No nip-slips or nanny-shots here, you will have to go to other sites for that type of stuff...

That being said, we saw some really original costumes on the floor today. I took some pics at the contest as well, but those don't turn out quite so well.

my personal favorite of the day was:

Chuck Norris - some guy dressed as Chuck Norris. Black shirt, cowboy hat and a beard. It was quite funny.


but here is my set of pictures...

twins:

is she a critter?:












--mbg

I just got back from the Machinima Contest announcements. It was pretty awesome stuff. To see machinima on the big screen with thousands of other people cheering and laughing along was quite awesome.

We were lucky enough to get two out of the three top winners on to Xfire for a live chat earlier in the day.

Jun Falkenstein - Stone Falcon Productions - won the top overall prize and also 1st in the action/adventure category for Snacky's Journal part 3.

Sam Pierce - Slashdance - won the top prize in the drama category.

I forgot who won the comedy entry, i got there a bit late and only caught the end of it...

Anyways....

red sky foundry:


ian beckman:


jun falkenstein:


sam pierce:


all:


--mbg

We have had requests for WoW Wrath of the Lich King stuff.

Today, we were a bit more concerned with StarCraft II, because we knew the folks at WoW Insider would do an awesome job covering it. So go check out their site for tons of awesome screenshots and other cool stuff.

We will probably reporting some hands on experiences about it tomorrow.

--mbg

In the next 1/2 hr. we are going to have some machinima folks on to chat with you. Jason Choi, Ian Beckman and The Brothers Tauren (Ryan and John Ebenger)

We just concluded a chat with Team EG's WoW squad The Hukhukhukhukhuk's.

The Team:


The chat (Tiz and Spinster):


[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: hi again
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: we will get started now
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: start asking questions
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: and we will start pasting them
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: here they are
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: ...
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: one sec
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: i flubbed
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007:
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: here they are
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: lol one sec again
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: yeah!!!!!!!!
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: here they are
[Team EG] Tiz: Hey guys I am Tiz from Team EG. We are sitting here waiting for our first match against Nashwan. I am the orc warlock on the team
[Team EG] Spinister: Hello, this is Spinister from Evil Geniuses also known as the Huks
[Team EG] Spinister: how are you all doing today
[Team EG] Tiz: at BlizzCon! FUN.

Question: Every team except for one runs a warrior/paladin/shaman core. Do you think that they are required for a successful 5v5 team?
Answer: [Team EG] Tiz: I dont think its required so much as it is one of the easiest matrixes to do very well with. Personally I would consider the priest even more important to pair with the paladin/warrior then the shaman though. Its pretty vital to have multiple dispels when going against teams with alot of CC.

Question: Did the increased armor values on season 2 gear balance the damage taken by casters or is it still better to wear plate compared to anything else?
Answer: [Team EG] Spinister: I believe at t his moment I think that the increased armor values has not scaled as significant;y enough to produce that big of a damage mitigation on softer armored classes such as priests/mages. Often times they can still drop at the blink of an eye.

[Team EG] Spinister: you guys can go ahead and ask more questions btw ^^

Question: With the upgrade of arena gear in season two, do you think that competitive PvP and PvE in WoW can exist separately where one no longer ...

Question: fealubryne: From what experiences you've had, would you say the people who don't min/max (in teams and/or specs) stand a chance in arena, or is it better to go with a set makeup of classes with set specs?
Answer: [Team EG] Tiz: That depends entirely on what your gameplan is. Its certainly easier to use a tried a true setup, simply because for the most part they are very balanced and versatile. Thats why people gravitated to them in the first place. But you always need to be on the lookout for ways to twink your specs to fit your needs. Even fighting against teams with identical matrixes, we have always noticed different playtyles within thoses matrixes.

Question: Do you think that a team can be competitive playing only 10 games a week?
Answer: [Team EG] Spinister: I do think that you can still stay competitive only playing the minimum amount of games per week, but that certain team would need to be a core team, have an unbelievable amount of chemistry, and superior coordination between each other to achieve this. Basically what I'm trying to say is with the competition the way that it is right now, it's next to impossible.

[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: We have about 5 min more with EG...
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: and then a special guest from nihilum

Question: What do you think about the practice of transferring servers just to play in a more competitive battlegroup or with a specific team?
Answer: [Team EG] Tiz: I cant blame the teams that do it, because frankly I am often tempted to as well. We wont leave our battlegroup because we love the community and there is still alot of competition here. What really needs to be done is some sort of system that allows inter battlegroup matches to be setup so top teams can compete with eachother out of LANS though. Its one of the most important steps needed for WoW to really excel as an Esport.

Question: What do you think about the practice of "farming" the same teams over and over or queuing up only during certain hours?
Answer: [Team EG] Spinister: Thi...

PvP

- Siege weapons are going to be introduced
- New non-instanced PvP zone (Lake Wintergrasp)
- New battleground (15 per side / 30-45 minute target match length)
- New arena season, gear, and map

Death Knight
- Tank / DPS hybrid
- Tank will using 2H weapon or dual-wielding
- Plate armor
- Emphasis on bladed weapons

We also just had Jonas from Nihilum join us for a chat. Thanks to Jonas for stopping by.

The Chat:


[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: ok here i sit with Jonas
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: give him a second to get acclimated and then ask him quesitons
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: ok here we go

[Nihilum] Jonas: Question: Are you at all concerned about the rate at which Blizzard releases PvE content and the amazing rate at which some players can consume it?
Answer: Not really, we usually put a lot of time and effort into it and content is made to be beaten at some point. Of course some people argue it"s too easy but how many guild worldwide have beaten Illidan yet?

[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: one sec...too many people!
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: lol
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: jonas's is using a slower comp
[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: ok now it is working again

[Nihilum] Jonas: Question: Do you think that WoW players should be sponsored on a level similar to that of the professional gamers who play Starcraft and Warcraft 3?
Answer: I don"t see WoW to be that competitive in its PvP Environment yet - reason being randomsness with crits and resists and the huge dependancy of lineups. Though sponsorships might become as big as with other games, thez have a crowd of 9 million people backing it up. For Pve its gonna be hard getting sponsorshjips for 30+ people but we're of course looking into it )

[Nihilum] Jonas: Question: Deadly_Celtic: First of all, Hiya Jonas. Seemingly with the new expansion, new raid instances will open, obviously. A new expansion getting announced so soon, Wouldn't you expect a major knockback for the players and guilds who have not yet had the chance to explore all of the TBC instances in such form of a challenge?
Answer: Hard to say as I never found myself in that situation. You can always go back an enter old content but personally I wouldn't see myself doing it.

[Nihilum] Jonas: Question: Considering how an "average" guild is still running Karazhan, would you say that Blizzard has made TBC...

The opening ceremony for BlizzCon will be starting shortly.

We will update this post with any breaking news. Also, we'll be running a chat during the ceremony! Be sure to add the account blizzcon2007 to be able to participate.

Frank Pierce has just announced the next expansion:
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
- Level 80 cap
- Northrend
- You can kill Arthas
- New battlegrounds
- Inscription profession
- Siege weapons
- Death Knight Hero class

The audience:



More information soon...

Sorry it is a bit dark, but i was lurking around the pro gamers station and I saw Moon and a few other pros...

We are slowly putting together a live chat for 1 hr. and 20 min...

Also press conference starts very soon.!!
Pro Area:

I think Moon is here somewhere:

Pro Area:

Stage:

Arena Area: