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

Gaming website 1UP reports that according to StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard's itinerary, the company will be revealing a little demo during their upcoming and highly-anticipated mega-announcement during the World Wide Invitational in Korea.

It seems nobody knows aside from the people at Blizzard what the demo is about. We do have a name, though: "Medusa Demo". 1UP theorizes that it could simply be a code name for a new game engine. They also note that there's an item called "Medusa's Gaze" in Diablo 2, so it could be something Diablo-related.

We, on the other hand, are still rooting for something Starcraft 2-related. Those things sticking out of the Queen of Blades's head give her a Medusa-like impression, really. Or maybe we're just too hung up on Starcraft.

In other news, the Blizzard website has finally reached World of Warcraft on their little teaser timeline. Keep checking back here for updates on that final question mark.

In case you missed it, StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard Entertainment is employing a new strategy on informing the public about its up and coming project. Its main page, Blizzard.com, showcases a timeline of its past video game titles with the last entry being a curiously glowing question mark.

Well, the page got updated again and what do you know, it now headlines the original StarCraft and Sarah Kerrigan's infamous lines, "I am the Queen of Blades. And my stare alone would reduce you to ashes." After denying it for so long, it was confirmed a couple of weeks ago that Blizzard is indeed making a new SC game.

However, it is still uncertain if StarCraft 2 will remain true to its roots and be a RTS title. There were some rumors a while back that Blizzard is planning to make it a MMO, much like what it did to the Warcraft franchise. All speculations will be ended soon as a formal announcement will be conducted at the Blizzard World Invitational three days from now.

A look at the StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard website reveals something pretty interesting. There's a timeline listing the company's games, starting with 1994's Warcraft: Orcs and Humans and ending with a big glowing question mark. Of course, it begs the question, "What does Blizzard have in store for us?"

A while back we posted that the company is looking for a few good men and women to work on a "next-gen MMO". Back then, we theorized that the game could be a Diablo MMO. This one though, feels like a teaser for Starcraft 2, which is apparently already in development. May 19's only a few days away, and we should get more details then.

One thing's pretty certain, though: it's definitely doesn't look like a new World of Warcraft expansion. As Amanda Rivera of WoW Insider notes, the timeline doesn't include Burning Crusade as well as any of the expansion packs for any of Blizzard's other titles.

 

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.

Job ads have always been one of the primary sources for info on what new games are currently being worked on by a certain developer. Anyway, after a quick perusal of StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard's job postings, it looks like the company is currently gearing up to work on a new next-gen MMO.

Blizzard is currently looking for people who are interested in working on an as yet unspecified next-gen MMO. While it could be for a console version of the company's insanely-popular-to-the-point-of-being-labelled-an-addiction MMORPG World of Warcraft, those of us here at QJ are starting to entertain thoughts of a possible Diablo MMO in light of the news that Starcraft 2 is apparently already under way.

If you're interested in the jobs themselves, there are three job openings: lead engine programmer, lead tools programmer, and lead technical artist. Click on the "via" link below to find out more about the qualifications.

Definitely upping the ante for the in-game content providing firm, Double Fusion is now upgrading their senior levels with game industry marketing veterans from all fronts: consoles, PCs and even MMOs. Still pending as to which company this dynamic ad content provider will be merging with, as least now they have Directors worth the company's reputation.

 

According to an official press release, Euro-based Double Fusion has appointed Daniel Best, Europe">David Miller and Itzik Ben Bassat to positions in the senior European management team. Daniel Best, former Online Commercial Manager of The Independent, is now the Sales Director for the European front.

As former Director of Brand Marketing for SEGA Europe, David Miller will now be heading the Director position of Business Development and Marketing in Europe. He has also worked for Capcom, Electronic Arts and Virgin. But perhaps most out-worldly of appointments was Itzik Ben Bassat, who is best known for being a part of Vivendi's image upgrade of Blizzard Entertainment.

Surprisingly, Ben Bassat was considered "the architect" behind World of Warcraft's success internationally, and also responsible for upgrading Big Blue from a simple games development studio to a company focused on online entertainment. If you wanted someone to blame for the lack of focus on Starcraft 2 and Starcraft: Ghost, now you've got a name.

It looks like the titles that Double Fusion touches are sure to sport lots of in-game ads for sure. This news is almost enough to make us wonder, how would PlayStation Home look if Double Fusion got the "go signal" from Sony? Downtown Tokyo? *shudder*

In an interview with Next-Gen.biz, StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard Entertainment's VP of game design Rob Pardo revealed that the development of new World of Warcraft content isn't for adding to World of Warcraft's survivability in the age where World of Warcraft-killers lurk in every corner. Instead, he believes that they are creating content to keep the World of Warcraft gamer entertained.

We're not sure if nerfs, hotfixes, hybridization and shutting out players who sweat blood, money, and time on PvP qualifications are part of Blizzard's definition of "entertaining," so we'll leave it at that for now.

Blizzard has just delivered their next set of major content in World of Warcraft through the v2.1.0 patch, but who knows how long it will continue to keep players occupied until they all get bored eventually. But interestingly enough, Blizzard won't be hiring more developers unless they are "top-level."

They believe that despite their resource shortage on creativity, they still plan on creating great content. Pardo also commented, "Someone might say 'hey Blizzard why don't you just hire 500 developers and do expansions every three months?' Well, great developers don’t grow on trees."

That's funny because, for Blizzard's World of Warcraft, money does grow on trees. So Blizzard hires people who are not only creative, but also up to the challenge of creating better and better content. But somehow, the World of Warcraft Forums don't reflect that. Pardo defended his answer, stating:

It’s also [an internal] content challenge for us. As a creative person, how long can you make WoW content when you’re ready for something else? So not only do we have to find a lot of people who are really talented and who are willing to do this, we have to take some time to think about the team so that they’re always challenged.

And it looks like we know exactly what causes all the delays in content changes, expansions and new PC titles: it's because Blizzard's brainstorming often eats up more hours than what was provided for in their timetable. They take time throwing their ideas on a white board, picking out the ones best suited for a game. Pardo explains:

By the time we kind of get through that process we're behind schedule. It's really hard to schedule that iteration. Sometimes it takes longer than we plan. So I tell the producers 'hey, we need a little bit more time', they're like 'What?!' But I try to be good. I try to do my best and be the producers' friend.

So that's what happened to Starcraft: Ghost and Starcraft 2! Okay, we get it now.

Alright, now that PC World's Top 4 Web influence announced that BlizzCon 2007 isn't cancelled, you're probably have been curious as to what you're going to get for your US$ 100 entrance fee.

Given that you weren't alone in that matter, Big Blue just went straight ahead and sneaked a FAQ in right before people flooded the World of Warcraft forums with paraphrased versions of that same question.

The FAQ mentions that you can and will be receiving a BlizzCon badge for your 100 smackeroos spent.

These badges, when flashed at the BlizzBouncer mobs, will drop their aggro levels to -1 and leave you to explore the World of BlizzCon to your delight. You will also be getting a goody bag "containing exclusive swag!" And no, it doesn't include the Consortium Gems you've been waiting for.

But what about the other six million WoW-heads who aren't from the U.S. (let alone coming from Anaheim, California)? Well if you zip off to the same BlizzCon ticket sale site like the American attendees-to-be are doing, then you can also purchase a ticket and zip off to BlizzCon smack dab in the middle of QuakeCon season.

While there are nearby hotels who have provided special rooms reserved for BlizzCon attendees, StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard will not be responsible for walking you to the event. But if you've got 5000 gold to spare, you could opt for a flying mount to breeze your way over the heavy traffic below. And no, we're not asking you to get mounted for it.

They will, however, tell you how you could get rooms for cheap and price tags on shuttle rentals on the BlizzCon website very soon. Plus, even the youngest of Blizzard fans can attend the event, starting from four years old onwards. So as long as they can walk, beat a Hard AI opponent as Protoss in 15 minutes, and come with father and mother figures, kids are allowed to attend.

But kids will have to cough up 100 bucks, too, if they wanted to attend, even if they can't bring their trusty Epic mount...stroller with them to navigate the BlizzCon dungeon.

And as a favor to other BlizzFans that won't be making it to the event: don't let Big Blue leave without stating a definite date for Starcraft: Ghost and Starcraft 2. Please? The world really misses Sarah Kerrigan and Nova.

The professional e-gaming scene is not so easy to bust into, but it seems that talent does not go unnoticed. TeamPandemic, pro gaming organization has just added Power Trip into their ranks as their World of Warcraft 5v5 team.

Power Trip is a division - seven members to be exact - of the Notorious guild on the Trichondrius realm. They are currently listed as number one in the Armory GotFrag got a chance to interview the leader of the team, Joseph Romano aka Noktyn and Pandemic|Dolven. E-sports titles include StarCraft, WarCraft 3: DotA, Counter-Strike and others, and it seems that TeamPandemic is readying for the addition of World of Warcraft. According to Pandemic|Dolven:

We believe that World of Warcraft is the next large scale title that will be used for professional gaming. Behind the 8.5 million consumers that subscribe to the game and Blizzard's flawless track record creating competitive titles, World of Warcraft has a bright future in front of it. Some may stereotype the game as breeding ground for casual gamers, but the PVP community within WoW is growing at an exponential rate. It's inevitable that it will take off as a viable platform for professional gaming. Team Pandemic is proud to be one of the first teams to take this risk and not only support a team, but also help grow the game competitively. We want to be one of the founding forefathers of competitive World of Warcraft.

Noktyn expressed that he was glad about the sponsorship. It would naturally be easier to enter tournaments and such with TeamPandemic's backing. Now Power Trip's next goal is to prove themselves worthy of being drafted into the team. Power Trip's members are as follows: Joseph "Noktyn" Romano (Warrior - LEADER), David "Sck" Quick (Paladin), Chris "Reznap" Pacini (Hunter), Jared "Iamvhell" Coulston (Priest), Greg "Ecilam" Risselada (Mage), Mason "Nitrana" Groendal (Rogue), and Nathan "Kintt" Quinn (Priest). Iamvhell had this to say, "Joining Team Pandemic gives us the opportunity to grow as both a team and individuals to reach our goals of proving that we have what it takes to both participate and be successful at a tournament level."

We'll definitely see more of them in the next few days as they are currently still battling in the Ladders of the World of Warcraft 5v5 Arena Tournament. If Power Trip qualifies, they will move on to go against the top teams from each Battlegrounds then go into Live Regionals. We wish them luck.