Accessibility links “Go out the front door, turn left and then follow the screams and cheering.” This is the answer I receive after asking
someone for directions to the Anaheim Convention Center, . I have no idea what to expect from the event that has been described to me as “a celebration of all things Blizzard”, but as I follow the instructions I’ve been given, one thing becomes clear I’ll never attend another event like it. The queue to get into BlizzCon stretched the length of the Convention Center and then back into the car park 26,000 people attended this year’s event, and according to Blizzard’s chief executive officer, Mike Mohaime, tickets ($150 each) sold out in under a minute. For anyone not quick enough to get a ticket, the two-day event was available as a global pay-per-view download from Blizzard’s official website. Inside, the centre has been converted into a gigantic playground for Blizzard enthusiasts. The company’s most famous title is World of Warcraft, the online role-playing game where mythical races battle across the fantasy world of Azeroth, and it’s this game that is the biggest draw at BlizzCon. Banks of computers loaded with demo levels of Blizzard’s unreleased titles and networked battles dominate the floor. Hundreds of attendees have turned up in costumes, sewn and customised for the best part of a year. Merchandising booths offer everything from shirts, to key-rings, to hand-painted tankards, to software packages to collector’s edition statues you can expect to pay anything from $5 to more than $100 &ndash although one punter told me he spent $4,000 on two pieces of concept art in the charity auction last year. Fans can have their purchases signed by Blizzard’s artists, developers and story writers. Even cast members from The Guild &ndash the award-winning web show based around a troop of World of Warcraft players &ndash are on hand to field questions and sign autographs. What immediately becomes apparent is the almost fanatical devotion of the Blizzard faithful. The opening keynote speeches delivered by Mohaime and Chris Metzen, vice-president of creative development, are met with the sort of whoops and cheers you’d find at a rock concert (or an product launch), while the world premiere of the trailer for Cataclysm, the new World Of Warcraft expansion pack, is greeted with “oohs” and “ahhs” as players get a first look at the partial destruction of Azeroth.
But this devotion is something Blizzard clearly reciprocates aside from hands-on time with games and retail products, BlizzCon offers a host of events. There’s the chance to take in the Blizzard games tournaments in which teams from around the world could win cash prizes of up to $25,000. For the less elite players and those looking for something a little more bizarre, there are the competitions, including best costume and one in which contestants must try to mimic their favourite noises from a Blizzard game. There’s even a dance competition, where fans produce a rendition of the dance moves from the different species of Warcraft characters in my humble opinion, the fact that the Ninja Blood Elf Dance Crew didn’t even place in this competition was a major miscarriage of justice.