You've probably already heard about this tweet by now. Blizzard_ANZ is apparently a completely legitimate official Blizzard tweet (from the Australia/NZ team.)

Now that I've had a chance to go over it some more in detail, here's what I think.

Starting from the first tweet:

Should have a nice update for everyone by the end of the week if all goes to plan...

They're referring to the Spike VGA.

So most people are on the right track as it is regarding Diablo3. More details to follow... :)

When he posted his first tweet, he was tweeted back: "Release date?", "Please be the release date", "Finally the D3 release date!", "Better be the release date", etc. And this second Tweet was a RESPONSE to those tweets. "D3 Release Date" was the vast majority (and I mean it's real definition, not the Zarhym definition of 'vast majority') of responses, plus that's what everyone has been speculating since the VGA announcement. (If by some small chance he was not responding to follow up tweets.)

Blizzard is basically CONFIRMING that the Diablo 3 release date will be announced this Saturday (in the US) at the VGA.

...On a semi related note ow.ly/7PIs0 is coming out on the 13th December. I now know what I want for Christmas :)

"On a related note, here's something ELSE being released and here is it's release date.."

None of the other trolling attempts I took very seriously. But this time, it's coming from an official Blizzard only-news-related source, rather than the "semi-official" Twitter pages of employees. It's just a little weird that it's coming from the AU/NZ team though. (Like it's something specific to their region.. better not be RMAH related.)

There's no other way of analyzing this; Blizzard has confirmed that the release date WILL be announced this Saturday (in the US). So, I'll actually be really pissed this time if it's not announced and it was one huge troll.

Some other readers also noted that information is more hastily being released now, in relation to this article. Maybe something happened that has allowed them to firm up a release date now? They were waiting on Korea, but Blizzard Korea just announced major delays in the RMAH approvals and government certification, which I predicted that if it would take too long (they can only push back so far), that they would eventually just say "screw it" and move forwards with implementation everywhere else. This timing seems impeccable. (They were waiting on feedback from the Korean government.)

Assuming the release date is announced this Saturday, what would be really awesome is if the release date is 02/23/2012 like what I originally mentioned. It's really the only prediction I have at the moment, since it times up well with an announcement this month, and also gives enough time in January for Digital Downloads to be made available. :)

Since there's been so much going on today, I'll be saving that other (larger) post for tomorrow. I'm still waiting for some more information about it anyways, but I wanted to get it out there because it's at a point where it can be published. But, if I receive any more details, I can continue developing the posts into others in the series.

tl;dr; It appears that Blizzard will be announcing the D3 release date this Saturday due to major setbacks within the Korean RMAH approval and implementation. February release date expected.

* UPDATE:

I was just thinking, that second tweet said "So most people are on the right track as it is regarding Diablo3."

This could mean, "people are on the right track about this Diablo announcement" (i.e. the release date.) Or he's being a complete smart-ass and just saying "people are right that this has something to do with Diablo 3".

What an asshole.. okay, I'm downgrading from "hopeful optimism" to "expecting disappointment" now. (Maybe they're going to wait a little longer to see if Korean approvals still come through. They still have until January, if they intend on releasing by March.)

* UPDATE:

Based on that "as it is regarding Diablo3" comment, and the "nice update for everyone by the end of the week", it's just not timed with the VGA and he's using trollspeak. So, I'm downgrading this completely to "just another troll attempt by Blizzard."

So..

That Blizzard Tweet is a Confirmation.. of more assholes trolling.

Do other companies, like Valve, do this to their customers.. or is it only Blizzard?

* UPDATE (12/8/11):

Yep, trolling assholes confirmed.

They're giving away 100 beta keys to Aus/NZ players (must follow them on Twitter to be eligible).

What bothers me the most about this is that they said "end of week" which isn't today, and when 99% of users tweeted back saying "Release Date?" he confirmed "So most people are on the right track" but then had to add "as it is regarding Diablo3." Teasing and trolling their customers for cheap laughs I guess.

I'm positive now the release date won't be announced on Saturday, plus everything going on with the Korean RMAH pretty much confirms it. We probably won't get a release date until January, or whenever they get a confirmation from the Korean GRB.

Already discovered elsewhere, but I have new information to share that they don't know about. Here's a link to the Job Listings page that has already been posted by other blogs.

Ubisoft Quebec worked on several Ubisoft Dance titles, Assassin's Creed titles, and most recently PowerUp Heroes this past fall.

Before leaving Ubisoft, Sebastien Samson was working on an Online MMORPG for Kids (prototype stage.) He left Ubisoft to go work for Frima Studios, who were developing Activision Blizzard's Spyro Universe MMO.

Ricardo Ayasta was also working at Ubisoft during this same time, and was an animator on PowerUp Heroes. He also left Ubisoft for Activision Blizzard's Spyro MMO too. :)

Makes sense that Ubisoft is working on a MMORPG for kids though. I'm fully expecting it to be a cross-platform title that will compete with Activision's Spyro Universe.. so expect a pet / Pokemon "Gotta Collect 'Em All" type game.

* UPDATE:

Confirmed. Derek Fortin is the Senior Level Designer for an undisclosed AAA game (XboX 360, PS3, PC) at Ubisoft. They started work on the MMORPG in December 2010.

So, it appears to be a cross-platform AAA MMORPG for kids and they have been working on it since December 2010.

It appears that the SK Ratings Board is still deliberating what to do about Diablo 3. The RMAH is still being held back, and the Blizzard SK team has posted an update about the issue. (It's interesting that they actually had to make an update in the first place.. I guess things are taking much longer than expected.)

One of our readers (lchigo) alerted me to this new post on the Korean Battle.net website. (By the way, receiving updates like these are very helpful.. I can't keep track of everything after all. Keep it up!)

Approvals for new video games are usually pretty short. According to the GRB website, from submission to approval usually takes less than 30 days. I've seen some games approved within 3-5 days for example, with the really long ones taking no more than 1 month. D3 was been waiting for approval for a really long time now (several months at least), and I don't think it's just the GRB holding the approvals back.. it appears that there are other government bodies holding up the GRB before they can make their decisions (e.g. law makers / gambling investigation teams.)

Here's a very rough translation (I did myself) of the Korean Battle.net announcement:

Diablo III Release Readiness Update
Author: Blizzard Entertainment 05 December 2011 08:02 UTC 2

Hello Diablo III community,

Thanks for your enthusiasm and encouragement about Diablo III that was announced at this past Blizzcon, and thanks for your high quality feedback about the game. I want to take this opportunity to give you an update on the Diablo III release. The main issues we're having right now are in regards to Korea's potential real money auction house and associated ratings for the game.

We have recently announced plans to increase the number of Korean players in the Diablo III beta. A specific schedule has not been set yet as we are having a difficult time, but we will update you all as soon as possible once a date is committed. In addition, over the past beta builds of the Korean version of the game, we have received a lot of good feedback. These comments are gathered by the Diablo III team and they will be used to make sure this is an excellent game and meets all of our player's expectations, and we will have more information on the community site with more beta news forthcoming. In addition, you can apply for participation in the beta test on this page.

Diablo III - Korea Ratings Under Consideration

As we approach it's release, players can review the ratings to see if it is within their age group and if the game is suitable for them. We recently contacted the Korea Ratings Board to receive a Diablo III classification. We are aiming for a Mature Adult 18+ rating. The ratings for consideration were based on the latest version of the game and they have been provided a full version with all elements of the game included. We will provide more information and progress of their deliberations sometime at a later date.

The Auction House

As many of you know, Diablo III is introducing a powerful new auction system. Items are collected in the Diablo series, and characters grow through item buying which is an essential element of the game. However, there have been many issues and fraud related to buying items in the past. There are many risks of exposure using third-party merchant sites, and using them is a fairly complex process. But through our new auction house, money and in-game items is safe, fun, and can easily be bought and sold. For more information about the auction house, the information page can be found at: *doesn't matter*

There have been many questions about the currency auction house. An auction system like this is in some ways an unprecedented new effort, and there are different regulations and laws in other regions, which we are working on. After an internal investigation, we concluded that the auction house system is legitimate in Korea. However, we respect and are taking the classification system for each region very seriously. Blizzard has been working closely with the national regulation groups, and we are cooperating fully with the Korea rating committee. We are getting closer to release more information, and we will let you know the status soon.

For now, we want to make sure the community knows what's going on and so that you're not left wondering what's going on. Please continue to leave your comments and questions on the official forums, and we look forward to reading your comments.

Best wishes, Blizzard Korea.

If you speak Korean and can do a much better translation, let me know. :)

There haven't been any other confirmations of the SK approval in Blizzard news, so it looks like nothing has been approved yet and it's still being worked on.

Taking this long though, it must be a pretty serious investigation. In other regions (like NA/EU), the investigations won't happen until AFTER the game is released.. only then, after they see the effects of the game, can they conclude if it's gambling or not. (If could be addressed by any level of the government too.. from gambling law makers to child protection services.)