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15 CommentsWorld of Warcraft and its expansions discounted, grab them all for $30
By Griffin McElroy on Jun 19, 2013 06.19.13
World of Warcraft and its four expansions are all on sale through the weekend, giving new players a chance to catch up to the latest expansion, Mists of Pandaria, for $30 in total. The World of Warcraft Battle Chest, a bundle which includes the core game and its first two expansions, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King, has been marked down 75 percent to $5, as has the game's third expansion, Cataclysm. Pandaria still sells for a bit more than its predecessors, costing shoppers an even $20, down by 50 percent from its standard $39.99 price tag. The discounts expire Tuesday, June 25 at 2.59 a.m. ET, so any potential Azerothian explorers should grab them before then.
News
7 CommentsWorld of Warcraft introducing a social Raid type, Flexible Raiding
By Jenna Pitcher on Jun 07, 2013 06.07.13
World of Warcraft will be receiving a new type of raid called Flexible Raiding in upcoming content update Patch 5.4 to provide a better experience for social groups and casual WoW gamers, according to an update posted on Battle.net. The new raid type will cater to smaller guilds who like to take as many members as possible on raids and social groups consisting of friends and family. Currently, World of Warcraft offers three types of raids: Normal, Heroic and Raid Finder. The new Flexible Raid system's difficulty will be between Raid Finder and Normal difficulty and will support groups of 10-25 players. "During the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, the 10-player Normal difficulty served these groups of players pretty well, but the unification of 10-player and 25-player into a single...
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12 CommentsWorld of Warcraft film to start shooting in 2014
By Dave Tach on Jun 03, 2013 06.03.13
The film based on Blizzard's massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft will begin shooting in early 2014, producer Charles Roven told SlashFilm. Roven, who served as producer on films including Man of Steel, The Dark Knight and many more, disclosed Legendary Pictures' plans in an interview last week. "First quarter 2014 we're going to shoot that movie," Roven said. "We're moving forward. Obviously, Legendary is making that film and I'm having a great time with Duncan [Jones]." Jones (Moon, Source Code) was revealed as the director of the live-action adaptation of Blizzard's MMO in January, taking over after Sam Rami (Spider-Man, The Evil Dead) left the project. Last August, Legendary announced that Charles Leavitt (Blood Diamond, K-PAX) would write the...
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16 CommentsDARPA is developing a video game-like program to make cyberwarfare easy
By Jenna Pitcher on May 28, 2013 05.28.13
For the past year, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Pentagon have been working on a touch-based video game-esque program called Plan X aimed to make cyberwarfare easy, according Wired. DARPA believes the "digital battlefield has to be as easy to navigate as an iPhone" and "attacks have to be as easy to launch as an Angry Bird." The project is headed by cybersecurity specialist and Plan X creator, Dan Roelker. "Say you're playing World of Warcraft, and you've got this type of sword, +5 or whatever. You don't necessarily know what spells were used to create that sword, right? You just know it has these attributes and it helps you in this way," Roelker told Wired. "It's the same type of concept. You don't need the technical details." According to Wired, the current...
News
1 CommentWorld of Warcraft patch 5.3 notes released ahead of May 21 roll out
By Jenna Pitcher on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
Full patch notes for Blizzard Entertainment's 5.3 patch Escalation for World of Warcraft are available ahead of the patch's roll out on May 21, the studio revealed today. The patch will add four new Scenarios, along with a new Heroic mode for the four as well as for two existing Scenarios. The patch will also introduce Loot Specialization, a feature that offers players more control with off-spec loot drops. Along with general bug fixes, the patch notes offer in-depth detail on the changes made to the game's numerous components, including bug fixes, pet battles, dungeons, scenarios and PvP. Blizzard also has a patch 5.3 Escalation information hub where players can catch up on the patch's content and features and prepare for the roll out. The game's last update, patch 5.2 The Thunder...
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0 CommentsActivision posts 'better-than-expected' Q1 2013 earnings, but is cautious about rest of year
By Samit Sarkar on May 08, 2013 05.08.13
Activision reported "better-than-expected" financial results for the first quarter of 2013 today, but according to CEO Bobby Kotick, the company expects to encounter a more challenging back half of the year. The publisher brought in net revenues of $1.32 billion during the quarter that ended March 31, a 13 percent improvement over the same period in 2012 and 14.1 percent ahead of the company's projections. Activision also showed a marked year-over-year jump in net income from $384 million to $456 million, a 13.75 percent increase. Activision's earnings were buoyed by the impressive sales performance of StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm, which was the top-selling Windows PC game in North America and Europe even though it launched with three weeks left in the quarter. In addition, Diablo...
News
76 CommentsWorld of Warcraft loses 1.3 million subscribers over three months
By Alexa Ray Corriea on May 08, 2013 05.08.13
Massively multiplayer online title World of Warcraft lost approximately 1.3 million subscribers over three months, Activision Blizzard announced today in an earnings report. According to the company, the game "remained the number one subscription-based MMORPG in the world" and retains more than eight million subscribers. However, users declined by more than a million across the globe between January and March. The drop-off was seen mainly in the East, but there were declines in the West as well, the company said. "And while we do believe further declines are likely, and we expect to have fewer subscribers a year than we do today, World of Warcraft remains one of the most successful franchises in the history of entertainment," said Kotick. Kotick said that the company plans to release...
Culture
1 CommentWorld of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria limited edition mahjong set available for pre-order
By Alexa Ray Corriea on May 06, 2013 05.06.13
Chinese internet company and World of Warcraft regional publisher NetEase is now taking pre-orders for a limited edition World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria-themed mahjong set, the company has revealed. Each set costs 1,288 renminbi ($209) and includes a fully playable mahjong game, complete with tiles, table mats featuring WoW game maps, dividers and chips, all in a thematic wooden carrying case. The board's decals are designed to look like artwork straight out of World of Warcraft, with a color palette reminiscent of that used for structures and environments in Mists of Pandaria. According to a listing on the NetEase page, only 1000 of these mahjong sets will be made available worldwide, although the set only appears to be sold through the Chinese-based company. More photos,...
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1 CommentWorld of Warcraft patch 5.3 adds new Scenarios, Heroic mode
By Samit Sarkar on May 02, 2013 05.02.13
Blizzard Entertainment's upcoming 5.3 patch for World of Warcraft will add four new Scenarios and a new Heroic mode for them as well as for two existing Scenarios, the studio announced today. The four Scenarios are "Blood in the Snow," in which you assist with the defense of the dwarven capital; "Dark Heart of Pandaria," a cleanup mission in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms; "Secrets of Ragefire," in which you help the Gob Squad track a kidnapper; and "Battle on the High Seas" (screenshot above), a naval battle between the Horde and Alliance. World of Warcraft's new Heroic mode is a tougher difficulty setting that's available for the aforementioned Scenarios and for "Crypt of Forgotten Kings" and "A Brewing Storm." Queuing for Heroic mode requires an item level of 480, and a few hardy...
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6 CommentsLife of Pi Academy Award winner hired as VFX supervisor for World of Warcraft film
By Emily Gera on Apr 26, 2013 04.26.13
The long-in-development film adaptation of World of Warcraft now has a newly hired VFX supervisor, Academy Award winner Bill Westenhofer, it was announced today by Blizzard's Nick Carpenter. Westenhofer's career in film includes work on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Elf and Men in Black 2; however, he is probably best known for his Academy Award win for Achievement in Visual Effects for his role in leading hundreds of digital artists on The Golden Compass. Most recently Westenhofer led the Rhythm & Hues creative team on the film adaptation of Life of Pi, for which he was also awarded an Oscar. Taking to Twitter today, Blizzard's vice president of art and cinematic development Nick Carpenter announced the news, stating: "Had my first meeting with the...
