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Blizzard Confirms New Product, May Be Starcraft 2

Posted by Zonk on from the new-is-always-good dept.

darkhitman writes "According to a Kotaku post yesterday, Blizzard has confirmed that they'll announce a new product at their World Wide Invitation in Korea next month. The statement issued by Blizzard verified that they 'do intend to announce a new product [...] next month" and "plan to revisit [Starcraft] at some point in the future,' but did not confirm the rumor that the new game would be Starcraft 2 — but we can certainly hope."

42 of 229 comments (clear)

  1. heh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Zerg Post!

  2. Blizzard announces... by Mr.+Flibble · · Score: 5, Funny

    Blizzard announces World of Starcraft... And a feeling as if a million nerds cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.

    --
    Try to hack my 31337 firewall!
    1. Re:Blizzard announces... by Nullav · · Score: 2, Interesting

      [T]hey won't give us a map editor that we can break to near the degree the SC one is.

      I belive that happened with the SC, and WC2/3. Map editors aren't a problem as long as there are tons of fans lined up to contribute their own modifications after the release. And, in my opinion, expandability is the best thing about Blizzard RTS'es (and most other RTS'es). Even if the story is too bland, modders have a new base to work with. If the game mechanics kill the old game, some determined fans will work to make it more like SC1. And barring that, maybe it would be fun to come up with new strategies for a new game.

      Also, who says they're continuing SC? Maybe they're making a new WC RTS. (Just because they have the MMO now, it doesn't mean that all story progression has to take place there. WoW is nothing like the RTS'es anyway. Though this seems unlikely.) Maybe it has nothing to do with WC or SC. It could be based off of Diablo, or something entirely new. Hell, they may actually resume working on SC: Ghost (doubtful). There's a lot they could be working on other than a sequel to SC.

      Although, I must admit, I really want to see another StarCraft.
      --
      I just read Slashdot for the articles.
    2. Re:Blizzard announces... by JFitzsimmons · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The Warcraft "story" is completely stagnant in WoW; nothing ever changes. You grind the same old missions over and over again and yet nothing ever changes. That is, unless you count the perpetual next-tier of equipment that Blizzard releases to keep the mindless inhabitants grinding and paying.

      --
      Beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master. -Anonymous
    3. Re:Blizzard announces... by Wildclaw · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Personally I am of a completly different opinion.

      Graphic wise, Starcraft was far superior to TA. Good 2d art is much better than simple 3d art. I can still look at Starcraft today and enjoy the graphics. It may be outdated, pixel-wise, but it is still art. TA however has aged significantly.

      The custom AI was indeed a weak point of starcraft, but starcraft single player still had its charms with its better campaigns. Custom single player games was interesting also, mainly to see how many AIs you could defeat. You can't claim to have mastered starcraft single player until you have won 1vs7 games with all three races. Terran being the easiest (Bunkers+Siegetanks), protoss medium difficult (photon cannons+shield batteries and a good map) and zerg the toughest. (Quick expansion and tech to Guardians on a map with close expansion and long travel paths). There is no question however, that multiplayer was where Starcraft shined.

      As for the better game. Starcraft and TA had completly different focus. TA was an army management game with the focus on strategy, and it did very well at that. Throwing large armies back and forth. Starcraft on the other hand had a few specific things that made it unique among RTS:s, then and now. This is why I consider it the best RTS of all times. These special attributes being

      * 3 unique, balanced races. Most RTS games have some difference between the different sides, but Starcraft is to date the only game that I know off that pulled it off that well. The actual mindset changes when switching races. You can actually feel the swarm mentality when playing zerg, or the ability to hold ground as terrans, or the pure power of protoss units.

      * Every single unit type matters from start to end. There isn't a single unit in Starcraft that becomes outdated as the game progresses. When it comes to dealing out pure damage, the basic units are the most cost efficent, while more advanced units are used to provide specific advantages. (such as attack range, area effects, health, cloak and flying abilities)

      The only problem I found with Starcraft multiplayer was the insistance to play on the fastest game speed. Fastest game speed is simply to fast unless you are a pro player with incredible reflexes. I have always wished that RTS games would include something like a Max Payne style time slower where any player could slow down the game for a certain amount of time (the ability itself recharging over time). It would allow for a quick initial phase of the game, while still providing ample opportunity to use more complex tactics in the heat of battle.

  3. It's just like running for president by ween14 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Blizzard Announcement: "We will be having an announcement soon announcing when we will have an announcement about when we will announce a new product."

    --
    Java has no friends.
  4. Who writes these story headlines? by RobertM1968 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Really... take half a statement, add another (irrelevant to the first) half statement, and you have a totally irrelevant headline for a /. article.

    --
    StarTrekPhase2 - The Five Year Mission Continues!
  5. This is just in! by scenestar · · Score: 4, Funny

    A certain company is Releasing "FOO" somewhere set to Release at a yet uncertain date.

    No details are as of yet released, but rumour has it that it *might* be the highly anticipated s equal to their previous bestseller "BAR"

    More details at eleven.

    --
    perpetually dwelling in the -1 pits
  6. Not far from the truth. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://blizzard.com/jobopp/

    Job Update 4/26/07
    New Position - Lead Engine Programmer Next-Gen MMO

    1. Re:Not far from the truth. by Siberwulf · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Dumb question:

      Why can't that be a position for their current MMO?

      WoW has been running on the same engine since release in late 2004. Many MMOs (Dark Age for example) are constantly updating their game engine. Maybe this is just a new engine for the same MMO.

    2. Re:Not far from the truth. by Morlark · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's worth noting that Blizzard have recently renewed their trademark on Blackthorne. Trademarks on other Blizzard games from that era appear to remain untouched.

      --
      Santa's suicide mission go!
    3. Re:Not far from the truth. by Aereus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Blizzard telling us that they are announcing a new game in *South Korea* next month almost guarantees that it is Starcraft-related IMHO. Starcraft is/was absolutely huge in Korea, so I can't see them choosing that spot for an announcement for anything else. A Starcraft MMO also makes good market sense right now, even if I would also love to see a new Starcraft RTS. There has been a distinct lack of quality mainstream Scifi MMOs so far. Starcraft could fit into that area quite nicely -- and by the time the game was ready for release, WoW would also be around its 5th anniversary.

    4. Re:Not far from the truth. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Actually, the logical thing to do is pull a Warcraft 3. Announce Starcraft 2 in Korea, with a new 3D engine. Use this release to lay additional groundwork (in particular, any new story elements needed to create an MMO from it), while beginning serious work on the implementation of the MMO. Then release an expansion to the RTS 1-2 years later, then announce the MMO 1-2 years later, and release 1-2 years later.

      That way, you get the franchise revitalized and updated, making the expected shedloads of money, while also setting things up for the MMO to follow. And if they really are working on Ghost in-house, then if the MMO is delayed, there's another entry in the Starcraft franchise to keep interest in the brand up.

  7. Good Locale by bstorer · · Score: 3, Funny

    Where better to announce Starcraft 2 than in Korea? Kekeke!

    1. Re:Good Locale by DanielG42 · · Score: 2, Funny

      In South Korea, only old people wait for the next release of Starcraft.

      --
      Daniel
  8. Re:Reminds me by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah, man... would hate to not be able to buy some new game coming out.

    --
    "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
  9. Korea? Bet it's Starcraft-related by rsborg · · Score: 4, Informative
    Since Korea is the worldwide capitol of Starcraft players.

    Also it's not a total surprise given the hints that Blizzard has been putting out (validity of "hints" left as an exercise to reader).

    --
    Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
  10. Another expansion pack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I bet they'll introduce the new "World of Starcraft" with an expansion pack for WoW. Just when a new guild is about to take down Kel'Thuzad for the first time, and a voice will come out of no-where and announce "Nuclear Launch Detected".

  11. Re:WoW/WoS? by Lord_Breetai · · Score: 5, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our new starcrafting overlords!

    Spawn more overlords!

    --
    "You are only young once, but you can be immature forever." -www.animemusicvideos.org
  12. wtf? by sloth+jr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why is a sequel something to get thrilled about? How about a TRULY new game from Blizzard?!?

  13. Re:Bah! by Puff+of+Logic · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What everyone really wants is World Of Starcraft. Actually, I'd rather they didn't make World of Starcraft, because I'm extremely skeptical that they'd be able to pull it off. While the high-fantasy genre works very well because it's fairly limited in scope and "magic" supplies the necessary explanation for the really wacky stuff, I think that science fiction is a victim of its own scope. Sci-Fi tends to be really big, as evidenced by that cut-scene in Starcraft when the marine is about to get chewed up by Zerg as the massive battlecruiser flies overhead. Unless players were entirely restricted to ground and near ground-level stuff, and had some non-twitch combat system like WoW, I just don't think WoS would work.

    Now, what I would like to see is all of Blizzard's creativity and energy put into Starcraft 2, utilising all of the lessons learned thus far and drawing heavily from the wonderful work that was Company of Heroes. The day I see high-resolution Protoss Zealots taking cover behind a lumbering Reaver while Dragoons skitter between the piles of wreckage in the Terran base I just destroyed will be a wonderous thing. RTS games have come a long way since Starcraft came out and I think it's a shame that we haven't seen another game in the series yet.

    Here's hoping we'll be bitching about the system requirements of Starcraft 2 in the near future!
    --
    P.P.S. I'm doing Science and I'm still alive.
  14. Re:Starcraft 2... but it's an MMO... by Presence2 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The RTS genre that SC pioneered is pretty much dead. C&C and all the (many, way too many) clones beat that horse to death. Blizz probably knows making another RTS, even a very sexy next-gen RTS, will never have the market impact that a new StarCraft MMOG would.

  15. Re:Eh by Kaleo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I second that. Diablo 2 was, in my opinion, the greatest game ever made. I'm still playing it. Also, Diablo and Diablo 2 to this day are the only non-MMORPG RPGs that I have ever personally seen girls play on a regular basis. How's that for mainstream? Wake up Blizzard. Make Diablo 3.

  16. I hope SC2 isn't like WC3... by RichPowers · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I loved Warcraft I and II, but I lost interest when Bliz started emphasized the cartoony fantasy elements instead of the all-out war between the Alliance and the Horde. The RPG-esque elements of WC3 never appealed to me and the lower unit count drove me nuts. I loved the fast-and-furious RTS experience provided by the first two.

    In doing so, Blizz set the groundwork for the successful fantasy world that is WoW, but it still doesn't make me happy :)

    I will be somewhat disappointed in they take the same route in the next Starcraft.

  17. What this proves... by Phase+Shifter · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is that any sufficiently rabid fanboi will see what he wants, regardless of whether it flat-out contradicts the obvious.

    To paraphrase Blizzard: "We're about to announce a new game, and we really want to do something with the Starcraft franchise, but this ain't it."
    Rabid fanboi writing article: "Woohoo! Blizz said Starcraft! Blizz said new game! This is it, Starcraft 2 next month!"

    It's a shame, because I would really like to see another Starcraft. Unfortunately the fanbois are probably scaring Blizzard away from actually doing it, since they know the first screenshots or videos released from beta will set off a torrent of bad press from people saying "What is this crap? They were saying this was ready for release like two years ago, and this is all they have?"

    1. Re:What this proves... by themildassassin · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Why paraphrase when you can just copy and post the quote?
      "We do intend to announce a new product at the Worldwide Invitational next month in Korea, and we appreciate the enthusiasm and interest in getting an advance look at what that will be, but players will have to wait until May 19th to find out more. Also, we have a very strong connection with the characters and settings of StarCraft, and we do plan to revisit that universe at some point in the future, but we don't have anything new to announce in that regard at present."

      Now let me paraphrase, the first part is saying "We have a secret.", the second part is saying "and we really like Starcraft.", and the last part, "but we can't tell you anything yet."

      I think you are missing something or I am. This is ambiguous PR talk, but nowhere does it state that they are defiantly not going to do Starcraft, in fact they seem to be suggesting that it is in fact a Starcraft game, or they are a bunch of serious teases.

      Also, "fanboi"? Is your disdain of the English language so great that you need to strike out at all of us like that?

    2. Re:What this proves... by Phase+Shifter · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually et's take those first two parts basically as you state them:

      "we have a secret we'll be reealing next month."
      "We Really like Starcraft."

      the third part, with no reading between lines required, quite plainly says "But the secret we plan to reveal next month has nothing to do with Starcraft."

  18. Re:Eh by osu-neko · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm dreading Diablo III. The Blizzard North that made Diablo/Diablo II is long gone, and I'm dreading to see what travesty the current Blizzard comes up with to slap the Diablo brand name on.

    I'm suspecting Diablo III will be to Diablo II what Master of Orion III was to Master of Orion II.

    --
    "Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
  19. Starcraft II by Frozen+Void · · Score: 5, Informative

    Starcraft could be the perfect strategy game if it was more editable and several fixes were applied.
    (applies to Battle.net itself too)
    The map editor sucks(by capabilities,everyone uses Starforge).
    Games start with delay of 5 seconds.
    Ladder was so prone to abuse blizzard closed it on all gateways.
    When someone's client doesn't respond,game DOES NOT drop him,but instead freezees the game,
    shows a non-modal timeout screen,for 40 seconds and then at 0:00 it could just stop if the player uses
    the very popular lag hack.
    Maphack and other exploits are not fixed.Maphack gives an enormous advantage in Starcraft.
    Dragoon(and several other units) AI dances around when used with obstacles.
    Pairs of units start dancing when they can't decide the right of way(heading towards each other).
    All channels on battle.net with exception of 20-30 are not shown in channel list(it probably a crude anti-spam measure blizzard "invented").
    The ability to save games is limited to host(unlike replays).
    The random element of 70% chance firing to higher ground does not belong in this game.
    When connecting to battle.net client opens 7-10 extra connections to the same server,and closes them only after several minutes pass.
    Friendlists are limited to 20.
    ignore lists are stored server side and reset each time you login.
    Ums Map preview is disabled for some reason.
    Maps in singleplayer list are limited to 1024 IIRC,beyond that it just doesn't displays them (batlle.net list works fine).
    Spam bots which spam each 60 seconds are never banned and players who speak too fast are kicked out from the server.
    Replays must be passworded games only.
    The observer glitch:when observer is exactly on center of missile turret, missile turret stops firing and just freezes.
    You need to place map revealers and disable fog of war,but cannot make the map be visible 100% in UMS without this.
    Unit range,cooldown,AI etc are not modifiable by editor.
    lack of math operations and variables in editor.
    Spells/abilities are not modifiable and cannot be cast by triggers with exception of few.
    Direct coordinates and locations are not supported.

    the list goes on and on.

  20. Can Starcraft 2 ever meet expactations? by Hackie_Chan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Scenario A) The game will not follow the exact same formula, instead taking the original and building upon it. Substantial changes to game play and design are bound, implementing common features available in modern RTS games.

    People will complain that Starcraft 2 is too different from the original.

    Scenario B) The game is a minimalist upgrade. Basically being the original but in 3D, with the intention of not trying to break a tried and true formula.

    People will complain that Starcraft 2 is too similar to the original (see reception of Command and Conquer 3).

    --

    What's so bad about being lazy? What if there was a war and nobody showed up?
  21. Re:Could it be a new diablo instead? by RandomPrecision · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They let all of Blizzard North go several years ago, so I doubt it. Blizzard North has since essentially reformed as Castaway Entertainment, and they're currently working on Hellgate: London, if I'm not mistaken.

  22. World of Starcraft? WTF? by Czaries · · Score: 2, Insightful

    World of Starcraft? Seriously? Why the hell does everyone keep saying World of Starcraft? This naming convention makes sense for Warcraft or Diablo, where all battles are fought on one world, but not for Starcraft!!! There are at the very least three different planets (Worlds) that will have to exist (one for each race), and we know from the original game that there are far more worlds involved in the storyline than just the three homeworlds.

    I can guarantee you 100% that this game will NOT be named World of Starcraft, regardless of what type of game it turns out to be. That would not make any sense to fans for this brand, and Blizzard knows that. Something like Universe of Starcraft or Galaxy of Starcraft (which has been mentioned by a few) would make MUCH more sense. Use your heads instead of being stuck in a naming convention that won't work for this brand for obvious reasons.

    Welcome to the World of Slashdot.

    1. Re:World of Starcraft? WTF? by Dachannien · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm voting for "Sector of Starcraft". It's got alliteration, it doesn't rip off "Galaxy" from SWG, and nerds will dig it.

  23. Re:Actually... by JFitzsimmons · · Score: 2, Informative

    EVE online?

    --
    Beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master. -Anonymous
  24. Re:WoW/WoS? by Dachannien · · Score: 4, Funny

    Spawn more overlords!

    We require more minerals.

  25. Re:Please, let it NOT be... by __aawkdb2598 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "...starcraft if it actually required minimal tactical strategy competence."

    Hold up there. If you're implying that Starcraft doesn't require tactical competence then perhaps you're dealing with some strange definition of tactics that I was unaware of.
    Tactics: Tactics is the collective name for methods of winning a small-scale conflict, performing an optimization, etc. This applies specifically to warfare, but also to economics, trade, games and a host of other fields such as negotiation.

    That kind of tactics is essential in Starcraft. Have you ever seen a really good game of Starcraft? It's one of the most fascinating, tactical, and fast-paced games I've ever seen at the higher levels. From micro-management of units (try controlling the individual targeting of every unit in a squad, in real time) to precise maneuvering, ranging and timing Starcraft at its best requires incredible tactical thought. Fine-grain options are weighed out and balanced, opponents predicted or deceived, tens of units of crystal measured against seconds in a struggle against a cunning and relentless adversary (the other guy).If that's not tactics, what is?

  26. No!! Please don't so this by twigles · · Score: 4, Funny

    I just kicked the WoW habit a couple months ago!

    I've been Blizzard's bitch since 1994 and it sucks. I feel like Sharon Stone in Casino....

  27. Sure Starcraft II by Ilgaz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Blizzard has confirmed that they'll announce a new product at their World Wide Invitation in Korea next month."

    The "Korea" is the key, a country known for its massive amount of current Starcraft players.

    It will be at least Starcraft related.

  28. Re:What's blackthorne? by fmarkham · · Score: 2, Informative
    From the home of the underdogs:

    Blackthorne is an excellent action/adventure hybrid in the same vein as Delphine's celebrated Out of This World. Probably the most underrated, overlooked game from Blizzard (made before the company became famous with WarCraft series), the game received little attention when it was released (perhaps due to the fanfare surrounding Warcraft 1, released around the same time). Which is a shame, because it is an excellent, addictive platformer that is arguably better than Flashback. The plot is mundane enough: you are the only hero who could stop evil Sarlac from conquering the kingdoms. Armed with a shotgun whose firepower can be increased, and a few bombs and guided missiles, you must break through the Orcish army and kill Sarlac inside his heavily fortified castle.
    Or why not download the abandonware from the above site and see for yourself.
  29. Re:Eh by GotenXiao · · Score: 2, Informative

    There's something better on the horizon, and it's called Hellgate: London. The company making it are Flagship Studios, led by Bill Roper. Having seen the live demo given by same at i30 about three weeks ago, I can safely say it's going to be good.

    --
    Goten Xiao
  30. Re:Starcraft 2... but it's an MMO... by Wildclaw · · Score: 2, Insightful

    MMO doesn't equal MMORPG, even though the RPG sub-genre is the biggest of the MMO genres. It could be just as possible that they are planning an MMORTS, or maybe a MMOFPS.

  31. Re:Starcraft Ghost? by Omestes · · Score: 2, Informative

    Ghost died, pure and simple. It was Blizzards first attempt at re-entering the console market since the SNES days, and they got beaten by their own characteristically long development cycles. It was supposed to be XBox and Ps2, but then the next gen rolled around while they were still working on it, and eventually they gave up, since it would already be dated (its Blizzard, 5-6 years is a SHORT cycle).

    --
    A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey