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Blizzard Working On New Game: 'World of Warcraft' Follow-Up?

Job Board Listings Reveal New Blizzard MMO
Postings on the job boards for Blizzard, the company behind 'Warcraft' and 'Diablo,' have given away a little secret. The boys at Blizzard are working on a next-generation Massively Multiplayer Online game (MMO). Blizzard did confirm that it was working on an unannounced MMO, but would not divulge any further details. Of course, this leaves all of us to speculate what the game will be.

Message board posts all assume the game will be based on preexisting universes. Will it be 'Diablo', 'Starcraft'?, or lesser-known titles like 'Blackthorne' and 'Lost Vikings'?

Our take -- it'll either be 'Diablo' or, even more likely an update of 'World of Warcraft' which has been a gargantuan money-maker for the developer. 'Starcraft' isn't likely since 'Starcraft 2' is already under development. We figure 'WoW' is about due for an update as it is beginning to show its age at 3 years (an eternity in the gaming world).

But Blizzard surely doesn't want to see the incredibly successful 'Diablo' franchise fade into the history books. What do you expect to see? A 'Diablo' online game? A new 'WoW'? Or perhaps something completely different.

From Evil Avatar

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Activision, Vivendi Announce Biggest Game Publishing Merger in History

Activision and Vivendi Merge, Trump EA As Biggest Publisher

For years now, Electronic Arts has been the global powerhouse in the video game industry thanks to multi-million dollar franchises like 'Madden' and 'The Sims.' Now, though, it's about to be relegated to second place thanks to a new, multi-billion dollar deal that would merge two powerhouse game publishers: Activision and Vivendi Games, creating the largest publisher of video games in the world.

Activision got its start in the Atari days, its first notable title being the classic 'Pitfall!'. Today, after decades of growth and acquisition, it owns major franchises like 'Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock' and 'Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.' Vivendi, on the other hand, got its start as a mid-nineteenth-century firm that only recently got into the media game, but quickly gained publishing rights to massively popular games from Blizzard such as 'World of Warcraft' and the 'Starcraft' series.

However, while Activision has been steadily growing, Vivendi's media group nearly folded just a few years ago until they sold off assets to stay afloat. In this deal, it will spend $1.7 billion and contribute its Sierra and Blizzard companies in exchange for taking a 52-percent stake in the resulting company, called Activision Blizzard.

So, lots of cash changing hands, but what does this mean to gamers? Probably not much. It'll be at least six months before the merger is complete, and a lot longer than that before we start seeing anyone from World of Warcraft showing as an unlockable character in 'Guitar Hero IV.'

From LATimes.com

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William Shatner and Mr. T Team Up for World of Warcraft


Everyone figured World of Warcraft (WoW) would be successful in its own right, but no one could have imagined it would become the cultural powerhouse that it is. The massively multiplayer online game's runaway success has lined Blizzard's (the company behind WoW, Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo) pockets with boatloads of cash.

So what is Blizzard doing with this deluge of income? Marketing, of course! WoW may be popular, but it is far from reaching the saturation point. South Park episodes alone cannot sell a game.

So Blizzard has wrangled some celebrities to help hock its wares on the TV. Namely, William Shatner and Mr. T. The commercials have the painfully self-aware and ironic celebs talking about their WoW characters -- Shatner as a Shaman, and Mr. T as a night elf "mohawk," or, more accurately, warrior.

Check out the Mr. T Commercial above and the Shatner clip below. Both are also available for download on the WoW site.


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