Wrap-up: Starcraft II launch in Brisbane, Australia!

What better way to spend a Monday evening than with a wonderful reminder that Australia was one of the first in the world to get its hands on the new Starcraft II game. War is coming, but an Aussie victory is oh so sweet....

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Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty launches tonight, are you ready?

Starcraft II servers are already live in Southeast Asia and for those of us here in the states it’s a few hours left until we can grab our own copies of the game. Blizzard is planning midnight launch events so if you haven’t made up your mind about purchasing yet you can check out the info here regarding where the events may be taking place as well as some details on the larger event that Blizzard has planned in Fountain Valley, CA. You can also purchase and download the game online, but servers will not go live until approximately 12:00am July 27th. Fans have been waiting for a sequel to the original Starcraft for years now, and even though some may not like that this sequel is being released in three parts, is sure to fly off the shelves. Reports from the beta have been positive for the online matches,

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Blizzard teases fans with shiny Starcraft 2 trailer

I gotta say, before this trailer was released I was a non-believer. Yeah, it’s Starcraft 2. Yeah, it’s going to be awesome. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pssh. Heard it all before. This gives new players to the Starcraft universe an overview of what the story is in two solid minutes of cinematic and CGI goodness. Bow before this trailer and weep at its awesomeness and sheer beauty. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I have something in both my eyes. Starcraft 2 arrives on July 27. Get your copy at one of the many midnight launch events.

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Blizzard announces Starcraft II Midnight launch events

The time is finally here and the first installment for Starcraft II will be upon us in a matter of days! So it’s no surprise that Blizzard is announcing some midnight launch events. The official midnight launch for Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty will take place starting on July 26th at Fry’s Electronics at 10800 Kalama River Avenue in Fountain Valley, CA, with activities starting at 9 p.m. They plan to have a Q&A, live music, exhibition matches and Blizzard staff on site to sign people’s copies of the game. Both the regular and limited edition of the game will be available to purchase at the event. Can’t make it to Fry’s? Don’t worry as other stores across the country (and world!) will be holding midnight events. Probably not as elaborate as the one at Fry’s but I’m sure they’ll still be fun, not to mention you can snag your

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Blizzard releases a FAQ regarding Real ID

Today, Blizzard released a FAQ regarding some of the most commonly asked questions regarding Real ID. After the debacle that occurred when they were going to require users to post with their real names. Now thankfully they did back down from implementing that but since then users have been a lot more wary regarding what’s going on with Real ID. You can check out the whole of the FAQ here in the official forums. One thing I’m disappointed to see is that as of right now they have no plans to give users the options to change their display name from their real name to an online moniker. I will say that they seem to have a decent reason for it though: “…our goal in using real names is to ensure that players will be able to maintain long-term, meaningful relationships on the service for years to come. One way

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Blizzard scraps plans for Real ID forum identification

As quickly as this brouhaha started, it’s over. Plans to require Blizzard’s forum users to display their real names have been put on hold, due to extreme dissatisfaction from their legion of fans as well as other people from around the world. People went as far as looking up the names and information of Blizzard staffers and posting that on the forums themselves as well as outside blogs (one of which even listed contact information, home address and even more information on Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and his wife). In a post from Nethaera this morning, a message from Blizzard CEO Mike Morhalme said it pretty simply: We’ve been constantly monitoring the feedback you’ve given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. As a result of those discussions, we’ve decided at this time that real names will not be required

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Fly StarCraft II airlines

People aren’t kidding when they say that StarCraft is one of the most influential games in history. With the anticipation of StarCraft II release growing, it’s cool to see how people are celebrating. Jim Raynor from StarCraft II will be flying on the side of Korean Air for the next six months starting today. Two planes will have the StarCraft II logo on it as will four Korean Air Limousine buses. The Korean are serious about their StarCraft love. I’d love to see the day a video game is on the side of a plane instead of sports teams.

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“StarCraft II” Gets Its First TV Spot

Last night, during the NBA Finals, StarCraft fans got to see the first television ad for the latest installment of the game, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. It’s a short 30 seconds, with no actual gameplay, but to the addicts, that might be enough of a hit to tide them over until the game’s release on July 27. Or at least until the next commercial appears. There’s got to be more than one, right?

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Blizzard Entertainment Nets Broadcasting Deal with Korean Online Television Network GomTV

If you’re a StarCraft fan, you know that the game has a giant following in Korea. Blizzard is cashing in on this popularity in that country in a way that translates to a lot more than just games sold. An agreement with online television network GomTV gives the channel the rights to broadcast shows based on Blizzard games. For three years, they will be able to broadcast tournaments featuring StarCraft, StarCraft II, Warcraft III and World of Warcraft. Because finding a broadcast partner was important (South Korea has at least three networks dedicated to airing tournaments), Blizzard decided to go ahead and set up an official deal with an e-Sports broadcaster. Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard, issued a statement this afternoon about the contract. “With the release of Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty approaching, we decided we could not delay any further in finding a trustworthy partner who respected our

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StarCraft II Out July 27, Start Your Countdowns Now

Blizzard announced just now that the highly-anticipated StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, will be shipping to stores around most of the world starting July 27. After that point, it will also be possible to purchase the game directly from Blizzard. The sequel touts a new version of Battle.net, as well as a 29-mission campaign with challenge mode minigames and a player-tailored experience. For more information, visit the official website at www.starcraft2.com. To see what’s available in the special edition (that really, you should pre-order today if you want it), check out this article from last month.

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