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Blizzcon 2008 - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and More

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The picture below essentially portrays Blizzcon in a nutshell - lines, lines, and more lines.



This picture was taken at the beginning of the opening of the doors. Most of these people did not get in for the opening ceremony. I knew people that waited in line the full day Friday just to pick up their items they wanted to buy at the Blizzard store. The line to Diablo 3 was just as long as well. Needless to say, if you went to Blizzcon, you waited in line a lot.

The Good

Diablo 3 playable was simply awesome. Being press I did get lucky and not have to wait in line to play it and did get to play each class that was available including the newly announced Wizard. The demo they had available was very polished and the game itself felt like the Diablo games of the past. Were there any rainbows? I dunno. I was too busy playing a damn awesome game to notice.

The Bad

The opening ceremony was a huge disappointment. First of all it only lasted about 24 minutes instead of the listed hour. They announced that they sold a lot of tickets - we knew that. They announced that Diablo 3 was playable - everyone knew that the night before. They announced the beta on the cards we got was for StarCraft 2 - everyone knew that the night before. They announced there was a new playable class in Diablo 3 with the Wizard - Everyone knew the night before there would be a new class announced, just not the specifics. And then we're done.

I'm wondering if there was a major announcement that was axed at the last minute. It felt very rushed and just not the typical opening ceremony you expect from a Blizzard event. In fact, I felt this Blizzcon was very commercialized with the most popular things there being things you could buy from Blizzard and Jinx (I got a stuffed Murloc and it's awesome).

The Ugly

The event felt unorganized in some areas. My group and I (non press friends) got there almost 2 hours before the doors were to open. We scoped out a nice place in front of the door and were some of the first ones in line. We were gonna hit the Blizzard store immediately in those doors first thing to avoid the long lines later in the day.

Security sat there and watched us gather. In fact, one guard told us we'd be able to enter through those doors. Not 5 minutes before the event a security guard came by and told us we had to move, the doors here would not open and we'd have to go back to the long ass line that you saw in the picture above. Needless to say, it left a really bad taste in my mouth.

I ended up ditching my friends and walking in the press door (that I was never informed about and stumbled upon) and only had to stand in the store line for about 2 hours.

Overheard Rumors

A few rumors were overheard at the event by Blizzard employees and family members. One of the most interesting ones was how they were going to not do a WWI and Blizzcon in the same year again, it sounds like they're going to alternate the events. Next year they're shooting for a show in Shanghai China, then in 2010 they're planning on an event in the US. Each year will be alternating between international and US.

Overall Thoughts

It sounds like I'm pancakes quite a bit up there about the event... and yeah, there are some things I'm upset about. However, I would come back and do it again in a heartbeat. Blizzcon is an awesome event, the people that attend are awesome. It's great to strike up WoW conversations with random people and they know exactly what you are talking about. The costume contest and dance contest were great as always... the new contests, not as great. The closing ceremony, comedians, and concerts were an awesome finish.

Best of all though, I got to hang out with my friends and have a blast seeing the different things Blizzard had to offer at the event with them. The memories alone are completely worth it and that's why I'll be going back - press badge or not.





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