Apparently, the video and images leak pretty much covered everything that was going to be released today so there's nothing new to see there.

I had a hard time deciding what to say about the Mists of Pandaria press event. It's been pretty disappointing for me personally because there's so much they haven't said yet. So, I may have to reserve judgement for later (e.g. after the game is released.)

Here were the big ones I had questioned:

• The 10 player realm limitation. It was removed, but instead of 40-50 per realm, it appears to be just 11 per realm instead. This was a big selling point for me, and I was seriously considering a new subscription until I saw this. With the MoP release so far away, this can still change however. The problem is that the press question wasn't a very good one; they asked if an eleventh character slot would be opened, but they never asked if "more than 11" would be available so there was no definitive answer to this.

• The "Item Squish" question hasn't been answered yet. They haven't made a final decision about it yet, so for now it's going to be "Mega Damage". They want to wait until the talent system controversy wears off first so that they don't freak out players too much. Just as a reminder, Ghostcrawler said that "there are some very real computational limitations... PCs just can’t quickly perform math on very large numbers" in regards to Mega Damage. Apparently, PCs can handle math on large numbers now..
  
  I understand that making this change in the game is a huge undertaking, but it will have long term benefits. I think that they probably don't have enough time to do this before launch. It's going to be a "better situation" for them "in like 6.0 or 7.0 if players are demanding the item squish." Player demand, huh? That sounds familar. :)

• There's also no firm answer on "cross-faction" PVE Scenarios and Pet Battles like what I was expecting. They've only created 5 scenarios so far, and they're still being deliberately ambiguous about any future events. So, this could still go either way. What they have said, though, is that "players can group together" (they never differentiate with Horde/Alliance, always "players"), and that the Scenarios are given to them by Factions (like the Brewmaster Faction) and you help them out doing something. However, both Horde and Alliance can belong to this same faction. It has been confirmed, though, that a PVE Scenario is in fact an instance. So, it's basically a instance teleport and the dungeon is crafted using a "slice of the world". Pet Battles are unclear too. I was expecting "friendly battles" between Horde and Alliance as well. All I know about this is that you can "challenge another player in the world" (once again "players" but not Horde or Alliance.) However, it is cross-server.. so it might be cross-faction like what I was expecting.

• And finally, we have the story arc. I was expecting "the addition of more cross-faction cooperative stuff, stories/lore/events that are all about fighting for inner-peace, learning about ourselves, and a whole silly enlightenment thing." And, I was expecting the Pandaren to choose sides to teach them (Horde/Alliance) something about themselves and try to bring enlightenment to them and get them to relax. The consensus of the readers here, though, was that it would lead to a great (PVP) war between Horde and Alliance and there wouldn't be any cooperation at all.
  
  Blizzard has been a little ambiguous and contradictory on this subject, though. For example, here's that they have to say about Mists of Pandaria:
  

  "Escalating tensions between the Alliance and Horde have broken out into open warfare. The roar of cannons blacken the sky while naval engagements around the globe fill the seas with blood. As the clash of mortal armies spins the world into chaos, a continent -- once shielded by impenetrable mists -- suddenly manifests itself in the southern oceans. There’s no question that this resource-rich new land will be at the center of a global conflict. Will the Mists of Pandaria part to reveal Azeroth’s salvation? Or will this new battlefield become the flashpoint that pushes the Alliance and Horde over the brink into total annihilation?"

  The "escalating tensions" sounds like it's past tense.. so this could be the pre-events to MoP or just the start of the MoP story arc. And then there are two questions; will this bring Azeroth's salvation or annihilation? Will they work together or destroy each other? :)
  
  If this was all about a new super war, why would they even ask these two opposing questions?
  
  Chris Metzen said that the final patch of Mists of Pandaria will be the two factions working together and laying siege to Orgrimmar. Around the 8 minute mark, he said that MoP is basically "throttle off" and more about exploration, exploring ourselves, and no super villain. It's a "vacation.. before things ramp up." And he also said that the Pandaren will play a distinct role in regards to the "factional hate" going on. So, it's a little contradictory. Most of you were expecting that all hell breaks lose and the greatest war ever starts once the Horde/Alliance visit the Island of Pandaria. However, the environments still look very tranquil (not destroyed), and Metzen said that all of the hate between Horde/Alliance is instead manifested in a physical form as Sha. Basically, the whole "your enemy is war itself" and you destroy these physical manifestations of your hate towards the opposing faction.

So, I don't think I'll know any answers to most of my questions until well after the game comes out.

The one item I didn't discuss, though, was AOE Looting. From what I've seen on the forums, users have previously stated that Blizzard would never do this and they have constantly said "No, it will never happen." Many users claimed that it was an engine limitation or some such nonsense. Anyways, I can't find any official quotes from Blizzard stating that they would never do this (except for Diablo 3.) So, if you find any older official quotes (especially when most users were asking around the time Rift came out), let me know.

* UPDATE: Leaked photos here too. There are 22 total images, including the reveal of that teased female Pandaren silouette.

Apparently, while Gamesradar was preparing their new Mists of Pandaria Press Event videos for release this coming Monday, they inadvertently posted them online (either that or they thought no one would notice.)

These videos don't contain a ton of new information, but they do reveal the new dungeons as well as many of the races, and previously unseen areas. This is just some the footage that every fansite out there will all be showing off (identically along with the same zone/dungeon details). More to read, less to watch come March 19. :)

You know how for a while now I've been talking about the region free aspects of Diablo 3, even though they were never officially announced?

I used Australia as a primary example; because games cost so much in AU, they could easily purchase Diablo 3 in a cheaper country but still play in their own. It's a global game after all. I was fully expecting Blizzard to put certain restrictions in place to prevent this from happening.. including keeping the whole "region free" feature of the game pretty low key and blocking sales to other countries.

It appears to have just happened.

A Sacrifice To The Money Gods

According to the Press Release, Diablo 3 will be launching worldwide for all available countries except that the game cannot be purchased in Latin America or Russia until 3 weeks after the global launch.

Starting that day, gamers with a thirst for fast-paced action and adventure will be able to purchase Diablo III at retailers throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. In addition, gamers in the regions above as well as in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil will be able to buy Diablo III digitally via Blizzard’s Battle.net® website.

Players in the listed Latin American countries and in Russia will be able to purchase Diablo III at local retail locations starting June 7. Digital availability for the Russian version of the game will also begin June 7.

Seems a little strange, wouldn't you say?

For one, there aren't actually any "Russian servers".. they will be playing on the European regional servers like tons of other players. Many Russian players have already been playing the beta and latency hasn't been a problem. The game is also ready for Russia. It's done and it's region free.

Even the Russian localization is fully completed:

In addition to the English version, Diablo III will be fully localized into Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, European Spanish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Korean, and Traditional Chinese.

And Blizzard has confirmed in their official statement that Russian players can start playing right away with everyone else on May 15, but that they simply need to purchase the European version instead:

You can also purchase the European version, which includes all the languages ​​of Diablo III European region, including Russian. Then you can play from May 15 (but in Russian - from June 7).

The servers, the infrastructure, the accounts, the game, and everything else are fully prepared for release and play in Russia.

So, what critical missing piece could possibly be holding back selling the game in these regions? Absolutely nothing. This is just a very clever business strategy... maybe. Put on your tinfoil hat.

In the Latin American countries, users will not be able to purchase Diablo 3 in retail stores until 3 weeks after the global launch. The Digital Download is available to them, though. In Russia, users cannot purchase from retail stores or even as a Digital Download.

Russian fansites are speculating that Blizzard is "just being greedy" by trying to force Russians to purchase the European version. However, this could just be a side-effect of something else.

These countries consist of minority player counts, so they're not specifically being forced to purchase the more expensive version of Diablo 3 from other countries, but rather the opposite is happening. They're being sacrificed for every OTHER country, so that these other countries can't purchase the much cheaper alternatives in Russia or Latin America.

You see, because D3 is a region free game, a EU player could easily purchase the much cheaper Russian version of the game, but still play in their own country.

Purely coincidental, but Blizzard has various Battle.net Account purchasing restrictions in place for Latin America Digital Downloads already, but there are very minor restrictions in place for Russia being purchased as a Digital Download. :)

This is why in Russia the game is not available in either medium, but in Latin America, players specifically can't purchase from retail stores, but they can still get the Digital Download.

Three weeks also happens to be the highest sales period for new game launches. After 3 weeks, it won't matter as much if players from other regions start buying from the much cheaper Russian and Latin America retail sources. Latin American prices might be pretty normal for US/EU players, but in countries that order from other Latin American countries, there are huge cost savings.

(Note: If you're interested in purchasing more copies of Diablo 3, you might want to keep Russia in mind. Between now and then Blizzard might put in some new EU security restrictions for Russia.. but right now, it's open.)

In earlier posts, I also suspected that they would "suddenly" disable Diablo 3 gifting.

I also suspect that you won't be able to purchase and give the gift to a friend. The Digital version of Cataclysm (and other games) are transferable right now, meaning that they're not locked to a Battle.net account. Diablo 3 will probably be different on launch day.

This was confirmed in the same "low key" posting about Diablo 3 being region free.

Can I pre-order a copy of Diablo III for a friend?

Each pre-ordered copy of Diablo III is automatically attached to the Battle.net account that purchased it. It is not possible to transfer a digital copy of Diablo III from one account to another.

This was another method Blizzard is employing to prevent other countries from purchasing Diablo 3 and simply transferring to another account. Prepare to put on your "shocked face" when they remove this restriction sometime long after the game launches. :)

The Russian fansites got it right that this is for "greed reasons", but maybe it's not for the reasons that they think it was.

I'm still having a hard time believing that they did this.

Outside of the obvious excitement surrounding the Diablo 3 Release Date (which has been confirmed as Tuesday May 15, 2012), there's a lot more I have to say about this subject now that it's been finally announced.

Global Simultaneous Release and Region Free Confirmed

It has finally been confirmed that Diablo 3 will have a global launch date and a region free game. This is something that has never been officially announced or confirmed by Blizzard in the past. But, it's something I've been talking about for a long time now as you're well aware; South Korea and the US launching on the same day. I have been often criticized or called a conspiracy theorist for daring to suggest that Diablo 3 will be launching worldwide simultaneously and that it will be a "global game" (ie, region free). Although the Russian retail/download will not be available until 3 weeks after the launch date, but Russian players can still play the game on the same date as everyone else.

Because it's launching on the same date for all countries, their servers and infrastructure need to be prepared for each of the regions ahead of time. It appears that Russia is the one country out (the game release itself is being held back for 3 weeks) which is quite unusual given that equipment (servers) isn't an issue as they are using the European servers and the Russian localization (as well as the game) are completed.

The reason that Russia can still play on the launch date is because this is a global game. When you buy Diablo 3, you buy Diablo 3 and you can play it in any country.. it's their first "region free" game. This has still not been officially announced or confirmed on the front page yet (which shouldn't come as a big surprise), but you can find these new details in the Presale Details.

What region will I play in?

Diablo III is a global game. Players can choose to play on game servers based in the Americas, Europe, or Asia, regardless of what region they are connecting from. Certain restrictions apply. Further details will be posted on the Diablo III Community Site prior to release.

Note: your game-client version does not hinder your ability to select which regional game servers – the Americas, Europe, or Asia – that you play on.

This is very odd though because one country is suddenly not included ("sort of") in the global launch. Russians can still play the game (download or purchase from non-Russian site), but Blizzard is not allowing their Blizzard Store's Digital Download to be available until June 7.. even though it's ready, they can download it today, it's a region free game, and it's already localized into Russian.

Basically, they can still play the game, so it's still a "global launch", but the game is being withheld in the region specifically for an extra 3 weeks.

Hopefully, you understand why the "Region Free" information and benefits are still being withheld so publicly from the customers though. Or, should I say for such a long time.. because eventually it will be revealed on the forums now that the Digital Download is live and more people read the FAQ pages. Between now and when it was first mentioned months ago, there have been a TON of new Battle.net Regional and Payment Restrictions put into place. Even though it's a region free game, Blizzard has made it very difficult for one country (like Australia) to purchase the much cheaper digital version in the US.

Blizzard, You Announced It Wrong!

Today is March 15 2012 and the Release Date is exactly 2 months away on May 15 2012.

It's highly unusual that they're announcing on a Thursday and also during a very unusual time (pre-scheduled for 6AM). Many should be raising their eyebrows over this.. because the release date could (and should) have been announced this past Monday or the previous Monday.

There were also many Battle.net announcement posts taking place on these Mondays in preparation for the announcement, but it appears that they delayed it by an extra few days. Why? There was no point.

Also in this specific case, the time to Release is shorter than their past timetables.. typically I'll say "2 months", but that includes 1 or 2 additional weeks because they have always announced on a Monday. This is interesting because this time they've skipped the Monday, and shifted the release ahead by 1-2 weeks.

At least Bashiok was correct this time when he stated that they typically announce release dates "two months before release."

We probably won't end beta until shortly before release, and traditionally we've tried to announce release dates about two months before release. I couldn't speculate how invites might ramp up or down when the beta finally comes to a close, it definitely is not coming to a close yet though.

Based on the confirmed Blizzard employee leak on the SomethingAwful forums, we now know that Blizzard was fully aware of the Release Date well before the Q4 2011 shareholders call. (This is the Blizzard employee who leaked all of the new Rune & Skill changes before the announcement and then quickly tried to delete his mistake.) Bashiok even confirmed that they changed their announcement date earlier that week (of the shareholders call.)

On Feb 29, 2012 when the Staff Reductions were announced, Mike Morhaime said in the official statement that the Diablo 3 release date would be announced "in the coming weeks." The layoffs have been known internally by senior management since late 2011 (at least), and this mistake seems to indicate that his message was composed probably 3-5 weeks prior. Knowing that the actual Release Date Announcement was on just the second week from this official statement, it should have said "days ahead." Forum posts questioning this mistake were quickly deleted by Blizzard. Based on Blizzard's previous use of "weeks ahead", it should have meant a minimum of 8 or 10 weeks.. remember the Battle.net Balance announcement? :)

It's Ready, So Why Not Earlier?

As you're well aware, I was expecting a release date announcement on Monday February 6 with a release date of Mid-April (given Blizzard's trend of approx. 2 months notice) because it made more business sense. But, instead I trusted Blizzard when they had said an Early 2012 Q1 release (so it absolutely couldn't possibly be Mid-April).

As for the actual release date itself, I have no idea. I don't have enough information to make a reasonable prediction. Let's just say that I will be very surprised if they release the game at the end of March (but it's what I'm hoping and aiming for based purely on Blizzard's Q1 promise.) Usually their games are released at least 1 month before the end of the quarter, so that they have excellent revenue for the quarter to show off to their investors. Mid-April makes better business sense, but I'm giving Blizzard the benefit of the doubt here and I'm going to fully trust them.

They're still releasing it 1 month before the end of the quarter, but Monday February 6 made the most business sense. It was a PERFECT time to announce it. That Blizzard leak and Bashiok's comments have confirmed that the fixed release date was known before this time, and it was definitely going to be released at this time until something changed.

ATVI stock has continued to plummet since the Feb 9 Quarterly Shareholders meeting. So, why would an important announcement be moved from a critical business date to an arbitrary date one month later?

April 17 was also a completely feasible date for release, even right now knowing that the game is completed and ready (the Digital Download is currently ready and built, and was already prepared a long time ago.) Retailers are also apparently receiving shipments of the game. So, why not April 17? Why was the announcement shifted 1 or 2 weeks ahead, and the release date shifted exactly 1 month ahead?

There's something else I need to look into to confirm this, and I'll update this post when I learn more. Very strange events are afoot, and if you didn't believe previously that Blizzard would just shift something to an arbitrary date (that didn't make logical business reasons), you now see a prime example of it happening.