New BlizzCon Information

The two day Blizzard convention is wrapping up today.  Quite a few things were revealed at the event, such as new information about Starcraft II, Diablo III, a Blizzard DOTA title, and a WoW expansion.

Regarding the highly speculated WoW expansion, Mists of Pandaria, a new race called Pandaren will be playable for both the Alliance and Horde faction.  A new hybrid class, Monk, will also be available, that will play potential roles as tank, damage dealer and healer.  New dungeons, raids, talent system, dungeon challenge mode, pet battling, and level 90 cap are also notable features of the expansion.

One of the more notable reveals at Blizzcon was the WoW annual pass.  If you agree to pay the subscription fee for WoW for a full year, you will receive a full digital version of Diablo III for free.  This is an incredible deal for WoW players that don't see themselves stopping WoW anytime in the future, or Diablo fans that have been interested in returning to WoW.  It is a brilliant marketing scheme by Blizzard.  I am a little surprised that they would give away Diablo III, but it is great incentive to bring back subscriber numbers to WoW and keep interest held in multiple properties of theirs.  Blizzard isn't really in any position where it needs to be worried about making money either, so they can afford to give away their games if it means keeping the masses involved.  Other benefits from agreeing to this annual subscription include a free Diablo themed mount and access to the expansion beta (if that's something that interests you).

While people can and will be skeptical of these changes coming to WoW, as most are resistant to dramatic and perhaps risky adaptation, there is a reason why Blizzard has remained a top player in PC gaming for many years.  The company's persistence on quality products over quantity, as well as their malleability and flexibility to change over time in order to keep things fresh and exciting, has helped Blizzard to remain ever relevant, and most likely will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

You can learn more about what happened at Blizzcon 2011 here.