Ceci n'est pas une Blog: StarCraft 2 Announced in Seoul

Friday, May 18, 2007

StarCraft 2 Announced in Seoul

Just moments ago, Blizzard Entertainment officially unveiled their next big release title, STARCRAFT 2, on the show floor of the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea.

Note: See bottom of post for updates!

For those of you who don't know, the original StarCraft, released in 1998, is one of the most popular video games that exists. It is sometimes jokingly referred to as the national sport in Korea, for its popularity and permanent status in their culture is unprecedented. The attendance and coverage of StarCraft matches and tournaments, held in stadiums (yes, stadiums) crammed with adoring fans, are comparable to that of the Super Bowl in America. No joke! The top players, such as Lim Yo-Hwan and Lee Yun-Yeol have corporate sponsors and are recognized faces around the country, appearing on soda cans and cereal boxes and God knows what else.

The release of the sequel is something fans have been awaiting for just shy of 10 years. Blizzard's other two main franchises, Warcraft and Diablo, have each been given sequels. (Warcraft, of course, had no less than two RTS sequels and the MMO - World of Warcraft.)

As I'm typing this, internet forums around the web are exploding with threads hailing SC2's coming. The World of Warcraft Off-Topic Board in particular has been standing on its ear, keeping its fellows up-to-date within seconds of released information. I want to give a huge thank-you to Charles Onyett of IGN.com, whose tireless updates from the floor of the show have been appearing at no more than 5-minute intervals for the past hour and a half in his article covering the event in exquisite detail. My favourite part of his frantically-taken notes so far is this excerpt:

"every unit on screen destroyed - three nukes were launched at once - then zergs rush in and spell 'GG' while turning into suicidal bombs."

Here's one gamer who can't wait to play this next installment. Thank you for the sequel Blizzard! Good game indeed.

Edit 5: OFFICIAL SITE is up! Download CGI video, wallpapers, and more.

Edit 4: High-resolution screenshots now on IGN! (Thanks to Berlyntroll)

Edit 3: Digital camera-captured Gameplay screens located @ bottom of post.

Edit 2: CGI Video appears on YouTube! (Thanks to Nigma for this)

Edit: I'd also like to express my amazement at the speed with which dedicated Wikipedi-ers made a detailed (as possible) entry for SC2.