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World of Warcraft

Buzz Watch: Project Lore and Monetizing Gaming Communities

Authored by Jay Baage on July 15, 2008 - 8:08am.

There are a lot of new websites out there which are trying to monetize the gaming communities and their interest in game guides, cheats and promos (as well as social networking). A few days ago I published a piece about how Will Farrell and the people behind FunnyOrDie.com are launching a gaming site called PwnOrDie.com. Now Alex Albrecht (from Diggnation and The Totally Rad Show) is launching a new site and a World of Warcraft online video show called Project Lore, with the mission to put best multimedia MMOG game guides in one place. Check it out.
tags: Games | Video | Marketing | MMORG | World of Warcraft | Alex Albrecht | Project Lore |

DMW Vlog: PlaySpan's Tony Colafrancesco on Trading Virtual Goods

Authored by Jay Baage on June 24, 2008 - 7:21am.

The market for virtual goods and currency in games such as World of Warcraft is booming and some analysts estimate that it's worth approximately $1.5 billion. I caught up with PlaySpan's Tony Colafrancesco in between panels at our recent LA Games Conference and asked him some questions about the current problems users run into when trying to trade virtual goods or currency, including gold miners and virtual gangsters, and how Playspan is working to bring some order to the chaos. Playspan claims to be the first publisher-sponsored in-game commerce network for microtransactions with a combined user base of over 10 million gamers.
tags: Games | Virtual Currency | MMORG | World of Warcraft | Virtual Worlds | LA Games Conference | PlaySpan | Tony Colafrancesco |

"World of Warcraft" Hits 1 Million Concurrent Players in China

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 11, 2008 - 9:55am.

Shanghai - Chinese online game operator The9 said on Friday that Blizzard Entertainment's "World of Warcraft" massively multiplayer online game has achieved a record of 1 million concurrent players in China. The first expansion pack for the game, "The Burning Crusade," launched in mainland China on Sept. 6.

tags: Games | The9 | World of Warcraft | Blizzard Entertainment | MMOG |

Blizzard's "World of Warcraft" Tops 10 Million Subscribers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 22, 2008 - 1:51pm.

Irvine, Calif. - Vivendi's Blizzard Entertainment game publisher unit announced on Tuesday that its "World of Warcraft" massively multiplayer online roleplaying game now counts more than 10 million subscribers. The game launched in November 2004, and now counts 2 million subscribers in Europe, 2.5 million in North America and 5.5 million in Asia.

tags: Games | Vivendi | World of Warcraft | Blizzard Entertainment | MMOG |

DirecTV Offers Free "World of Warcraft" Trial to New Subscribers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 28, 2007 - 2:26pm.

El Segundo, Calif. - Satellite TV provider DirecTV on Tuesday announced a promotional partnership with Vivendi's Blizzard Entertainment, publisher of the popular "World of Warcraft" massively multiplayer online roleplaying game. Through Nov. 30, new DirecTV subscribers will be offered 11 free months of access to World of Warcraft. DirecTV also recently courted game-playing consumers with its deal to broadcast the Championship Gaming Series.

tags: Games | Marketing | TV | DirecTV | World of Warcraft | Blizzard Entertainment |

Buzz Watch: World of Warcraft VISA Credit Card

Authored by Jay Baage on May 8, 2007 - 10:04am.
Blizzard Entertainment, the California-based game developer and publisher, has struck a deal with First National Bank to release a World of Warcraft Visa card. Much like credit cards that offer frequent flyer miles for each dollar's worth of purchases, the new WOW Visa card will give players of the MMORPG free play time for their consumption with the card.
tags: Marketing | Payments | Sony | World of Warcraft | Blizzard Entertainment | Visa | Virtual Worlds |

Online Game "World of Warcraft" Passes 8 Million Subscribers Worldwide

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 11, 2007 - 9:46am.

Irvine, Calif. - Vivendi's video game publishing unit Blizzard Entertainment announced on Thursday that its "World of Warcraft" massively multiplayer online roleplaying game -- the most popular title of its type ever created -- has now surpassed 8 million paying subscribers worldwide.

tags: Games | Launches | Blizzard | Vivendi | World of Warcraft |

Blizzard's "World of Warcraft" Online Game Hits 6 Million Subscribers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 2, 2006 - 7:53am.
Irvine, Calif. - Vivendi Universal's Blizzard Entertainment video game publishing unit announced that it has surpassed six million subscribers for its "World of Warcraft" massively multiplayer online roleplaying game. The game was launched in November 2004, and reached five million subscribers in December 2005. Irvine, Calif.-based Blizzard also announced that a Spanish-language version of the game is currently in development, which will be released and hosted in Europe. German- and French-language versions of the game have already been released, and the game claims one million subscribers in Europe.
tags: Online Game | Blizzard' | World of Warcraft |

Vivendi's Blizzard Takes Flak Over LGBT Guilds in "World of Warcraft"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 30, 2006 - 7:29am.
Los Angeles - Vivendi Universal's Blizzard Entertainment game publishing studio has come under fire for allegedly preventing users from setting up player guilds based on sexual orientation within its popular "World of Warcraft" online game, GamesIndustry.biz reported. WOW subscriber Sara Andrews said she plans to cancel her account after being denied the ability to set up a "GLBT-friendly" guild. "Topics related to sensitive real-world subjects -- such as religious, sexual, or political preference, for example -- have had a tendency to result in communication between players that often breaks down into harassment," Blizzard told GamesIndustry.biz. "It seems to be okay for general chat to be flooded with [these terms], yet advertising for a GLBT friendly environment where we don't have to deal with such language is deemed inappropriate," Andrews replied. Blizzard said it plans to change language in the game's policies to "help avoid such confusion in the future."
tags: Blizzard | Vivendi | World of Warcraft | LGBT |

Blizzard Entertainment Adds Parental Controls to "World of Warcraft"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 28, 2005 - 10:06am.
Los Angeles - Blizzard Entertainment, the game publishing unit of Vivendi Universal Games, announced that it has implemented parental controls into its popular "World of Warcraft" massively multiplayer online roleplaying game, which counts 4.5 million subscribers worldwide. Parents will be able to go online to set up a time schedule of when children can play the game. The family of a 13-year-old boy in China recently announced plans to sue Blizzard, claiming the boy was acting out a scene in a Blizzard title when he tragically jumped to his death.
tags: World of Warcraft | Blizzard Entertainment | Parental |

Blizzard Launches "World of Warcraft" in Taiwan, Hong Kong

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 8, 2005 - 9:39am.
Irvine, Calif. - Blizzard Entertainment, a unit of Vivendi Universal Games, announced on Tuesday that its "World of Warcraft" massively multiplayer online roleplaying game has launched in the region of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. The online game will be hosted in the region by Soft-World and GFI. Irvine, Calif.-based Blizzard said that a beta test of the game in the region attracted 800,000 players, with a peak of 140,000 concurrent players. "World of Warcraft" currently counts 4.5 million subscribers worldwide.
tags: Blizzard | Hong Kong | World of Warcraft | Taiwan |