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Blizzard Announces New Starcraft Game
About a zillion readers wrote in to tell us about all the commotion over at the Blizzard site. Following a countdown, they've announced the latest Starcraft game, Starcraft: Ghost. Note that this game will be console-only, and the FAQ is very adamant that this is not a Starcraft 2.
Q: What is StarCraft: Ghost?
A: StarCraft: Ghost is a tactical-action console game set in the StarCraft® universe.
Q: How will StarCraft: Ghost be different from other tactical-action console games?
A: StarCraft: Ghost will be different from other tactical-action games in many ways. Taking on the role of Nova, the game's elite Ghost operative hero, players will be able to:
Utilize a Wide Range of Elite Ghost Abilities
Outmaneuver your enemies at sonic speed
Infiltrate bases and sneak past guards using the cloak ability
Lock down vehicles and electronic devices to immobilize them
Engage in both face-to-face firefights and planet-scale warfare
Leverage the Resources of an Entire Army
Call down massive Battlecruiser and Siege Tank strikes
Take control of familiar StarCraft vehicles
Wield a variety of familiar weapons, such as the Gauss Rifle and Perdition Flamethrower
Join your allies in battle and do your part to ensure mission success
Experience the World of StarCraft in 3D
See the world of StarCraft on a personal level
Visit familiar planetary settings
Explore 3D environments designed for strategic interaction
Use the camera to find unique strategic possibilities
As Nova, players will be able to scale fences, hang from wires, climb poles and scale walls, and negotiate tightropes
Unveil the Next Chapter in the StarCraft Saga
Experience story-driven missions complete with multiple plot twists
Play a crucial role in the rich StarCraft history
Engage in combat with a variety of fully rendered units from the StarCraft universe, including the Terran, Zerg, and Protoss
Q: Is this StarCraft II?
A: No.
Q: Will there be a StarCraft II? When?
A: Although we have not made any announcements and do not have a development or release timeline, we do fully intend to revisit the world of StarCraft on PC at some point in the future.
Q: Why is Blizzard Entertainment® entering the console arena?
A: We began our early development efforts in console gaming, and we have always been excited about returning to this arena. Additionally, we've wanted to revisit the StarCraft universe for some time. With StarCraft: Ghost, we are able to do both. Also, due to the game's control interface and tactical-action nature, developing this title for the next-generation console systems makes the most sense. In addition to expanding StarCraft's rich storyline, the game gives players a chance to experience the sci-fi universe from an all-new perspective.
Q: Does Blizzard plan to develop any other console games?
A: While we have not made any announcements, we are considering future console development plans.
Q: What is the relationship between Blizzard and Nihilistic Software, Inc.(TM)?
A: Blizzard and Nihilistic are co-developing StarCraft: Ghost.
Q: Why did Blizzard choose Nihilistic as a development partner?
A: Nihilistic Software, Inc. is made up of a talented group of developers. We chose them because they share our vision and focus in developing games. Their team members have worked on several great titles, and we are very pleased to be expanding the StarCraft universe with them.
Q: What is the relationship between Blizzard Entertainment and Capcom?
A: Blizzard and Capcom are co-publishing StarCraft: Ghost in Japan.
Q: Why did Blizzard choose Capcom as a publishing partner in Japan?
A: Blizzard has a longstanding relationship with Capcom. We chose them as our publishing partner because we have a great deal of respect for the company and their products.
Q: When will StarCraft: Ghost be released?
A: We expect to ship StarCraft: Ghost in late 2003.
Q: What rating do you expect for StarCraft: Ghost?
A: We expect StarCraft: Ghost to receive a Teen rating from the ESRB.
Q: On what platforms will StarCraft: Ghost be available?
A: We are currently developing the game for multiple console systems. Further details regarding platform/country specifics will be released in the months ahead.
Q: Will there be a PC and Mac version?
A: No. StarCraft: Ghost is only being developed for console systems.
Q: How many copies of StarCraft have been sold?
A: To date, the StarCraft franchise has shipped over 6 million copies.
Blizzard Entertainment® Announces StarCraft: Ghost(TM)
Blizzard unveils plans to bring the legendary franchise to console gamers
MAKUHARI, Japan - September 20, 2002 - During a press conference today at the Tokyo Game Show, Blizzard Entertainment®, a studio of the games division of Vivendi Universal Publishing, unveiled StarCraft: Ghost(TM), a tactical-action console game set in Blizzard's epic StarCraft® universe. StarCraft: Ghost is currently under development and is scheduled for a worldwide release on multiple console systems. The game will be co-published by Capcom and Blizzard Entertainment in Japan; further announcements regarding platform/country specifics will be announced in the months to come.
In StarCraft: Ghost, players take the role of Nova, a lethal Ghost operative skillfully trained in the arts of espionage and tactical combat. Twenty years of ruthless physical conditioning and techno-psychological instruction have made Nova a being of terrifying potential. With the help of a determined group of allies, players follow a series of story-driven missions, engaging in a deadly mix of planetary battles and dangerous solo operations. To complete their mission objectives, players must execute intelligent tactical decisions while mastering an advanced arsenal of sophisticated weaponry.
"We're very excited about returning to the StarCraft series," stated Mike Morhaime, Blizzard Entertainment president and co-founder. "Our roots are based in console gaming, and we look forward to developing this universe for the next-generation console systems."
Key features in StarCraft: Ghost include:
Revolutionary new style of gameplay featuring enhanced physical and psionic abilities
Hostile Environment Suit designed to magnify strength, agility, and speed
Over-the-top special effects offer stunning visuals and unparalleled tactical realism
Immersive 3D environments showcase rich textures and highly stylized character models
Unique Calldown abilities allow players to target large-scale attacks from the ground
A deeply evolving storyline set in Blizzard's gritty sci-fi StarCraft universe
As the story unravels, players find themselves traversing uncharted terrain and battling adversaries never before seen by followers of the series. Bold 3D graphics give players a new, in-depth perspective on familiar planets and former battlefields from the legendary universe. A dynamic 3rd-person camera view displays dramatic lighting, startling detail, and a blend of realistic and fantastical design. Co-developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Nihilistic Software, Inc.(TM), StarCraft: Ghost is scheduled for release in late 2003. Since its debut in 1998, the #1-selling StarCraft series* has won industry acclaim and has shattered sales records worldwide with over six million copies shipped. Blizzard continued the series with the critically acclaimed StarCraft: Brood War(TM), which won multiple Expansion Pack of the Year awards and is still considered by many critics to be one of the best add-on products to date. Best known for blockbuster hits including the Warcraft®, StarCraft,and Diablo® series, Blizzard Entertainment (www.blizzard.com), a studio of the games division of Vivendi Universal Publishing, is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating many of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard's track record includes seven #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's free Internet gaming service Battle.net® reigns as the largest in the world, with millions of active users.
I forget, do we like or despise Blizzard this week?
I'll make sure to tell my grandkids..
-ashot
Screenshots and the press release are attached to the story at Shacknews.com.
"Starcraft Ghost will be out late 2003"
So we can expect it sometime in 2006.
Think nothing is impossible? Try slamming a revolving door.
A couple years ago or so, when many were heralding the imminent doom of PC games when the next-generation consoles (X-Box, PS2, Gamecube) came out, I sneered and jeered along with the rest of them. PC games, affected at all by these upstart consoles? Ha-ha, ho-ho, it is to laugh!
Now comes Starcraft Ghost, and I'm no longer laughing. Sure, they may turn it out for the PC at some point (maybe), but it's obvious the console gamers are now getting first pick at Blizzard's new titles. And this isn't some new Mario title or kart-racing game that I couldn't give a tinker's damn about -- this is Starcraft. That's a big deal.
Not that it will be a selling point for me -- unfortunately, the disposable income to keep up with the technology curve on both the console and PC front is not a luxury I have right now. And so I find myself reacting to the release of a new Starcraft title not with the excitement and joy that I'd hoped, but with mixed disappointment and dread. Gee, thanks, Blizzard.
About a zillion readers wrote in to tell us
Whoa! Karma inflation!
I knew I should have gotten in on the ground level. Tomorrow my Excellent is going to be Can't Buy A Stick of Gum No More (mostly affected by moderation done to your comments)
so in this case if the site gets terminally slashdotted, is it a zerg rush?
News for Geeks in Austin, TX
Warcraft Adventures or something like that. It was supposed to be an RPG/Action type of game featuring a young orc. They ended up using a lot of the storyline in WC3.
I know more than you drink.
Sounds all very... Metal Gear Solid. Hmmm. I've never been a big fan of Starcraft (but most RTS's don't put wind in my sail).
And now Blizzard is going to go from their gold standard (the RTS) into unfriendly waters (the Tactical Sim)? Of course they can never go long with this dialogue:
Ghost: "The truck have started to move!"
Templar: "I feel asleep!"
What is music when you despise all sound?
"We began our early development efforts in console gaming, and we have always been excited about returning to this arena. Additionally, we've wanted to revisit the StarCraft universe for some time. With StarCraft: Ghost, we are able to do both."
n _ghost_character.
Translation: We wanted to use Blizzard's name and a great game title to enter into the console market.
I'm not meaning to flame here... But it looks like that to me. It could turn out to be a great game. However I do question how much it will be starcraft and how much it will be star_based_game_set_in_space_with_aliens_and_huma
If It's good (which I do hope. I've always supported Blizzard), I guess I'll have to buy a console.
Nevertheless, Starcraft2.com is up.
You're totally wrong.
Blizzard developed Warcraft Adventures themselves. It was the graphics that were outsourced to a Russian animation house. Russian. As in, halfway across the world, different language, different time zone.
There was a requested scene that got mangled in the translation so badly that it ended up with a dragon smoking opium instead of billowing fire. (It was funny enough that they planned on using it anyway!)
Anyway, when Warcraft Adventures was canned, it was already "release-quality" by some companies' standards. If it had come out a year earlier, it would have been a great game. But Monkey Island 4 had just come out, and it had advanced the adventure genre to a new level. Blizzard's latest-and-greatest didn't look so great anymore with flat 2D graphics and linear playstyle. So they scrapped it rather than get a "That game is soooo last-year" reaction.
Blizzard origionally was a console company. What is now known as Blizzard was once Silicon & Synapse. One of their more popular games was Rock & Roll Racing, which, if memory serves, was produced for Nintendo. There have been rumors of them returning to their console roots someday, and with everybody and their brother making consoles these days, it's not surprising that they'd want to "re-expand" into that lucrative market.
As for me, I'm not excited really, because I'm not a console gamer, and because Blizzard's handling of the BNETD situation left a bad taste in my mouth. But, they do have a rep for making good games, so I guess we'll see how well they do on this one.
"Rest assured I was on the internet within minutes registering my disgust throughout the world."
-- Comic Book Guy
Check it out
Looks can be deceiving. Or CAN they?
How depressing that bringing down a funny script with halfassed 3D graphics is "a new level." Not necessarily a better level, I guess! Gimme pixelated sprites any day.
when you see "Console Only" and think "COOL! Finally, ASCII art is making a come back!"
Snarkiness is inversely proportional to wisdom because it emphasizes feeling right rather than being right.
Are you listening to yourself? It's a GAME. I consider myself a hardcore gamer but damn, lay off the Dew.
Your post screams "I'm in my parent's basement!" like no other before it.
Q: Will there be a PC and Mac version? A: No. StarCraft: Ghost is only being developed for console systems. "
Looking at the sales of consoles in Japan makes it pretty clear there is a PS2 version. The PS2 is outselling the GameCube 4:1 and outselling the xbox 20:1 (Most weeks the obsolete PS1 outsells the Xbox!) according to the magic box Actually the PS2 has more consoles sold in each market (Japan, US, Europe) than its combined compeditors do worldwide! Nintendo or MS would have to be doing some big behind the scene deals to keep it off the PS2.
Nihilistic (which just hired their 18th employee according to their webpage) only has PC experience. My guess is they're making a GameCube and Xfx-box version and having another company port it to the PS2. Development for the GC is almost as nice as Xbox development (My opinion, I've worked with both systems). Development on both systems in parallel is quite possible. The PS2 is a real pain to work with, a small studio like this won't have the resources for all three consoles IMHO. Heck I don't know if they could pull off a quality PS2 exclusive version that looks like other company's 2nd and 3rd gen products. Unless most of those 18 guys are programmers, or they've got one super programmer without a life outside of work.
And cube.ign.com covered the story in their GameCube and Xbox previews section, not in their PS2 section.
One thing that many PC gamers tend to not realize is that a Console game will almost always make more money then a PC game. Even a mostly crappy console game sells more copies then some of the best PC games.
If you take that into account, there is no reason not to do a Console game. And at least they are doing this the right way. Unless I am severly mistaken, the console ports of Warcraft 2, Diablo, and Starcraft have all sucked.
END COMMUNICATION
[root@mike pts/1 root]# whois starcraft2.com
*snip*
Domain Name: STARCRAFT2.COM
Created on..............: Fri, Sep 24, 1999
Expires on..............: Wed, Sep 24, 2003
Blizzard's had this name for over two years. That's pretty standard practice, to grab domains you think you might use.
Maybe when they stop trying to kill the bnetd project I'll consider buying from them again.
I can't help it. I just have a hard time giving my money to a company that is trying to kill a great open source project by using the DMCA.
So until they stop what they're doing to the bnetd group, I say fuck 'em!
The race isn't always to the swift... but that's the way to bet!
Actually, the insistence that this isn't "Starcraft 2" should be a strong clue that PC gamers aren't really missing out on "the next big thing" from Blizzard. This sounds much more like a completely different game, trying to cash in on the popularity of the Starcraft name.
If you were laughing before at the suggestion that the PC game market would dry up with the new generation of consoles, keep on laughing. Unreal Tournament 2003 will be out for the PC before XBox or PS2 has it. Starcraft 2 is still slated to be on the PC first, from every indication they've given.
Your comment uses the poetic device of parallelism to equate video game production in Russia with video game production in Japan. The difference here is that the North American console gaming population is much more familiar with Japanese video game culture than with Russian video game culture (excluding one particular Russian game).
Will I retire or break 10K?
Come on guys, it's not that hard.
Warcraft 3 is the fastest selling PC game of all time. It continues to top the charts since its release. In fact, this week is the first time it wasn't #1.
With those kinds of numbers, its obvious Blizzard will do an expansion for it - its easy money!
Now imagine they announced Starcraft 2 would be out next year. That would cannibalize sales of Warcraft 3, and kill any opportunity of an expansion. Everyone would be waiting for Starcraft 2 instead.
This is why they didn't announce Starcraft 2 today. In fact, the PR guys confirmed several days ago that Starcraft 2 isn't even in development - they are focused on making as much as they can from Warcraft 3 right now.
Who knows what will come after the Warcraft III expansion - something with Diablo? Something new? But I don't think we will see Starcraft 2 for at least 3 years.
You could've made +5 if you'd said:
"Slashdot: News for Zergs. Stuff that mutates."
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
They poked fun at Blizzard a few months ago.
Excerpt:
"I can be self-referential if I want to," said Tom, swiftly.