blizzard

Police procedures leaked for getting into Facebook, other accounts

Confidential guidelines telling police how to access Facebook, Microsoft, Blizzard, and AOL user accounts have appeared online this week.

The files, known colloquially as law enforcement guidelines, typically tell police what types of user data are stored, how long they're retained, and what procedures to use to gain access to them.

A few types of requests--for e-mail less than 180 days old, for instance--tend to require search warrants. In general, basic subscriber information can be disclosed with a subpoena, and a court order is required for more extensive information (whether that's sufficient is the subject of ongoing litigation … Read more

Blizzard pushes Diablo III to early 2012

Blizzard Entertainment announced in a brief press release this morning that its long-awaited PC role playing game, Diablo III, will not launch in the fourth quarter of 2011 as expected. Instead, Blizzard has pushed back the release of the game until early 2012.

This news will surely disappoint gamers who have had to wait more than a decade for a follow -up to 2000's Diablo II. Blizzard also spurred fans' hopes for an imminent release with the release of a closed Diablo III beta test, which was opened to the press earlier this week.

"We pulled together people from all of the teams involved with the game to decide whether we felt it would be ready before the end of December, and we grudgingly came to the conclusion that it would not," said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime in a blog post. "The upside of today's announcement is that we will be running the beta test longer than we initially planned, which will allow us to invite more of you who have opted in."

Expanded beta access may sate some fans, but Blizzard's Diablo III forum is already alight with comments from gamers having difficulty with the extended wait for the final product.… Read more

Hands-on with the Diablo III beta

Blizzard Entertainment opened its Diablo III beta trial to the press yesterday, giving us and many other outlets the chance to try out its forthcoming action role playing game. After taking a monk character through the beta content in single-player mode on normal difficulty, we have an overall positive impression of Blizzard's new take on its long-running franchise.

The Diablo series is known for fast, click-based combat, complex character development decisions, and a near-constant stream of monsters, gold, and loot thrown in your character's path. Diablo games also have a reputation for replayability because of randomized dungeon layouts and the number of possible character classes and skills. The series is also notorious for its ability to hook gamers into playing long into the night.

If the beta is any indication of the final product, Blizzard has successfully captured that "Diablo-ness" in Diablo III, while introducing some streamlined new game elements that make the experience more accessible than earlier titles. We need to play through the final product game before we decide whether that accessibility comes at the expense of depth, but we'll be interested to see how the more hard-core players adapt to some of Blizzard's new design decisions.… Read more

World of Warcraft now free for 20 levels

Rejoice, World of Warcraft n00bs. The massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is now free to play for up to 20 levels. That means players can now take as long as they need to get familiar with the game before they have to pay a subscription fee.

The game's developer, Blizzard Entertainment, has eliminated the prior free 14-day trial period in favor of the new beginner system, which it's calling World of Warcraft Starter Edition.

The move is brilliant considering that WoW, which was first released in 2004, is known for immersing users in a deep game world. The limited trial seemed too short a time to get acclimated to the rich virtual landscape.

Although the trial subscription had its limits, WoW remains wildly successful, reaching 12 million subscribers in 2010. Will the new trial model help increase the MMORPG's user base? … Read more

Activision Blizzard has solid 2010, confirms layoffs

Activision Blizzard's two strongest franchises helped the company have a stronger financial showing in 2010.

The video game publisher announced yesterday that it generated over $4.4 billion in revenue last year, up from the nearly $4.3 billion it tallied in 2009. It was able to nab a profit of $418 million last year, nearly quadrupling the $113 million profit it posted in 2009.

Even with help from the recently released Call of Duty: Black Ops and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the company reported that its revenue slid in the fourth quarter to $1.4 billion, compared with … Read more

Another game, another record for Activision Blizzard

If any game company stole the show at the end of 2010, it was Activision Blizzard.

After it announced record-breaking sales with Call of Duty: Black Ops recently, the game company is now touting the success of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

The third expansion for the venerable massively multiplayer online role-playing game has hit 4.7 million unit sales since its launch on December 7, Blizzard Entertainment, a division of Activision Blizzard announced today. Blizzard said that based on its internal estimates, the milestone has helped the title reach a new record for monthly PC game sales.

WoW Cataclysm's … Read more

U.S. appeals court backs Blizzard in WoW bot case

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that a World of Warcraft-playing bot violated the online game's terms of use, upholding a lower court's 2008 decision against the so-called Glider software, and issuing a permanent injunction against its use.

The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled (PDF file) that the MDY's Glider bot--which helps WoW players by automatically playing early levels of the massively popular game--is a breach of a contractual covenant. In a post on their Virtual World Law Blog, lawyers at the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman explained that the decision largely follows … Read more

World of Warcraft character move fees waived

The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion sees a major upheaval for the virtual world of Azeroth, but the changes to Blizzard's massively multiplayer online role-playing game will extend to the player base as well.

To accommodate the influx of new and returning players, Blizzard today said it will allow free character transfers to and from specific servers in the game for a limited time.

Until December 22, Blizzard will allow free realm transfers from 25 highly populated servers to alleviate log-in queues or performance issues.

Read more of "World of Warcraft character move fees waived" on GameSpot. … Read more

Rumor: Blizzard leak reveals 5-year product plan

Video game giant Blizzard could be releasing Diablo 3 and a version of Starcraft 2 called "Phoenix" next year, if rumors about leaks of the company's five-year product road map are true.

First reported last week by MMOGameSite.com, the word seems to be that the leak, if it happened, could be tied to the recent and abrupt resignation of Blizzard China's general manager.

Blizzard told CNET that it would not comment on the rumors and that it is focused on the release today of the latest version, known as Cataclysm, of its megahit World of … Read more

Activision Blizzard sees '10 as its 'most profitable'

It's apparently going to be a better year than expected for Activision Blizzard.

The World of Warcraft developer announced yesterday that its third-quarter revenue grew to $745 million, up from $703 million it posted during the same period in 2009.

The company also reported a $51 million profit, representing a gain over the $15 million it tallied in third quarter last year. Its adjusted earnings of 12 cents a share beat Wall Street expectations of 9 cents, according to the Associated Press.

In the first three quarters, Activision Blizzard's revenue stood at over $3 billion. Last year, it … Read more