Warcraft Nut Threatens Suicide

17-year-old World of Warcraft player told a game moderator that if he didn't get his way he would kill himself. The Ohio teen told the customer services rep that he had nothing else to live for other than his marathon sessions in the fantasy role playing game and that his frustration with the game had become so all-encompassing that he had decided to top himself. The employee, no doubt keen to avoid the kind of headlines that would follow the untimely demise of a pimply social retard blamed on the ridiculously addictive game, called the cops who traced the miscreant through his IP address. They then kicked in his back door and slapped a charge of first degree misdemeanour on him. He, of course, insisted the whole thing was just a joke. ( www.theinquirer.net )

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World of Warcraft To Blame For College Dropouts Says FCC

Do you want to know why your teenager is dropping out of college? According to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), it apparently has nothing to do with the cruddy state of the job market, discouraging prospects for graduates and exorbitant university fees. Instead, World of WarCraft is to blame. Activision Blizzard's World of Warcraft has something of a rep for being addictive, with nerdy fans spending hours in rain, hail and snow just to buy a copy of the Lich King that they could very well have just ordered online. Even South Park managed to fill two whole episodes with the subject, when Guitar Hero only achieved one. But according to FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, the game is not just a fun distraction, but represents a dire threat to the education of an entire generation, and only she can undertake a quest singlehandedly to stop it. ( www.theinquirer.net )

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Numbers Support Players Returning To World of Warcraft

Massively : With the recent launch of World of Warcraft's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, industry watchers have been poring over the numbers, trying to see what can be gleaned from the data. With 2.8 million copies sold in the first 24 hours, Blizzard's 800-pound-gorilla continues to break records. Following the flood of numbers, our friends over at GamerDNA have just come out with their own Wrath reports, based on their member data from anywhere between a few days to a few months before Wrath's launch. As expected, there was an increase in the number of returning players, out to experience all that Wrath has to offer. We admit we're curious about potential skewing of the numbers, though. On the surface, it would be largely what one would expect - Wrath launches, the numbers went up. However, we'd note that they started running a World of Warcraft-themed contest for Razer gear on the 12th, and a SwagDog guild promotion on the 19th that may account for at least a small portion of the metric increase; how much of a difference remains to be seen. Also noted is the number of WoW pages created on their service after the launch of Warhammer Online, which is by itself, a fairly interesting point. ( www.massively.com )

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The New Game Monster

Wrath of the Lich King, the latest expansion to the soul-destroyingly epic MMO World of Warcraft launched this week to much fanfare, and already it's made a huge mark. The game, the second WoW expansion, has broken the record for the biggest single 24 hour sales period - a massive 2.8 million copies of the title were sold in a single day following midnight launches all over the world. Here in Sydney was no exception, and the event took place at EB Games new George St digs. Hundreds of eager WoW fans turned up for the late night launch, and staggering numbers seen elsewhere made their not all that unexpected appearance. "Blizzard Entertainment continues to deliver massive titles and results," said Kim Green, PC Buyer for EB Games in Australia. "Wrath of the Lich King is the biggest single format release in EB Games history." Of course, no launch is without its controversy, and while our resident WoW expert is diligently exploring the new continent of Northrend (it's a hard bloody life at times), some were rather disappointed to find allocation of games at some stores was rather short. ( www.atomicmpc.com.au )

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Blizzard Discourages WoW 'Poopsocking'

Blizzard has slammed the unhealthy practise of 'poopsocking'- the act of neglecting basic hygiene in favour of remaining at your PC. Following the UK mainstream media's rush to cover the unfortunate story of a young World Of Warcraft gamer collapsing after a lengthy session on Blizzard's massively popular MMO, TechRadar spoke to PC Zone to get their take on the matter. "The problem with World of Warcraft is that its developer, Blizzard, has had four years now to refine and perfect a set of game rules which promotes addiction," said Deputy Editor of PC Zone, Steve Hogarty. Though Hogarty is quick to add the disclaimer,"though it's cynical to think that the creators of WoW are happy with children and adults wasting away in front of their game." "In fact, when PC Zone confronted lead game designer Tom Chilton with the phenomenon of 'poopsocking', he was stunned, saying "no, no... I highly encourage players to use the restroom..."!" ( www.techradar.com )

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World of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King -- Why You Should Buy It

The latest World of Warcraft expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King, hit shops at midnight on Wednesday. Hordes of gamers queued through the night to be the first to get their hands on the latest instalment in the World of Warcraft franchise. But what extra features does Wrath of the Lich King offer Warcraft addicts? Is it worth the money? Here's five reasons you should splash out:

1) New characters

2) New player-vs-player battle modes

3) A whole new world

4) Improved graphics and game engine

5) It's World of Warcraft, just better

( www.telegraph.co.uk )

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World Of Warcraft Launch Beats iPhone And PS3

The latest expansion for World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King, attracted a staggering 2,000 people to its Oxford Street launch – more than turned out for launches like the PlayStation 3 or Apple's iPhone 3G. World of Warcraft is one of the most played games on the planet, with in excess of 10 million active accounts – paying a monthly fee for access to the virtual world of Azeroth. Although a whole wealth of competitors have sprung up including key names in the same fantasy arena that Warcraft uses – including Warhammer, Lord of the Rings and Age of Conan – it is Blizzard's game that has completely dominated the MMO market. ( www.techradar.com )

Lich King Arrive

World Of Warcraft players have torn themselves away from their infatuation to limp, blinking and mewling, out into the harsh light of the real world. Yet their quest was clear, they were going to grind their way down to the shops to pick up a new expansion pack to feed their insatiable craving for adventure in the lands of Azeroth and beyond. At the end of last month Blizzard Entertainment announced that there would be midnight openings of stores in order for Warcrack addicts to queue up and get the Wrath Of The Lich King as soon as possible.

An Oxford Street shop in London saw a queue of more than 2,000 fans, many of them dressed in cardboard armour and brandishing magical staffs fashioned from their mum's broom handles, waiting outside to collect a copy of the add-on. Many queued up from around 11.30pm but some extreme fans were waiting from as early as 6am in order to be the first to get the game.

The expansion will give players the chance to take a whole new character, the Death Knight, up to the new level cap at 80, as well as exploring a special continent for higher level players. The usual host of new enemies, equipment and spells will also be available. The WOW Forums were a buzz of excitement last night as fans returned online to share their queuing experiences while the new data installed. ( www.theinquirer.net )

Blizzard Bans 350,000 Dirty, Cheating Battle.Netters

Microsoft isn't the only one swinging the account crushing banhammer just before the holiday rush. Blizzard has suspended an impressive 350,000 Battle.net accounts identified as using "third-party hacks" in both StarCraft and Diablo II. According to folks at Blizzard, this is on top of an additional 7,700 Warcraft III accounts getting the same treatment. We won't miss you, you cheating sons of bitches — no postcards necessary. ( kotaku.com )

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