Slashdot Mirror

Sutekh-Acolyte writes "Blizzard Entertainment just released a native Mac OS X v10.2+ Diablo II installer, so Mac users no longer have to use the Classic environment to install the game and its expansion set. At 25 megabytes, it's not a small download, because it includes patch files and installs as version 1.10b. PlanetDiablo has a set of screenshots of the installer in action. Download it from FilePlanet (login required) or directly from Blizzard."

Sutekh-Acolyte writes "Blizzard Entertainment just released a native Mac OS X v10.2+ Diablo II installer, so Mac users no longer have to use the Classic environment to install the game and its expansion set. At 25 megabytes, it's not a small download, because it includes patch files and installs as version 1.10b. PlanetDiablo has a set of screenshots of the installer in action. Download it from FilePlanet (login required) or directly from Blizzard."

Thanks to LoonyBlog for its entry discussing classic games that could be converted to the Game Boy Advance, but are unfortunately not likely to appear, since "the Game Boy Advance is an almost exclusively franchise driven platform." The writer points out: "I think the GBA could have some amazing classic games ported to it, although the failure (apparently a spectacular failure at that) of the Blizzard Classic Arcade line pretty much means we'll never see many of them", and singles out commercial releases of Sam N' Max Hit The Road ("has a point n' click interface that would translate well to the GBA"), Heroes Of Might & Magic III ("its bright and colorful style would make for a beautiful GBA game"), and Ys Book I & II ("really an 8-bit game at its core") as top of his wishlist. What would you like to see officially available on GBA?

craenor writes "Perhaps the most anticipated entry into the increasingly crowded PC MMORPG market, Blizzard's World of Warcraft, has just reached the live Beta stage, for those select players lucky enough to be picked. In a distinct change from the existing trend in Beta tests, they are not going to require NDAs for participating players, and everyone will have read access to the official Beta forums while testing takes place." The WoW site includes a basic game FAQ for beginners, and BitTorrent is now live as Blizzard's Beta distribution method of choice, as the mentioned earlier on Slashdot Games.

BitWarrior writes "Recently today it was revealed that Blizzard, the creator of many legendary games such as the Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft franchises, will be using BitTorrent to distribute their Beta release of their latest game, World of Warcraft. BitTorrent is becoming a hit among companies required to distribute large quantities of data to their customers. Valve also jumped on the BitTorrent bandwagon last month(NYTimes, first born required, blah blah), hiring its creator, Bram Cohen. The one downside to Blizzards move is that BitTorrent has been added to many Universities black lists of clients to allow through their networks. Will the recent acceptance by such reputable companies open the possibility to Universities that not all P2P distribution is inherently bad?"

BitWarrior writes "Recently today it was revealed that Blizzard, the creator of many legendary games such as the Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft franchises, will be using BitTorrent to distribute their Beta release of their latest game, World of Warcraft. BitTorrent is becoming a hit among companies required to distribute large quantities of data to their customers. Valve also jumped on the BitTorrent bandwagon last month(NYTimes, first born required, blah blah), hiring its creator, Bram Cohen. The one downside to Blizzards move is that BitTorrent has been added to many Universities black lists of clients to allow through their networks. Will the recent acceptance by such reputable companies open the possibility to Universities that not all P2P distribution is inherently bad?"

BitWarrior writes "Recently today it was revealed that Blizzard, the creator of many legendary games such as the Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft franchises, will be using BitTorrent to distribute their Beta release of their latest game, World of Warcraft. BitTorrent is becoming a hit among companies required to distribute large quantities of data to their customers. Valve also jumped on the BitTorrent bandwagon last month(NYTimes, first born required, blah blah), hiring its creator, Bram Cohen. The one downside to Blizzards move is that BitTorrent has been added to many Universities black lists of clients to allow through their networks. Will the recent acceptance by such reputable companies open the possibility to Universities that not all P2P distribution is inherently bad?"

BitWarrior writes "Recently today it was revealed that Blizzard, the creator of many legendary games such as the Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft franchises, will be using BitTorrent to distribute their Beta release of their latest game, World of Warcraft. BitTorrent is becoming a hit among companies required to distribute large quantities of data to their customers. Valve also jumped on the BitTorrent bandwagon last month(NYTimes, first born required, blah blah), hiring its creator, Bram Cohen. The one downside to Blizzards move is that BitTorrent has been added to many Universities black lists of clients to allow through their networks. Will the recent acceptance by such reputable companies open the possibility to Universities that not all P2P distribution is inherently bad?"

BitWarrior writes "Recently today it was revealed that Blizzard, the creator of many legendary games such as the Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft franchises, will be using BitTorrent to distribute their Beta release of their latest game, World of Warcraft. BitTorrent is becoming a hit among companies required to distribute large quantities of data to their customers. Valve also jumped on the BitTorrent bandwagon last month(NYTimes, first born required, blah blah), hiring its creator, Bram Cohen. The one downside to Blizzards move is that BitTorrent has been added to many Universities black lists of clients to allow through their networks. Will the recent acceptance by such reputable companies open the possibility to Universities that not all P2P distribution is inherently bad?"

Thanks to GameSpot for its article discussing the challenges facing independent videogame studios. The piece explains: "The game industry is moving toward greater and greater consolidation... Increasingly, an independent studio capable of turning a profit from the advances-against-royalties formula is the exception rather than the rule." It goes on to talk to Bill Roper (formerly Blizzard, now at Flagship), Feargus Urquhart (formerly Black Isle, now at Obsidian) and others, with Urquhart claiming independent developers are at no special disadvantage in current times: "I sort of look at it like babies and houses, there probably never is the perfect time to have a baby or buy a house. You just have to decide to do it and then do it."

Ellen Spertus writes "Astraware is offering a special Valentine's Day version of Bejeweled (one of the most popular PDA games) with an embedded marriage proposal you can enable." Elsewhere, Warcry has a Valentine's Day gaming article, including gamer gift picks and "Gaming as a Couple: A How To Article", including advice such as "Be willing to negotiate play schedules and set time limits up front", and, most importantly, "Never choose games over your partner." Update: 02/14 18:07 GMT by S : Blizzard also has Valentine's Day fun on its official site, including a special Warcraft III map for Valentine's Day.

Decaffeinated Jedi writes "GameSpy is running a feature looking at the editors' picks for the top real-time strategy games of all time. Included on the list are such classics as StarCraft, Command and Conquer: Red Alert, and Age of Empires. The article looks at each game's significance to the genre as a whole, as well as offering some reader feedback on the editors' choices. Why not grunt rush their server, have a look at their picks, and share some of your own RTS favorites here?"

MrWonton writes "The word is finally out from Blizzard: the World of Warcraft beta test sign-up begins 6:00 PM PST Wednesday, January 28th. No need to rush though, it'll be open through February 4th, and it's not on a first-come first-serve basis. Good luck!" Update: 01/27 16:34 GMT by S : To clarify, Blizzard say "you will be able to submit an application and receive equal consideration anytime during the signup period", but only selected individuals will get into this initial Beta.

Thanks to GameSpot for its article confirming the resignation of Blizzard co-founder and vice president Allen Adham. This move comes after earlier high-profile departures from Blizzard in 2003, but a spokesperson "denied it was related to Vivendi's recent reaffirmation of ownership of the developer, as some have speculated.", but rather due to the "cumulative effects of 'working the long hours and doing the game crunch for many years'" GameSpy has further information, noting that Adham "...started coding games while studying at UCLA. The success of his first two games, Gunslinger and Demon's Forge, encouraged him to strike out with a new game company, Silicon & Synapse, which would eventually evolve into Blizzard in 1994." According to the spokesperson, Adham "plans to go back to school and move into the area of financial investment."

Thanks to GameSpy for its two-part tour of World Of Warcraft, as they "got the chance to get our hands on... [an] early 'alpha' build" of the eagerly-awaited Blizzard PC MMORPG. The author praises the "incredible atmosphere and game speed... solid interface [and] fun quests", while expressing a few reservations about the "[lack of] character customization options" and the "racially restricted zones" in which "NPCs...would automatically attack any members of another race." The preview is closely followed by an interview with designer Jeff Kaplan, in which he addresses questions on design philosophy ("It's very important not to fall into that trap of trying to manipulate your community as if you're trying to run an ant farm") and in-game housing ("We do not anticipate that our player housing system will ship with the initial product.")

Thanks to VE3D for reprinting details of a new online gaming report discussing MMO trends and estimated game popularity. According to the excerpts from the Themis Group's report, online gaming will grow from $960 million revenues in 2003 to $4.10 billion in 2008, and the chart estimating "expected popularity of new persistent worlds... in descending order by projected subscriber base twelve months after launch" is headed by Blizzard's World of Warcraft, followed by Sony's EverQuest 2 and Turbine's Middle Earth Online. The report also suggests: "Success with a license challenges developers to find a way to implement the license's core appeal into an MMG-style game - a challenge which Final Fantasy Online met, but Star Wars Galaxies did not."

Thanks to RPGDot for pointing to a Battle.net forum post revealing a wealth of new detail regarding Blizzard's upcoming PC MMO title World Of Warcraft. WoW Stratics also has screenshots and brief comments on Blizzard's showing at Gen Con in Los Angeles, including comments that "Blizzard has one thing completely, undeniably wrong: they simply don't know the definition of 'alpha'. Both Anarchy Online and WWII Online were less polished and complete three months after release than WoW is right now." WoW is due out later in 2004, with a closed Beta early next year, and PlanetWarcraft also has some hands-on impressions.

Thanks to several readers for pointing to the National Institute on Media and the Family's eighth annual videogame report card, which says it "provides a snapshot of the interactive gaming industry with a focus on issues related to child welfare." A particular issue focused on is "the growing issue of screen time as it relates to the obesity epidemic", of which it's suggested: "there is both an opportunity and challenge for the industry to develop games that involve physical activity so that young players exercise more than their thumbs." The other hot topic is a continuing one: "the easy access that boys have to increasingly ultra-violent M-rated games and the popularity of the most violent games with that group." The survey ends with lists, including "games to avoid" for 2003, mentioning obviously controversial titles like Manhunt, but also other, quirkier picks such as WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne.

Beolach writes "Transgaming today released WineX 3.2, their subscription-download tool which 'brings the hottest Windows titles to devoted Linux gamers', now including support for Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne and Homeworld 2, among others. The release announcement also quotes Markus Maki, Development Director of Remedy Entertainment as saying: "TransGaming's unique ability to enable Max Payne 2 to run on Linux without any access to the source code is quite impressive. We're extremely pleased that TransGaming is broadening our reach to new audiences and that the Linux community continues to enjoy our products thanks to TransGaming's outstanding work." In other words, this is all Linux gets for Max Payne 2."

Rimbo writes "I've found a new hero, over at The Lurker Lounge's Diablo II forums, where intrepid adventurer MongoJerry set up an in-game Sorceress according to the following rules: 'No skill or stat points may ever be assigned... She plays fully naked, including no charms or jewelry... She must get all waypoints and fulfill all quests in game order... If she actually gets that far, any mercenary she gets must play naked as well... She plays hardcore.' So, no weapons, no armor, no magic items, no throwing potions. How long will she last playing Diablo II? Astonishingly long! Read on for the surprising Irene the Infirm: Tales of a Sickly Punching Sorceress."

Thanks to GameSpy for their feature discussing the large array of new MMORPGs due in 2004, as they suggest: "We're in the middle of an MMORPG gold rush, with companies hurtling headlong into the battle for your time, and more importantly, your monthly fee. The big question is whether there will be enough players to go around." Featured games include Everquest II (it's argued: "EverQuest players are a natural target audience that can't be ignored, but Sony obviously doesn't want players canceling their accounts to migrate to the sequel"), The Matrix Online ("When The Matrix Online actually goes online, how many people will still care?"), and World Of Warcraft ("Blizzard has never been known for innovation. Will this ultimately come across as just another MMO?")

DudemanX writes "Blizzard have announced: 'Yes, you're reading correctly, the day has finally come for the Diablo II 1.10 patch! This patch is the largest to date in terms of game changes and offers many new things for Diablo II players, including seasonal ladder characters, more-challenging gameplay, enhanced skills, new items, new anti-cheat measures, a new game-world event, and much much more! Simply connect to Battle.net [while playing Diablo II] to download the patch.' The stand-alone patch is also now available on Blizzard's FTP site." This follows Blizzard's 1.10 Beta release all the way back in July.

Thanks to GameSpot for their news that the key members of the creative team behind Diablo and Diablo II have announced their new company, called Flagship Studios, after their split from Blizzard at the end of June. The 9 co-founders of the San Francisco-based studio hope "...to build on a track record established by their work on the... Diablo franchise" at Blizzard North, and there's a piece of concept art and a company FAQ on Flagship's site that clarifies the fact they "intend the PC to be our main development platform", mentioning "multiplayer focused" aspects to this very early-in-development debut title.

Thanks to Reuters for their report that Vivendi Universal Games has still not found a buyer, with indication that, despite much confusion, "The video game unit is not a part of the newly-created NBC Universal, and Vivendi has signaled its intention to hold on to the division." VU Games is also the parent company of both Sierra and Blizzard, but although "...industry insiders have questioned why Vivendi would want to retain ownership considering its divestiture of other entertainment assets", VU Games will stay as it is for now, since "...sources in the banking and games-publishing industries have said the sale bogged down over price, with Vivendi asking on the order of $800 million."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to the Battle.net announcement that Blizzard has removed over 400,000 more accounts from their online gaming service, due to cheating. This comes after earlier similar action in June closed over 112,000 Diablo II accounts - this time, it's been announced: "In keeping with our aggressive stance against cheating, we have permanently closed 276,000 StarCraft accounts, 86,000 Diablo II accounts, and 41,000 Warcraft III accounts." It's also mentioned that Battle.net has "identified the Diablo II accounts with which a 'map-hack' program is being used", and banning is threatened if players don't stop, another sign of Blizzard's continuing, active anti-cheating stance.

Thanks to GameSpot for their hands-on preview of Starcraft: Ghost, the third-person action game being developed for all three consoles (thus negating Xbox exclusivity rumors) by Nihilistic and Blizzard. The article reveals vehicular combat added into the stealth action, saying "...the final game will let you pilot a Terran siege tank, goliath (a bipedal mech), and vulture (a small hovercycle)", and IGN has a more in-depth look at this new Tokyo Game Show build, mentioning the developers are "working together to make a more refined stealth game" but voicing a few reservations about "sluggish and unresponsive" targeting on this much-improved, early 2004-due title.

Thanks to GameSpot for their hands-on preview of Starcraft: Ghost, the third-person action game being developed for all three consoles (thus negating Xbox exclusivity rumors) by Nihilistic and Blizzard. The article reveals vehicular combat added into the stealth action, saying "...the final game will let you pilot a Terran siege tank, goliath (a bipedal mech), and vulture (a small hovercycle)", and IGN has a more in-depth look at this new Tokyo Game Show build, mentioning the developers are "working together to make a more refined stealth game" but voicing a few reservations about "sluggish and unresponsive" targeting on this much-improved, early 2004-due title.

Thanks to the Gaming-Age regulars for pointing to a Korea Herald article discussing the dominance of Blizzard titles in the Korean videogame charts. Reports of Blizzard's immense popularity in South Korea have always been rife, but a survey of the Korean charts over the last 89 weeks confirmed that "...games by American company Blizzard Entertainment topped the weekly sales chart for 75 weeks." During the period in question, "'Starcraft: Battle Chest' ranked No. 1 for 24 weeks, 'Warcraft 3' for 23 weeks, 'Diablo 2:Lord of Destruction' for 21 weeks and 'Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne' for seven weeks.", while the Korea Herald noted that "...among local games, only three made it within the top five so far this year."

Thanks to GamePro for their article discussing why MMORPGs charge a monthly subscription fee, discussing the "extra developer attention and player community" a monthly payment allegedly brings. It quotes a Blizzard spokesman as saying "running a massively multiplayer game like Blizzard's upcoming World of WarCraft costs about three times as much as running an online server like Battle.net, because MMO games require constant maintenance, 24/7 customer support, and an ongoing dedicated development team", and NCSoft's Robert Garriott, brother of Richard, says: "Think of it as running a small city. Many of these games have hundreds of thousands of 'citizens.' NCsoft operates the 'government' that builds new roads, puts criminals in jail, and digs new caverns for citizens to explore and enjoy. All of that costs real money."

Thanks to GamePro for their article discussing why MMORPGs charge a monthly subscription fee, discussing the "extra developer attention and player community" a monthly payment allegedly brings. It quotes a Blizzard spokesman as saying "running a massively multiplayer game like Blizzard's upcoming World of WarCraft costs about three times as much as running an online server like Battle.net, because MMO games require constant maintenance, 24/7 customer support, and an ongoing dedicated development team", and NCSoft's Robert Garriott, brother of Richard, says: "Think of it as running a small city. Many of these games have hundreds of thousands of 'citizens.' NCsoft operates the 'government' that builds new roads, puts criminals in jail, and digs new caverns for citizens to explore and enjoy. All of that costs real money."

Thanks to the Seattle Times for their story discussing the 'cloud of uncertainty' over Blizzard's future, following the stalled sale of Vivendi Universal's games division. Blizzard's president Mike Morhaime says that "...we don't even know if we're part of the assets being sold. We're used to having more control over our destiny, and now we're just waiting", echoing the sentiments of four key Blizzard staff who took things further by quitting the famed developer a couple of months back. But since Blizzard's "...three franchises - 96 percent of whose fans are male - have sold more than 34 million copies worldwide", there's a great deal to be gained if the right buyer can be lined up swiftly enough.

An anonymous reader writes "The last of the races and classes for World of Warcraft have been released. Check WorldofWar.Net for a good summary of the details." They've added new classes for rogue, priest, and paladin, as well as hero classes for high-level players. There's a few new races as well, such as trolls and gnomes.

Entropius writes "Natural Selection, a free Half-Life mod that contains elements of both traditional first-person shooters and real-time strategy games, has just gotten a complete overhaul with the release of version 2.0. In a nutshell, it combines the best elements of StarCraft and Counter-Strike. NS 2.0 adds new alien abilities, commander interface changes, changes to the resource model, four new maps, and more flexibility in alien evolutions. It's a whole new game now, and a blast to play... one of the most innovative new mods in a long time. The mirrors are straining to keep up, but here's a list of download links via readyroom.org." Update: 08/01 14:43 GMT by S : Here's a very necessary BitTorrent link, thanks to commenters.

seirui writes "Blizzard today announced the beginning of the public beta test for the Diablo II: Lord Of Destruction 1.10 patch. Conspicuously absent from the downloadable-now beta patch is Battle.net support (both open and closed), but present are a multitude of little changes, including a rollback.bat file for reverting back to 1.09 to play online. Now that hell has frozen over, the quest for items can continue! Here's a BitTorrent link for the 5mb patch." An anonymous reader also points to a hands-on account at DiabloII.net describing the changes for V1.10.

Vladimir Niksic writes "According to the official Blizzard site, Frozen Throne, the long-awaited expansion to Warcraft III is out. The review at GameSpy marks it 'another quality expansion that plays like a full game.'" There's also a review at ActionTrip which praises the new features which "enhance every facet of gameplay, great storytelling, [and] varied mission types", but notes the $35 price as "..a bit steep for an expansion pack."

Vladimir Niksic writes "According to the official Blizzard site, Frozen Throne, the long-awaited expansion to Warcraft III is out. The review at GameSpy marks it 'another quality expansion that plays like a full game.'" There's also a review at ActionTrip which praises the new features which "enhance every facet of gameplay, great storytelling, [and] varied mission types", but notes the $35 price as "..a bit steep for an expansion pack."

Thanks to several readers for pointing out a Reuters/Yahoo story discussing the departure of four key employees from Warcraft and Diablo developers Blizzard Entertainment. The article elaborates: "In a statement, Blizzard Entertainment said Blizzard North co-founders Erich Schaefer, Max Schaefer and David Brevik, along with a fourth employee, Bill Roper, 'resigned from the company to pursue other opportunities.'" With Bill Roper often the public face of Blizzard, and the Blizzard North co-founders being the original Diablo developers, this is a big deal for Blizzard owners Vivendi, as well as gamers everywhere, especially as Blizzard "is widely seen in the games industry as one of the most attractive assets of VU Games, which has been languishing on the auction block for months."

Thanks to several readers for pointing out a Reuters/Yahoo story discussing the departure of four key employees from Warcraft and Diablo developers Blizzard Entertainment. The article elaborates: "In a statement, Blizzard Entertainment said Blizzard North co-founders Erich Schaefer, Max Schaefer and David Brevik, along with a fourth employee, Bill Roper, 'resigned from the company to pursue other opportunities.'" With Bill Roper often the public face of Blizzard, and the Blizzard North co-founders being the original Diablo developers, this is a big deal for Blizzard owners Vivendi, as well as gamers everywhere, especially as Blizzard "is widely seen in the games industry as one of the most attractive assets of VU Games, which has been languishing on the auction block for months."

Thanks to Blue's News for pointing out that, according to the official Blizzard tech support site, the new V1.10 patch for Warcraft III is available via in-game auto-update. There are also detailed new patch notes, with the update briefly summarized as being: "..an upgrade to Reign of Chaos in preparation for the upcoming release of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, available on July 1st. This patch contains numerous new features and upgrades to Reign of Chaos, as well as several balance changes."

Thanks to Blue's News for pointing out that, according to the official Blizzard tech support site, the new V1.10 patch for Warcraft III is available via in-game auto-update. There are also detailed new patch notes, with the update briefly summarized as being: "..an upgrade to Reign of Chaos in preparation for the upcoming release of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, available on July 1st. This patch contains numerous new features and upgrades to Reign of Chaos, as well as several balance changes."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to IGN.com's article discussing the 10 biggest Playstation 2 rumors currently circulating. Subjects discussed include whether Final Fantasy VII-2 is really planned, if there's actually a sequel to Ico called Nico, the chances of Starcraft:Ghost ever appearing on PS2 (low, apparently?), the likelihood that UGO/Sega are working on an Astro Boy game, and, naturally, rumors about the PS3. As IGN so succintly puts it: "What's the truth worth when you have imagination?"

mandreiana writes "As of June 20th, FreeCraft is shut down. The development team received a cease and desist order due to the name 'FreeCraft' causing possible confusion with the names StarCraft and WarCraft, and also some of the ideas within the engine were too similar to WarCraft 2. There will be no more updates to this game, and it is no longer available for download." Way to go, Blizzard, now the only competitors to worry about are the ones who can afford lawyers and actually hold competing market share. Of course, not using a *Craft for a game project might have kept it under the radar a while longer.

Thanks to several readers for pointing out that the Warcraft III expansion, The Frozen Throne, has gone gold - it's due in stores worldwide on July 1st. The add-on has an extensive official site describing new features, including extra campaigns, units, maps, an enhanced world editor, and new multiplayer clans and tournaments. The press release describes "initial orders of over 2.5 million copies", which is even more impressive considering Warcraft III has 'only' sold "well over 3 million copies".

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to the announcement on the official Blizzard website that "..we have decided to extend our StarCraft: Ghost development schedule." The tactical-action game being developed by Nihilistic for all 3 major consoles will now come out in 2004, and the official site at Blizzard has more details, including a number of new E3 previews.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to the announcement on the official Blizzard website that "..we have decided to extend our StarCraft: Ghost development schedule." The tactical-action game being developed by Nihilistic for all 3 major consoles will now come out in 2004, and the official site at Blizzard has more details, including a number of new E3 previews.

Thanks to the folks at Gamespot for informing us they have the first in-depth preview of Lords Of EverQuest, the recently announced real-time strategy game for PC seeking to extend the EverQuest franchise to other genres. The game, being developed by San Diego-based Rapid Eye Entertainment, is focused on the single-player experience, promising over 75 hours worth of action, and Gamespot closely compares the game to Blizzard's Warcraft III, even suggesting that "If imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, Lords of EverQuest heaps lavish praise indeed at Blizzard's feet." But they also emphasize some differences, and still, Warcraft III didn't suck, right?

colaco writes "After more than a year waiting for the 1.10 patch, Diablo II gamers now have an inside scoop at changes that it will implement. Most of the info on new items and gameplay rules (eg: ladder characters) have been available on Arreat Summit for the past few hours, and are now displayed on DiabloII.net. Blizzard has also offered some clarification. Sources inside Blizzard indicate that more info will be given at E3."

Clomer writes "Blizzard Entertainment has announced the signups for the beta testing of the upcoming expansion set to Warcraft 3 called The Frozen Throne. The beta will be online-only over battle.net, requires the full version of Warcraft 3, and is only open to US residents. Signups will be at battle.net starting on Friday, 14 February and will last a week."

Clomer writes "Blizzard Entertainment has announced the signups for the beta testing of the upcoming expansion set to Warcraft 3 called The Frozen Throne. The beta will be online-only over battle.net, requires the full version of Warcraft 3, and is only open to US residents. Signups will be at battle.net starting on Friday, 14 February and will last a week."

Clomer writes "Blizzard Entertainment has announced the signups for the beta testing of the upcoming expansion set to Warcraft 3 called The Frozen Throne. The beta will be online-only over battle.net, requires the full version of Warcraft 3, and is only open to US residents. Signups will be at battle.net starting on Friday, 14 February and will last a week."