Blizzard Insider Issue #2 4/28/00 ISSUE #2 April 2000 In This Issue: =========================================================== 1) **DIABLO(TM) II BATTLE.NET(R) STRESS TEST INVITATION!** =========================================================== 2) A New Perspective on Warcraft(R) III =========================================================== 3) Diablo II Beta News =========================================================== 4) StarCraft(TM) Featured in Amazing Stories in =========================================================== 5) Diablo II Collector's Edition Announced =========================================================== 6) StarCraft's Place Among the Stars. =========================================================== Welcome to the second issue of the Blizzard Insider, your direct source for essential Blizzard Entertainment(R) information. If you do not wish to receive The Blizzard Insider in the future, please refer to the unsubscribe instructions at the end of this letter. =========================================================== 1) **DIABLO(TM) II BATTLE.NET(R) STRESS TEST REGISTRATION BEGINS!** Diablo II is almost done and we need your help to ensure that Battle.net is ready for the world! Starting on Monday, May 1 at 9:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time, Blizzard will be accepting sign ups for the Diablo II Battle.net Stress Test. The test will consist of users playing the first two quests of the game using the Barbarian character. Up to 100,000 slots for the test will be chosen from all qualifying entries. Sign-ups will end on Sunday, May 7 at 9:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time. To sign up go to the following URL: http://www.gamespot.com/diabloii/betasignup.html =========================================================== 2) A New Perspective on Warcraft III Blizzard has posted brand new screen shots from Warcraft III showing a new look for the game. The camera angle and interface has evolved since the first shots were shown to the world. So be sure to check the Warcraft III section of www.blizzard.com for a whole new way of looking at the battlefield. =========================================================== 3) Diablo II Beta News On midnight March 20, Blizzard opened up sign ups for the Diablo II Beta Test. 24 hours and 138,000 entries later the list was narrowed down to 1,000 official Diablo II Beta Testers. Since then, the Beta has been played, replayed, reviewed and dissected by a number of game sites. Check out a compendium of their impressions here: http://www.blizzard.com/diablo2/beta/betalinks.shtml =========================================================== 4) StarCraft Featured in Amazing Stories(R) in Amazing Stories The Spring 2000 issue of Amazing Stories features another StarCraft short story written by Micky Neilson of Blizzard and illustrated by Samwise Didier. Titled "Hybrid," the story features Amanda Haley, a captured Terran Medic, and details her encounters with Kerrigan while aboard an Infested Terran outpost. Learn what the story has to reveal about Kerrigan's mysterious past. Check out the new issue of Amazing Stories today! http://www.wizards.com/amazing/ =========================================================== 5) Diablo II Collector's Edition Announced Blizzard Entertainment announces a one-time production run of Diablo II Collector's Edition. Available only during Diablo II's initial launch, this special edition will be offered in limited quantities. The Collector's Edition will include Diablo II on three CD-ROMs, a 24-minute Diablo II cinematic on DVD in wide-screen letterbox format, the Diablo II soundtrack with 60 minutes of music, the Wizards of the Coast pencil-and-paper role-playing game based on the AD&D rule set and a Diablo II manual signed by the development team. Diablo II Collector's Edition will be available exclusively at Babbages, Electronics Boutique and direct from Blizzard. While Blizzard is not accepting pre-sells, both Babbages and EB are. The expected price for the product will be $60 - $70. =========================================================== 6) StarCraft's Place Among the Stars One of StarCraft's fans has taken his love for the game to new heights. Astronaut Dan Barry of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX recently took a copy of StarCraft on board a space shuttle Discovery mission. The photos of the mission crew and a letter of authenticity can be seen here: http://www.blizzard.com/starcraft/sis/ =========================================================== 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) 737-7669 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. StarCraft is a trademark and Battle.net, Diablo, Warcraft and Blizzard Entertainment are trademarks or registered trademarks of Havas Interactive, Inc. and/or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.