Known by his character handle, Little Gray, an unnamed man in Taiwan has gained infamy by finishing World of Warcraft.  Technically, the game doesn’t have an ending, but when you accomplish all 986 achievements present in the game, you’ve officially done every possible thing in the game universe.  That’s a staggering achievement, and it’s verified by his official player profile on the WoW Armory.

Want to know a dirty secret?  When I’m not writing or otherwise working, I also play World of Warcraft.   I fight in battlegrounds, I do weekly raiding, the whole nine yards!  I’ve been playing for years, but I only have 502 of the possible achievements.  The guy I know with the most achievements, my guild leader, has 791, and he’s one of the most dedicated achievers I’ve ever seen in action.

There’s no telling how many thousands of hours Little Gray has put into the game since it launched in his native country.  I’m just… stunned by this.  I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to get 986 achievements, but here he is… the guy who has beaten WoW (at least until next Tuesday, when the Icecrown Citadel patch drops… then he gets to start all over again in his quest to beat the game).

Source:popfi.com

Facebook has grown into a Web medium that more than 350 million people use as an extension of their authentic selves, not their alter egos. Yet in recent months the world’s biggest social networking site has been invaded by make-believe farmers, chefs and tropical fish collectors. You pretenders know who you are.

“It kind of just got me hooked,” Melanie Earhart, a 46-year-old self-employed Los Gatos resident said of “FarmVille,” the most popular game on Facebook with 69.3 million monthly users, on average, including 26.6 million who daily tend their virtual crops and maybe milk digital cows.

With Facebook and MySpace providing the wind beneath their wings, “FarmVille” maker Zynga leads a flock of online game startups that has soared as one of Silicon Valley’s success stories during the recession, attracting hefty venture capital investments and generating strong revenue from ads and the sale of “virtual goods,” even though most people play the games for free.

Devotees say they enjoy the casual aspect of games that become integrated into their multi-tasking online social life. The ease contrasts sharply with the deeper engagement of popular online role-playing destinations such as Second Life and World of Warcraft, as well as the graphically rich games favored by hard-core gamers on consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox.

In a telling shift of trends, Electronic Arts, the Redwood City-based giant known for console games such as “Madden NFL,” recently announced plans to terminate 1,500 employees even as it expanded online offerings by acquiring Playfish, a Zynga rival. The deal put Playfish’s value as at least $300 million, and possibly $400 million, based on future performance.

Back-of-the-napkin estimates put the social gaming sector’s value into the billions, largely because of its success in executing the so-called “freemium” revenue model. Most of the revenue is earned from ardent players like Earhart who are enticed to pay for enhancements such as more acreage to plow and plant.

Earhart, who says she’s starting to “burn out” on “FarmVille,” has also fallen hard for “Café World” and “Happy Aquarium,” the second- and third-ranked games on Facebook. For her and many others, those feel-good games are a welcome alternative to the virtual mayhem that permeates many of the military, mobster and vampire titles that have been staples of the video game industry.

“It’s like crack, I guess,” said Chris Lion of San Jose, another “FarmVille” devotee. “It just sucks you in a little bit at a time.”

Unlike actual farmers, “FarmVille” residents can build booming agribusinesses or opt to design lively, colorful properties without fear of drought, tornadoes or locusts. It’s a “Pollyannish” place, Earhart explains, where untended crops may die but animals never do — and good Samaritan points can be earned for adopting a “lonely pink cow” or fertilizing a friend’s crops.

Each game has a way to separate people from their money. A “Texas HoldEm” player, for example, could spend many hours trying to play his way up from the low-stakes table — or spend real money to match wits against rivals who have stacks’ worth of virtual millions and, theoretically, take the game more seriously.

Typically, no more than 3 percent of online game players in the United States spend real money on virtual goods, with a fraction of those users providing the bulk of revenue, according to Zynga founder and CEO Mark Pincus. But he hopes to harvest a higher percentage over time.

One recent appeal on “FarmVille” was its “Sweet Seeds for Haiti” campaign, which Pincus said has raised $700,000 for two charities that serve the impoverished country. The 50-50 split means Zynga has earned $700,000 from the campaign as well.

Justin Smith, keeper of the blogs Inside Facebook and Inside Social Games, co-authored a market study that estimated that revenue from “virtual goods” would reach $1 billion this year — and up to $1.6 billion next year.

Apart from Zynga and Playfish, the top game makers on Facebook include CrowdStar, maker of “Happy Aquarium,” and Serious Business, which makes “Sell Your Friends,” a game that essentially turns Facebook personas into game pieces.

Playdom is the leader on MySpace, with Zynga also doing well. Two other well-funded startups, Slide and RockYou, branched into games after winning fans for other social networking applications. The social network hi5, meanwhile, is tailoring itself as a hub for gamers.

MySpace’s younger demographic, it seems, still loves the mob, with Playdom’s “Mobsters” and Zynga’s “MafiaWars” ranked first and second in a recent report. A big part of the social game business might be called Copycat: Just about every startup offers its twist on popular themes. Zynga recently sued Playdom after it hired away employees who had access to what Pincus says is valuable intellectual property.

Not since “Scrabulous,” the Scrabble knockoff that was shut down as lawsuits swirled, has an online game generated as much buzz as “FarmVille.” The game’s “growth exceeded our expectations,” Pincus said. “But it hasn’t exceeded our expectations for social games.”

The most successful games, Pincus said, encourage social interaction, enable self-expression and help users feel that their investment of time is worthwhile. While male players are generally driven by building a booming agribusiness, Pincus said, female players are more likely to design colorful, vibrant, playful farms.

When not playing farmer, Lion is on the faculty support staff at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He proudly notes that, “as a matter of principle,” he hasn’t spent any real money on his fake farm, but acknowledges he is still under its spell.

There was that day Lion and a friend had made plans for an outing. “Then my friend said, ‘Can we hold off for two hours? My artichokes are coming due.’ I didn’t bat an eye: ‘Oh sure, we can wait.’ ”

Source:mercurynews.com

These rules are designed to keep the RP forum an oasis of civilization, in this tumultuous ocean of flames and trolls.
1. A little kindness goes a long way.
- Always be polite when you post, even if you strongly disagree with something that is said.
- Be nice to visitors. If it is a common question, direct them to our FAQ. If it is a question best answered on another forum or in an existing thread, refer them there. Otherwise, answer it yourself. No need to be unfriendly.
- If you feel that you cannot answer kindly, don’t reply at all. It is better to say nothing, than to spread ill-will on this forum.
2. Respect the intent of the thread.
- Always read the entire thread before jumping in.
- OpenRP threads are open to anyone, though you should ask before jumping into a long-established thread.
- ClosedRP threads usually have a seperate sign-in thread. Respect the Original Poster’s decision on your participation, and do not take it personally.
- Fan fiction threads are for the Original Poster only. They general say this at the beginning, but usually it’s rather obvious. Please don’t interfere with them.
- Lore questions and debates are common here, and those asking the questions are directed here by the larger forum community and the moderators, because they know they will receive informed, respectful opinions. Feel free to offer your opinion, but do so in a way and tone that reflects well upon the RP community.
3. Be respectful of other people’s work.
- When criticizing other people’s work, be constructive.
- Offer helpful suggestions.
- Tell them what they have done right, as well as where they need to improve.
- Be polite about it. There is no need to brow beat people.
- Please remember that most people here are not well-practiced writers. Have patience, and offer guidance to them. You were once like them, and one day, they will be as you are. Your example will carry forward.
4. English is a wondrous language. We encourage you to use it.
- The general consensus on this forum is that you should avoid acronyms and “leet speak” here. Take the time write the words out. Please respect this.
- For longer posts, consider writing it out in a word processor first, and running a spell check. Then cut and paste into the forum.
- Please remember rule #1 when advising others about this. Be polite, and respectful. A newcomer may be used to using “leet speak” on the internet, but they are more likely to honor our preference if we treat them with respect, instead of brow beating them.
http://www.spellcheck.net
5. Trolls.
- Do not engage forum trolls in debate. Everyone here has tried this at one point or another, and we have all learned the hard truth: such arguments only satisfy the troll. No matter how tempting it may seem, you will only frustrate yourself, and convince the troll that you are a viable target. This makes the RP forum that much more of a target.
- Report troll threads using either the biohazard symbol, or through wowreportedpost@blizzard.com. Both methods really do work. Be patient.
- Do not reply with “/reported.” Report the thread and move on. Anything else simply encourages the troll.
Kaez has added the following extension to our troll rule.
A) Don’t feed Troll threads. If a troll creates a thread and it is obvious that they are a troll, they want other posters to respond and keep the post “bumped” on the front page, open for feeding. Move along and ignore these threads. Posting gives them what they want most.
B) When a troll interrupts a thread, continue the thread without acknowledging them. Trolls often choose to attack a thread in order to “kill” it. If this should happen, ignore them completely. Move along, don’t let them destroy the thread.
C) Don’t talk about them or make threads about them. This is an offshoot of feeding them. Talking about trolls or making posts about trolls is giving the trolls power. Move along, this is an RP forum and there are better things to post about.
D) Never converse with a troll. Don’t talk to them, don’t argue with them, don’t insult them. They are here to argue with you, and it keeps the thread bumped. Talking with them and insulting them is just lowering yourself to their level.
Source：forums.worldofwarcraft

It takes a lot of resources to host the world’s largest online games. One of the largest players in this niche is Blizzard, which operates World of Warcraft and the Battle.net gaming service for its Starcraft and Diablo titles. World of Warcraft (WoW) is played by more than 11.5 million users across three continents, requiring both scale and geographic scope.

Blizzard hosts its gaming infrastructure with AT&T, which provides data center space, network monitoring and management. AT&T, which has been supporting Blizzard for nine years, doesn’t provide a lot of details on Blizzard’s infrastructure. But Blizzard’s Allen Brack and Frank Pearce provided some details at the recent Game Developer’s Conference in Austin. Here are some data points:

Blizzard Online Network Services run in 10 data centers around the world, including facilities in Washington, California, Texas, Massachusetts, France, Germany, Sweden, South Korea, China, and Taiwan.

Blizzard uses 20,000 systems and 1.3 petabytes of storage to power its gaming operations.

WoW’s infrastructure includes 13,250 server blades, 75,000 CPU cores, and 112.5 terabytes of blade RAM.

The Blizzard network is managed by a staff of 68 people.

The company’s gaming infrastructure is monitored from a global network operating center (GNOC), which like many NOCs, features televisions tuned to the weather stations to track potential uptime threats across its data center footprint.

The AT&T Gaming Core Team was formed in 2004 to host gaming operations using AT&T’s IP network. The team consists of engineers and hosting specialists who provide round-the-clock support to companies offering MMO games.

Source:datacenterknowledge

One the things I love the most about Sony’s uber console, the PlayStation 3, is the fact that I can game online without coughing up any more of my hard earned cash.

Like many PS3 owners I suffered a moment of major panic late last week when Sony confirmed at an investor conference they are planning to launch a paid subscription model for the PS3s online services in 2010.

Such a move would bring see Sony operating a two-tiered online services business model for the PS3 that would most likely operate along similar lines to Microsoft’s Xbox Live.

Xbox Live offers a premium Gold subscription and free Silver membership which only gives access to basic services.

Sony was quick to reassure panicked PS3 owners that they would not have to pay to play, with Sony Computer Entertainment CEO, Kaz Hirai issuing a statement stating that the present level of free online services available in the PS3 would remain.

Details around subscription based offerings will be announced in 2010.

Sony has already confirmed that premium services will include peripherals, software and some online services.

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The presentation gives some tantalising hints at possible directions Sony are likely to take PS3 premium online services in.

Perhaps the most interesting bit – briefly hinted at by the presentation – was adding 3D capabilities ranging from 3D Blu-Ray playback and 3D games to the PS3 in 2010 via a downloadable update.

The presentation also talks up greater interconnectivity that could see the PlayStation 3’s already impressive HD multimedia capabilities further bolstered by Sony integrating online services to its other products for easier access to media and content sharing.

Sony is also expected to expand the line up of Sony devices that have PS3 compatibility, while fans speculate that a PSP mobile phone could be on the cards over the next two years.

Sony also showed its E3-announced PS3 motion controller in the presentation.

When used with the PlayStation Eye camera, this could well usher in a new era of interactive gaming. Other premium services could also include video on demand and downloadable books and comics for the PSP.

Developers are also expected to become more active in the non-games space with Sony announcing during the presentation that they will be releasing a non-games software development kit in mid 2010. This could see a raft of interactive 3rd party products and services being offered via the PlayStation 3’s online service.

Adding premium services plus a richer set of applications and hardware to the PlayStation 3 ecosystem makes considerable sense for Sony who are aiming to increase digital sales from the PlayStation Store to around NZ$797 million by the end of this year.

PlayStation Network fact

33 million registered users

5.4 million PS3 users sign in on a daily basis

1.4 million PS3 owners visit the PlayStation Store daily

25 Petabytes of applications, multimedia and games downloaded every month

Source：http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10611339

If you are getting any of these symptoms during play of WoW over a wireless connection:
a) kernel panics
b) loss of connectivity requiring a reboot
Please follow up with a post including these five (5) items:
1) Your model of system and configuration, including OS revision (see “Hardware” and “Software” rows in System Profiler.)
Example:
Machine Name: MacBook Pro 15″
Machine Model: MacBookPro1,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 2 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP11.0044.B02
SMC Version: 1.2f10
System Version: Mac OS X 10.4.9 (8P2137)
Kernel Version: Darwin 8.9.1
2) Details on the wireless configuration (go to “AirPort Card” row of your system profile. Example:
Wireless Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0×168C, 0×86)
Wireless Card Locale: USA
Wireless Card Firmware Version: 0.1.27
3) Inspect your system.log file (using Console.app) either at the time of a wireless problem or afterwards, and see if you find any references to “mbufs”.
4) copy and paste any kernel panic logs, or interesting system.log passages where you see any comments like these excerpts:
com.apple.driver.AirPort***
kernel[0]: ath_rx_proc: no mbuf!
kernel[0]: ath_rxbuf_init: no mbuf/cluster
panic(cpu ? caller ?????): mbuf address out of range
5) any information involving installation of third party virtualization software such as Parallels or VMWare Fusion.
Source：http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=114923143&sid=1

Along with small patch, the World of Warcraft Armory got a significant upgrade. What’s the Armory? Well according to Blizzard:
The Armory is a vast searchable database of information for World of Warcraft – taken straight from the real servers, updated in real time, and presented in a user-friendly interface. Since the Armory pulls its data from the actual game servers, it is the most comprehensive and up-to-date database on the characters, arena teams, guilds, items, dungeons, raids, bosses, and faction rewards of World of Warcraft in existence.
It’s been in open beta for some time and if you are a WoW player and haven’t used it its worth a look. Even more so now. Through some sort or real time relational database craziness ( i can’t even begin to imagine the backend ) you can now pin your profile and even search for upgrades to slotted equipment. Complete with tooltips showing you what the pinned profile has equipped in that slot.
It’s a huge leap forward for the functionality of the system and i can’t say enough about how cool it is. In combination with the zeitgeist for quests and craftables they released some time ago the official site is, by design, becoming the best place to get and track information about the game. The lesson here is that MMO’s in development and looking forward are going to have to provide a new level of interactivity in order to stay competitive. EverQuest 2 has had a similar system for sometime now, with characters items and such. Going so far as to include complete guild sites and even chat rooms that link into in-game chat. While all of Blizzard’s ideas may not be totally original, as per usual the execution is masterful. The Armory is smoother and easier to use than EQ’s offering, and just plain looks better. The system is a bit sluggish at times but hey, it’s beta.
I should note there are some concerns about privacy apparently being raised on the official message boards, but almost all of them can be addressed by a simple opt out option. I personally don’t see the big deal.
The Armory Update page contains the specifics on custom searches and the best way to maximize your use. The Armory FAQ handles basic questions and how-to’s.
Source：http://www.irserious.com/2007/06/08/wow-the-armory-gets-an-upgrade-mmo-devs-take-note/

By Jim Fleckenstein
2009/11/2
Welcome back, achievement seekers! For today’s installment, I’m going to step on wowtcgscrub

’s toes and borrow their mascot, Boris Brightbeard. Don’t worry friends, I’ll bring him

back with full HP and mana bars, and he won’t even stink of ale. It’s going to be an old-

fashioned joyride around the Ring of Trials with a few of his stout brethren. On the way, we

’ll be picking up Doesn’t Hurt, Digging for Loot, and Perfecto. Let’s get on with the

listing!
The first place to start is with the allies, which will be dedicated to our goal of

triggering Find Treasure at least ten times per game. We only have so many of those allies to

choose from, but Boris grants us access to the best one of all: Spelunker Maddocks. Usually

found caving in faces with his gigantic twin maces, Maddocks has been a fine win condition in

most Martiana the Mindwrench decks, and any deck that plans on putting 10 of its own cards

into the graveyard will be a welcome home for the fellow. Four copies of the Spelunker will

be mandatory, along with playsets of Grudum, Trove Guardian; Gromble the Apt; Darok

Steelstrike; and Modric Sternbeard. This cadre of Dwarves will be more than happy to get

digging, providing you with more opportunities to find more Dwarves, to find more treasure,

to find more Dwarves . . .

Let’s just say that Snow White would be proud of your ruthless taskmastership.

To top things off, we’re going to add five more allies to the list—three copies of Weeble

and two copies of Medoc Spiritwarden. Both of these cards saw moderate play back in the day,

with Medoc in particular providing a heavy life insurance policy for King Magni Bronzebeard.

Medoc won’t be resurrecting royalty in this build, but he will be providing our fallen

Dwarven comrades with the chance to take up their mining picks and start digging again.

Weeble doesn’t really have an ulterior motive—she fits nicely into the curve of allies and

provides some card advantage, and a Weeble-recursion engine has definitely won me games in

the past. She’s a double Parvink, for crying out loud! I think she’ll also do fine as an

alternate win condition, if pressed into service on the beatdown.

Medoc’s inclusion brings to light a second theme of the deck: ally recursion. We’ll be

relying on that in order to best leverage all of our Find Treasure. Priest has some of the

best ally recursion mechanics available in the World of Warcraft TCG, so let’s not be afraid

to make use of them here.At the very top of that list is Faces from the Past, a fine Hunt for

Illidan rare that brings back an entire clan of Dwarves for the cost of a single card. We’ll

pack three of those to go with our two Medocs. For good measure, we’ll include a pair of

Faith Healer’s Boots. Now, in order to successfully use the Boots, we’ll have to be healing

—that’s a given anyway, with Doesn’t Hurt in mind. For our regenerative goals, I suggest

using a playset of Heartening Arrival. The ongoing ability from March of the Legion might

seem benign, but it provides a strong effect as you flood the field with Dwarves. Play a

Dwarf, heal 2 from your hero, activate your Boots, and return a Dwarf to your hand for next

turn. A well-oiled machine.

Rounding out the deck’s central theme, we’ll add in a few supportive abilities and

equipment. Mist of Corrosion will make an appearance as spot removal for annoying abilities

and equipment. Equal Opportunity helps you stem opposing ally flows and also provides another

opportunity to find more treasure and heal some more damage via Heartening Arrival. And

lastly, two each of Merciless Gladiator’s Raiment and Darkest before the Light will provide

you some additional longevity, with late game damage prevention and ally control. If your

Dwarven mob has disbanded, and you can’t Heartening Arrival your way to Perfecto, then

Darkest Before the Light will do it for you in a pinch. Just remember to do that before

swinging in with your impossibly large Spelunker Maddocks!

For quests and locations, we can use the built-in discard of The Ring of Blood: Brokentoe to

help start our recursion engine, without fear of having to discard an overly valuable card.

Three of the solid Rise and Be Recognized are also fine choices, fresh off the heels of Block

Constructed season, as we have no need to hold resources open on our opponent’s turn. A

singleton Scouring the Desert is in there as a safety valve against decking—we are playing a

ton of Find Treasure allies, after all, and not all of them are strong closers like Spelunker

Maddocks! Double Deep Sea Salvage will also let us keep our key abilities and ongoings

accessible, even when our opponents have other plans. Last but not least, our location of

choice will be Ring of Trials. Why the Ring? Well, you need only stare at a 20/20 Spelunker

for so long before you start asking yourself what else he can do. Picking off opposing allies

one by one is a pretty good way to abuse him, and you can always use the Ring to put your

smaller Dwarves into the graveyard.

So our list looks like this, in the end:

Hero: Boris Brightbeard

Allies: 25

4 Grudum, Trove Guardian
4 Gromble the Apt
4 Modric Sternbeard
4 Darok Steelstrike
4 Spelunker Maddocks
2 Medoc Spiritwarden
3 Weeble
Abilities: 17

4 Equal Opportunity
4 Heartening Arrival
3 Faces from the Past
2 Darkest before the Light
4 Mist of Corrosion
Equipment: 4

2 Merciless Gladiator’s Raiment
2 Faith Healer’s Boots
Locations: 4

4 Ring of Trials
Quests: 10

4 The Ring of Blood: Brokentoe
3 Rise and Be Recognized
2 Deep Sea Salvage
1 Scouring the Desert
By popular request, I’ve even given some thought to a side deck. Priests have access to some

very versatile weapons, so I figured that we would want either Wub’s Cursed Hexblade or

Nethershard, depending on the matchup. The last card in the side deck would be a silver

bullet, in case someone tries to get cute by not damaging your hero or refusing to play

allies that you can ram into. That card is none other than Narmak Doomratchet, a plucky Gnome

from Fires of Outland, and he’ll put some damage on your hero that you can heal at your

leisure. It’d be a real disappointment to play a match and fail to get that Dwarven engine

going!

That’s all for this week, friends. Next time, we may take a gander at how the Death Knight

in all of us can make a splash with the release of Scourgewar in November!

Source：http://entertainment.upperdeck.com/WoW/en/news/article.aspx?aid=7084

By Glenn Jones
2009/10/21
The third World of Warcraft TCG World Championship was a doozy. The tournament drew over 250 competitors from 26 countries to Austin, Texas, for four epic days of battle. Day 1 shifted from its usual format, Constructed, to Block Constructed, and gave players a brand new metagame to conquer. Everyone pegged Ryno the Wicked as the deck to beat, but he quickly gave way to Mage. The Mage class dominated the tournament, representing more than half of the field and claiming 75% of the Top 8 slots. Ryno himself fell out of favor amongst the top players, who traded in the power of Backlash for the Blizzard-bursting, Mana Ruby-stealing flip on Pidge Filthfinder.
Pidge was clearly the real deal, as proven by Phillip Martin’s remarkable 8-0 run on Friday. He extended that lead to 11-0 on Saturday, locking himself into the Top 8 at record speed, and making him an early favorite to win the entire tournament. Unfortunately, Pidge didn’t have a ninth win in her, and Phillip fell in the quarterfinals to Remi Lacorre. Remi, of course, felly to Billy Postlethwait, who went on to defeat Matt Markoff in one of the most epic and fast-paced matches I’ve ever had the pleasure of covering. All of our Top 8 matches were riveting, and several of them are available courtesy of Livestream.
Billy Postlethwait (better known as “Billy P.”) hails from Orlando, FL, where he works for Cool Stuff Games. Billy rose to prominence in the TCG as a DMF Columbus Champion and Limited columnist for WoWTCG.com, but had since taken a respite from the game. He decided that the allure of a stateside Worlds was undeniable, and tested in earnest with local friends Jeremy Blair and Kevin Whittington, among others. Billy played Spellweaver Jihan, whose flip fundamentally changed the Mage mirror. Normally, Mages could dodge one another’s The Taste of Arcanas while simultaneously threatening their own: against Billy, that plan was doomed to failure. It would be impossible to win the game by holding 2 resources ready at all times, and thus Billy’s opponents were forced to play full-speed into his powerful 1-drop ability. Billy credited Kevin Whittington with the primary genesis of the deck, and it took the Top 8 by storm.
Billy’s victory snagged him an additional trophy for the mantle and a cool $50,000, in addition to his other prizes. Going home in second-place, to everyone’s surprise and amusement, was perennial bridesmaid Matt Markoff. Matt stunned the world with back-to-back Worlds Top 8s in 2008, and he broke his own record in Austin, with a third Top 8. Jan Palys had surely laughed at the idea of Dark Horse Markoff stealing the Hero of the Year crown, but he might have found himself in second place if he’d missed the Day 2 cut. Markoff once again proved that he should never be counted out, as he roared to life and 3-0′d his last pod in order to lock the Sunday spot. For commentary on that draft, review the coverage! In a minor coincidence, Markoff won the 2008 NACC by 3-0′ing his last pod after a video interview as well: something about the camera seems to be working for the Jersey boy.
The Top 8 was filled with other noteworthy names. French competitor Remi Lacorre made the elimination rounds with a unique build of Velindra Sepulchre, as did DMF Austin winner Tim Batow. Rounding out the Mages in the Top 8 were Luke Chen, of Team Seattle, and Anssi Alkio. Podcaster Rich Hagon picked Anssi to win the tournament, and he very nearly did! Anssi was fresh off a victory at DMF Amsterdam, and his ability to post such strong finishes in back-to-back tournaments should give his future opponents plenty to fear.
It wasn’t all Mages and interrupts, although the Top 8 was 100% clothie. Dusty Hostutler bowed out in the quarterfinals with Emek the Equalizer, while Phillip Martin lost his first match with Pidge Filthfinder at a very unfortunate time. Ryno the Wicked had been pegged as the Alliance Warlock of choice, but several top players decided to swap access to Backlash for Pidge’s powerful flip, which could break Blizzards or remove Mana Rubys as the pilot saw fit. Pidge proved to be an excellent choice in the metagame, although it had difficulty beating Mage over and over, as variance tended to inevitably triumph. In the end, Phillip couldn’t squeeze a 9th win out of his tiny Gnome.
The stories of Worlds 2009 were not just limited to the Top 8, however. Jan Palys made Hero of the Year a mortal lock with his 18th place finish, in spite of an uneven start to the tournament. With Brad Watson and Matt Markoff both breathing down his neck, Jan held onto the lead he’d solidified earlier in the season and won plenty of prizes. The rest of our Elite Mob has already been posted, so if you’re in need of EA Mystic Denials, track them down and put on your game face!
One of the few non-caster decks, and perhaps the only one to ever sit at 5-0, was Matt Spreadbury’s Kauno Stonehoof control deck. Boasting the ability to jump to 40 Health, and the power to accelerate resources like nobody’s business, Matt managed to make several opponents “cry uncle” before he even showed them a win condition. Spreadbury, ever fond of under-appreciated cards, even found room for Aquatic Form in a deck that had as many people laughing as it had scratching their heads. Matt fell to 5-3 after his fantastic start, but he rallied on Day 2 with a 5-1 finish, planting him firmly into the Top 16.
Michael Jacob started off strong on Day 1, piloting the Chloe Mithrilbolt deck that he and Phil Cape had worked on to a 7-1 start and 2nd seed, but the experienced TCG player struggled through the drafts and missed making it to Sunday. I think it’s safe to say that adding a little Warrior to that Top 8 could have made things very interesting, but I guess we’ll have to wait until next year. Mage’s dominance in the Top 8 is slightly misleading—due to the weight placed on Day 2, several of the top-finishing Block Constructed lists went unrepresented in the Top 8. Check out our Day 1 coverage for more information on those builds!
On the other side of the Feature Match arena, the TCG Darkmoon Faire was taking place. In a crazy format that used 6 packs from the two most recent blocks, players experienced some of the strangest Sealed games I’ve ever seen. Does it seem ridiculous to combine Myriam Starcaller and Blizzard? How about Ras’fari Bloodfrenzy and . . . well, he’s insane with just about anything. Bad example.
The Top 8 contained Draft powerhouses Anthony Calabrese and Rob Victory, as well as two-time Darkmoon Faire winner Stu Wright, but victory would go to Robert Swarowski. Victory and Swarowski duked it out in a heated finals match that drew spectators away from the Worlds Top 8, and the battle ended with Victory taking his second runner-up finish in as many Darkmoon Faires. Most of the players chose to open Drums of War packs for the Top 8 Draft, and both of these players were among them. Victory chose to play The Longeye in a solo-based Hunter build, while Swarowski’s Alliance deck curved out with massive allies, and sealed the deal with Marlowe Christophers’s flip. Rob Victory will have to wait to claim his second DMF crown, but his recent finishes seem to indicate that he is likely to earn it soon.
Check out the Worlds coverage for podcasts, video interviews, match replays, commentary, and good old-fashioned deck and match features. Immerse yourself in Worlds 2009, and we’ll see you next year!
Source：http://entertainment.upperdeck.com/WoW/en/news/article.aspx?aid=7041

Things are lookin’ up for old Activision Blizzard. The publisher announced today that business is good, better than expected even, resulting in a $US755 million quarter for the company.
Activision Blizzard had kind words for the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises, which apparently many of you bought over the last three months, helping Acti-Blizz zoom past its projected $US700 million quarter. CEO Robert “Bobby” Kotick pointed to “positive audience response to Activision Publishing’s Guitar Hero 5, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, and the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises, as well as Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft.”
The company also claimed that in September sales of music games in the US increased 72 per cent year on year, which “demonstrates the sustained interest in this new and important game category”. So, nothing to worry about!
Kotick seemed similarly pleased with the company’s expected ability to “deliver record non-GAAP operating margins based on the strength of the Call of Duty franchise and high consumer anticipation for Modern Warfare 2, which we project could be the largest entertainment launch of the year.”
No one can deliver non-GAAP operating margins like these guys. No one.
Source:http://www.kotaku.com.au/2009/11/guitar-hero-wow-world-at-war-give-activision-better-than-expected-q3/