The GameShadow Blog

Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures have announced that Sam Raimi is to direct the upcoming World of Warcraft movie.

Raimi’s previous movies include the Spider-Man trilogy.

No concrete release date has been set for the movie yet.

Blizzard Entertainment has revealed the anticipated release date for World of Warcraft - Wrath of the Lich King.

The second World of Warcraft expansion pack will be released on November 13th, and will aim to achieve the success of the first expansion pack, The Burning Crusade, that sold a record number of copies on release day in 2007.

The Lich King Beta seems to be fully in the swing of things, with the client available for download from the Lich King website.

Sadly, it’s still a limited affair, with participants randomly selected from those entering via the sign up page. It’s not too late to get involved, though, so hit the link to kick things off.

Since we’re already at Beta, it seems likely an open Beta may be just around the corner. Keep your eyes peeled.

WoWInsider is running a whole shed load of Lich King details, fresh from the Blizzard event in Paris over the weekend.

Check it out here.

Doesn’t really do it for me, but then elves aren’t really my bag.

Following news that the US is to begin monitoring MMOs for potential terrorist activity, some American guy called Juan Cole has dismissed the proposal as pointless and unconstitutional.

“Even the Internet war-game sites… which include “Worlds of Warcraft” — would probably just make most terrorists overweight and addicted to the Internet.”

I wanted to show a podgy suicide bomber, but the only overweight guy with a beard I’d get away with posting is Father Christmas.

Finally. It had to happen.

Launched this Autumn, the WoW Miniatures Game - snappy title - will feature Leeroy Jenkins, some dwarves, probably some elves and other things with weird ears. Maybe a Half-Giraffe or soemthing. I don’t know.

Anyway, find the mini-site here.

No, this doesn’t meen I like MMOs now. I just know you do. That’s commitment, that is.

A Chinese partner involved with Blizzard’s new MMO project has let slip the details: it’s Starcraft Online.

A report on Tradingmarkets.com has revealed that NetEase - a Chinese online game operator - will be running Starcraft Online for Blizzard.

Blizzard itself has not confirmed the game, but has been advertising for staff to work on a new MMO.

Excited? Disappointed? Vent your spleens right here.

A German gamer has reached the wealth limit imposed in World of Warcraft. He now stands at 217, 748 gold, 36 silver and 48 copper.

The player is said to be the leader of the largest guild on his server, and one of the top ten guilds in the world. This position of authority grants him the ability to power level high paying characters, as well as countless other revenue streams.

Recent market valuations place his stash at some $6,500.

Now, I have a distinct distaste for most things MMO - I like to play games, not statistics - however, the online economics have always fascinated me. What happens when inflation sets in? What happens when a virus wipes out the entire server? Can people really make livings out of online worlds?

The thing is, $6,500 doesn’t sound like an awful lot to me. Sure, perhaps these players are routinely selling off their hoardings, but then reaching the wealth cap seems something of a big deal. Imagine how much time and effort has gone into getting this character to where he is now - the head of one of the leading guilds - and then compare that to the measly £3,000 that’s been netted. Consider the number of working weeks that must have gone into the character - 20, 30, 40?

We hear a lot of tales of MMO wealth, but if this is the pinnacle, it’s really quite underwhelming.

Has an MMO made you any money?