Yeah, it's iTunes and you'll be downloading an .M4P file, but factor "free" into your whining about that — and be thankful you're not downloading that old Blizzard downloader thing! Thanks to all who tipped us on the free music news.

Diablo III Overture [iTunes Store]

Currently the service mainly services Europe, South America, and a few bits of Asia, so those of us in the U.S. will have to make due with obsessively humming the theme song to WoW until allowances are made.

Blizzard Mobile Store [Official Site via WorldofWar.net]

We got one of those non-answers that was very telling. "We haven't announced anything about what will be playable at Blizzcon," a Blizzard rep told us. Inconclusive, yes, but delivered with one of those smiles that one frustratingly can't print.

It sure sounds like Blizzard is working to bring a playable copy of Diablo III to BlizzCon this year, but we realize that things can change at the last minute. However, if you're going to the 'Con in Anaheim this year, don't be surprised if you're knee deep in hellspawn and rainbows all weekend.

Diablo III lead designer Jay Wilson says the reason is simple. The Barbarian in Diablo II could've been better. He was a bit more diplomatic in his dissing, saying that the brute force attack class had "room for improvement."

There's one class that definitely won't be coming back for another appearance in Diablo III. And Wilson says that it was because that class was just shy of perfectly designed.

The Necromancer, he said, was simply a victim of his own success. He was just too well crafted as a character, something that Wilson's Blizzard design cohorts, current and former, likely don't mind hearing. Necro fans on the other hand, probably won't be too thrilled to learn of his disappearance, despite the Witch Doctor class's similarities.

Wilson says that there are absolutely no plans to bring back any other classes in the initial release, but, given that Blizzard wasn't breaking any news at Games Convention, wouldn't dish any details on what the remaining three classes will be.

We have a sneaking suspicion that Blizzard will take advantage of its own event, BlizzCon, to make such an announcement. (C'mon, Bard! We really want to serenade Diablo's minions to death.)

The good news is that Blizzard plans to unveil the opening cinematic movie for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King at the big show. They also will be hosting a Q&A session following the airing on Thursday. Blizzard also plans to have more hands on time with StarCraft II and Lich King as well as other Q&A sessions with members of the StarCraft II and Diablo III teams.

Make sure to check back here starting Wednesday for our in-depth and live coverage of the biggest and best public gaming show in Europe (personally, i think the world).

While you might think developer panels are dry stuff, the descriptions indicate otherwise. One Diablo III panel, for example, hints strongly that we'll get a look at new classes beyond the Barbarian and Witch Doctor.

The Diablo III Game Design session promises "new and exciting features the upcoming sequel", which we find attractive because new and exciting things are what we live for, and one StarCraft II panel is listed as hosting a developer led live demo. A similar session last year spelled out a host of new features and unit details.

On the World of Warcraft side, BlizzCon will give players a peek into "current and future plans" for WoW PvP in one panel, a "unique opportunity to glimpse future dungeons currently in development" in another.

Here's the full list, so you can pick and choose which sessions you'd like to attend, you lucky ticket holder, you.

- Diablo III Class Design
- Diablo III Game Design
- Diablo III – Lore and Art
- StarCraft II Gameplay
- StarCraft Lore
- StarCraft II Art
- World of Warcraft Class Design
- World of Warcraft PvP
- World of Warcraft Art
- World of Warcraft Dungeons & Raids
- World of Warcraft UI and Mods
- Blizzard Cinematics
- Blizzard Sound and Music

Panels [BlizzCon 2008]

Last night they released a final batch of tickets around 11:00 PM Eastern, and I once again had the tickets in my cart before the website timed out, coming back minutes later to let me know the items in my shopping cart were now sold out, causing me to wake the neighbors with the very loud shouting of a word that rhymes with duck.

To say the ticket launch was handled badly is an understatement. While I can understand how a game with so many millions of players is going to stress a system when only 14,000 or so tickets go on sale, but this was completely ridiculous. Thousands of people spent Monday refreshing the website, hoping that their sale would go through, putting tickets into your shopping cart didn't reserve tickets for you for even a minute, customer service reps at the Blizzard phone support line were telling fans on Tuesday that tickets were being released in batches, which didn't seem to be the case...it was just a total mess.

Meanwhile the forums are filled with players threatening to leave the game (they won't), trolls making fun of the people complaining, and the odd person gloating that they actually received one of the coveted tickets. Don't even get me started about the assholes on eBay.

The whole situation stinks, and while I am still planning on attending, most of the people I was going to catch up with while I was there won't be. Perhaps next year Blizzard could hold some sort of lottery, giving random players a chance to purchase tickets, rather than expose their inability to properly handle a flood of website traffic.

We’re not saying this is the end of the ‘Diablo’ universe, but we are trying to bring this story line to a close. It’s not just Diablo III -— we’ve got plans beyond.

Is anyone really surprised? Anyone? No?

Designer: ‘Diablo III’ Rounds Out Trilogy, But Not The End Of ‘Diablo’ [Multiplayer]

That's the bad news. The good news is that Blizzard has "a small reserve of tickets left" which will be going up for grabs tonight, August 12 at 8:00 PM PDT. Even with the larger crowd accommodation and the $100 ticket prices, expect whatever's left to sell out at lightning speed.

And expect even more grumbling and griping in the official Blizzard forums when they do.

Likewise, if a chap wants to master the power of sorcery then that chap shouldn't feel as though wearing a revealing dress is his only option.

Good news, then, that Blizzard has decided to move the Diablo franchise into the 21st century and make any Diablo III character class playable by either sex. Granted, it just means doubling the number of character models but it is stiill a nice gesture towards sort-of-realism.

For my money, though, it doesn't go far enough. Where are all the transgendered Necromancers? Don't oppress us, Blizzard!

Designer: ‘Diablo III’ Gender Choice A ‘Big Debate’ [MTV Multiplayer]

I'd urge everyone to keep trying, but that's not what I really want. I need everyone to stop trying for about 15 minutes so I can get a pair of tickets, and then continue your regularly scheduled Blizzard store onslaught.

Order Your BlizzCon 2008 Tickets Here [Blizzard Store]

Regarding Brian, he recently resigned to form a startup company "outside the game industry", which is why we posted about the open position. That change won't impact the game...we're really pleased with the look and feel that Brian helped create for Diablo III, and the new person we bring aboard will work with other artists on the team to maintain the art style moving forward.

So don't worry - Diablo III isn't going to go all goth on us.

Art Director
Blizzard Entertainment is currently looking for a talented, motivated, and experienced art director to lead the Diablo III art team. For this position, you must be highly organized with outstanding communication skills and proven experience in management. We're looking for a proven track record of shipping AAA products in an art director role. Experience modeling and texturing assets for a diverse visual range of environments and a solid grasp of form, color, and light for both 2D and 3D art assets are also essential. You must be experienced at mentoring a team, able to work well in an environment of artists who are passionate about making great games, skilled in another art task (illustration, modeling, texturing, animation, or concept drawing), and well-versed in related tools (Maya, Photoshop, etc.).

The fact that the position, which hit the site on Tuesday, is specifically Art Director and that it spells out that the person will be leading and mentoring the Diablo III art team leads me to believe that perhaps something's up with Brian Morrisroe, who last we heard was the game's art director. Of course it could be that he just lay the ground work for the game and they want to bring someone else in to wrap things up. It could also mean that they're taking a new direction, but given how adamant Blizzard's been about not changing the game's look, that seems like a pretty slim bet.

We've contacted Blizzard to see if Morrisroe is still the art director for Diablo III and whether he is still at Blizzard. We're also trying to nail down whether this new job listing means the game's art direction is undergoing a change. I'll be sure to update once we hear back.

[Thanks Sedako]

Update: Morrisroe did indeed quit.

‘Diablo III’ Designer Turns Tables, Judges Fans’ Screenshots [MTV]

“Your ‘WoW’ score would be just one factor that will go into your Blizzard Level. And rather than call it a ’score,’ we just wanted it to be like you’re leveling up on Blizzard games… You’ll have this Blizzard identity, and you’ll be able to see things like ‘Oh, this guy was great at Diablo III, but he never played Starcraft and he was mediocre in WoW. That sort of thing.”

It's an interesting system from a community standpoint, but simply brilliant from a sales point-of-view. We already know the gamer score thing helps move crappy 360 games. A WoW gamer who isn't a big RTS fan might have skipped out on StarCraft II, but if it were tied into an overall Blizzard level system? Fantastic.

Blizzard Plans To Track Gamer Achievements Across ‘WoW,’ ‘Starcraft’ And ‘Diablo’ [MTV Multiplayer]

I didn't need to say any more, of course, because Wilson already knew about the fan-fit I was referring to. "It's a complex issue," he said. "It's been a big issue online, but for the most part, the response we've gotten has been very positive. We've got petitions, a few people on forums [who are] very loud, but it's really more of the 'squeaky wheel' syndrome."

"Certainly, internally there's no doubt. I would tell people who don't like the art style that probably, getting the art style was the hardest thing."

But there's a careful method to all of it, Wilson explained:

Wilson said that what we see now is the third iteration on the Diablo III design. As with many of the decisions the developer makes, much of the art design issue was based in gameplay principles.

"Diablo is a game you play for, hopefully, hundreds of hours, and one of the rewards is a variety of different-looking environments." People looking back on old Diablo, he said, may have a selective memory. "People remember the Act I dungeons... but they kind of conveniently forget the green fields of Act I, and all of Act II... and it's palaces, its bright deserts."

Actually, Wilson said the team originally shot for a "very desaturated, very dark" gameworld. "We had all kinds of problems with identification of units... combat wasn't very good, and the worlds got homogeneous very quickly. As we played through it, we didn't like it, or think it was very much fun."

Diablo II, said Wilson, was actually "very saturated, very bright."

What about the complaint, then, that Diablo III may be "too much like WoW" in style and vibe?

"There's a philosophy that goes across all of our games, and that philosophy stays true from game to game... so it probably draws some comparisons," Wilson said. "One philosophy is that our artists feel like if they're just using photorealism, not creating a unique look for the game, not stylizing so that it's uniquely Blizzard, then they're not doing their jobs."

Color choices, he said, promote telling units apart and telling players apart from monsters, philosophies that cross all of Blizzard's titles. "If you do follow those rules, there's going to be some similarities."

And what's so bad about drawing some comparisons to the hugely-successful WoW, anyway? "We definitely learn from all our games," said Wilson. "We don't say, 'oh, we don't want to do anything those games did' — it's all Blizzard, we're all a family. WoW pulled stuff from Diablo II... if we think it's a smart choice, we try to pull stuff from them. We don't really worry about whether it's different. What matters is, does it make the gameplay better? That always wins."

There are some cases, though, where the sharing of art philosophy doesn't always work — WoW game director Jeffrey Kaplan said that the team takes care not to make the gravestones in WoW's pivotal cemeteries too Gothic-looking — those tombstones belong in Diablo.

"Diablo can do a lot of things WoW can't even do," Kaplan said. "We can't do the level of violence that they can do in Diablo III; we would lose our rating if we do the things that Diablo III does. They have a much darker vibe."

In other words, said Wilson, the Blizzard team won't pass over a good idea just because it's not brand-new. "If we're actually making the game worse with no other reason than to be different from WoW, then it's a bad choice. We don't think, when people play, that they'll have any problem telling that it's a different game."

The preliminary art we've seen so far, Wilson said, is from early on in the game. "We want to generate the feeling of everything getting worse... it's part of our narrative. It makes the more gloomy part of the game a place where the stakes get higher."

"If you start out at the apocalypse, and then move to more apocalypse, it's not going to have much of an impression on players."

“Meeting and interacting with our players at BlizzCon is always a great experience for us,” stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re also pleased to be working with DIRECTV this year to bring the show, for the first time, to those players who are unable to attend.”

Yes, Blizzard and DirecTV are joining forces to broadcast highlights of the show via pay per view. Don't have DirecTV? New subscribers in August will get the BlizzCon pay per view for free with their order. I cannot think of a more ridiculous reason to change your cable television provider.

BlizzCon™ 2008 Tickets on Sale August 11
Unprecedented event coverage also available exclusively on DIRECTV

IRVINE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that tickets for its third BlizzCon™ gaming convention will go on sale August 11 and that live coverage of the event will be available as an exclusive DIRECTV pay per view event. BlizzCon is a celebration of the global player communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment®’s Warcraft®, Diablo®, and StarCraft® game universes. The event will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on October 10 and 11.

“Meeting and interacting with our players at BlizzCon is always a great experience for us,” stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re also pleased to be working with DIRECTV this year to bring the show, for the first time, to those players who are unable to attend.”

In addition to serving as a gathering place for the different Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, BlizzCon will offer an array of activities, including discussion panels, hands-on playtime with upcoming games, tournaments, contests, and more. Tickets to the convention will be priced at $100 USD each, and will be available for purchase directly from the official BlizzCon website at www.blizzcon.com.

The pay per view event will deliver a minimum of eight hours of live HD coverage from the show floor on each day of the convention, including exclusive interviews, demos, and more. Beginning in August, DIRECTV will run a promotion offering the BlizzCon pay per view event free to new DIRECTV subscribers. Pricing for existing DIRECTV customers and programming details will be available in the coming weeks from Blizzard Entertainment and DIRECTV.

“BlizzCon is one of the most highly anticipated gaming conventions of the year, and we are excited to partner with Blizzard Entertainment to deliver coverage of the show to gamers nationwide,” said Steven Roberts, senior vice president, new media and business development, DIRECTV. “With our BlizzCon pay per view package, members of Blizzard’s gaming communities who are not attending the event can now experience it in crystal-clear HD.”

As the event draws closer, further details will be announced at www.blizzcon.com.

It's safe to assume we'll be getting many little updates like this as Blizzard struggles to appease the fans who sit in their chairs hitting F5 all day long.

As I am writing this I am watching the clock slowly tick down on the Diablo Battlechest for $27.99, wondering whether or not I should just go ahead and make the purchase or spend hours sorting through my collection of over a thousand PC CDs and DVDs, searching for the copies I already own. Today Amazon.com is all about Blizzard's big games, which makes sense considering Blizzard isn't exactly known for their small ones. The Deal of the Day is the World Of Warcraft Battlechest for $26.99, which is nice considering the expansion alone still goes for $30 in most stores.

As of this posting we just missed the Diablo Battlechest, but who wanted to play crappy old Diablo anyway? Everybody? Oh. Whoops. Well now we have The Burning Crusade expansion for WoW for , followed by what? The Frozen Throne expansion to Warcraft III by itself and then the Warcraft III Battlechest? Left up to me it would have been The Lost Vikings all day long, with an ever-rising price to punish latecomers for their lack of urgency.

Amazon's Gold Box Deals [Amazon.com - Thanks Travis!]

Console Diablo "theoretically possible" [Eurogamer]

I want one. Strike that, I need one. My soul cries out for it, but not so badly that I am willing to spend more than of $600 to snag one off of eBay. I'll just use the old model-swapping technique. Sure, no one else will see him and he'll make panda noises, but the screenshots will be fantastic.

Tyrael Mini Pet, Blizz Auth, Blue posts [MMO Champion - Thanks Jim!]

“One of the things that we considered when we were working on the visuals for ‘Diablo III’ is the fact that color is your friend. We feel that color actually helps to create a lot of highlights in the game so that there is contrast. A great analogy is like in ‘Lord of the Rings’ — not everything is dark. It allows you to see what a creepy dungeon can be like but if everything is dark it doesn’t allow you to have a lot of contrast.”

Lee also explains that they want players excited to enter and explore new areas, rather that simply provide the same dark environments over and over again.

Lee does admit that fan feedback is a major factor in how Blizzard develops titles. It'll be interesting to see what impact - if any - the petition has on the development of the game.

‘Diablo III’ Producer Justifies Controversial Art Direction: ‘Color Is Your Friend’ [MTV Multiplayer]

The pet itself will be a miniature version of the Archangel Tyrael of Diablo 2 fame who will travel with you on all your grand adventures in Azeroth! Pictures of this amazing new pet will be available on the official website soon for everybody to check out.

That's right, Archangel Tyrael from Diablo II, who now graces the main page of the Diablo III website. I need him, if only to counteract the evil forces of my Collector's Edition mini-Diablo. Sorry Leslie, nothing personal!

Worldwide Invitational In-Game Pet Redemption [WoW Forums via WorldofWar.net]

I must say I am disappointed that Blizzard has stayed on the conservative side in terms of design with their updates to Diablo and Starcraft. Diablo will be interesting since World of Warcraft has a lot of Diablo-like qualities. I have no doubt, however, that they will be incredibly fun, addictive and polished games. Blizzard is the top of the class when it comes to game development - nobody does it better.

Man, why's everyone so down Diablo III? There's that rainbow petition and now this? Blizzard cannot win, like never ever ever. Hit the jump for Cheng's post in full:

Diablo III announced. Nice. It looks pretty amazing, especially the gameplay video. Loved the destructible environments.

I must say I am disappointed that Blizzard has stayed on the conservative side in terms of design with their updates to Diablo and Starcraft. Diablo will be interesting since World of Warcraft has a lot of Diablo-like qualities. I have no doubt, however, that they will be incredibly fun, addictive and polished games. Blizzard is the top of the class when it comes to game development - nobody does it better.

In fact, World of Warcraft is currently banned from any computer I own due to its highly addictive qualities. Its easily one of my favorite RPGs.

I know they are working on another Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game. I hope its World of Starcraft.

UPDATE:
Dear Blizzard,
Please forgive me.

XOXO,
Ash

When the ship runs out of ocean [ash :: the blog via Big Download]

I've been spending my day or so back from vacation reading through all of the coverage that came out of the City of Lights. There's been quite a bit to read. If you missed out over the weekend here's the full run down.

Blizzard Announces Diablo III

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Diablo III In-Depth

Diablo III Webpage Filled With Trailers, Screens, Evil

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Counting Down

Epic Blizzard Swag Get!

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: How Much Is Your Goody Bag Worth?

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Day One

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: “There Is No Penguin Level.”

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: The Blizzard Museum Show Diablo 3 Concept Art

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain Level Up

The Man Behind Diablo III Talks Plot, Lore and Battle.Net

Outside scenarios with vivid colors, beautiful forests with colorful vegetation, shinny and beautiful waterfalls where even rainbows take place.

They hate rainbows! They can't draw gothic fan art with rainbows in it!

*sigh* It just goes to show you that no matter how hard you try there's just no pleasing some people.

Renewed artistic direction for Diablo 3 [PetetionOnline.com via WorthPlaying]

Kotaku: So, Jay, what can you tell us about the storyline of Diablo III?

Jay Wilson: In the previous two games, Diablo and his two brothers, Mephisto and Baal, were the three Prime Evils of a world called Sanctuary. Where we start off in Diablo III, it’s twenty years later (after Diablo II: Lord of Destruction) and the brothers are gone, they’ve been vanquished. Essentially everyone was kind of geared for Hell to actually invade. At the end of Lord of Destruction, the Worldstone was destroyed, it left a giant crater and everyone was expecting the hordes to come pouring out of it and nothing happened. So, Deckard Cain is one of our main characters from the first two games, he’s spent the last two decades trying to find out where the last two Evils are, what they’re doing and why the invasion didn’t happen. A lot of the rest of the story focuses on Tyrael, the Angel of Justice, and what’s happened to him since that event as he was actually the angel who destroyed the world.

Kotaku: From a lore point of view, the mythology of Diablo seems just as complex as it is for Warcraft or Starcraft, do you think this is important?

Jay Wilson: Yes, absolutely, it’s one of our main focuses of the game. What was funny was that when I gave you the synopsis of the game, it feels so simple! We love the story.

Kotaku: You said earlier that you’d been working on the game for what, four years? Do you think that taking longer over a game improves the final product significantly?

Jay Wilson: Four …. or five, somewhere in that area. I think taking as long as a game needs to take guarantees that it’s a good game. It’s hard to say whether it improves the end product but sometimes it’s necessary. Blizzard only releases great games so if it’s not great we just don’t release it. One of the things I would want to say, especially to our most patient fans – the ones that have been hoping for Diablo III - is that I hope they see it’s a testament of our love for the franchise that we wouldn’t release it before it’s good and ready. We’ve really spent this time trying to make a sequel that was worthy of them.

Kotaku: In the demo you showed during the Opening Ceremony, you gave us a glimpse at the Witch Doctor class which seems to use several spells similar to those found in World of Warcraft. Do you worry that some fans will think you’re just copying aspects of WoW?

Jay Wilson: No. Do I think people will say that? Yes, I think they will. One of the things I like to remind people is that it’s okay to steal from ourselves. A good idea is a good idea and a good skill is a good skill and so when we look across all our games we borrow from each other all of the time. But the really key and important thing is do we play like World of Warcraft? No! We don’t play anything like it, Diablo has a different feel to it and that’s fine. If we look at the history of Blizzard games, at Warcraft I and II, the spell Blizzard appeared, it also appeared in WoW and Diablo II. I almost think it’s more like a signature but as long as a game has enough original stuff that it stands on its own and plays like its own game, that’s what matters.

Kotaku: In that case do you think that this might work in your favour, that WoW players, for example might be persuaded to try Diablo III?

Jay Wilson: Yeah, actually, I do think that. I think players like things that they are familiar with and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them saying: “Oh, this class is like the warrior in WoW. Cool, I wanna play that!” Especially if it’s going to get them into the game. I think we gain as much as we could lose, people love to see something familiar and the reaction to Whirlwind was a great example.

Kotaku: You only joined Blizzard recently, does your passion for Diablo stretch back further than that?

Jay Wilson: Yes, I am a Blizzard fan. My first Blizzard game was Rock N’ Roll Racing so yeah. Warcraft I, II, StarCraft - I’m a huge StarCraft fan, Diablo I and II; Diablo used to be spoken of in hushed tones in my house because I was so excited and I pretty much played Diablo II since the day it came out. It’s one of those games that’s great to go back to.

Kotaku: Why do you think Diablo has captured so much attention?

Jay Wilson: I think you could pick out a lot of things: the setting’s darker and people like that, especially now. I actually think Diablo II wins on the fun scale. All of the Diablo games, they’re fun to play and that’s important. You could take the most flawed game in the world and as long as it’s fun it’s okay. Diablo II’s super easy to play, you could teach your grandmother to play it in five seconds.

Kotaku: With the popularity of WoW and other online games, Battle.net seems to have nearly disappeared into the background. Do you think Diablo III will breathe new life into the service?

Jay Wilson: I can’t really talk about Battle.net but I will say, Battle.net will not be a background. I’ll be huge, the next version will be absolutely Blizzard’s focus. Everyone is going to be thrilled when they see the kind of stuff we have planned! It feeds into our overall focus of providing a really great service for our players.

Wallspace is given to the three major IPs along with Blizzards older games that even the most hardened Diablo fan might not of heard of, titles like The Lost Vikings and Battle Chess II. Between each section are large flat screen TVs showing looped movies for World of Warcraft and their other projects. Everything is here, from the novels to the artbooks and prints of the individual coverart for all their games. There’s even a replica of an orc and wolf statue which fans might recognise as identical to one that appeared on eBay a couple of months ago and a scaled down version of the one on Blizzard’s campus.

If you’re in Paris for the WWI, then this is a booth not to be missed and if you’re not, then feast your eyes on the gallery below to get a taste of what you’re missing.

So the splash screen mystery has been solved, at least on the surface but embedded underneath the screen was a second file – a CSS file containing of all things an evil-looking purple penguin. As of writing, the reasons for this bird’s inclusion. Fans of World of Warcraft instantly linked the bird to Wrath of the Lich King, especially as images of a penguin pet -– believed to either be the WWI pet or one from the Collector’s Edition of the next expansion –- has been circulating on the interweb for nearly a month.

Journalists have been just as perplexed, even asking Jay Wilson about it during the EU press conference. Even he seemed genuinely unaware of why it was there. I made a point of asking both the EU and US PRs about the splash screen only to be answered with cagey denials, ‘I don’t knows’ and the instant classic ‘There is no penguin level’. But why go to so much trouble to place a hidden file if it didn’t hold some significance? Theorists are going nuts and while the official word is still ‘this is Diablo III’s day’, Blizzard could still announce something at tonight’s closing ceremony.

The question of the penguin is certainly something to be asked at this afternoon’s interviews. We’ll be sure to let you know if and when the mystery surrounding this ugly, hunchbacked bird is solved.

Now, in an interview with Joystiq that went up earlier today, Jay Wilson, the game's lead designer, was asked about the possibility of Diablo III coming to the consoles, and he spoke at length about Blizzard's vision for such a possibility.

Q: Do you have any plans for Diablo on consoles?
We don't have any plans.

Or not.
And guess what else — you're not going to be playing it on a mobile device either! Shock. Anyway, the remainder of Wilson's interview is, in fact, worth reading.

Joystiq asks why they went with a Battle.net model instead of an MMO (short answer: Battle.net model would be a "true sequel" to Diablo II, MMO would not). Also, while they're still mulling group limits in multiplayer co-op, Wilson makes it clear the game will be most fun in groups of four or, tops, eight. And they ask but get no answers about release time, number/type of character classes, and secret cow levels.

Joystiq Chats with Jay Wilson on Diablo 3 [Joystiq]

So the first day of Blizzard’s Worldwide Invitational is over: Diablo III is official and fans stream out into the streets of Paris to rejoice. Of course the Opening Ceremony wasn’t the end of the event; merely the beginning.

The ceremony itself took place on the main stage which was jam-packed with over 3,500 people and many more standing. Attended by press from all around the world as well as several special guests such as the VPs of Global Finance and Human Resources (yep, we were all humbled too). Hosted by pop star China and stand up comedian and film star Anthony Kavangh, the event saw Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime take to the stage and congratulate the gamers of Europe as well as reminding all those present that this is the first time an invitational has been held outside of Korea. He took us on a trip back in time to last year’s event in Seoul – a movie which includes a classic sound bite in the making from a teenaged Korean fan: “It’s fun because Blizzard made it.” Morhaime also commented on the Activision-Blizzard merger, provoking laughter when he said they’d ‘leveled up’.

The ceremony concluded in a musical fashion, in keeping with last year’s Korean pop idols. A troupe of Fire Dancers who performed to composer Russell Brower’s latest composition from the soundtrack of Diablo III. With the conclusion of the ceremony, the attendees scattered with the journos heading to a press event with leader designer Jay Wilson and VP/co-founder Frank Pearce.

Because of the top-secret-but-everyone-knows-about-it announcement about Diablo III, the panels weren’t announced until after the ceremony had concluded and suddenly the convention floor was flooded with plans detailing the numerous talks, several of which focus on, yes you guessed it, Diablo. There were also some dev panels focusing on the present and future classes of World of Warcraft and several StarCraft panels.

Interspersed between was the chance to watch ace European guild Nihilum raiding in Sunwell Plateau trying to down Kil’Jaeden or watching a huge selection of pro-gamers battling it out for top spot. Esports is a big part of any invitational so they are running nearly none stop over the two day event and each team of professional gamers was paraded on the main stage as part of the Opening Ceremony.

Split across two floors, there are also numerous booths such as the Blizzard Museum and the famous Darkmoon Faire, complete with life-sized scantily-clad Night Elf, a mail box, meeting stone and a turtle mount. The event sponsors – who include Intel and amBX – also had their own booths but it was the Starcraft II and Wrath of the Lich King areas which seemed to attract attention, with an even longer line than the one for the food vendors, although not quite as long as the one at the main entrance. Unfortunately the Wrath computers were suffering technical hitches meaning they kept freezing, very handy if you’re trying to explore Howling Fjord but what’s an event without a technical hitch or three? Check back tomorrow for hands on preview of both games.

Other fun activities were available such as an Armourer and the chance to get made up as a World of Warcraft character and have a photo taken against a suitably Azerothian background. But for many the biggest photo opportunity was the life-sized Frozen Throne, complete with Arthas’s creepy crown. Very in keeping, despite the lack of Wrath-related announcements.

Check back tomorrow when we’ll be bringing you more coverage from the WWI, including coverage of the epic closing ceremony and WoW and StarCraft Q and A.

If last year’s BlizzCon is anything to go by, it won’t be too long before the goodies (and the bag itself) given to attendees at this year’s WWI start appearing in auction sites. Sad but true, some people will just put the swag straight on eBay in order to make a quick buck or two. But how much should all this swag set this back and is it worth the £55/€70 ticket or the even bigger sum you might end up paying via an auction site?

Fortunately, as Blizzard have a shop selling many of these exclusive goodies, we can tell you.

Blizzard’s concept of a shop, however, is not something you’d recognise instantly; with one per floor they only stand out thanks to the humongous sign and the enormous, never diminishing queue. Rather than go in an browse, attendees can drool over items for sale which are handily displayed in several glass cabinets, they then fill in an order form, wait in the queue for what must seem like for ever, hand over fistfuls of Monopoly money (sorry, Euros) and depart with their goodies.

A glance at this form reveals very little by way of exclusive goodies, much of the goody bag can be purchased if you so inclined and, aside from a few event-specific items like posters and T shirts, many of the items – like the Trading Card Game – can be purchased from anywhere.

Take the huge mouse mat depicting the official event artwork, that’s on sale for €20, the notebook is €13 for an Alliance or Horde version, rather than the actual exclusive Diablo version found in the bag. The signed Miniature is the only other proper exclusive as the game doesn’t launch until later this year; how much you’d pay depends on how much you like Orcs. The bag itself isn’t on sale and it’s one item which is genuinely worth buying, a sturdy satchel emblazoned with the WWI logo which would probably set you back around €45 if it were to be sold. The TCG starter pack retails in the WWI shop for €15 but the really important item – the one which sends the price skyrocketing – is the Beta key and in-game pet.

A staple of such events the beta key is actively sought by many fans dying to get an early look at the next big game and expansion. Except Blizzard haven’t even announced when and what owners of the card will be able to play. The pet on the other hand is equally as mysterious. Believed to be a penguin by some, the unnamed pet won’t go live until later next week with the introduction of patch 2.4.2 and the lack of confirmation will either enhance the worth or send it plummeting.

While the WWI is not about the freebies given to attendees, it’s clear from the interest in items as well as the number of people on the official forums obsessing over getting their hands on one that the goody bag is on a par with the announcements which come out of the event. Whether it is worth shelling out a small fortune for these ‘exclusive goodies’ remains to be seen.

by Lesley Smith

Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Morhaime formally announced Diablo III during the WWI’s opening ceremony this morning, not that this will come as a surprise to anyone with the Diablo III forums already active on the official Blizzard site and rumours running rampant for nearly a fortnight.

After recapping on the success of the previous Invitational held in Korea, Morhaime premiered a trailer and then demoed a level playing as a Barbarian and a Witch Doctor, showcasing some of the improvements over the original game as well as giving attendees a hint at what they can expect from the final product. This includes a new UI in place of the potion belt and the ability to play the game just by using a mouse. Similarly the health system has been augmented by God of War and Devil May Cry style red globes which replenish not just the health of the character but also those near by.

After the Fire Dancers had left the main stage and the crowds has dispersed, many jubilant, I headed for the jam-packed press conference where journalists got to give Blizzard’s Jay Wilson (Lead Designer on Diablo III) and co-founder Frank Pearce a grilling about Diablo III.

“It’s been in development for a few years. About four.” Wilson admits and of course, when asked the next Big Question: a release date, he gives the typical Blizzard response. “When it’s done,”

Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce was quick to add that, even after four years, “it’s far too early in development.”

Despite being vague on many points such as how much of the game was complete – a process Wilson described as ‘super fun’ - and the specifics of the storyline, He revealed the game is set twenty years after the War of Destruction and the events of the original games have become regarded as myth, indeed even those who were alive (and that’s not many) are either insane or convinced that nothing happened.

Unlike Warcraft, this is not a game about crafting your own unique virtual persona. Other than the classes and the gender, avatars aren’t customisable; instead the idea is to “dive right in and get to the monster killing”.

Being a Diablo title, it really wouldn’t be right unless there were plenty of monsters to slaughter and bosses to defeat. The monsters themselves are huge but even the obese charging abomination we saw steam-rolling towards a Barbarian – a giant in its own right – was just a mob. But the most impressive aspect was not the size of the mobs – it was a wall of zombies which managed to elicit cheers from the crowds.

While the assembled masses were shown two areas, a dungeon and a grassy wilderness, that was more than enough to show off some of the more interesting aspects of the Barbarian and Witch Doctor. The first, for example, uses a special attack called Whirlwind to send zombies and other trash flying to their deaths while the Witch Doctor makes use of pets who do their bidding. They can also summon swarms of locusts who devour enemies and anyone nearby. Like World of Warcraft’s priests and warlocks, they also have the ability to send enemies running using an ability called Horrify as well as mind control which is going to make for some interesting fights. Even more so when you consider that maps aren’t all static, some are random meaning the exit and entrance to an area might not be in the same place each time.

Oh, and for those of you wondering what really was with that Blizzard splash screen well the Diablo theorists were right. Wilson confirmed that the design of the splash screen was meant to hint at Diablo III but doesn’t know anything about that purple penguin.

Diablo III Official Website [Blizzard]

Mmmmm, it's like coming home, isn't it?

I think the penguin stands for hope!

More to come!

As is expected with Blizzard events, company employees were handing out the much-prized (and instantly eBayable) Goody Bags. The swish mini backpack emblazoned with the WWI logo includes a host of loot, including an in-game pet (which we’ve not yet been able to redeem in Booty Bay), the Beta key, a programme, a figure from the Upper Deck miniature game, a notebook and a mousemat sporting the event’s banner featuring Arthas as well as characters from Diablo and Starcraft II.

We’ll let you know what the pet is as soon as Landro Longshot makes nice and starts talking about the WWI.