Kotaku
Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational is back for the fourth year, and this time it's the Koreans who'll be spending enormous amounts of cash on air fare! Gaming press around the world are no doubt highly pleased with the announcement that this year's show is moving to Paris France, home of some excellent food, better wine, and millions of French people.
"We look forward to bringing the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational to Europe for the first time and sharing our latest news with players there," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment.The show will feature musical performances, a silent auction, discussion panels, developer signings, tournament gaming, and hands-on time with StarCraft II and the next Wow expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. I also have a sneaking suspicion that the new MMO we've been hearing so much about could very well be unveiled here, so get your asses to Paris on or around June 28th and 29th to be a part of what very well could be a bit of gaming history - or at least hang out with those friendly French folks.
2008 Blizzard Entertainment® Worldwide Invitational AnnouncedBlizzard Entertainment tournament and gaming event to take place in Europe over 28-29 June
MARLOW, UK. - February 11, 2008 - Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced plans to hold its fourth Worldwide Invitational in Paris, France on the 28th and 29th of June. The 2008 Blizzard Entertainment® Worldwide Invitational will bring the company and gamers together in a convention atmosphere, celebrating the communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft®, Diablo® and StarCraft® series as well as showcasing the skills of top eSports gamers from around the world. The first Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational to be held in Europe, the event will take place at Hall 5 of the Porte de Versailles Exposition Center in Paris.
"We look forward to bringing the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational to Europe for the first time and sharing our latest news with players there," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "In addition to the great tournament gaming that will be taking place at the event, we're planning an entertaining show for all attendees."
Open to gamers of ages 16 and up, or younger if accompanied by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult, the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational will feature exciting StarCraft, Warcraft III and World of Warcraft® invitational tournaments, with a variety of other activities over the two-day event, including:
* Discussion panels with Blizzard Entertainment developers
* Artist and developer signings
* Hands-on play with World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King™ and StarCraft II
* Merchandise and other products based on the Blizzard Entertainment game universes
* A silent auction
* Musical performances
* And more exciting activities to be announcedTickets for the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational are limited and will go on sale in the next few weeks at the price of 70€/£55 per ticket. Further information on activities, tournaments and ticket booking will be provided on the official 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational website at http://eu.blizzard.com/wwi08 as the event draws closer.
Comments
I doubt they will announce the new MMO, but I hope :)
Cool to see Europe getting some love, even if it is in France :P Nah, I love the country, been there several times.
PLEASE don't make Diablo a MMO...
Battle.net FTW
It's-a the in-ivitational, wa-ha!
@z357x: Dude, what's wrong with moar Diablo?
ewww france...it's full of french people >.<
though i would love to go to this for the games, food and art :/
Will Mr. T be there? If not no dice!
@Setzer IIDX: I would love a new Diablo but not in the shape of an MMO. A Star Craft MMO on the other hand, that might get me to buy into a new waste of my life hobby.
Geez, I knew her vag was well worn out, but big enough to fit an entire convention? That's just nuts...
France? woops! ^_^
I'm going to be in France at the time of this invitational.
Stupid Question: How would one go about getting INTO this invitational?
Note: I'm just a normal student with no crazy press release anything.
Nevemind... Didn't read whole article...
@ArgentAngel: Just do an agent 47 and kill one of the security team, nick his clothes get unlimited access to the event! It's easy! The fact that the security guard is French should make it just that little bit easier.
@ArgentAngel: Or you could just pay the fee...
@Irenicus-the one and only: Dude. Diablo IS an MMO. It has all the makings of it. All they have to do is take Diablo 2, make the social aspect a little bigger... and you have World of Diablocraft.
Diablo 2 is just pseudo-WoW. It'd be impressive for them to build an MMO out of it that's in any way significantly different to WoW. Though I suppose it could just be console exclusive so that the two games don't compete directly.
@r0bVious: Yep, and WoW is Diablo 3's spiritual successor, diablo 1=offline 2=online 3=WoW (mmo)
But I want a diablo where I can progress and play on my own and doing so offline. But maybe thats just me.
We already have a Diablo MMO (Moo?), it's called Hellgate: London. :D
*runs away*
@Irenicus-the one and only: Agreed, having to play online always killed WoW for me. Me and my mates are back to Diablo 2 now, and we hadn't played that since it first came out. Strangely enough, WoW got us into Diablo 2 :P
Since some people misunderstood -> it's invitational, because the competing players are invited(instead of having qualification rounds), not the attendees.
@Pombar: lol, ah, Diablo, such a great title, I hope they make a third and thats a game they could make for all consoles too.
Nice Picture! I see what you did there!
what a clever, clever picture for the story...
what about their first "night 'in' paris?"
Best use of Paris Hilton face ever.... I think.
More Diablo? yes, In an MMO format? Hell no!...
Now THAT annoying woman again.
Seeing as the event is a few months off I wouldn't be surprised to hear about the new MMO. On the other hand it wasn't that long ago since they announced Starcraft 2 so they might want to wait a bit.
@KnightRider:
Except shouldn't the box say World of Whorecraft?
What do Paris Hilton and the Hunter class have in common? They're both easy and played by everyone! RoFLcOpterLolOl0lunclelukedoodoobrown!
Wow. I'm sorry.
Anyone else bummed out that this almost assuredly means no Stacraft 2 and no Wrath of the Lich King until at least late summer? I was hoping for a surprise spring release for SC2.
On the up side...Worlds of Starcraft! Maybe! Please Bliz...?
@gaijira:
Considering the official site doesn't even have ANY zerg units on display, it's pretty safe to assume they've got a lot of stuff left to do.
Even after all the units are made, Blizzard does months and months of game balancing, as with the previous SC and WC games.
Plus there's the campaign maps to make, which is pretty hard to do if all the units aren't finished.
@Pezdispenser: @r0bVious:
Diablo and Hellgate are not persistent. That is what makes an MMO an MMO. Otherwise it is simply multiplayer.
70 euros for the entrance... it's twice the price of the burning crusade ^^
they better give away WOTLK and goodies to the visitors
When was the last time blizzard made a original IP? Sooner or later theres gonna be 200 starcrafts and 300 warcrafts till civilization crumbles and wow is still gonna be around.
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