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We've heard a lot of things through the grapevine from China recently, and we reported on some of what is happening in the Middle Kingdom in regards too the StarCraft II Beta yesterday. The three biggest Chinese StarCraft 2 fansites announced that they will be running activities to hand out beta keys this week (or soon). All of them are officially approved by Blizzard to be Chinese StarCraft fansites, so it's unlikely a coincidence for all three to announce something like this. They are most likely doing this going on more than just pure guesses.
Late last night we found the news editor for sc2p.com who post the news article about the beta key giveaway activity plan, "CoNia," and pinned him down for a brief interview. I have translated the interview from Chinese and posted below.
Please note that sc2p.com is part of Sgamer.com, much like StarcraftWire.net is part of IncGamers.com, and when we say "Blizzard" we mean "Blizzard's China Representative Office."
Make sure to read about the background on the Chinese StarCraft 2 fansites preparing for Beta to get the whole picture.
It's extremely important to point out that we can't be sure about all the information in this interview is true or not, as it's not from Blizzard itself, and the news editor could potentially be lying to us. However, the creditability of sc2p is generally very high so the question is; did Blizzard's Representative Office in China only mean to let the fansites start to warm up, or maybe the representative office really got some news form the development team?
Another very important thing to point out here is that the release date "before May" is an estimate by CoNia, and if he's wrong, it does not meant specifically that he lied. May is just over a week away, and a beta seems very unlikely to be announced AND started before May, even if it's in China. If he's wrong, it's most likely a misunderstanding between Blizzard and the fansite. We have contacted Blizzard for clarification on this, and we will update the story as soon as new information is made available.
Make sure to follow all beta updates in the StarCraft II Beta Centre!
Late last night we found the news editor for sc2p.com who post the news article about the beta key giveaway activity plan, "CoNia," and pinned him down for a brief interview. I have translated the interview from Chinese and posted below.
Please note that sc2p.com is part of Sgamer.com, much like StarcraftWire.net is part of IncGamers.com, and when we say "Blizzard" we mean "Blizzard's China Representative Office."
StarcraftWire.net: Hi, I'm Kuangtu from Starcraftwire.net.
English speaking fans are really concerned about the beta news from China, since it seems Chinese fansites get inside news earlier than English sites. Could you tell me who in Blizzard gave your site the news on beta?
CoNia: I can't answer your question right now because we just get the news from the higher-up. I will answer your question shortly.
StarcraftWire.net: Ok, I'll wait.
CoNia: It was a Blizzard Community manager in China. I don't know his name.
StarcraftWire.net: So someone from Blizzard's Representative Office in China informed Sgamer?
CoNia: Yes. We announced the plan of beta giveaway activity after we were informed by the officials.
StarcraftWire.net: Have you got a batch of beta keys? Does this activity fully depend on Sgamer to giveaway the key, or does it need to follow certain rules by Blizzard?
CoNia: No, Blizzard is still waiting for our design on the activity, then we can start it, the winner(s) will get beta key(s), but we decide the details on how the beta keys will be handed out.
StarcraftWire.net: So before the activity start you need Blizzard to give you permission first?
CoNia: Yes, we need the authorization from Blizzard on the activity, we actually handed out the plan last Friday.
StarcraftWire.net: Did Blizzard inform your site by something in writing or just orally?
CoNia:I'm not really sure, but I don't think this kind of notification is in writing. Since beta is coming soon, many fansites just want any kind of inside news, even if Blizzard reveals a little they will try to give more publicity.
StarcraftWire.net: Last question, did Blizzard give any hint on when beta will start?
CoNia: If I say there is no hint at all it wouldn't be true, but I can't give you more details. I can give you a rough time. Before May, but I can't be sure.
StarcraftWire.net: I can understand it is important to keep the date a secret. However, it is very close if the rough time is before May.
CoNia: Yes, that's why the activity is in hurry. We didn't get any notification before. We started to plan the activity right after they gave the "go."
StarcraftWire.net: Ok, thank you very much for your answers.
Make sure to read about the background on the Chinese StarCraft 2 fansites preparing for Beta to get the whole picture.
It's extremely important to point out that we can't be sure about all the information in this interview is true or not, as it's not from Blizzard itself, and the news editor could potentially be lying to us. However, the creditability of sc2p is generally very high so the question is; did Blizzard's Representative Office in China only mean to let the fansites start to warm up, or maybe the representative office really got some news form the development team?
Another very important thing to point out here is that the release date "before May" is an estimate by CoNia, and if he's wrong, it does not meant specifically that he lied. May is just over a week away, and a beta seems very unlikely to be announced AND started before May, even if it's in China. If he's wrong, it's most likely a misunderstanding between Blizzard and the fansite. We have contacted Blizzard for clarification on this, and we will update the story as soon as new information is made available.
Make sure to follow all beta updates in the StarCraft II Beta Centre!
This could be huge!