BlizzCon

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BlizzCon opening ceremony
BlizzCon opening ceremony

BlizzCon is a semi-regular convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to celebrate their major franchises Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo. Some features of BlizzCon included the release of new content for their franchises, previews of content for upcoming games, and Blizzard developer Q&A sessions. Several contests are held including a songwriting and costume contests. On closing night, a concert is held featuring a comedian and Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain, a thrash metal band whose members consist of Blizzard employees.[1] In addition, attendees receive several gifts such as an in-game Murloc Costume and an access key to a beta test of an upcoming title (currently undisclosed).

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[edit] BlizzCon 2005

Approximately 8,000 people attended the first BlizzCon, held at the Anaheim Convention Center on October 28 and October 29, 2005.[2] For the first time, the general public were able to try the new races for upcoming expansion, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. A songwriting competition was judged by Jonathan Davis of Korn. Level 60 Elite Tauren Chieftain, comedian Christian Finnegan; and punk rock band The Offspring performed at the closing concert.[3]. Among other gifts, attendees received a card with two special codes. One code allowed the attendee to sign up for the The Burning Crusade closed beta test.[4] The other allowed players to obtain Murky, the pet murloc, in-game.

[edit] BlizzCon Invitational

Eight players of Warcraft III and StarCraft were invited to compete and seeded into a double-elimination, best of three match tournament.

StarCraft: Brood War seedings:[5]

  1. Lee Yun Yeol aka NaDa (Korea, Terran) (finished 3rd)
  2. Park Jung Suk aka Reach (Korea, Protoss) (finished 2nd)
  3. Hong Jin Ho aka Yellow (Korea, Zerg) (finished 1st)
  4. Kang Min aka Nal_rA (Korea, Protoss) (finished 4th)
  5. Christoph Semke aka Mondragon (Germany, Zerg)
  6. Brian Fransioli aka Assem (USA, Terran)
  7. Nick Perentesis aka Testie (Canada, random)
  8. Peter Neate aka Legionnaire (Australia, Protoss)

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne seedings:[6]

  1. Manuel Schenkhuizen aka Grubby (Netherlands, Orc)(finished 1st)
  2. Tae Min Hwang aka Zacard (Korea, Orc) (finished 2nd)
  3. Yoan Merlo aka ToD (France, Human) (finished 3rd)
  4. Sebastian Pesic aka Fury (Sweden, Undead)
  5. Zdravko Georgiev aka Insomnia (Bulgaria, Human)*
  6. Fredrik Johansson aka MadFrog (Sweden, Undead)
  7. Dennis Chan aka Shortround (USA, Night Elf)(finished 4th)
  8. Matthew Anderson aka Wizard (USA, Night Elf)
  • While traveling to the airport, Georgiev's taxi was hit by a drunk driver. Due to his injuries, he was hospitalized.[7] Matt Carrier, aka "Etched", replaced him. Carrier represented the USA and played the Human race. [8]

[edit] BlizzCon 2007

On April 12, 2007, Blizzard announced their second BlizzCon, taking place in the Anaheim Convention Center on August 3 and August 4, 2007. StarCraft II was allowed for public play, as single player or 2v2 as Terran or Protoss.[9][10] Much of the game was revealed and explained as well as Q&A with attendees. The Zerg race was, however, not unveiled at that time.[11] The second expansion to World of Warcraft, titled Wrath of the Lich King, was officially announced.[12] All attendees received a "swag bag" upon registration which included various items, including an access key to a beta test of an upcoming title (currently undisclosed), a Murloc suit for use in World Of Warcraft, and starter packs for the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game. Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain (who changed their name to reflect the new level cap in The Burning Crusade) and comedian Jay Mohr performed at the closing concert[13] alongside Video Games Live.

[edit] Blizzcon 2007 Tournament Winners

StarCraft:
1st) Ma Jae-Yoon aka “sAviOr[gm]”
2nd) Kang Min aka “Nal_rA”
3rd) Byeon Hyeong-Tae aka "IriS[gm]"

WarCraft 3:
1st) Olav Undheim aka "4K^Creolophus"
2nd) Kim Sung Sik aka "SK.ReMinD"
3rd) Manuel "4K^Grubby" Schenkhuizen

WoW 2v2 USA:
1st) Anujit "Anujit" Shastri and Christopher "Schmity" Schmidt

WoW 2v2 Europe:
1st) Matthew "Zalmah" Rider and Per "Lykke" Nielsen

WoW 5v5:
1st) MoB Gaming (US)
2nd) Nashwan (EU)
3rd) Team EG (US)

[edit] BlizzCon 2008

On May 12, 2008 Blizzard announced the third BlizzCon. Like previous years, it will take place in the Anaheim Convention Center on October 10 and October 11, 2008.[14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Blizzcon 2006 - Final report page 2 of 2. WorldofWar.net. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  2. ^ Perry, Kat (2006-11-09). BlizzCon 2005 - Part 1 page 2 of 4. techFEAR. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  3. ^ BlizzCon Has Left the Building. Blizzard Entertainment (2006-10-31). Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  4. ^ Closed Beta news- 09/27/06. Blizzard Entertainment (2006-09-27). Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  5. ^ StarCraft Bracket. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  6. ^ Warcraft Bracket. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  7. ^ Insomnia In Car Accident. SK-Gaming (2006-10-27). Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  8. ^ Day 1 - Set up. BlizzCon Coverage. WCReplays.com (2005-10-27). Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  9. ^ Protoss vs. Terran: Match-up Analysis. GameReplays (2007-8-5). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  10. ^ Terran vs. Protoss: Match-up Analysis. GameReplays (2007-8-5). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  11. ^ Blizzard Entertainment. "BLIZZCON 2007 ANNOUNCED". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  12. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2007-08-03). "WORLD OF WARCRAFT: WRATH OF THE LICH KING UNVEILED". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  13. ^ Blizzard Entertainment. "BlizzCon 2007 Gaming Festival to Feature Comedian Jay Mohr". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  14. ^ Blizzard Entertainment. "BLIZZCON 2008 ANNOUNCED". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.

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