretty understandable that they would dismiss any new MMO as a potential "WoW killer".

As for Diablo 3, while I'm reserving judgement on that game specifically, the idea of a belated sequels made by different developers then the original has occasionally produced some incredibly good games. Case in point, Fallout 3.

fatalvenom: [i43.tinypic.com image 490x415]

I believe subby is correct.

Thanks for giving me an excuse to post this...

I enjoy her humor on Jay Mohr's podcast.

fatalvenom: [i43.tinypic.com image 490x415]

I believe subby is correct.

She's hearing him tell about Dolphin cocks for the 1,000th time.

Wook: SWTOR killed Blizzcon and Blizzard knows this. They'd rather save themselves the embarrassment of being pwnd by Bioware.

Have you actually played SWTOR? The original WoW engine looked better in 2004.

Boudyro: Wook: SWTOR killed Blizzcon and Blizzard knows this. They'd rather save themselves the embarrassment of being pwnd by Bioware.

I think they are fully aware they have peaked and are going to do their damnedest to not show it until forced to. They lost me for good halfway through Cata in WoW and turned me off so thoroughly that the first SC2 was the last game I'm probably ever going to buy from them....I'm not saying they couldn't win me back as a customer, but they would have to reverse a lot of their current policies, and attitudes to do it.

I'd like to add my 2 cents.

I am not going to purchase any more blizzard products barring a major change at the company. I am not certain exactly when it went downhill but let's face it, SC2 was uninspired. For such a longtime in developement it was basically no more than SC with updated graphics. Red Alert 3 released several years earlier is more advanced in its UI and its units more imaginative. Cataclysm....what were they thinking? Tol Barad is boring as can be, nothing more than a migration with no real need for strategy on the part of the defenders. The dailies are a bother and don't make any sense. Why are there all these mobs from both factions hostile towards both? Respawn rate is absurd as well. New zones were boring. New Battle grounds were lame. They homogenized the classes and turned my druid into a warrior.

I can only assume they have decided to do the bare minimum necessary to get people to shell out money.

SWTOR while not perfect has been engaging and kept me occupied. I have a few gripes here and there but ultimately it is a much better use of money than WoW. My only serious grip with SWTOR is that they should have copied the Global agenda model of combat where it was a cross between MMO and FPS. I think that model is superior. That being said I am still satisfied with the combat/pvp.

I don't know exactly how the future will pan out for MMOs but I imagine that WoW is going to fade as Everquest did.

Gergesa: SWTOR while not perfect has been engaging and kept me occupied

There's no real late-game content yet. Everyone I know gets bored @ 50.

netweavr: Gergesa: SWTOR while not perfect has been engaging and kept me occupied

There's no real late-game content yet. Everyone I know gets bored @ 50.

That seems to be a common complaint and I have heard it about every MMO(yes even WoW.)

I am more of a PvPer so my late game content consists of blowing up sith and it never really bores me to do so.

I looked at the website for Diablo III the other day, and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed with the classes they are offering. Of all the classes from Diablo II they choose to keep the barbarian? The new bow class doesn't look all that great either.

Wook: SWTOR killed Blizzcon and Blizzard knows this. They'd rather save themselves the embarrassment of being pwnd by Bioware.

WoW still pulls in 8-9M subscribers. SWTOR is estimated at having 1.5M subscribers.

Chuck Norris was born on May 6th 1945. On May 7th 1945 the Nazis surrendered.

I'm sorry, I was distracted, what are we talking about again? (new window)

Gergesa: I am not going to purchase any more blizzard products barring a major change at the company.

And that major change will be to drop Activision like it is a bad habit.

I have been playing Blizzard games since Warcraft. The last one I purchased was Wrath of the Lich King for WoW (I haven't played WoW in almost two years). I used to consider them one of the great companies, along the lines of Lucas Arts (give me an updated Xwing/TIE Fighter DAMNIT!), Interplay and Westwood back in the day....

I haven't bought SC2, and I don't plan to. I am not going to buy Diablo 3 either (despite still playing Diablo 2 from time to time). I don't like the direction the company is going, and I blame Activision.

I am displeased with you Blizzard, I have been a long time fan, but you have let me down recently, and I am telling you with my choice to not give you any more money.

/I'm sure they are weeping as we speak...

netweavr: Gergesa: SWTOR while not perfect has been engaging and kept me occupied

There's no real late-game content yet. Everyone I know gets bored @ 50.

I'm about to hit 50 tonight. I'm getting more nervous about what to do once I hit the cap everyday since I don't see more than 100 people on the Republic Fleet on at any given time during peak hours. Your post is reinforcing my fears.

Mike_LowELL: I'd say Wings of Liberty is a four-out-of-five game and is still pretty damn good, but the only separation between it and Browder's work on Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is the Blizzard marketing machine. As far as final product quality, they're roughly equal.

I'll have to take your word regarding SC2 development and the fanbase resistance to change.

I was comparing starcraft 2 to Red Alert 3, not to Red Alert 2. I will guess that you mistyped and put 2 instead of 3. I can't say that I agree with them being roughly equal games but that may be a subjective matter. Yes Blizzard does have quite the marketing machine.

Gergesa: Red Alert 3

While fun, 3 is no where as near as good as 2 IMO.

/at least they are making a new Generals

Gergesa: Boudyro: Wook: SWTOR killed Blizzcon and Blizzard knows this. They'd rather save themselves the embarrassment of being pwnd by Bioware.

I think they are fully aware they have peaked and are going to do their damnedest to not show it until forced to. They lost me for good halfway through Cata in WoW and turned me off so thoroughly that the first SC2 was the last game I'm probably ever going to buy from them....I'm not saying they couldn't win me back as a customer, but they would have to reverse a lot of their current policies, and attitudes to do it.

I'd like to add my 2 cents.

I am not going to purchase any more blizzard products barring a major change at the company. I am not certain exactly when it went downhill but let's face it, SC2 was uninspired. For such a longtime in developement it was basically no more than SC with updated graphics. Red Alert 3 released several years earlier is more advanced in its UI and its units more imaginative. Cataclysm....what were they thinking? Tol Barad is boring as can be, nothing more than a migration with no real need for strategy on the part of the defenders. The dailies are a bother and don't make any sense. Why are there all these mobs from both factions hostile towards both? Respawn rate is absurd as well. New zones were boring. New Battle grounds were lame. They homogenized the classes and turned my druid into a warrior.

I can only assume they have decided to do the bare minimum necessary to get people to shell out money.

SWTOR while not perfect has been engaging and kept me occupied. I have a few gripes here and there but ultimately it is a much better use of money than WoW. My only serious grip with SWTOR is that they should have copied the Global agenda model of combat where it was a cross between MMO and FPS. I think that model is superior. That being said I am still satisfied with the combat/pvp.

I don't know exactly how the future will pan out for MMOs but I imagine that WoW is going to fade as ...

It is probably going to be May at the earliest for a release on Guild War 2 but I highly recommend taking a look at it if you haven't already. They are shooting for that MMO/FPS type combat, and will have 5v5 competitive PvP, along with less formal server vs server vs server battles that go on for a couple of weeks at a time. Those battles are currently expected to be able to accommodate up to 2,000 players.

I was a lifetime feral Druid player on WoW and what turned me on to Guild Wars 2 initially is that pretty much every class is going to function in that flexible playstlye. ArenaNet has killed the traditional MMO trinity in favor of a new combat dynamic where cc is important but not game breaking, and fights aren't decided by who brought a healer. In fact almost all heals the game are self directed and those that aren't are usually AOE and/or weak.

All this is on top of what look like some excellent PVE, and you can skip leveling up completley if you just want to get into the competitive PVP. The game will be buy to play, and their micro-transactions are going to be cosmetic only.

There is tons more but I think I've geeked enough for one post . . .

Burr: [beefjack.com image 600x390]

I'm sorry, I was distracted, what are we talking about again? (new window)

Doing my best to forget about that until it's at least near completion.

/want so very badly

Boudyro: It is probably going to be May at the earliest for a release on Guild War 2

Y'know.... I liked Guild Wars, but Arenanet can suck it as far as I'm concerned. They supported the original game for all of three years, tops. Then they announced Guild Wars 2 and for years said exactly squat about it while continuing to completely neglect their existing game.

The only reason I play MMOs is the open, living world and that's the one thing they completely and utterly farked up beyond any redemption from start to finish in Guild Wars, so I just can't find any way to make myself even remotely interested in what they're doing anymore. Their original game was an atrocious disaster because they abandoned it and I have a hard time thinking the same won't happen to GW2.

fatalvenom: I believe subby is correct.

Now THAT's class.

/good lord, those are some ugly people

Boudyro: I was a lifetime feral Druid player on WoW and what turned me on to Guild Wars 2 initially is that pretty much every class is going to function in that flexible playstlye. ArenaNet has killed the traditional MMO trinity in favor of a new combat dynamic where cc is important but not game breaking, and fights aren't decided by who brought a healer. In fact almost all heals the game are self directed and those that aren't are usually AOE and/or weak.

I am most interested in Guild Wars 2 and will be looking at the engineer, elementalist, or hunter. Unfortunately they have not come out with a release date other than sometime in 2012.

The flexibility of the druid is indeed what drew me to it; my smuggler scoundrel has the same sort of feel to it. Ninja heals, some CC, some dot, so on and so forth. I am hoping GW2 will be good.

IFC is re-airing ACTION on Friday nights.

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude: Papaw: since Titan is still a couple years off in development.

Blizzard's next-gen MMOG codenamed "Titan" will feature in-game ads to enhance the gameplay experience. (new window)

Sounds like a blast

I heard it also includes in-game testicle shocking, you know to enhance the experience.

/didn't say it was a good enhancement, but you'll not likely soon forget it

Splinshints: Boudyro: It is probably going to be May at the earliest for a release on Guild War 2

Y'know.... I liked Guild Wars, but Arenanet can suck it as far as I'm concerned. They supported the original game for all of three years, tops. Then they announced Guild Wars 2 and for years said exactly squat about it while continuing to completely neglect their existing game.

The only reason I play MMOs is the open, living world and that's the one thing they completely and utterly farked up beyond any redemption from start to finish in Guild Wars, so I just can't find any way to make myself even remotely interested in what they're doing anymore. Their original game was an atrocious disaster because they abandoned it and I have a hard time thinking the same won't happen to GW2.

From what I've seen of the chatter around this new game, it started our as an expansion then morphed into something grander. They have also been working on it for an long time. Can't really say much else to it as I had no dealings with them prior to taking notice of this new game. I recently tried out the free demo of GW1 just to pick up a bit of the lore and it seems . . . old. . . but then again is is. The only thing I've really WTf'd about in GW1 is no jumping? Really?

BUt GW2 does look like the real deal, and if they pull any shenanigans they'll lose my business just like Blizz.

Boudyro: Wook: SWTOR killed Blizzcon and Blizzard knows this. They'd rather save themselves the embarrassment of being pwnd by Bioware.

I think they are fully aware they have peaked and are going to do their damnedest to not show it until forced to. They lost me for good halfway through Cata in WoW and turned me off so thoroughly that the first SC2 was the last game I'm probably ever going to buy from them. Diablo3 looks like the game will be great but all the crap around it is just going to piss me off. So I'll pass. I'm not saying they couldn't win me back as a customer, but they would have to reverse a lot of their current policies, and attitudes to do it.


Right now I play a little Skyrim, which is only an okay game in my book, and wait for Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet currently appears to be everything I want in a gaming company.

I do miss the old Blizzard. But nothing lasts.

Of course they peaked and don't want to show it. Why else do you think they're offering a free year of WoW with a Diablo 3 purchase? That will let them prop up their numbers for another year instead of showing just how many subscriptions they've been hemorrhaging (must have been an embarrassing year for them in 2011).

Vanilla Wow and TBC were awesome. Lich King was hella fun even as they dumbed it down too much. Cataclysm was an abysmal failure. Kung Fu Panda looks like it's going to be an Epic Fail. I left about 6 months ago and haven't looked back. It's a shame, because I loved WoW, but it just got too lowest-common-denominator - and I'm a casual player. I was fine having 2-3 tiers of gear I could never achieve because I didn't have the time.

Burr: [beefjack.com image 600x390]

I'm sorry, I was distracted, what are we talking about again? (new window)

Oh fark yes! I may have to buy a game on release day again. I don't think I've done that since Diablo II came out.

Sarah Palin's Conscience: fatalvenom: I believe subby is correct.

Now THAT's class.

/good lord, those are some ugly people

Hey he may be uggly but at least he's been in groping distance of JLH's boobies so he's done better than most ugly farkers.

Let me just say for those who think D2-D3 is not that big a change - you're flat out wrong. I've been playing the beta since Friends & Family and it's incredible. The baseline item hunt from D2 is there, but the skill/rune combination is incredible. I played GW1, and D3's skills have all the choices of that skill system multiplied by all the flexibility of wow/swtor talent trees.

There are some things that aren't significantly changed, primarily the whole concept of endlessly smashing bigger and bigger mobs searching for those few pieces of gear to let you better smash mobs. Then again, that's what made D1, D2 so addictive and fun.

nelsonal: Burr: [beefjack.com image 600x390]

I'm sorry, I was distracted, what are we talking about again? (new window)

Oh fark yes! I may have to buy a game on release day again. I don't think I've done that since Diablo II came out.

Yeah, my first reaction was "Oh, yay!, a new XCOM!" And then "wait, aren't they making one already?"

And then I read who the developer was...and almost fainted

/Despite Civ 5 being not as good as Civ 4 (even though I still play it), Firaxis (and Sid Meier) can do no wrong.

Carousel Beast: Boudyro: Wook: SWTOR killed Blizzcon and Blizzard knows this. They'd rather save themselves the embarrassment of being pwnd by Bioware.

I think they are fully aware they have peaked and are going to do their damnedest to not show it until forced to. They lost me for good halfway through Cata in WoW and turned me off so thoroughly that the first SC2 was the last game I'm probably ever going to buy from them. Diablo3 looks like the game will be great but all the crap around it is just going to piss me off. So I'll pass. I'm not saying they couldn't win me back as a customer, but they would have to reverse a lot of their current policies, and attitudes to do it.


Right now I play a little Skyrim, which is only an okay game in my book, and wait for Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet currently appears to be everything I want in a gaming company.

I do miss the old Blizzard. But nothing lasts.

Of course they peaked and don't want to show it. Why else do you think they're offering a free year of WoW with a Diablo 3 purchase? That will let them prop up their numbers for another year instead of showing just how many subscriptions they've been hemorrhaging (must have been an embarrassing year for them in 2011).

Vanilla Wow and TBC were awesome. Lich King was hella fun even as they dumbed it down too much. Cataclysm was an abysmal failure. Kung Fu Panda looks like it's going to be an Epic Fail. I left about 6 months ago and haven't looked back. It's a shame, because I loved WoW, but it just got too lowest-common-denominator - and I'm a casual player. I was fine having 2-3 tiers of gear I could never achieve because I didn't have the time.

I still miss TBC. It really felt epic when my guild downed all the bosses. I tried Lich King and Cata and found that it just couldn't match the feeling the first two games had.

Dinobot: Subby is a 'tard.

It just mean, like others have said, that Diablo 3, Mist of Pandaria and the next SC2 Expac are scheduled to be released before the traditional blizzcon dates, therefore really having no good material for a proper Blizzcon.

So yeah, Blizzcon 2013 should be all about Titan

From: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Blizzard-Diablo-3-Release-Date-Nearin g-38870.html (won't hyperlink for some reason)

Rumors were flying earlier this month that Diablo III would be released in the first week of February. However, Blizzard promptly denied that a date had been set. They're going to give themselves ample time to hype a launch date so you shouldn't expect the game so soon.

Last week Wilson announced that they were making several big changes to the game's items and stats. He also hinted at other major revisions to the game, which makes it seem less and less likely that we'll see the game until the summer.

"Our job isn't just to put out a game, it's to release the next Diablo game," said Wilson at the time. "No one will remember if the game is late, only if it's great."

Major revisions this late in the game? Blizz has never been timely with "major revisions." Wasn't scraping mana for focus for hunters originally slated for WotLK, then scrapped until Cata? Remember that much touted "Path of the Titans" alternate advancement system that got scrapped? Sorry, but I don't have much faith in D3 being released before October.

A challenger appears: I'm about to hit 50 tonight. I'm getting more nervous about what to do once I hit the cap everyday since I don't see more than 100 people on the Republic Fleet on at any given time during peak hours. Your post is reinforcing my fears.

People play Republic? Huh. Could be that my server is low pop...

/34 Sith Juggernaut
//this is now a SWTOR thread