BLIZZARD INSIDER ISSUE #1 JANUARY 2000 In This Issue: =========================================================== 1) Blizzard Q&A: Diablo II Beta =========================================================== 2) The Reign of Chaos Begins: WarCraft(TM) III Trailer Available for Download =========================================================== 3) Battle.net Upgraded =========================================================== 4) iGames 2000 GameExpo Mall Tour Features StarCraft Tournament =========================================================== 5) Visit the Blizzard Store For a Special Limited Time Offer =========================================================== What's the Blizzard Insider all about? Welcome to the Blizzard Insider, your direct source for essential Blizzard Entertainment information. Through this newsletter, we'll deliver all of the latest news about Blizzard games, downloads from our website, Battle.net updates, and special offers available through our on-line store. We'll even take the time to answer questions on the topics important to you. =========================================================== 1) Blizzard Q&A: Diablo II Beta This session of the Blizzard Q&A is answered by Blizzard's Bill Roper and addresses questions concerning the upcoming Diablo II Battle.net Beta. Blizzard Insider: Is there going to be a Diablo II beta? Bill Roper: Yes, we are certainly going to hold a Battle.net Beta for Diablo II. We find our betas to be incredibly useful for play balancing, gathering direct feedback from core gamers as well as compatibility testing. Beta testing is an important and vital part of our process. Blizzard Insider: Who can sign up for the beta? Bill Roper: We will be holding open sign-ups for the beta through our website at http://www.blizzard.com early this year. From these entrants we will be randomly selecting 1,000 testers from the United States for the first phase of our beta program. Approximately one week after the sign-ups, we will announce the beta testers and email instructions, explaining the beta and bug-reporting process. Blizzard Insider: What if I am not one of the lucky 1,000? Bill Roper: We will be doing something new with Diablo II by having a second phase beta program. This part of the beta will be an open beta where people can go to our website and download a specific beta build and jump up on Battle.net to help us stress test our new servers. As we get closer to this date we will give out more details on how this part of the beta will be run. Blizzard Insider: Will the beta be open to people outside of the United States? Bill Roper: The first phase of the beta will consist of testers from the United States and Canada only, but the open beta will be available to people from all around the world. Blizzard Insider: How long will the beta last? Bill Roper: We do not have a set amount of time, as we cannot predict what issues will arise during the beta. While we do not intend for the beta to drag on, we do want to get the best results and feedback possible. Basically, we will run the program for as long as we are getting qualitative input. Blizzard Insider: What do I get for being a beta tester? Bill Roper: The fame of being one of the first people to actually play Diablo II, the right to brag to all your friends that you are an official beta tester and your name in the credits of the game! =========================================================== 2) The Reign of Chaos Begins: WarCraft(TM) III Trailer Available to Download The wait is over as the first WarCraft(TM) III trailer is available to download from Blizzard's website. Return to the Age of Chaos and witness the coming of an all-new threat to the land of Azeroth. The world will never be the same. WarCraft III, which combines traditional strategy gaming with heavy role-playing elements, is expected to release by the end of 2000. To download the trailer or find out more about WarCraft III go to: http://www.blizzard.com/war3/ =========================================================== 3) Battle.net Upgraded Over the past few months Blizzard has been working diligently to make Battle.net's performance better than ever. Several fundamental improvements have been made to Battle.net's architecture, which have resulted in an increase in server stability, faster server response time and fewer server splits. And now the fruit of Blizzard's labor to increase Battle.net's functionality has been manifested with several daily Battle.net records recently shattered. Total games over Battle.net reached 11,379,766 -- the first time more than 10 million Blizzard games have been played in the same day. The record for concurrent users was also broken with a peak of 106,608 users online at the same time. Log on today, because millions of Battle.net gamers can't be wrong! =========================================================== 4) iGames 2000 GameExpo Mall Tour Features StarCraft Tournament iGames and i2e2 are sponsoring the GameExpo Tour at malls across the country this winter. The tour, which has already had successful stops in San Jose, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles is heading your way with a StarCraft tournament for cash prizes! Look for the tour at the following locations: - January 19 & 20 in New York at the Carousel Center - January 22 & 23 in Cleveland at Tower City - January 26 & 27 in Dallas at Grapevine Mills Admission is free but if you want to clean up at the tournament you've got to pre-register first. Check out the iGame website at http://www.igametours.com for location and pre-registration information. =========================================================== 5) Special Offer for Blizzard Insiders! Free War Pig with purchase of $25 or more! Didn't get what you wanted for the Holidays? Forgot someone special on your list and need to make amends? Go to http://www.blizzard.com/market.htm for all the Blizzard games, strategy guides and merchandise any gamer could want. And for a limited time, if you purchase more than $25 in merchandise you'll get Terran Marine "War Pig" action figure that is NOT available in stores. To get your free War Pig, simply include the following promotional code (exactly as shown) when prompted: c7WX90g Offer valid while supplies last. Limit one figure per household. Promotion valid through 2/4/00. Allow 4-6 weeks for order fulfillment. Figure available in USA and Canada only. Void where prohibited. Not valid with any other promotional offer. Offer only valid to end-user. Not available to resellers. =========================================================== Blizzard Entertainment P.O. Box 18979 Irvine, CA 92623 Direct Sales (800) 953-SNOW International Direct Sales (949) 955-0283 Technical Support (949) 955-1382 Technical Support Fax (949) 955-0157 Online Technical Support support@blizzard.com http://www.blizzard.com/support/index.shtml Visit Blizzard on the world web at http://www.blizzard.com =========================================================== (C) 2000 Blizzard Entertainment. All rights reserved. Battle.Net, Starcraft, Brood War and Diablo are trademarks and Warcraft and Blizzard Entertainment are trademarks or registered trademarks in the United States and/or other countries.