Earlier today, we reported on StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard Entertainment's upcoming "Medusa Demo" at the World Wide Invitational later today in South Korea. No one really knows what this is all about but we've been theorizing, with fingers crossed, that it's related to StarCraft 2 or StarCraft MMO.

Anyway, to those of you who are also anticipating this, we managed to get a copy of the schedule for the said event. It's from online site GGL, the same company that covered last year's event. According to the site, here's how the things should go later and tomorrow:

May 19

• 11:00 to 12:20 : Warcraft 3 Season 5 Consolation Final ( Shy  vs.  Moon)
• 14:00 to 16:00 : Opening Ceremony / Announcement of the New Products
• 16:20 to 21:40 : Starcraft Invitational Last 8 / Warcraft 3 Invitational Last 8

May 20

• 11:00 to 12:20 : Warcraft 3 Season 5 Overall Final
• 12:20 to 15:20 : Warcraft 3 Invitational Semi-final
• 15:40 to 17:10 : Warcraft 3 Invitational Final
• 17:30 to 19:00 : Starcraft Invitational Final
• 19:00 to 20:00 : Closing Ceremony

 

So you want to attend StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard's World Wide Invitational, huh? Good news, then fellow Blizzard fans: the World Wide Invitational to be held in Seoul, Korea won't have an entrance fee at all. According to Blizzard's eternally burning Nethaera, the entrance fee is completely free. Interested attendees, however, will have to register at the event. Yes, you have to be there to register.

The World Wide Invitational will be held from May 19-20 at the Olympic Gymnastics and Fencing Stadiums in Seoul. As officially stated before, the WWI will reveal all of Blizzard's current and future franchises for the coming years. But as rumored, it seems this particular event will make or break the dreams of many StarCraft fans waiting for a successor.

The bad news is that the Invitational still requires you to shell out big bucks for a ticket to even get to Korea, and bide the evenings at a decent hotel room. Unless you live in Southeast Asia and row your way to South Korea across seas and intend to spend your nights in a cozy corner in front of the Stadiums, we're pretty sure many of you Blizzard-heads are tearing your eyes out.

So we guess us World of Warcraft players should just get back to grinding, raiding, trolling, nerf calling, ganking and online chick-hunting, and miss out on all the exciting E-sports competitions, unique panel discussions by the Blizzard developers themselves, and several face-melting hands-on attractions... Yep, so are the days of our lives.

StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard announced today the details on their third annual Worldwide Invitational to be held in Seoul, Korea. As you know, the annually-held Worldwide Invitational is Blizzard's way of reaching out to their hordes and legions of fans, get their users' thoughts on their games and basically just foster a connection with the Blizzard-gaming community.

When: May 19-20, 2007
Where: Olympic Gymnastics and Fencing Stadiums in Seoul, South Korea

Like in the previous years, this year's event will also be open to gamers of all ages who will be able to join tournaments on Blizzard titles like World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, etc.

For the non-competitive peeps, the event will also feature panel discussions with the Blizzard developers that'll tackle various topics including game development. Blizzard will also be staging hands-on attractions in the said event. Blizzard's Mike Morhaime says,

With a wide variety of themed activities and competitions to participate in, the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals are a great way for us to show our appreciation to our players. We're looking forward to creating another memorable show for them this year as well.

Stay tuned as we bring you more details on Blizzard's 2007 World Invitational.

Gold farming in MMO games has always been a controversial issue. There are actually two opposing ideas here: First, those who favor it claim that it levels the playing field in favor of those who have less time to play, not to mention that the practice brings jobs and money to those who have none. On the other hand, those who oppose it maintain that it destroys the spirit of the game and causes a rapid price increase of in-game items.

While these haven't been settled yet, it is always good to argue and discuss the matter. The problem now comes in when outsiders, so to speak, enter and do something they do not quite fully understand. In South Korea, the country's Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently proposed a bill to control the exchange of virtual currency. According to them, weirdly enough, the activity falls under hazardous gambling practices.

Just like the issue itself, the said bill also has opposing proponents. Certain companies that run MMO games are supporting the move, reiterating that farming would eventually disrupt balance and competition within the game. Local Korean farmers, on the other hand, pointed out that the government is depriving them of an invaluable growing economy. The virtual item exchange market currently stands at the least US$ 1 billion. Sixty percent of which comes from, where else, gold farming.

As of the moment, as debates rage across the Koren government, the bill has been put on hold. However, we all know that debates can only last for so long. Eventually, one side will give in and one idea will emerge as the victor. After all, that is how everything in this world works.

The question now is, who's side are you on?