Blizzcon 2010: Diablo 3, WoW Details

By Tomshardware
published

Blizzard Entertainment kicked off its annual BlizzCon expo with a bang and some rumbling with news on Diablo III and the upcoming expansion for World of Warcraft, Cataclysm.

Chris Metzen, senior vice president of creative development at Blizzard, was the host of the keynote. After a lot of playing to the audience, and a little bragging on Blizzard's part (20 years of operation, 12 million WoW players, etc), he announced news on the next WoW expansion. 

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Cataclysm is scheduled to go on sale December 7, but current WoW players can download the purchase and software in advance, so as soon as it goes live on the 7th, they can begin playing immediately. The software will sell for $40, or $80 for a Collector's Edition box set.

Metzen then announced the final Diablo III class. Four of Diablo III's five classes have been revealed, and the opening keynote was the launch pad for the fifth class. Via a highly rendered video, the Demon Hunter class was introduced as a cross between a traditional RPG ranger and a vampire hunter. It used all ranged weapons, including dual crossbows in the video.

Finally, Metzen announced Diablo III would also feature PvP play, from single player to three-on-three play. He concluded his keynote with a very loud, bass-heavy animation of Deathwing, the main dragon in Cataclysm, that featured a lot of Zeratul-like preposterous dialogue and serious subwoofer action.

StarCraft 2 fans were tossed a bone, but one without much meat on it. No details on the StarCraft 2 expansion, but Blizzard does plan to release four new maps to Battle.net in the coming months. All of them are themed, one is a double entendre and the other three play on popular games. Auir Chef (Iron Chef, get it?) is a Protoss level, Left 2 Die evokes "Left 4 Dead," StarJeweled plays on BeJeweled, and Blizzard DotA is a poke at Defense of the Ancients from Valve (which in turn comes from WarCraft III). 

Tomshardware
Tomshardware

Tom's Hardware is the leading destination for hardcore computer enthusiasts. We cover everything from processors to 3D printers, single-board computers, SSDs and high-end gaming rigs, empowering readers to make the most of the tech they love, keep up on the latest developments and buy the right gear.

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44 Comments Comment from the forums
  • eklipz330
    god they have so much money

    so i heard the next starcraft expansion is not going to be announced for a long... long... long time. this is what happens when a company has too much money
    Reply
  • kriswitak
    May I please have Diablo III now? WoW players have their game, now I want mine.
    Reply
  • linford585
    eklipz330god they have so much moneyso i heard the next starcraft expansion is not going to be announced for a long... long... long time. this is what happens when a company has too much money
    Or when a company doesn't come out with a game until they think it is perfect.

    Heard of "Valve time?"
    http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve_Time

    Blizzard works on "Blizzard time" as well ;).

    It will be done when it's done.
    Reply
  • LongLiveRock1974
    I was hoping for a release date. I pre-ordered my copy of Diablo 3 back on 2/25/2010.
    Reply
  • montezumaa
    The Demon Hunter video was made using the Starcraft 2 game engine; it was not "highly rendered". The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Cinematic Introduction( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq4Y7ztznKc ) video is a "highly rendered" video. Check your facts before you publish your stories.

    Diablo will probably be out around Christmas of 2011, or the beginning of 2012.
    Reply
  • montezumaa
    linford585Or when a company doesn't come out with a game until they think it is perfect.Heard of "Valve time?"http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve_TimeBlizzard works on "Blizzard time" as well .It will be done when it's done.
    Yes, we all know about how Blizzard(and other companies) takes their time to make sure they get their products right. The problem is that Blizzard will not be able to take their sweet time forever. Eventually, Activision will grow tired of having to wait so long for a product, and the company will start slashing people from the payrolls and bring in people who will release games at a much faster rate, which will(probably) result in lesser products.

    At some point, the amount of time is takes Blizzard to go from concept to finished product starts get ridiculous.
    Reply
  • linford585
    montezumaaYes, we all know about how Blizzard(and other companies) takes their time to make sure they get their products right. The problem is that Blizzard will not be able to take their sweet time forever. Eventually, Activision will grow tired of having to wait so long for a product, and the company will start slashing people from the payrolls and bring in people who will release games at a much faster rate, which will(probably) result in lesser products.At some point, the amount of time is takes Blizzard to go from concept to finished product starts get ridiculous.
    Possible, yes, however I'm not so inclined to agree with you there... Yes, I am not a fan of the Activision/Blizzard merger, and I do feel Activision is pretty much just there for the money - but I still think they will let Blizzard do what they do best - make that money.

    Lots of products faster doesn't always mean more money.
    Reply
  • Hunter_Killers
    It's mostly to do with their iterative development process, if something isn't working or they flat out don't like they aren't going to try to bandaid it repeatedly or leave it that way.

    Of course the same can't be said for actually released/in beta games.
    Reply
  • dkant1n
    I don't find those pics very impressive considering the time they've been working on it
    Reply
  • prozium42
    montezumaaThe Demon Hunter video was made using the Starcraft 2 game engine; it was not "highly rendered". The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Cinematic Introduction( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq4Y7ztznKc ) video is a "highly rendered" video. Check your facts before you publish your stories.Diablo will probably be out around Christmas of 2011, or the beginning of 2012.
    Can you give a link referring to the use of the starcraft 2 game engine being used for any of the diablo 3 stuff? I'm not saying its impossible but based on watching each D3 video it looks more like their more or less putting you at eye level in the D3 engine with some editing/higher detail(such as the fire on the demonic symbol in the DHunter video).

    Reply