Another BlizzCon has come and gone and we’ve covered extensively the newest expansion to Hearthstone (Free), the lone iOS game at the convention (WoW companion app notwithstanding). However, there were plenty of other games and events to cover in the convention’s two days. As usual, here’s a brief summary of some of the more interesting things that we saw on the floor.
Worst Kept Secret
For gamers that closely follow Overwatch, the saga of Sombra has been one of the most frustrating things for fans. Blizzard has been teasing the hacker for quite awhile now with a lot of non-gaming clues to follow. Well, the moment finally arrived with a pretty cool introduction during the opening ceremony that was accompanied with an animated short. Sombra already seems to be a fan favorite on the floor (and probably a bit too OP at this beta stage) and is already available on the PTR.
Blast From the Past
Strangely enough, one of the announcements that seemed to get the most cheers besides Sombra was an update to Diablo III. In the coming months Diablo III will get two additions: the first will be a reimagining of the original Diablo complete with downgraded visuals and original music.While there will be a lot of homage to the original, it will be built within the Diablo III game, meaning that there will be a lot of obvious gameplay improvements over the original. The second announcement was the unveiling of a Character Pack that will be going on sale that will include the venerable Necromancer from Diablo II. While the Diablo remake wasn’t available to check out, I did play with a preview version of the Necromancer and it certainly invokes the right nostalgia fro the classic character.
eSports Breakout
One of the most interesting things I’ve witnessed over the last few BlizzCons has been the complete takeover of eSports across each of the games. StarCraft 2 has been a huge eSports draw for quite some time, but with the new Overwatch arena built this year, combined with the increasing popularity of both Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm, it was very interesting seeing each of the finals seemingly compete with each other for attention. In fact, the Overwatch World Cup consistently had a completely full arena with large lines just to get in. Tasos and I caught the Hearthstone final, which was completely packed by the time the last match start with every viewer completely into the play of each card. Blizzard seems to be doubling down on the eSports league was well with the announcement of the Overwatch League, which looks to capitalize on the popularity of the team-based game with a structured, centrally controlled system not quite unlike one of the major sports leagues we watch on TV all the time. Whether or not such an intriguing venture works time will tell, but for now, I’m very interested to see how it eventually works.
A Convention of Iteration
Obviously, Blizzard did a great job as usual with they major announcements, but that still didn’t silence some of its critics regarding the fact that nothing of true significance was announced this year. Sure, each of its core games are going some pretty cool additions, but there weren’t any actual expansions or new titles announced other than Mean Streets of Gadgetzen. Other than Hearthstone, when the biggest announcements are a new character in Overwatch, a few fan favorites in Heroes of the Storm and a new character and mode in Diablo, it’s obvious that this is a bit of a transition year for Blizzard. With that said, considering the massive amount of continual support, as well as the fact that every game Blizzard currently works on is just as popular and fun to play as ever, I have no problem with giving them a pass for this year on the major announcements.
This and That
Convention logistics fascinate me, and it seems like it doesn’t matter which one you attend, there are always major issues with crowds and lines. This year, I have to give Blizzard major props for how they spaced everything out. Having the BlizzCon Store on its own level freed up so much space on the main floor that they were able to build the Overwatch Arena. Better use of the upper levels of the Anaheim Convention for a Hearthstone Tavern (complete with an awesome band) and a Darkmoon Faire with pin and plushie shops was another great idea that I liked as well. The end result is a main floor room with plenty of space to maneuver without ever feeling really constrained. Also, while I witnessed a lot of young’uns walking out during the concert, I’m a huge fan of the choice of Weird Al Yankovic as the closing concert.
Welp, that about covers it folks, hopefully you’ve enjoyed our coverage of Blizzard’s annual convention.. Obviously, we’ll be keeping a close eye on Mean Streets of Gadgetzen as the rest of the cards are slowly unveiled over the next month.
