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Normally, Blizzard does not speak out about upcoming titles. The company, nicknamed ‘Fortress of Solitude’, did manage to slip some information to the public at the Deutsche Bank Securities Technology Conference; telling gamers to expect something with a broader appeal than World of Warcraft.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said:

What we’ve announced at Blizzard is that we have Starcraft II coming, Diablo has been in production… and a new, unannounced MMORPG that has a little more broad appeal

So the new title will NOT be a competitor to World of Warcraft, they will try to find an additional audience. To make sure this happens, Jeff Kaplan, the World of Warcraft game director, has been moved towards this brand-new property.

The upcoming changes to Battle.net; Battle.net 2.0, will also be incorporated in the new MMO, so the upcoming and current Blizzard titles; Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft and now the unnamed new title, will all be woven together on one platform. Adding cash play and more rewards and recognition systems will likely expand their audience even more, if they manage to integrate it all, it will make for one hell of a platform!

With just short of 22.000 games available on its App Store, the position of the iPod Touch as a gaming device is really taking off. With the two major competitors only having 3680 (Nintendo DS) and 607 (Sony’s PSP) Apple is taking the lead as one of the biggest mobile gaming platforms. The recent iPod Touch price cut only reinforces Apple’s position by allowing for more people to own their entry-level device. (more…)

The gaming market promises to be even more of a major market than it already is. Consider this;

- To start gaming, someone only needs a computer in his house, something that’s seen as a requirement to function in this society
- The availability of games is only growing (iPhone, wireless internet, etc.)
- A greater variety of games is released every year
-  Game interface is ever changing; who could’ve imagined the Wii a few years back? or the Natal?
- Integration of gaming in our daily lives; friends meeting on WoW or for a game of FIFA is not strange or uncommon anymore

(more…)