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BlizzCon

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BlizzCon
The official BlizzCon logo
The official BlizzCon logo
StatusActive
GenreVideo gaming
VenueAnaheim Convention Center
Location(s)Anaheim, California
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated2005
Organized byBlizzard Entertainment
Filing statusCorporate
Websitehttp://www.blizzcon.com/

BlizzCon is an annual convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to celebrate their major franchises: Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo. The 2009 edition, featuring a live performance by Ozzy Osbourne, was held on August 21-22.

General information

The opening ceremony at the 2007 BlizzCon

BlizzCon first started in October 2005, held at the Anaheim Convention Center where it has been held since. Some features included the announcements of release of new content for their franchises, previews of content for upcoming games, and Blizzard developer Q&A sessions.

Throughout the days are hands-on experience of new and existing games, various panels related to the multiple franchises, and judging of the contests being held - including costume and songwriting. The closing night has held a concert, previously The Offspring and Blizzard's in-house band (whose members are employees) Level (10, 60, 70, or 80) Elite Tauren Chieftain.[1]

Everyone attending gets a "Goodie Bag", which consists of various items related to the Blizzard Franchises. For example, at the 2005 BlizzCon, there was a code that could be exchanged for an in-game pet from World of Warcraft, which was a baby Murloc named 'Murky'. As well, there have been passes to get in to the closed beta test of an upcoming Blizzard game - World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade from 2005, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King for 2007, and StarCraft II for 2008.

Tickets for the first three events wereUS$100 each for admission to both days of activities. For 2009 the price was raised to US$125. All of the extras in the gift bag, concerts, panels, and contests are included in the price.

The similar event is the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational and it can be held in other countries.

Past BlizzCon editions

Year Dates Number of attendees Major announcement Beta key Playable games Website
2005 October 28-29 8,000[2] World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade The Burning Crusade StarCraft: Ghost, The Burning Crusade BlizzCon 2005
2007 August 3-4 13,000 World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Wrath of the Lich King StarCraft II, Wrath of the Lich King BlizzCon 2007
2008 October 10-12 15,000[3] Diablo III Wizard class StarCraft II Wrath of the Lich King, StarCraft II, Diablo III BlizzCon 2008
2009 August 21-22 20,000[4] World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Diablo III Monk class StarCraft II (1000 invites) Cataclysm, Starcraft II, Diablo III BlizzCon 2009

BlizzCon 2005

Approximately 8,000 people attended the first BlizzCon, held 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. Playable demos of the single and multiplayer modes of the currently halted Starcraft: Ghost were available. 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.[5]. 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.[6] The other allowed players to obtain Murky, the pet murloc, in-game.

BlizzCon 2007

On April 12, 2007, Blizzard announced their second BlizzCon, taking place again at 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.[7][8] 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.[9] The second expansion to World of Warcraft, titled Wrath of the Lich King, was officially announced.[10] All attendees received a "swag bag" upon registration which included various items, including an access key to a beta test of an upcoming title (Wrath of the Lich King), 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[11] alongside Video Games Live.

BlizzCon 2008

On May 12, 2008 Blizzard announced the third BlizzCon to take place on October 10 and 11, 2008. Like previous years, it took place at the Anaheim Convention Center, and approximately 15,000 people[3] attended.

In the opening ceremonies, Blizzard president Michael Morhaime revealed the third playable class for Diablo III: the Wizard, as well as the major announcement that Starcraft II would be separated into three games.

Playable versions of Diablo III, StarCraft II, and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King were available for patrons to test for the length of the convention. As well, there were tournaments and competitions for the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, World of Warcraft miniatures game, StarCraft, StarCraft II, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and World of Warcraft arena.

As a major announce, Blizzard announced in a Starcraft II conference that the game will be released as a trilogy, the main game, and 2 expansions.

For the closing ceremonies on Saturday, Blizzard CEO Paul Sams thanked everyone for coming. After that, comedians Kyle Kinane and Patton Oswalt entertained the audience before Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftan came on stage for their performance. Closing out the night was Video Games Live, playing arrangements from all of the Blizzard games, and a brand new performance including the Wrath of the Lich King music.

BlizzCon 2008 was broadcast live on both days as a PPV event, for eight hours per day in high definition.[12] Official Blizzard fansite WoW Radio broadcasted live audio via shoutcast.[13]

BlizzCon 2009

On February 17, 2009, Blizzard announced their fourth BlizzCon, taking place again at the Anaheim Convention Center on August 21 and August 22, 2009.[14]

In an attempt to reduce frustrations linked to lack of ticket availability for previous BlizzCons, there will be four halls (increased from three) of space available.

Tickets went on sale on May 16 and May 30 2009. For this batch of ticket sales, Blizzard implemented an entirely new system designed to make buying BlizzCon tickets much easier than the previous year. The new system implemented an online queue, effectively creating an organized online "line" for anyone who wants to purchase tickets, an improvement on 2008's chaotic sale of Blizzcon tickets. The ticket queue system worked much more fairly during both the May 16th and May 30 sales though many did not get tickets due to quick sales time. There were, however, a number of browser related issues that caused a number of people to be unable to purchase tickets. For many, their queue stayed at the same spot no matter how long they waited, and others noticed their queue go up, effectively keeping them at the end of the line and preventing them from purchasing tickets. Blizzard also created a new flash game "Failocalypse" to play while waiting in line.[15]

BlizzCon 2009 was sold out in a matter of eight minutes when online tickets went on sale on August 7, 2009.[2]

Blizzard announced on August 11, 2009 that Ozzy Osbourne would perform live during the 2009 BlizzCon closing ceremonies.[16]

Television Coverage

As in 2008, DIRECTV carried both days of BlizzCon 2009 as a PPV event ($39.95 for both days) for eight hours per day in both standard and high definition. Coverage started on Channel 121 and 122 HD at 2PM ET / 11AM PT on both Friday, August 21, 2009 and Saturday, August 22, 2009. All BlizzCon 2009 Pay Per View event purchasers will receive an exclusive "Grunty the Murloc Marine" WoW in-game pet.[17] and have access to the online stream for no additional cost, provided they enter their DIRECTV account number into the stream site login.

Internet Stream

New in 2009, BlizzCon was broadcast live via an internet stream. The site covered both days of the convention featuring exclusive interviews and commentary, main stage presentations including the opening ceremony and tournament coverage with team highlights. All purchasers ($39.95 for both days) receive an exclusive "Grunty the Murloc Marine" WoW in-game pet. No DIRECTV subscription is necessary.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Blizzcon 2006 - Final report". WorldofWar.net. pp. page 2 of 2. Retrieved 2007-02-06. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  2. ^ a b Perry, Kat (2006-11-09). "BlizzCon 2005 - Part 1". techFEAR. pp. page 2 of 4. Retrieved 2007-02-06. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b BlizzCon 2008 opening ceremony speech, Michael Morhaime
  4. ^ http://news.bigdownload.com/2009/08/06/20-000-tickets-sold-for-blizzcon-2009-sold-out-in-just-eight-mi/
  5. ^ "BlizzCon Has Left the Building". Blizzard Entertainment. 2006-10-31. Retrieved 2007-02-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Closed Beta news- 09/27/06". Blizzard Entertainment. 2006-09-27. Retrieved 2007-02-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Protoss vs. Terran: Match-up Analysis". GameReplays. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-12-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Terran vs. Protoss: Match-up Analysis". GameReplays. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-12-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "BLIZZCON 2007 ANNOUNCED" (Press release). Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
  10. ^ "WORLD OF WARCRAFT: WRATH OF THE LICH KING UNVEILED" (Press release). Blizzard Entertainment. 2007-08-03. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
  11. ^ "BlizzCon 2007 Gaming Festival to Feature Comedian Jay Mohr" (Press release). Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
  12. ^ http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/dtv/?rhtml=y
  13. ^ Warcraft Radio
  14. ^ "BLIZZCON 2009 ANNOUNCED" (Press release). Blizzard Entertainment. 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
  15. ^ WoW Insider.
  16. ^ [1]
  17. ^ directv.com/blizzcon
  18. ^ BlizzCon 2009 Live
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