Admit it. You're gonna be spending your money on Starcraft II when it hits shelves next year. Even with this assumption already made, Blizzard, creators of the mother of all cash cows - World of Warcraft - has got another way for you to blissfully empty your wallet. According to a brief, vague announcement at BlizzCon 2008, Starcraft II will release as three separate games, each with a fully-featured single-player campaign based around one of the three races in the game: Terran, Protoss, and Zerg.

The three games, titled Terran: Wings of Liberty, Protoss: Legacy of the Void, and Zerg: Heart of the Swarm, will each feature 26-30 missions, and according to Blizzard each will "feel like its own epic story." To assuage fears of an episodic release schedule forcing people to buy all three, Blizzard reps also assured gamers that each title will be a self-contained story that does not require the other two games.

But c'mon, don't try to tell me that you're only gonna get the Protoss game! I know just as well as the executives at Activision Blizzard do that you, my friend, are going to buy all three games. On launch day. At midnight.

[via 1UP]

It seems that publisher Activision has been hard at work "restructuring" and "streamlining" the operations down at Vivendi studios. While Blizzard remains untouchable, GameSpot has reported that the staff at Radical Entertainment (Prototype) and High Moon Studios (The Bourne Conspiracy) are undergoing "realignment," while members of Massive Entertainment (World in Conflict) and Swordfish Studios (50 Cent: Blood on the Sand) might soon find themselves without a home.

GameSpot also had the scoop on Activision’s dropping of several Vivendi franchises. "Streamlining" apparently means that we’ll be seeing a lot more Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon titles in the future, as well as Ice Age, Prototype (thank goodness), and one yet-to-be-announced game. Those that aren’t so lucky include Tim Schafer's Brutal Legend, and the upcoming Ghostbusters game.

As far as Brutal Legend is concerned, the team over at Double Fine has stated that their game "is fine." It has also been reported by Variety that the wayward title might soon be finding itself in a "unique" deal with an unnamed publisher in the near future. Variety also reported that Sony Pictures is trying to work out a 2009 release deal for the Ghostbusters title, though there is no word yet on who will publish it.

[via GameSpot, Kotaku, Variety]

If you're a subscriber to GameInformer magazine, you have most likely received a wonderful little present in the mail this month, in the form of confirmation of Guitar Hero: World Tour, or "the game previously known as Guitar Hero 4." Unsurprisingly, this newest iteration of the immensely popular Guitar Hero franchise will feature a Rock Band emulation engine drums and vocals as well as the traditional guitar and bass.

In addition to the full band confirmation that we all saw coming, Activision also let GameInformer know about a couple exclusive bits of info, like the inclusion of a create-a-song mode in the game, a drum kit with cymbals, and fully customizable characters. In create-a-song mode (Activision called it "Studio Mode"), players will be able to choose a scale, record music, and send it to others online in a YouTube-esque social networking system that comes built in with the game. The drum kit looks suspiciously similar to Rock Band's, albeit comes with only three drum pads, has two cymbal pads, and will presumably be more durable than its competitor's. Finally, to the glee of many Rock Band-ers and Guitar Heroes, all of the instruments will be wireless.

Another big part of this game will be downloadable content, as Activision will be releasing new songs more frequently, possibly even weekly. Plus, Activision Blizzard's music library will quickly match MTV Games' thanks to owner Vivendi Universal's huge music label. Finally, the folks at Activision have announced that Guitar Hero: World Tour for the Wii will, in fact, have downloadable content.

Some confirmed artists are The Eagles, Linkin Park, Sublime, and Van Halen, hopefully a sign that Guitar Hero will be moving away from its metal-centric roots toward more varied types of music. There are also a couple of strange statements that have been thrown around about the game, including the promise of "local content" from "local bands" (possibly referring to small-time indy bands?). The game will release this fall on Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360.

I have my doubts that World Tour can size up to Harmonix's Rock Band, but who knows? Perhaps Neversoft can drag Guitar Hero out of the inferior position it has occupied after the release of Guitar Hero III. If it's cheaper than Rock Band, I can guarantee that it will be dragging my money out of its inferior position in my wallet.

[via GameInformer and Joystiq]

Links:
The new drum kit
First trailer of the game

Okay, so a Vivendi and an Activision walk into a bar. And guess who walks out? That's right, An Activision Blizzard.

You see, there's a legitimate reason for that terrible bar joke. Activision, huge publisher and owner of such franchises as Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero, has announced a merger with none other than Vivendi Games, the company that owns--drumroll please--Blizzard, creators of World of WarCraft and StarCraft. (Note: If Blizzard=WoW is news to you, please hit "x" on your browser right now) We could try to sound intelligent and tell you this was completely predictable and a normal business move, but instead we'll stick with our gut reaction, namely "OMGWTFBBQ!!?"

In a deal of nearly $19 billion, Vivendi Games merges itself (and Blizzard) with Activision in exchange for a 52% stake in the newly-named company, the inspired "Activision Blizzard." The new company now controls the rights to a huge portfolio of games, including most importantly World of WarCraft, StarCraft, and Guitar Hero, but also Tony Hawk, Spiderman, and (like you still care) Spyro and Crash Bandicoot. Activision Blizzard will seemingly attempt to challenge EA's spot as the #1 games publisher on all platforms, and the battle of the monopolies should be a sight to see.

Blizzard has assured that World of WarCraft (and Blizzard's entire operating procedure) will be unaffected by the merger, but that won't stop the complaints of lot sof addicted girlfriend-less nerds. While many fear the use of in-game advertising in Blizzard's games, what I'm most interested in is a possible move to consoles. If Blizzard is pressured correctly by their new publishers as Activison Blizzard, the developer could end up making console games alongside its famous PC lineup. The effects of this change could be quite interesting. Just as Bungie, previously developing Marathon games on PC and Mac, created the prodigious Halo franchise after their acquisition by Microsoft, Blizzard just might create something extraordinary on consoles in the near future.

All that's left to do is wait and see. As industry consolidation looms ever-closer, we have seen things like Bungie jumping the MS ship and EA eating their fill of BioWare/Pandemic. While the implications of this merger have great potential, the problem remains that there is now one less game publisher out there, and one more massive mega-publisher. Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard: Let the games begin.
[via Joystiq and Business Wire]