BlizzCon 2008 announced News

Blizzard has announced it will be hosting a third BlizzCon fan meet on 10th and 11th October this year, in its regular venue of Anaheim, California (that's south of LA, next door to Disneyland).

The 2008 celebration of all things Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo will expand from two halls of the Anaheim Convention Centre to three, in response to public demand. That may not sound like much, but having attended the second BlizzCon in August last year, we can assure you it's massive. Some 13,000 Blizzard and World of Warcraft fans attended BlizzCon 07.

This year's event will follow the World Wide Invitational in Paris at the end of June - BlizzCon Europe in all but name.

"We're looking forward to seeing even more of our players at this year's BlizzCon and delivering another entertaining and informative event for them," said Blizzard co-founder and boss Mike Morhaime.

The usual line-up of activities has been announced: hands-on time with upcoming Blizzard games, discussion panels, tournaments, a silent auction and the inevitable highlight of the costume, machinima and sound-alike contests.

No mention of a dance contest, but we're sure that's just an oversight. Seeing a man in a "Vote for Kael'Thas" t-shirt doing a Blood Elf male dance in the style of Napoleon Dynamite was one of 2007's most unusual and unforgettable experiences for this writer. Going by previous form, there's also likely to be a major announcement of some kind at the event.

Tickets will go on sale "in the next few weeks" and cost USD 100 per person. BlizzCon must be experienced to be believed, so if you're a Blizzard fan in the area, or can make the trip, we strongly recommend it.

Did we mention we saw Macauly Culkin there?