Check out this video interview between Destructoid and Blizzard.
He confirmed that they are indeed calling the game Titan (their internal codename), that people weren't supposed to know about it ("the media's not supposed to know anything about that, it's our Next-Gen MMO"), and that it has been used quietly ("limited") within the organization.
In the beginning of the video, Destructoid was obviously referring to the recent leaked release schedule, and Frank Pearce cracked a big smile. =]
So - I think that's pretty much a confirmation that the release schedule was indeed legitimate. The release dates are all estimates of course (ie, setting a general roadmap for the company) and the actual release dates will fall short of their original goals based on trends, but at least they give us a really good idea of when they want to release the games even though our own estimates were pretty close. Unfortunately, this also means that all of that other critical financial and subscriber information is out there in the wild too!
Blizzard recently stated that they intended to develop smaller expansion packs so that they could release them much sooner - giving that release schedule more legitimacy (ie, one year apart versus every two years.)
Blizzard announced their Sales Figures today, and all of the major media organizations (IGN, Joystiq, Gamepro, etc. etc.) are reporting that Cataclysm sold 3.3 million copies within the first 24 hours.
In actual fact, all of that information is completely false. It's like they just read the Subject Header without actually reading any of the factual information.
Blizzard sold a "record 3.3 million copies sold through as of its first 24 hours of release*". There was even a asterisk pointing to a small little caption at the bottom of their announcement, but no one seems to be paying attention. =]
Normally, Pre-Sales are included in industry announcements - but the new Digital Download process makes this a very different case. It's like heavily hyping a game, pushing it's "first" release date, allowing players to buy the game and install it on their PC, then have a "second" release date but say all of the sales were actually made on the "second release date". Most if not all other developers can't do this, making this a special case.
Jay Allen Brack originally stated, "We expect the Cataclysm sales to exceed the levels of the previous versions, but we do not have an exact target." So that new announcement needed to be worded in such a way that it didn't make him look bad. I'm really disappointed with the lack of transparency.
But it gets even more sneaky..
1. Let's ignore all of Digital Downloads (over one month prior to retail launch day) for a moment.
Blizzard didn't actually count sales during the first 24 hours of Dec. 7th. In fact, they included sales from Dec. 7th, Dec. 8th, and Dec. 9th. Dec. 10th was the actual "ending date" of the 24 hours sales period. =]
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm was simultaneously released in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Europe, Russia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand on December 7, and became available in Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on December 9.Cataclysm became available in Korea and parts of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on December 9th. So, they counted the 24 hour sales period from geographies that contained the smallest number of sales but added in 3 WHOLE DAYS OF SALES from their largest subscriber based geographies. Nice.
That's a HUGE amount considering the daily trends of average game sales. For example: 5M sales opening day, 3M sales next day, 1.5M next day, 750k next day, etc. If Cataclysm sales were based on previous Expansion Pack sales (and there was never a Digital Download), that 3.3 million number was actually calculated over a 3 day period, and it would have ACTUALLY been closer to 2 million on the first day, 1 million the second day, 300-500k on the third day, and so on.
2. Blizzard stated that Cataclysm sales made "it the fastest-selling PC game of all time.*". However, that statement also had a little caption attached. It was, in fact, the "fastest-selling PC game" based on Blizzard's internal lineup of games and the use of special calculations from their own "internal company records". Meaning that they included 2 months of sales, but are classifying it as "sales in 24 hours".
3. They also called it a "PC game", but Cataclysm is not a stand-alone video game. It's an expansion pack (it could even be classified as a large patch or DLC) with a much cheaper pricing model than a real PC game purchase. I don't know if you could even classify the retail DVD as a large patch.. it's just the 4.0 update which players can (and already have) download for free. Really, if you get technical, you're just paying for a code to "unlock" new stuff for your account.
Sales did not actually "shatter" anything and if you've been reading earlier posts you'll know that 3.3 million sales over a 2 month period are not good at all. It also looks like this little prediction came true. =]
This time it's leaked video footage of the work-in-progress Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm ending CGI.
Here's a link to see the video yourself. Keep in mind, it contains big spoilers. =]
(NEW LINK HERE - they're being pulled down all over the place.)
It might have been an alternative ending to Wings of Liberty, but based on Activision Blizzard's flurry of recent take down notices - it probably is indeed the ending to Heart of the Swarm.
(Update: Confirmed to be a legitimate leak.)
What's on the video (SPOILERS):
Kerrigan either turns back into the Zerg hybrid, or she's a clone created by Mengsk so that he could take control of the Zerg armies for himself.
It appears that up until now, the Zerg have always been controlled by some nefarious overmind. In this case, Arcturus Mengsk has been working with Kerrigan (or a clone) for some time and possibly controlling her. So the Zerg's actions (in WoL or HotS) were all the result of Mengsk's decisions. He has a lab full of Kerrigan (human) clones with PSI abilities that can reach out to Zerg/Kerrigan to hurt and possibly control her.
Mengsk calls her his greatest failure, and then she and Raynor kill Mengsk. The Zerg/Kerrigan also appears to be super-PSI powered as well. =]
Basically, the Zerg are finally free from all control and can now decide their own destiny. In the end, Raynor asks "What now?" Kerrigan responds with, "I keep my end of the bargain, and leave humanity to it's fate. The Zerg are free now.. slaves to no one, not even me. So whether they be the bringers of light or destroyers of worlds, I'll help them find the answer out there amongst the stars."