Diablo III Shipping Before End of Q2
Gamers everywhere are anxiously awaiting the release of Blizzard’s Diablo III. This game is expected to take what we’ve come to know and love from the first 2 games and combine it with high definition graphics and a whole slew of new features. However, while we’ve seen pretty much everything there is to see in regards to Diablo III we still do not have a solid release date. This should come as no surprise considering Blizzard very rarely speaks of a game’s release date unless it’s in the very near future.
Luckily, during a recent earnings call, Blizzard announced that they have every intention of releasing Diablo III before the end of Q2 2012. This means that we will, in theory, be seeing Diablo III at some point before the summer rolls around. This should come as great news for those looking to spend their entire summer grinding away at the game.
Unfortunately there’s no telling when exactly Diablo III will be out so we’ll have to keep you posted as more information is made available.
[Kotaku]
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Diablo 3 Definitely Coming to Consoles?
Diablo 3 is one of the year’s most anticipated games. Not only has the Diablo franchise been one of the most iconic online dungeon crwalers of all time but its’ been nearly a decade since the last title was released. Unfortunately for us, Blizzard has pulled the usual card keeping very quiet in regards to a release date for the game.
While we already know that Diablo 3 will obviously be released for the PC, we’ve heard rumors that it would also be making its way to consoles. Well, it seems that Blizzard has officially confirmed this today. As the story goes, a Twitter user contacted Blizzard’s Micah ‘Bashiok’ Whipple via Twitter asking if the game will make its way to consoles to which Whipple replied:
Yup. Josh mosqueira is lead designer for the Diablo console project.
Of course, he didn’t exactly say that Diablo 3 as we’ve come to know it will be making its way to consoles nor did he mention what consoles the game will be making its way to. Either way, it seems very likely that we will see the Diablo franchise make the jump to consoles at some point in the near future.
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EverQuest II Switching to Free-to-Play, World of Warcraft Next Following Decreasing Subscriber Count?
The heyday for subscription based MMORPGs may be coming to an end. In a monumental move, the folks behind EverQuest II have announced that they will be completely transitioning the game to a free-to-play model. Of course Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has to make money some way which is why they will still be offering paid subscriptions that give some additional perks including silver priced at $9.99 a month and gold priced at $14.99 per month.
Right off the bat we’re able to tell that this will be a great way to lure players into the game, get them addicted and then force them to pay up for a more complete gaming experience. On the other hand it’s a great way for players to try the game out without spending money that may be wasted if they later find out the game isn’t for them.
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Diablo 3 to Appear on Video Game Consoles
BlizzCon ’11 is well underway and already we’ve been gifted with a wealth of information. Thus far, we’ve learned of Diablo 3′s limited Edition, World of Warcraft’s next expansion and even the fact that yearly WoW subscribers will be able to net Diablo 3 free of charge. But, if you were to think the announcements would end there you would be terribly mistaken as Blizzard has one again taken center stage to give future Diablo 3 addicts something to look forward to.
Fans of the series will know that the only platform supported over the years is, of course, the PC. Well, if you couldn’t already guess, Blizzard is looking to change all of that by extending support to popular video game consoles. Yes, that does mean you will be able to play the highly anticipated game from the comfort of your couch thanks to the efforts of a newly founded console team at Blizzard.
As of now, the company has not disclosed any information as to what consoles the game will appear on. But, they did take this time to reaffirm their dedication of heavily supporting consoles. Does this mean we will see other popular Blizzard properties such as World of Warcraft and StarCraft hit consoles? Possibly, but only time will tell for sure.
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Starcraft 2 closed beta this month
As every day comes to an end, Starcraft II‘s release date draws nearer. Need some proof? During a recent earnings call, Blizzard’s CEO Mike Morhaime confirmed that a closed beta for Starcraft II will go live later this month.
Additionally, Morhaime let us know that the game is currently on track for a mid-2010 release. That’s if it doesn’t get delayed, of course.
Unfortunately, there was no word on when (if ever) an open Starcraft II beta would be made available.
via vg247
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