Along with its list of the most-played consoles in 2008, research group The Nielsen Company has provided its list of the past year's most popular PC games in the US.

Of the ten titles, none were released in 2008, and only 2 debuted in 2007. The list is based off data from January through October 2008, meaning that the impact of the second World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, was not taken into account.

Unsurprisingly, Blizzard's World of Warcraft topped the PC charts, with those surveyed playing the PC MMO an average of 671 minutes, just a bit over 11 hours, per week. Blizzard's Diablo II also appears on the list, as do three games from Valve.

Unfortunately, Nielsen did not specify the methodology behind this year's results. In 2007, the firm based its list off an extremely small pool of participants, a mere 1200 gamers, which could explain the unexpected results. It is not known if this was changed for 2008.

Top 10 PC Game Titles in the U.S.
1. World of Warcraft (2004) / Blizzard Entertainment
   671 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.723% AU*
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) / Infinity Ward
   403 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.163% AU*
3. Halo: Combat Evolved (2003) / Gearbox, Bungie... Read more

Blizzard sees it as "a fact" that BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic (PC) will be a great game. From the house of the world's largest game, that's quite a compliment, but COO Paul Sams was quick to offer some advice to the Austin, TX, studio looking to become Blizzard's rival.

Sams warned that BioWare may not be expecting "players smacking them around"--no doubt in reference to an unforgiving Internet public--according to VideoGamer.com. The Blizzard executive also reminded BioWare of the online issues that plague MMO launches.

Star Wars: The Old Republic was finally announced in October

Thanks to the company's Battle.net service, "we had a level of experience that candidly no other game company had and so a lot of the bumps and bruises that we got would have been substantially, monumentally worse," said Sams of the experience of launching World of Warcraft.

Even for the accomplished BioWare, Sams implied that launching an MMO could still be an uphill battle. "You can have a great developer and you can have ... Read more

Blizzard used last night's launch of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King to do a little more teasing about its "next-gen MMO" in the works, adding "cool" and "new" to the list of words deemed appropriate to describe the project about which little is known.

"We want to create a great game," said Blizzard COO Paul Sams to VG247, adding, "Something that's cool, and new, and different, and kind of next generation in terms of look and feel and gameplay. That's a challenging endeavour."

Blizzard itself may not yet know how different its game will be. "When we're building a new game from the ground up, what happens is that it's slow going for the first bit, while the team goes round and round and round figuring out how it's going to look and feel, what the player experience is and what the differentiators are," Sams explained.

"The last thing we want to do is say, 'Hey we're doing this,' and everyone says, 'Oh cool,' and then we change things completely," commented the executive.

Not much is known about the next MMO from the company that pulled 11 million players into its first one. Blizzard would neither confirm or deny that the game would be set in a new universe, although the studio does not intend to use the new game as a replacement for World of Warcraft.

Blizzard may be one of the luckiest game companies in the industry, considering its ten-year-old game StarCraft is still in the sales charts. But with that success comes responsibility, and Blizzard has exhibited just that by removing 350,000 hackers from its online service Battle.net--or, in Internet lingo, they've dropped the banhammer.

An official post on the Battle.net website, spotted by Kotaku, explains the details of the bans:

As part of our continued effort to ensure a fair and fun online experience for all Battle.net players, we have expanded our efforts to remove cheaters from StarCraft and Diablo II. We have identified and closed over 350,000 StarCraft and Diablo II accounts which were found to be using third-party hacks.

The Diablo II CD keys associated with the closed Diablo II accounts are now restricted from playing on Battle.net for approximately 30 days. Repeat offenders will have their accounts closed and their CD keys permanently banned from Battle.net.

As a reminder, we reserve the right to close the accounts and ban the CD keys of players who are caught cheating on Battle.net. Cheating ruins the game experience for legitimate players, and we will not tolerate it.

Battle.net will see upgrades including advanced cheat detection in time for the releases of sequels StarCraft II and Diablo III.

Blizzard's highly-successful 2004 MMO World of Warcraft (PC) has now amassed over 11 million subscribers worldwide, the developer proclaimed today.

The milestone comes roughly a month and a half after Blizzard announced the November 13 release of Wrath of the Lich King--the title's second expansion pack--and noted that the game had more than 10.9 million subscribers.

"It's been very rewarding to see gamers around the world continue to show such strong support for World of Warcraft," said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime. "We remain fully committed to responding to that enthusiasm with a high-quality, constantly evolving game experience."

Although Blizzard has another MMO in development, the studio recently promised that the new title will be "different" and vowed that World of Warcraft will be supported "as long as people want us to support it." WoW is expected to net at least another 1 million subscribers across the next year, according to analyst predictions.

World of Warcraft's Subscriber Definition... Read more

World of Warcraft developer Blizzard is mostly keeping its mouth shut about its "next-gen MMO," but that hasn't stopped CEO Mike Morhaime from teasing fans.

"Let's just say it's going to be different and it's not going to be a sequel to World of Warcraft," Morhaime told Wired. "It will be different."

He explained that the studio is "not trying to replace World of Warcraft with this new MMO," but is instead trying to "create a different massively multiplayer experience, and hopefully World of Warcraft will still be going strong when that one is released."

Little more is known about the unannounced MMO--during another BlizzCon interview, Morhaime refused to confirm if it is set in a new universe--though the studio has hinted that that the project could end up on consoles in addition to PC.

"We definitely don't have a deadline where 'at this point we're not going to support World of Warcraft,'" Morhaime added. "We wanna support it as long as people want us to support it."

It looks like Diablo 3 isn't the only potential console game that acclaimed World of Warcraft creator and PC developer Blizzard is considering for the future.

While the company has remained extremely quiet regarding its "unannounced next-gen MMO," World of Warcraft director Jeffrey Kaplan has hinted that the new project, which won't be officially unveiled for "a while," may end up on consoles.

"I don't think World of Warcraft would really work that well on the console, but that's not to say that other MMOs couldn't," Kaplain told MTV Multiplayer. "We have a pretty savvy group of console developers."

"A lot of the guys we inherited from [StarCraft Ghost developer] Swingin' Ape really know what they're doing on next-gen consoles," he continued. "So we might have a few tricks up our sleeves in that regard."

Adding to its existing mountain of money, World of Warcraft developer Blizzard has been awarded $6 million due to MDY Industries' sales of the controversial MMO Glider software, reports BBC News.

The software, which sold for $25, allows players to automate actions and gain experience while not actively playing the PC MMO. Back in July, the court ruled that bot author Michael Donnelly had violated World of Warcraft's license agreement.

Approximately 100,000 copies of the MMO Glider software are believed to have been sold. Combined with the software's $5 optional subscription, Blizzard believes Donnelly made at least $2.8 million.

Though the $6 million payout may seem extravagant, the BBC claims that the court's ruling denied Blizzard's motion to double or triple the overall amount.

Battle.net--Blizzard's online matchmaking portal and community for games including the Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo series--is getting some modern touch-ups in time for the releases of Diablo III and StarCraft II.

Fan site DIII.net has compiled a list of new features gleaned from statements from Blizzard higher-ups. Among the new expected features are:

• Achievements
• Clan support
• Advanced friends list
• In-game chat and voice chat
• Enhanced cheat detection and punishment
• Web community overhaul
• Avatars
• eSports support and automated tournaments

Most of these features are clearly the result of lessons learned from Blizzard's online juggernaut World of Warcraft, while new eSports features should satiate a competitive following frothing at the mouth for StarCraft II. The revamped Battle.net is expected to premiere with next year's probable release of RTS sequel StarCraft II.

Blizzard co-founder and senior VP Frank Pearce called the runaway success of its MMO World of Warcraft "exhausting." Speaking to GamesIndustry, he said, "I don't know if I'd describe it as 'interesting' as much as exhausting."

He elaborated, "As a company we've found ourselves spread very, very thin--because the World of Warcraft community has a voracious appetite for content." Blizzard, as a worldwide company, has grown to 3,000 employees, according to Pearce.

While many of those are involved in business operations or running the world's largest MMO, there are still independent teams working on new titles like Starcraft II--and even some projects that are still secret, including a "next-gen" MMO.... Read more

During a recent press event, AMD introduced a new rendering technology capable of producing photo-realistic humans, as a handful of game developers lined up behind the hardware manufacturer. Dubbed Cinema 2.0, the technology is capable of producing photo-realistic characters (pictured left) by capturing human facial data using a rig that consists of a "globe-shaped room" ringed with high-definition cameras, according to Joystiq.

The digital character was then shown running in real-time, with realistic lighting and special effects.

Gaming developers Splash Damage, Crytek, Rebellion, Remedy and Blizzard were all named as partners of AMD during the presentation.

Blizzard also announced that it will be packaging its games with ATI video cards in a deal that will give the developer early access to AMD/ATI graphics technology.

Though Diablo III (PC) was only recently unveiled and has no release date at the moment, developer Blizzard already has "plans beyond" it for more Diablo titles, though it is remaining understandably quiet on the details.

"We're not saying [Diablo III] is the end of the Diablo universe, but we are trying to bring this storyline to a close," lead designer Jay Wilson explained to MTV Multiplayer. "It's not just Diablo III--we've got plans beyond."

Speaking of story, Wilson noted that Diablo III's will feature numerous characters from the first two titles, including Deckard 'You Have Quite a Treasure There' Cain.

"We also tried to focus a little more on bringing characters back, and not just from Diablo II but from Diablo I," he revealed. "People can expect to see characters from Diablo I, more characters from Diablo II, and characters from some of the books."

Along with a tradition of eventual sequels, Blizzard has a history of providing least one expansion for its recent PC games, including StarCraft, Diablo II, and World of Warcraft. The studio also has an unannounced MMO in the works.

Blizzard has confirmed to Shacknews that Diablo III (PC) art director Brian Morrisroe has left the company, but stressed that his replacement does not signal any profound changes for the hack-and-slash sequel's art style.

"Regarding Brian, he recently resigned to form a startup technology company (outside the game industry), which is why we've posted about the open position," a Blizzard representative told Shacknews in an email correspondence.

"This change won't impact the game... we're really pleased with the look and feel that Brian helped create for Diablo III, and the new person we bring on board will work with the other artists on the team to maintain the art style moving forward."

The response affirms remarks made by the company following criticism of the title's new art style, which employs a brighter color palette as contrasted against the darker, desaturated tones of preceding Diablo games.

Reports that Blizzard was actively searching for a new art lead for Diablo III raised questions as to whether the company would consider making changes to the game's visual style.

Update: Blizzard has provided more information on the listing, telling Shacknews that "this change won't impact the game... we're really pleased with the look and feel that Brian helped create for Diablo III."

Original Story: A new job posting on developer Blizzard Entertainment's website reveals that the company is looking to recruit a new art director for their anticipated hack-and-slash sequel Diablo III (PC).

The listing, pointed out by Kotaku, follows reports of a number of fans dissatisfied by Diablo III's brighter color palette as compared against the darker, less saturated look of previous Diablo titles. The new hire would presumably replace current Diablo III art team lead Brian Morrisroe.

While it is not immediately clear whether Morrisroe has left the company, it appears unlikely that the posting is a direct result of the fan response to Diablo III's current art direction; other Blizzard staffers such as designer Jay Wilson and lead producer Keith Lee have reaffirmed the team's commitment to the new art style, pointing out its practical and technical merits.

Shacknews has contacted Blizzard for clarification, and will update as soon as more information is made available.

Unsettled by the brighter color palette of Blizzard's Diablo III (PC), fans took to the internet with online petitions and doctored screenshots, attempting to show the developer the error of its ways.

But Diablo III designer Jay Wilson believes that those fans may not grasp the capabilities and limitations of the hack-and-slash sequel's engine.

Left, an unaltered Diablo III screenshot. Right, a fan Photoshop recomposition.

"The key thing to remember here is that this has been Photoshopped. This isn't created by the engine," Wilson told MTV Multiplayer, when asked of the screenshots pictured above.

"Though it looks really cool, it's almost impossible to do in a 3D engine because you can't have lighting that smart and run on systems that are reasonable... Read more

Sales-tracking firm NPD Group today issued its list of the ten best-selling pieces of PC software in the United States across the week of July 20 to July 26, 2008.

Blizzard's Diablo Battle Chest enjoyed its fifth straight week on the weekly charts, owing to the unveiling of Diablo III. The bundle fell to #6 this week from its spot at #4 during the previous reporting period.

This week's list sees the reemergence of Firaxis Games' Civilization IV at #9, first released in the fall of 2005.

1. Nancy Drew: The Phantom Of Venice / Her Interactive / $18 (Average)
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
3. The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $20 (Average)
4. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
5. Spore Creature Creator / EA Maxis / $10 (Average)
6. Diablo Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
7. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20 (Average)
8. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack / Blizzard / $30 (Average)
9. Sid Meier's Civilization IV / Firaxis Games / $30
10. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare / Infinity Ward / $50 (Average)

Blizzard Entertainment's anticipated PC sequels StarCraft II and Diablo III will track a player's achievements via a unified "Blizzard Account," World of Warcraft lead designer Jeff Kaplan has revealed.

"Eventually, our plans are for the Achievement system to become an account-based system," Kaplan told MTV Multiplayer. "For now the points are just a [World of Warcraft] character score. As we graduate to that Blizzard Account system, which is right on the horizon, it will switch over to a Blizzard Level."

Kaplan explained that a player's so-called Blizzard Level—essentially akin to the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Gamerscore—would be composed of achievements across numerous Blizzard titles including StarCraft II, Diablo III and World of Warcraft... Read more

Update: Later in the conference call, it was revealed that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King will arrive between October and December.

Original Story: Blizzard Entertainment CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime today discussed the effects that the recent launch of Funcom's PC MMO Age of Conan had on World of Warcraft (PC).

"Age of Conan released with some initial success," Morhaime noted. "We did see some of our players leave, [but] about 40% of those players have returned to World of Warcraft."

According to the CEO, World of Warcraft has a key advantage as competitors are going up against "a product that has been continually enhanced, expanded and refined for almost four years now."

Morhaime refused to specify a release date for either StarCraft 2 or Diablo 3, merely noting that both games were "heavily in development" and that the... Read more

Blizzard today announced that tickets for its 2008 BlizzCon event will go on sale August 11. The show is set for October 10-11 in Anaheim, California.

Tickets will be priced at $100, and can be purchased on the official BlizzCon website.

The company also noted that BlizzCon 2008 will be broadcast live on DirecTV, with a minimum of eight hours of HD coverage being provided on a pay per view basis. Starting in August, new subscribers to DirecTV will receive the event for free.

Blizzard Entertainment recently revealed two new screenshots and concept art from its anticipated action-RPG sequel Diablo III (PC).

One of the two shots shows what appears to be the female variant of the Barbarian class in all her bone-crunching glory, compared against the silver-haired masculine counterpart. All of Diablo 3's five classes will be selectable as either male or female when creating a character.

No release date for Diablo III has yet been announced, with Blizzard executive VP Rob Pardo offering only that "we ship the games then they're ready." For more on the title, check out our exhaustive round-up of everything we know so far.