Kotaku writes: "Microsoft isn't the only one swinging the account crushing banhammer just before the holiday rush. Blizzard has suspended an impressive 350,000 Battle.net accounts identified as using "third-party hacks" in both StarCraft and Diablo II."
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Did you follow the coverage from BlizzCon? Apparently Diii.net did, as they have listed a full hundred of Diablo 3 articles, previews, interviews, videos, video interviews and news items from the last week or so.

For all the fans that wants to read ALL the Diablo news, they can find it covered on the unofficial Diablo 3 site.
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A rumour about Diablo III being released before StarCraft II recently appeared. IncGamers are calling BS through developer information.
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GamesIndustry.biz reports that the US PC chart was once again dominated by releases from Blizzard and Electronic Arts as The Sims 2 Apartment Life expansion pack made it to the top of the list for the week ending August 30.

According to the latest data from NPD, the World of Warcraft: Battle Chest came in at second, with The Sims 2 Double Deluxe taking third place.

The original World of Warcraft title was fourth, with the Spore Creature Creator in fifth, followed by the only non Blizzard/EA title in the top ten - Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm from Greenwave was in at number six.
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Blizzard have released WoW, Starcraft and Diablo mobile phone Ringtones and Wallpapers, available to purchase directly from them!

You can check out the wallpapers and listen to the ringtones over at the Blizzard site. Here was the announcement earlier from Blizzard earlier:

"Carry a little piece of Azeroth wherever your real-world travels take you with our new World of Warcraft-themed wallpapers and ringtones for your phone. They're part of a new service that lets you download content related to your favorite Blizzard Entertainment games to supported mobile phones. Over 50 pieces of content are currently available, including ringtones of World of Warcraft's capital city themes and the distinctive murloc gurgle, as well as wallpapers featuring character artwork, class and faction emblems, and more. Visit the new Mobile Ringtones and Wallpapers page for more information -- and while you're there, be sure to check out our StarCraft and Diablo mobile content, too.

Mobile Ringtones & Wallpapers page:
http://mobile.blizzard.com/"
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The ticket drawings of 1500 tickets is now concluded, and the lucky people who were drawn can now buy up to two tickets each for BlizzCon (the mathematically gifted can count that 1500 x 2 = 3000 promised tickets). For tickets not bought where people only buy one, or where people forget to check their mail, more names will be drawn from the same pool. No word on exactly when though, not even in the BlizzCon FAQ...
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GamesIndustry.biz writes: "The Sims 2 Double Deluxe was top of the US PC chart for the week ending August 2, according to the latest data from NPD.

That was followed by Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice and World of Warcraft: Battle Chest in second and third places.

The taster to the forthcoming Will Wright title, Spore Creature Creator, was fourth followed by the original World of Warcraft release and the IKEA Home Stuff Expansion for The Sims 2 in fifth and sixth."
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Ripten writes:

"Blizzard fans have zerg-rushed the Blizzard website into submission over tickets to BlizzCon 08. So Blizzard has come up with a solution to sell the tickets in waves.

Did you ever play "Red light / Green light" as a kid? Where you can only run forward when the "it" person says go? Seems that's the game Blizzard is playing with its BlizzCon 08 registration."
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WorthPlaying writes: "Celebrating its Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft global player communities, Blizzard announced that tickets for its third BlizzCon gaming convention will go on sale August 11, while the event itself will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA on Oct. 10 and 11."
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Found on the Unofficial Diablo 3 Site Diii.net (also known as Diabloii.net to Diablo fans) have noticed something quite big going on inside the current home of the Lord of Terror; Diablo boards on Blizzard's Battle.net.

It appears that while the game has been shown to be very modern, using cool effects and being more practical than its predecessor, their infrastructure (Battle.net) is still running on the same software as in the "good old day", and what is presumed to be Diablo haters are spamming the boards with hundreds of thousands of posts.
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Pocket Books and Blizzard Entertainment bring fans of the Diablo universe a special gift in the form of the Diablo Archive, a book of 758 pages that compiles in a single tome a reprint of four of the novels released a few years ago: Legacy of Blood, The Black Road, The Kingdom of Shadow, and the rare-to-find Demonsbane.

The Diablo Archive is a must-have on your bookshelf to buff up on the lore in preparation for the upcoming Diablo III, recently announced by Blizzard Entertainment at 2008 Paris Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals.
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Blizzard has unveiled only morsels of what to expect from its upcoming Action/RPG Diablo III through its new website. Already game-fans are protesting the inequities of an incomplete game they've never played in an online petition with over 30,000 signatures.
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If you were lucky enough to go to Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational in Paris at the weekend, you would have gotten a scratch card in your goody bag which entitles you to a World of Warcraft in-game mini pet. Until now, we didn't know what the mini pet would be; unlike the token given away at BlizzCon last year, which clearly indicated the redeemer would receive a Murloc Costume, this one was a mystery.

Blizzard Community Manager, Bornakk, has just announced what the mystery pet is, and I bet all Hell is going to break loose when the demand for these cards goes through the roof...
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Well it seems the hype has equated to sales for Blizzard. The top-selling PC game on Amazon.com is now the Diablo 2 Battlechest.
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The Blizzard Store was just updated, making the Diablo 2 and Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction client available for digital download. If you already own the games and wish for digital copies, simply create an account at the Blizzard Store and register your CD-keys. The titles are both on sale for a small price of $19.99 each.
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The Day 4 splash teaser has shown the ice almost completely melted down, and now a shadowy figure awaits with a evil stare.
Another hidden word: Cold.
A new rune looking alot like a solar system, and ofcourse a new piece of the big purple monster puzzle.
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As gamers around the world have noticed, there has been a lot of "high quality rumours" running around on what game Blizzard will announce at WWI this year, reported on numerous sites, as well as N4G as well. Many are "sure" about Diablo 3, and most voices saying that a StarCraft MMO or new IP will come have been squelched.

The Blizzard splash image has also sent fans rampant with speculation on what it can mean, with vocal voices from all three of Blizzard's IPs. Everything from the WoW movie, Lich King-related, StarCraft or Diablo.

Diabloii.net, a 10 year running Diablo fansite, which (at least used to) have contacts inside Blizzard have now proclaimed that it IS indeed Diablo 3 that will be announced at WWI, and are taking questions from fans who would like them answered this weekend.
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The Blizzard Splash Screen they are showing this week before WWI contains the obvious "ice" image, with strange runes. What some people don't know is that in the page's code, there are hidden images, and they seem to be pointing straight at an ex-Blizzard artist (or perhaps not so "ex" any more).
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Diablo II Patch 1.12 has been finally released. It marks the new ladder reset and allows players to play without the game CD on the CD-drive.
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Eric Brighteyes of Diabloii.net alerted all Blizzard fans that Xfire have posted details of their coverage of the upcoming WWI event to be held in Paris later this month. Not that startling in itself but they do mention:

"Get behind the scenes with Xfire during WWI to:
Follow the opening ceremony and discover what NEW game will be announced in our chat rooms together with hundreds of other Blizzard fans"

Slip of the tongue, accidentally or accidentally on purpose or hype generator? You decide.
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