Gadgets and Video Games

We’ve spent quite a bit of time with the new and improved Battle.net, both in the StarCraft 2 beta and on its lonesome . It seems like it wouldn’t be a bad platform for other, non-Blizzard games. The Escapist asked Blizzard VP Rob Pardo at GDC last week about just such a possibility. “It’s something that we’ve definitely always talked about,” Pardo told The Escapist. “The problem for us is that it takes a lot of work from our other teams.

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Blizzard ponders merits of licensing Battle.net to third parties

We’ve received a ton of emails asking how one might get up on the StarCraft 2 beta if they didn’t apply for access last year. Kotaku recently turned our attention to a possible solution, though … well, you’re not going to like it. More than 50 beta keys, most of which came in the form of coupons handed out at BlizzCon 2008, are now being auctioned off on eBay . The prices range from around $120 on the low end, averaging out at about $300, and reaching as high as $450.

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StarCraft 2 beta keys being auctioned for around $300

Here’s the thing about the StarCraft II beta: you’ve played this game before. In the time I’ve spent with the beta over the past 24-plus hours, I’ve been Zerg rushed, I’ve had my buildings annihilated by a group of Reapers that snuck through the back of my fortified area, and I’ve had Protoss ships lay waste to countless heavy Thor units — which looked like they could have taken on anything and survived. And here’s the other thing: I absolutely loved every minute of it, as familiar as it was.

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Hands-on: StarCraft II beta

Click image to crush your retinas, to see the image embiggened before you and to hear the lamentations of your browser Because Diablo III won’t be released until 2014, we’ve got plenty of time to check out the game’s various classes. The latest to get the spotlight treatment is the female Barbarian.

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Diablo 3’s female Barbarian knows the riddle of steel

Is it … possible? Can it be?

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NetEase approved to operate World of Warcraft in China

The latest salvo of announcements for panels and presentations taking place at the Game Developers Conference was recently launched, revealing sessions focusing on a wide range of topics. Said topics include OnLive, Shadow Complex , the Smithsonian’s admittance of video games, Blizzard’s philosophy on game design, and a panel titled “Introducing the PlayStation Motion Controller.” We’re pretty sure we’re already acquainted , thanks — though we wouldn’t mind if you’d finally tell us the damn thing’s name . Check out the full list of scheduled speeches on GDC’s interactive site . Just don’t look too hard for that special session which allows you to dine on the finest of breakfast cereals

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OnLive, PlayStation Motion Controller and others getting GDC panels

Did you expect any less? Did you expect that there would be a movie called Toy Story 3 and that there wouldn’t be an Avalanche Software -developed tie-in game available on Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, DS and PSP? Oh, yeah, there’s an iPhone/iPod Touch app too that should arrive with the others on June 15.

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Yes, there’s a Toy Story 3: The Game for that console

Though we put little stock in any date relating to pretty much any Blizzard game (except for “later”,) Blizzard CEO Michael Morhaime just announced in an investor conference call that a beta of StarCraft II will be out this month! The game is currently on track for “mid-2010.” “The beta test will be conducted on a global scale,” he said, specifying that the beta will operate in North America, Europe, Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia. We suggest you zerg rush to the beta and get all the enjoyment you can out of it, because what Blizzard learns from the test will no doubt result in several more years of work on the game. Blizzard: StarCraft II beta due this month originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:40:00 EST

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Blizzard: StarCraft II beta due this month

During its 2009 financial earnings report, Activision CEO Michael Griffith noted that Bizarre Creations’ recently-delayed Blur would have a multiplayer beta available next month. No specific platforms were mentioned, though a recent German rating suggests it will at least be on the Xbox 360. We don’t think it’ll end up being exclusive to Microsoft’s platform — after all, you might as well test multiplayer on all the systems a game will be released on, if you’re running a beta — but there’s currently no indication to suggest otherwise

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Activision: Blur multiplayer beta focusing in on March

“Blizzard’s working on it.” StarCraft 2 may still be a long ways off (coming out in 2084, right?), but that thankfully hasn’t stopped Blizzard from releasing a steady trickle of updates on the game. The latest involves platform support, as a Blizzard employee recently popped onto the game’s forums to verify that SC2 support PC and Mac right out of the box. Sounds all well and good, but what about those who go the download route?

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Blizzard: StarCraft 2 supports PC and Mac out of the box