If you really cared you're already well-aware, but Blizzard still wanted to drop off a press release letting everyone know that BlizzCon 2008 begins this Friday, and then abruptly ends this Saturday. It's sure to be a truly epic event, with swag, costumes, giveaways, special events hosted by Jay Mohr, and a closing concert featuring comedian Patton Oswalt, in-house Blizzard metal band Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftan, and a special performance by Video Games Live of orchestral arraignments of the music from Blizzard's franchises.

"With more hall space, more attendees, and more attractions, this BlizzCon will be our biggest yet," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're working hard with our partners to make this an unforgettable experience, and we're looking forward to meeting players at the show."

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Do you really need to have the gurgling murloc sound as your telephone ringtone? Do you not hear the World of Warcraft opening theme enough on your PC? Perhaps you can't figure out how to create your own mobile phone wallpapers and would rather spend a couple bucks on letting the extremely nosy know that you're into Diablo or StarCraft? Well you're in luck, as Blizzard has just opened up a ringtone and wallpaper store at Mobile.Blizzard.Com. In partnership with Echovox, Inc., the store carries a wide selection of wallpapers from Blizzard's three biggest money makers, along with choice sounds from World of Warcraft that could very well lead to an awkward conversation with a total stranger that reinforces the fact that with 20 million servers and two factions, chance of you knowing them are slim to none.

Currently the service mainly services Europe, South America, and a few bits of Asia, so those of us in the U.S. will have to make due with obsessively humming the theme song to WoW until allowances are made.

Blizzard Mobile Store [Official Site via WorldofWar.net]

Ticket sales for this year's BlizzCon went up, then down, earlier today as the bulk of those made available by Blizzard sold out within minutes of going live. It's been a bit of a rocky road, as the Blizzard Store processing ticket orders barfed from gorging itself on the horde of potential BlizzCon attendees.

That's the bad news. The good news is that Blizzard has "a small reserve of tickets left" which will be going up for grabs tonight, August 12 at 8:00 PM PDT. Even with the larger crowd accommodation and the $US 100 ticket prices, expect whatever's left to sell out at lightning speed.

And expect even more grumbling and griping in the official Blizzard forums when they do.

Blizzard just kicked out a press release announcing that tickets for October's BlizzCon 2008 will be going on sale on Monday, August 11th. Tickets will run you $US 100 a pop, which gets you access to all the panels, concerts, freebies, and girls of various shapes and sizes in blue and purple body paint. If you can't make it, however, don't fret. Blizzard has you covered.

"Meeting and interacting with our players at BlizzCon is always a great experience for us," stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're also pleased to be working with DIRECTV this year to bring the show, for the first time, to those players who are unable to attend."

Yes, Blizzard and DirecTV are joining forces to broadcast highlights of the show via pay per view. Don't have DirecTV? New subscribers in August will get the BlizzCon pay per view for free with their order. I cannot think of a more ridiculous reason to change your cable television provider.

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by Lesley Smith

Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Morhaime formally announced Diablo III during the WWI's opening ceremony this morning, not that this will come as a surprise to anyone with the Diablo III forums already active on the official Blizzard site and rumours running rampant for nearly a fortnight.

After recapping on the success of the previous Invitational held in Korea, Morhaime premiered a trailer and then demoed a level playing as a Barbarian and a Witch Doctor, showcasing some of the improvements over the original game as well as giving attendees a hint at what they can expect from the final product. This includes a new UI in place of the potion belt and the ability to play the game just by using a mouse. Similarly the health system has been augmented by God of War and Devil May Cry style red globes which replenish not just the health of the character but also those near by.

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You've no doubt already read up on it all by now, so give your brain a rest and soak up these three Diablo III clips. First, and above, is the game's official trailer. After the jump, an artwork clip and, best of all, a 19-minute gameplay shakedown.

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by Lesley Smith

As is expected with Blizzard events, company employees were handing out the much-prized (and instantly eBayable) Goody Bags. The swish mini backpack emblazoned with the WWI logo includes a host of loot, including an in-game pet (which we've not yet been able to redeem in Booty Bay), the Beta key, a programme, a figure from the Upper Deck miniature game, a notebook and a mousemat sporting the event's banner featuring Arthas as well as characters from Diablo and Starcraft II.

We'll let you know what the pet is as soon as Landro Longshot makes nice and starts talking about the WWI.

The last few days have been good sport for anyone who enjoys watching the internet conjure rumours out of sheer fantasy. Take the one concerning Diablo 3, for example. The teaser for next month's PC Gamer contained the line "so huge we had to go to [CENSORED] to get it," and from that nondescript sliver, we somehow got a ton of people convinced Diablo 3 is coming. And hey, it might be, sometime in the future, but not now, with PC Gamer telling Shacknews "we're officially squelching the Diablo rumour. We've got two big announcements coming in our August issue, but neither is from Blizzard". Case closed. Return to your Diablo fan forums and remain there until further notice.

PC Gamer Squelches Diablo 3 Rumour [Shacknews]

The relatively annual celebration of all things Blizzard returns this year as the company announces BlizzCon 2008. Perhaps to help avoid the August event crush that occurred last year, which saw BlizzCon, SOE Fan Faire, and Quake Con all taking place over the same weekend, Blizzard has moved the convention back to October, which is when the 2005 original took place. The show will run from the 10th to the 11th at the Anaheim Convention centre in California, where fans will be able to get hands-on time with upcoming releases, attend panels, play in tournaments, collect as-of-yet-unannounced spacial, limited edition merchandise, and see hideously inappropriate women dressed up as elves, both Blood and Night varieties. Joy!

Tickets will go on sale within the coming weeks for $US 100 a pop. Maybe this year I'll actually make it out there. I needs me some free murloc-themed goodness.

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Most of us at Kotaku (everyone minus Fahey) generally avoid MMOs like cactus barbed with Hello Kitty needles. But this new trailer of Mythos (the Flagship Studios Diabloesque MMO made by some ex-Blizzard folks) has us seriously questioning whether or not we really need lives after all, and if interactions with others—in the flesh, without the +2 Electric Boots of Courage—aren't entirely overrated.

It's a short clip, but it gets the point across. Until we see Diablo 3, this is our Diablo 3. On a side note, if Blizzard wants by $US 15 a month, they officially know how to get it.
New footage from Dialbo-y MMO Mythos [via N4G]