World of Warcraft devotees who cannot drag themselves away from their computers to get to California next weekend for developer Blizzard Entertainment's annual BlizzCon love-in can watch the action on pay-per-view instead.
Foxtel's Main Event channel is offering Australians the opportunity to see the sold-out BlizzCon 2008, a two-day gaming convention celebrating the global player communities that surround Blizzard's Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft games. The conference will be presented as alive and exclusive pay-per-view event on October 11 and 12.
Main Event will present eight hours of coverage each day, including main stage presentations, interviews, tournament coverage,panel sessions featuring Blizzard developers and game demonstrations. Coverage will start at 4am each day, and be replayed at 3pm.
Blizzard are currently working on the highly anticipated expansion pack for World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King, due for release before Christmas. Real-time strategy game StarCraft II and action-orientated role playing game Diablo II are also in development and expected next year.
Few developers in the interactive industry have such devoted fans as Blizzard, but other developers who run similar events during the year include id, the creators of Doom and Quake, and Sony Online Entertainment, creators of Ever Quest and Star Wars Galaxies.
Subscribers to Foxtel, Austar and Optus can purchase viewing rights to BlizzCon 2008 for $14.95 per day. To sweeten the deal, customers who purchase both days can receive a polar bear to ride in World of Warcraft.