AusGamers Video Interview with Frank Pearce

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Posted 19th Sep 2008 12:02 AM by Leord

AusGamers have just posted their Games Convention 2008 interview with Frank Pearce. While the convention is way in the past, these little blasts from the past sure helps to make the days go faster until BlizzCon!

Horrible sound, like other video interviews from Games Convention, but unfortunately no subtitles. It can be a bit hard to hear at times, especially with Frank’s deep husky voice. They discuss eSports, if all the active eSporters will migrate to the sequel, cheating, and what they have learned from WoW. He said that matchmaking for Battle.net 2.0 is in the works, but lots of stuff to do, finding a balance in matches.Here is an interesting Battle.net quote:

	Blizzard Quote:
	Battle.net is something we want to evolve further and also try to achieve a point where there is more accountability. It will be more like myspace, and interact with the internet.

He also talks about the fact that Blizzard creates multiplayer first, so that the game has a multiplayer foundation, and then build a single player mode in addition to that. Not really new, but a nice reminder that there is a reason why Blizzard games are superior in Multiplayer games. He also discuss about the problem of piracy. Even though it exists for both PC and consoles, it’s usually only mentioned for PC games. Blizzard have an interesting way to look at it, compared to companies like EA.

	Blizzard Quote:
	It’s certainly something that is a consideration for us, but we’re not going to devote an enormous amount of resources to deal with that, as we ultimately feel like we have created a platform, the Battle.net, and created a compelling experience of a full featured set of functionality that people want to play. The greatest asset we have in terms of combat piracy is our online community and the desire for people to be part of that.

Which goes in line with what Blizzard usually say: “If we make a good game, people will buy it”. What this says about EA vs. Blizzard games is up to you to interpret.

Frank also talk about a possible StarCraft 2 expansion, saying that the focus is on SC2 at the moment, but they are discussing it. Also, an interview with Blizzard can’t pass without a mention of the Diablo 3 art controversy. They think that the negative player feedback is good, as that means they have dedicated fans. When asked if similar responses were found in SC-fans, the answer was of course “no”.

An MMO For StarCraft:
The MMO question appeared, and was brutally shot down. If this means that they truly do not have an unknown team preparing the “next gen MMO” (which they are hiring for) or not is unknown. It COULD be PR talk, but then it would be a straight lie. Not that they haven’t done that before, but still. Still, the quote below can be interpreted as “we do not want to make a SC MMO”, which is the opposite of what Mike Morhaime have said.

	Blizzard Quote:
	Am, no. [Smiles] We got the World of WarCraft team [who] got their hands full with the Wrath of the Lich King, and the StarCraft II team got their hands full, and the Diablo III team got a lot of work to do as well. Even if it was something we wanted to do, we don’t have the resources to do it right now. It’s not something that is on the short-to-mid term horizon.