BlizzCon was awesome this year, more so than any other that I
have seen. If for no reason other than the pure number of new things
coming out soon(ish). I mean really at what other point in Blizzard
history have we known about so many projects in the works. At
BlizzCon this year they previewed the next World of Warcraft
Expansion: Mists

of Pandaria, the StarCraft 2 expansion: Heart of the Swarm,
more Diablo III info, Blizzard DoTA, and let’s not forget they still
have project “Titan” hidden away in the background.



Given all this I have real issues nailing it down to just one
favourite moment of the event. Therefore I won’t. I will list my
three favourite moments. There was a whole lot of really cool
things, and I am excited about non-WoW topics as well, but of course
my favourites are all World of Warcraft related.


World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

All I can say, is OMG! Yes. Ok, I know it’s kind of childish to like
the idea of essentially kung fu fighting pandas being added into a
rather serious toned game, but I still like it. Maybe it is due to
growing up in the age when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first came
out, and then the mass hysteria and copycat comics that came out
after as everyone tried to duplicate TMNT’s success. And no, I’m not
talking the huge second wave of success, I’m talking the original
black and White comic success in 1984. There had to be a title for
every single possible animal and Asian fighting style ever thought
of, and while I don't remember a Kung Fu Panada there was a psycho
gun toting bear.



Anyway, ever since Blizzard first started fooling around with the
idea of the Pandaren, I have eagerly been waiting for them to
arrive.  While everyone thought the Pandaren figure produces a
while ago was a joke, I thought he was awesome looking.  Again,
I realize that it is a pretty silly idea to brink kung fu pandas
into the game, but hey, we already have Cows that can turn into
bears, cats, owl looking things, and trees, so is a martial arts
panda really a far stretch?


WoW yearly pass = Free Diablo III

HURRAY! This is a great marketing scheme from Blizzard. Many players
would likely take at least a few months off to play Diablo III
anyway, and once there may not ever come back to WoW. By doing this
Blizzard is giving you a $50 game for committing to spend $180. This
in essence means you are kind of trapped into going back to WoW, or
you would have paid Blizzard a little over 3x what Diablo III was
worth. If you leave WoW, Blizzard wins huge!



If you end up playing both games though, it really is a free game
for you. For me, I don’t cancel and re-subscribe to WoW when playing
other games as I am always popping in to talk to people anyway, so
this is pure win for me.



Better yet, for those that want to get the collectors version of
Diablo III, if you do go out and buy it when you enter the code you
get a credit towards the one year contract for WoW. It’s another
well thought out scheme from Blizzard as it ensures they sell both
versions, and is good for us collectors as well.


WoW Pet Combat = Pokemon: and the dead pan silence….

Ok, I like most of Blizzard’s ideas or I would not have played every
game they have ever made. However, I thought to myself that I can
not be the only one that shook my head and wondered what the hell
they were thinking when they announced the upcoming vanity pet
combat system. I know people collect those pets, but I have never
understood why, they don't improve your character in any way.



Sure enough later in the event, they spent some time explaining the
pet combat system, and the audience went silent. It was hilarious.
Blizzard was actually up on stage talking about all these “cool” new
features and how combat would work, and earning badges
and abilities, and more. All I could think, and by the stunned
silence from the crowd I believe many (most?) were thinking the same
thing, was what the hell did they put in their water or their pipes?




They know this is a direct rip off of Pokemon, right? Did they
essentially licensed Pokemon to put it in WoW? Was it April 1st and
no one had told me or the rest of the BlizzCon attendees? Lastly I
know WoW has been dumbed down over time, but are they really
admitting that they have dumbed it down to the point that adding in
features that 6 year olds find amusing and entertaining is the right
level for the game?



All I could think was wow…I hope Nintendo sues them and it gets
removed before release.


World of Warcraft - Related Content

Mists

of Pandaria | BlizzCon
2011 Wrap-up



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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

Byron has been playing and writing about World of Warcraft for the past ten years. He also plays pretty much ever other Blizzard game, currently focusing on Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone, while still finding time to jump into Diablo III with his son.

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