I'm not skeptical anymore, but I am sad that Blizz will start announcing things on different conventions. This means even more unneeded hype, but most importantly - the watering down of BlizzCon, which was by far my favorite out there.
Blizzard PR knows better. First, there is no such thing as unnecessary hype while the information flow is controlled by PR. Second, BlizzCon would loose it's main PR advantage if it was reduced to an announcement barrage. Keeping the number of announcements to one or two per event they can focus more attention on a product. Just imagine the headline: "[The Next Big Thing] is announced!" And imagine this one: "Blizzard announces three new titles!" I think you can see now the importance of focus. Blizzard doesn't make money on Blizzcons, they make money on their products. Sure, stuffing all announcements in Blizzcon's schedule would turn people's heads towards Blizzcon, but that's not the goal. The great, worldwide audience of Blizzard is interested in games, afterall, and they want to hear about games, the more about a product, the better. Scheduling announcements on different dates can keep media attention on a single product at a time, and Blizzard games get more coverage in total.
Blizzcon won't get watered down. It's a meeting of Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo fans first and foremost. Traditional events, contests and activities may suffer if more time would be allocated to announcements and details.
Now, there are downsides of announcing at large events, like Gamescom. Many other, third-party games may be announced, so Blizzard might not get full attention afterall. That is a PR risk, but Gamescom is traditionally not rich in announcements, not a blockbuster-bomb like E3, at least. It's more like a very large VG fan meeting like PAX, or similar to ComicCon. They'll have their attention, I'm sure.
Finally explanation who is the dude on Diablo 2 cover? In every Diablo the cover art has always presented the final boss of the game. Diablo 2 cover guy sure looks like the Grim Reaper himself (I have seen him, yes).
D2 cover featured the dark wanderer... who was Diablo. Sorry for the spoiler
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So Overneathe, still sceptical about the expansion announcement at Gamescom? See you on 21st August!
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Yep, a shapeshifter please. The other choice I leave for Blizzard. They can make whatever they want!
Blizzcon won't get watered down. It's a meeting of Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo fans first and foremost. Traditional events, contests and activities may suffer if more time would be allocated to announcements and details.
Now, there are downsides of announcing at large events, like Gamescom. Many other, third-party games may be announced, so Blizzard might not get full attention afterall. That is a PR risk, but Gamescom is traditionally not rich in announcements, not a blockbuster-bomb like E3, at least. It's more like a very large VG fan meeting like PAX, or similar to ComicCon. They'll have their attention, I'm sure.
---
So Overneathe, still sceptical about the expansion announcement at Gamescom? See you on 21st August!