BlizzCon webcast tickets

Posted October 6, 2011 by Richard Plant in Editorial

Blizzard, never ones to miss a trick when it comes to squeezing money out of their devoted fanbase, has announced that access to the webcast of its annual BlizzCon conference will cost £25 or 30 Euros.

Yes folks, that’s twenty five whole pounds for the privilege of watching a compressed video stream of people watching Blizzard execs talk about their games on stage. According to Blizz, there will be four channels on the go, with presentations, tournament footage and whatever else they think is important from the show floor. The feed will also carry a live performance from the Foo Fighters, who are lined up to headline the event’s closing concert on Saturday.

As is traditional when being bilked out of your money, buyers will also receive some functionally worthless virtual goods — in this case a pet for World of Warcraft and some unannounced in-game goodies for Starcraft 2.

Since BlizzCon’s humble beginnings in 2005, the show has grown into a behemoth of the gaming calendar. Over 20,000 people attending last year’s event, to hear disappointingly few announcements, chiefly the Demon Hunter class reveal for Diablo 3. The event also marks a significant point in the competitive Starcraft 2 calendar, with the Global Battle.net Invitational taking place alongside the show.

Here’s what you get for your investment:

Main BlizzCon stage coverage, including panel discussions, game-related announcements, exclusive interviews, the opening ceremony, contests and the closing concert
Panel Stage coverage, including all panels and events on the second stage
Complete StarCraft II tournament stage coverage
Complete World of Warcraft tournament stage coverage

For those with more money than sense and a crippling hunger for Diablo information, sign-ups are available over at the official website.