With any major release comes great anxiety that something could go really wrong. Blizzard's just released StarCraft II has launched unscathed. There are some "known bugs" about but they're very small in number - it's a testament to Blizzard's 'it's done when it's done' studio mantra.
Understandably Blizzard doesn’t want to be talking about the next instalment to StarCraft II yet, after all Wings of Liberty has just hit us at retail. Still Lead Software Engineer Carl Chimes did tease it's "just as epic" an experience as the Terran campaign out now. It's all about them Zerg.
Many are enjoying StarCraft II right now around the globe, well now you can grab hold of its mighty soundtrack as well for $10. It's all iTuned up. It features 14 tracks from the game, and some are modern versions of the old StarCraft tunes. Collector's Edition owners get the OST already.
Unsurprisingly Blizzard's StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty has stormed the UK chart, blowing past the competition to number 1 - it's a PC game. Yep that's right the PC too has claimed the prize of its first title atop the UK chart for 2010. StarCraft 2 has dwarfed the original's lifetime sales.
Last week Blizzard's highly anticipated StarCraft II hit the streets but for some it's proved a hot release for another reason - it's melting their PCs. The studio has offered a workaround to the problem which limits the number of frames your GPU will work on - overheating is the bane of PC gamers.
Last week's launch of StarCraft II from Blizzard saw 1.5m copies sold within the first 48 period, becoming the fastest selling strategy title. It released in 11 languages and on 5 continents to ensure "as many players as possible" could get their hands on it and "play on day one."
If you thought an 8 player fan made map in the shape of a wang was cool, think again. Blizzard is trimming any map deemed 'wrong'. The original never had this filter but StarCraft 2 does "because we can," says Blizzard. It just wasn't possible then, but resources are strong now.
Activision super boss Bobby Kotick reminds us at their Q2 fiscal talk that Blizzard's new MMO in the works is an "entirely new" game universe. It's one of "two enormous investments" by the publisher, with the other being Bungie's new IP. The new MMO first got mentioned publically in 2007.
Blizzard has been able to "work well around" the piracy issue for World of Warcraft, and they are "able to do the same" with StarCraft II they feel. The Battle.net integration gives "better continuity" for users, and a "stronger way to participate" in the Blizz community. It has 14 languages.
It's not usual for the NPD to include PC titles but so stellar was StarCraft II's arrival they couldn't deny giving it a nod, as it propped up the sector. Within the first 48 hours it had sold 1.5m copies around the globe. Well in July it sold 712k copies in the US. It helped keep sector decline razor thin.
Now that StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is so last month, Blizzard can begin with Hearts of the Swarm's development full swing reveals Rob Pardo. Until now they'd only done "some design work" on it but the "hardcore" visual and coding magic "is just now starting" over at Blizzard's studio.
A sci-fi movie of StarCraft? Blizzard would love that but only with the right "creative people" who love their games, and who are "really talented". If Terminator and Avatar man James Cameron nudged Blizzard for the project they'd "probably sign that." The WarCraft film still getting story.
Blizzard has revealed that StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty has sold over 3 million copies worldwide in its first month of release, making it one of the fastest selling real-time strategy games of all time.
The first custom map for StarCraft II has just been released and Blizzard reveal it's based off the singleplayer campaign's 'The Devil's Playground'. It's a 3v3 map and players must battle each other to reach the resource goal first, all the while balancing unit production and avoiding lava floods.
Now Blizzard is sharpening their butcher knife, glaring menacingly toward the StarCraft II community to warn off all the cheaters and exploiters. Those caught will be "permanently banned" from Blizzard's good graces, meaning no more Battle.net access. The purge begins "in the near future."
What's that? Is Activision going into the movie business? No, but they do have plans to bundle videogame cinematic together and sell them. CEO Bobby Kotick uses StarCraft II's lengthy pre-rendered cinematic as the example. They'd give the "biggest opening weekend" ever in film history.
The Blizzard studio has gone live with their first StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty patch, with its primary focus being game balance changes for units. It also adds in full support for nVidia 3D Vision and spruces up the game editor. Quick saves and a game clock are in too, along with FPS and wifi signal.
Over 5,000 StarCraft II players who were violating the Battle.net Terms of Use for exploiting or blatantly cheating have been given a firm ban booting. Not only does it undermine the "spirit of fair competition" but it can cause "stability and performance issues" with Battle.net. 5k a drop in the ocean?
The next instalment to StarCraft II is at least a year and a half off after Blizzard reveal their focus "over the next 18 months" is Battle.net upgrades. They'll happen "between now" and Heart of the Swarm's release. That puts the expansion around spring 2012. It won't be at this month's Blizzcon.
Blizzard has slapped down dollar bills to hire rock duo Jack Black and Kyle Glass - aka Tenacious D - to bring this year's BlizzCon to a close. Last year they had Ozzy Osbourne wrap things up. BlizzCon 2010 takes place in Anaheim, California on October 22nd and 23rd. Tickets sold out.