BlizzCon® 2009 Tickets on Sale May 16
IRVINE, Calif., May 05, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that tickets for its fourth BlizzCon(R) gaming convention will go on sale May 16. Live coverage of the event will be available as a DIRECTV(R) Pay Per View event and, for the first time, as an Internet stream. BlizzCon is a celebration of the global player communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment(R)'s Warcraft(R), Diablo(R), and StarCraft(R) game universes. The event will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on August 21 and 22.
"BlizzCon always offers us a great chance to meet players and celebrate our shared passion for gaming," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We look forward to delivering another entertaining and memorable experience to all attendees and to those joining us from home."
In addition to serving as a gathering place for the different Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, BlizzCon will offer an array of activities, including discussion panels, hands-on playtime with upcoming games, tournaments, contests, and more.
Tickets to the convention will be priced at $125 USD each and will be available for purchase from the official BlizzCon website at www.blizzcon.com beginning May 16. For those unable to purchase tickets on that date, a second block of tickets will go on sale May 30.
To streamline the ticket-purchase process this year, the company has made upgrades to the Blizzard Store, including a first-come, first-served queue system and a fixed time limit for completing purchases. Also, those interested in attending BlizzCon can simplify the purchase process by registering a Battle.net account at www.battle.net before ticket sales begin.
Due to its popularity last year, the DIRECTV(R) BlizzCon Pay Per View event will return in 2009, available to existing DIRECTV customers for $39.95 USD. The event will again deliver a minimum of eight hours of live HD coverage from the show floor on each day of the convention, including exclusive interviews, demos, and more. In addition, gamers around the world who are unable to attend BlizzCon will for the first time be able to purchase the Pay Per View event as an Internet stream, also priced at $39.95 USD (pricing may vary by region). DIRECTV customers who order the televised event will receive this Internet stream at no extra charge, allowing them to watch in the format of their choice. Anyone who orders the event will also receive this year's BlizzCon-exclusive World of Warcraft(R) in-game item -- to be revealed at a later date.
In addition, in the weeks ahead DIRECTV will offer a BlizzCon promotion for those interested in signing up for the DIRECTV television service. New subscribers through this promotion will receive the DIRECTV BlizzCon Pay Per View event, the Internet stream, and the BlizzCon 2009 World of Warcraft in-game item for the price of becoming a new DIRECTV customer.
To keep pace with the continued growth of World of Warcraft as well as development on other Blizzard Entertainment games, the company is currently hiring for numerous open positions. More information on available career opportunities can be found at www.blizzard.com/jobs.
As BlizzCon draws closer, further details about the show, including ordering and programming information for the DIRECTV BlizzCon Pay Per View event and Internet stream, will be announced at www.blizzcon.com.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft(R) and the Warcraft(R), StarCraft(R), and Diablo(R) series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment's track record includes eleven #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net(R), is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active users.
About DIRECTV, Inc.
DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTV), the nation's No. 1 satellite TV service, presents the finest television experience available to more than 17.6 million customers in the United States and is leading the HD revolution with more than 130 HD channels. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy access to over 265 channels of 100% digital picture and sound, exclusive programming, industry-leading customer satisfaction (which has surpassed national cable companies for eight years running) and superior technologies that include advanced DVR and HD-DVR services and the most state-of-the-art interactive sports packages available anywhere. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please call 1-800-DIRECTV or visit www.directv.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Blizzard Entertainment generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," future," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming" and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Blizzard Entertainment's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Blizzard Entertainment's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Blizzard Entertainment's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Blizzard Entertainment, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, Activision Blizzard's success in integrating the operations of Activision Publishing and Vivendi Games in a timely manner, or at all, and the combined company's ability to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the transaction to the extent, or in the timeframe, anticipated, and the other factors identified in Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
SOURCE: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Lisa Jensen
Vice President, Global PR
949.854.6200
949.854.7900 fax
ljensen@blizzard.com
or
Shon Damron
PR Manager
949.955.1380 x2508
949.854.7900 fax
sdamron@blizzard.com
or
Bob Colayco
PR Manager
949.955.1380 x2528
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bcolayco@blizzard.com
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