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/soapbox

A gamer saves up all year. They scrimp, sacrifice buying other games so that they get the chance to buy a ticket, pay for travel down to So. Cal., and finally they are all set; They're going to BlizzCon. Tickets were a bitch to get anyway, and so many completely lost out. But this gamer was lucky, is travelling from another country to attend this convention centered around their favorite game. And for what? Spending a possible thousand bucks to sit at the feet of the developers seems excessive, and it certainly is...now.

Now that Blizzard has sold out to Direct TV. I realize that some people are saying "yay I can watch all 16 hours of the convention from the comfy couch," but really, in my opinion it completely drains all the special out of the event, and here's why.

Starting back in 2005, BlizzCon began as the best way to get insider information about the development of Blizzard titles. First we heard about the behind-the-scenes info about Burning Crusade, we got to play the ill-fated Starcraft: Ghost. The entire event felt like we were sitting in Jeff Kaplan's living room, with Chris Metzen spilling the beans about the games and Samwise Didier stealing the show at every panel he sat on. You were rewarded for attendance not only with a goody bag, but also with an Offspring concert and more insight into Blizzard's game development than many get working there. You mingled with the faithful, stood shoulder-to-shoulder for several hours outside the arena so that you could pass through the portal into the world of BlizzCon as soon as possible. There was an electricity in the air as gamers took over Anaheim. For one brief moment we were in the majority.

BlizzCon 2007 was a completely different experience. Suddenly WoW had bloomed to nearly 8 million players, and it seemed like this new breed of faithful had little respect for the event (just ask Jay Mohr). We were still rewarded with excellent information aobut Blizzard games, if greatly filtered and polished as compared to the first BlizzCon. And of course, we got to play the games first, got to step into Northrend before anyone else, and it was beautiful.

Now that 2008 rolls around, exactly how are the faithful being rewarded? With exclusive access to the inner workings of the development team? NOPE! Anyone who has DirecTV can Tivo the entire thing and watch it at their convenience, from the comfort of their living room. But surely there will be BlizzCon exclusive swag to commemorate the special experience. NOPE! Those that drop the $40 bucks to watch the event on TV will also get a code for the BlizzCon mount...the hacked-together-half-assed-last-minute-oh-shit-we-forgot-to-make-something-for-BlizzCon-mount. Yessir, they really spent a lot of time putting that one together...I bet someone spent all of 30 minutes pulling already-created assets into their model creation tool and then spent the rest of the day playing Rock Band. Give me a break.

Every virtual gift given as a reward for attending an event has been coveted, special, and beautifully unique. People may not have liked little Tyrael, but I'll be damned if I don't get oohs and ahs whenever Murky starts to dance. Where's the quality control this year, Blizzard? Maybe they knew early on their were going to sell out to DirecTV and their hearts weren't in it. Whatever the case, I see very little reason for people to actually go to BlizzCon this year. Sure you will be there to stand in line for 3 hours to play the new expansion content. Sure you will be there to jostle into the arena and pay 30 dollars for a hot dog alongside the rest of the convention goers, but where's the love? If BlizzCon is meant to be a celebration of the players, a "thank you" from Blizzard to the people who keep them bucks up, why the hell would you crap on those who were ravenous to get tickets, ravenous enough to fly out and pay to come and spend time with you? There's very little "thank you" in the current iteration of BlizzCon. Unless of course you count the "thanks for buying DirecTV," message. In which case I cry fowl, and it makes me sad.

/soapbox

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