Recent Articles: World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

Madden NFL 13, Borderlands 2 lead all September bestsellers

Posted on October 11, 2012 by John Scalzo

Boom! The annual juggernaut that is the Madden NFL Football has once again taken the top spot for September sales as Madden NFL 13 reigned supreme last month.

Gearbox’s Borderlands 2 followed close behind with strong sales of its own. In fact, they were so strong that the sequel managed to top the first month sales of the original Borderlands by 234%. That is just an insane number.

New releases controlled much of the top ten with FIFA Soccer 13 (#3), Guild Wars 2 (#5), NHL 13 (#6), and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (#7) also performing well.

The full top ten for September 2012 can be found after the break. (more…)

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New Releases: WoW Mists of Pandaria, FIFA Soccer 13, Dead or Alive 5, More

Posted on September 23, 2012 by John Scalzo

The Fall is here! The Fall is here! Say it with me… the Fall is here! Your Fall gaming rush begins now and it begins with the release of the latest expansion to the biggest MMO on the planet, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria.

This week also marks the beginning of the annual soccer riot between EA Sports and Konami as both companies plan to release the latest iteration of their flagship soccer titles. FIFA Soccer 13 will appear on the 3DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Vita, Wii, and Xbox 360 while Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 go for the goal on the PS2, PS3, PSP, and Xbox 360.

A very different kind of kicking takes place in Team Ninja’s Dead or Alive 5. The latest game in the fighting franchise will punch and kick its way to the PS3 and Xbox 360 this week.

Finally this week, Rovio’s Angry Birds Trilogy flies onto the 3DS, PS3, and Xbox 360 and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is being re-released in a Game of the Year Edition.

Hit the jump for the complete list of this week’s new releases. (more…)

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WoW: Mists of Pandaria emerges from the fog on September 25

Posted on July 25, 2012 by John Scalzo

After months of testing, Blizzard has finally announced a release date for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. The MMORPG’s next expansion will be available to purchase in stores and through WorldofWarcraft.com on September 25. In addition to a standard edition priced at $39.99, two special editions of Mists of Pandaria will also be available.

If you plan to download Mists of Pandaria, you’ll have the option of buying the Digital Deluxe Edition for $59.99, which will include the following in-game goodies:

  • World of Warcraft In-Game Mount: Take to the skies of Azeroth astride the mystical Imperial Quilen flying mount.
  • World of Warcraft In-Game Pet: Journey across Pandaria with the Lucky Quilen Cub at your side.
  • StarCraft II Battle.net Portraits: Bring the Horde and Alliance rivalry to the far reaches of the Koprulu sector with exclusive Infested Orc and Night Elf Templar Battle.net portraits.
  • Diablo III Banner Sigil and Accent: Display your status as a hero of Pandaria with the iconic markings of World of Warcraft’s newest playable race, the pandaren.

But if you’re looking to score a physical disc and a box full of swag, you’ll want to look for the Collector’s Edition. The Collector’s Edition, which will retail for $79.99, will include all the in-game items from the Digital Deluxe Edition as well as a few extras that’ll make you say wow:

  • Behind-the-Scenes DVD and Blu-Ray: Learn about the creation of Pandaria with this two-disc set featuring over an hour of commentary, insider interviews, and developer roundtables.
  • Collector’s Edition Soundtrack CD: Experience 20 orchestral pieces from Mists of Pandaria.
  • The Art of Mists of Pandaria Book: Explore this 208-page hardcover tome featuring never-before-seen pieces from the expansion, from early concepts to final 3D renderings.
  • Chen Stormstout Mouse Pad: Equip your desk with this special-edition mouse pad featuring the legendary pandaren brewmaster.
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World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria on track for 2012 release

Posted on May 10, 2012 by John Scalzo

During Activision’s latest quarterly financial report, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime revealed that World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria is on track for a 2012 release. The expansion was previously given a “when it’s done” release window by the company.

After talking a bit about the expansion’s beta test and the steady subscriber numbers of WoW, Morhaime casually mentioned that Mists of Pandaria will be out by the end of the year:

At the end of Q1, global subscribership for World of Warcraft remained at 10.2 million. Maintaining our subscriber levels puts us in a great position as we drive toward the launch of Mists of Pandaria later this year. We opened the beta in late March and have rapidly expanded testing through a good portion of our community, including the 1.2 million players who signed up for the World of Warcraft Annual Pass.

Two Blizzard games in one year? That’s madness! But in case you were wondering, Morhaime didn’t have anything to say about StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm other than that the development team is still working on it.

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Activision announces Call of Duty 9, multiple Blizzard titles for 2012

Posted on November 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

As Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launches to huge sales and nearly unanimous critical praise, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is ready to announce the next entry in the series.

Speaking to investors today, Kotick said, “As we focus on 2012, we have a strong product pipeline which features a minimum of two highly-anticipated new titles from Blizzard Entertainment, including Diablo III, and a new Call of Duty game from Activision Publishing.”

As you can see, Kotick also confirmed that Blizzard will release several games in 2012, a rarity for them. And considering the developer’s full production plate, there are several possibilities for this second title including World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, and the free-to-play Blizzard DOTA.

I’m going to go out on a limb and “confirm” that Call of Duty 9 will be developed by Treyarch (it’s their turn as Modern Warfare 3 was an Infinity Ward game) and released in the first week of November 2012. Obviously, I’m a gambling man.

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Sign up for WoW Annual Pass, get Diablo III absolutely free

Posted on October 21, 2011 by John Scalzo

Blizzard made a ton of big announcements at this year’s BlizzCon, but none so big as their thank you to World of Warcraft fans in the form of the World of Warcraft Annual Pass. While it may sound like just a new subscription plan, there’s a bit more to it that that.

To qualify for the Annual Pass, you must have registered a full version of World of Warcraft before October 18. Signing up for this subscription service (which is payable in 12 monthly installments) will then commit you to a year’s worth of WoW. Sounds pretty standard so far, right? But here’s where the awesomeness comes in.

All Annual Pass subscribers will receive a free copy of Diablo III, an exclusive WoW mount (Tyrael’s Charger), and guaranteed entry in the beta test for the next WoW expansion (the just-announced World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria).

That’s Blizzard saying “thank you” to all current WoW subscribers. You can sign up for the Annual Pass at Blizzard.com now.

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Blizzard announces next WoW expansion: Mists of Pandaria

Posted on October 21, 2011 by John Scalzo

Kung fu pandas… where does Blizzard come up with this stuff? OK, believe it or not, the Pandaren race of kung fu pandas has been a part of Warcraft lore since Warcraft III. But they’ve been absent from the series since World of Warcraft launched in 2004. But now they’re back and they’re taking a starring role in the MMORPG’s fourth expansion, Mists of Pandaria.

“Players have been asking to see the Pandaren in World of Warcraft since the game’s launch, and we’re excited to finally be able to give them a proper re-introduction to Azeroth,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “In addition to the new playable race and class, Mists of Pandaria contains a huge amount of new content, and we’re looking forward to sharing more information about all of it at BlizzCon and beyond.”

No release date has been announced for the expansion, but it will add a bevy of new features including a new class, a higher level cap, new zones and Dungeon Challenge Modes. Check out a full list of all the new features after the break. (more…)

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Blizzard trademarks Mists of Pandaria

Posted on August 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

World of Warcraft players have toppled dragons, demons and the dreaded Lich King, but nothing can prepare them for their next challenge: ninja pandas. Yes, you read that right.

WoW developer Blizzard has filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for Mists of Pandaria, likely making it the title of the next World of Warcraft expansion.

So where do the ninja pandas fit in? Check out this description of Pandaria from WoWWiki:

Pandaren hail from the distant island nation of Pandaria, which non-pandarens have never seen or ever visited to this day. The Pandaren Empire was founded before the Great Sundering of the world, and is believed to be just as old as the kaldorei civilization. It shared and traded resources, goods, ideas and mystic knowledge with the haughty night elves of central Kalimdor in the years before the War of the Ancients. As the night elves’ obsession with the forces of magic drove them to the brink of madness, the gentle pandaren severed ties, withdrew and closed their borders, and left the night elves behind forever.

Obviously, no further details about Mists of Pandaria was revealed by Blizzard.

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