No BlizzCon for 2012, Says Blizzard
No BlizzCon for you this year if you want Diablo 3, Mists of Pandaria and Heart of the Swarm out on time.
2012 seems to be the year of trade show death. First Microsoft said it plans to pull out of CES starting next year, then the company said that MIX would no longer be a stand-alone event. Now Blizzard has spun off Battle.net World Championship while canceling this year's BlizzCon convention. Not to worry though: BlizzCon will return in 2013.
"Blizzard Entertainment is proud to announce the 2012 Battle.net World Championship, a major global eSports event featuring some of the best pro-gaming competition in the world," the company revealed in an email. "Slated to take place in Asia toward the end of 2012, the Battle.net World Championship will host this year’s StarCraft II and World of Warcraft Arena World Championship tournaments. Blizzard gamers and eSports fans from around the world will be invited to attend and witness some of the most skilled pro players on the planet battle it out for cash and glory."
Ok, that's fine and dandy. But why can't we have a BlizzCon 2012? Simply put, Blizzard has a lot on its plate this year alone (aka a jam-packed schedule). Instead of worrying about an upcoming show, the company wants to focus on getting Diablo 3, the Mists of Pandaria expansion for World of Warcraft, and the second installment to StarCraft 2, Heart of the Swarm, into our hands as soon as possible.
That said, Blizzard is clearly forgiven for postponing the show for one year. Still, this will be the first year since 2006 without a BlizzCon on the event planner. The initial convention took place back in 2005, and then skipped over 2006. Since 2007, BlizzCon has resided at the Anaheim Convention Center in California in August or October every year since. And even though Blizzard charges for admission, the company usually runs the show at a loss.
More details about the 2012 Battle.net World Championship and BlizzCon 2013, including specific dates and locations, will be coming in the months ahead, Blizzard said.
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Kryan "...usually runs the runs the show at a loss." OH EM GEE. Blizzard actually doing something with the TRILLIONS of moneys from WoW subscriptions. /end of sarcasmReply -
alidan so, they are late regardless if it happens or not... just hire an outside party to setup blizcon, and have some of the important people go there and talk and such, it wont set you back weeks or months, days at worst.Reply -
officeguy No BlizzCon for you this year if you want Diablo 3, Mists of Pandaria and Heart of the Swarm out on time.
That is a deceiving headline since we all know Blizzard doesn't release its games "on time". -
southernshark Oh well, I can never attend anyway due to the odd time of year that it is scheduled. I don't know why they don't do it in the summer, when us teachers could actually go.Reply -
NuclearShadow A bit strange of a reason given. It's not like they take every single member of the developer team to the event. Even if a few key people went I doubt it would cause any real delays. I can imagine hardcore fans will be disappointed.Reply
the company usually runs the show at a loss
The event is basically a advertisement, its not even really about the consumers that attend but the media. Hold a event, the media talks about it equaling much more free advertisement in the end. Which raises product awareness with hype and thus sales. Just like any other form of advertising it will be a expense.
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ichbinhud Blizz is turning into a joke, they are busy working on Titan there next futuristic title, World of Warcraft 40KReply