Gearfuse

We thought the idea of Nolan Bushnell, creator of Pong, one of the first and most well-known video games worldwide, was a really interesting idea. If he could think of something with the lasting power of Pong, what could he offer the world of MMOs?

Bushnell comments that he is indeed working on an MMO, but than mysteriously added “as compelling as World of Warcraft is, it too shall find that there are other ways to play a game.” So we’re thinking the Bushnell MMO won’t be your traditional fantasy dragon slayer game. — Andrew Dobrow

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Months ago we talked about the possibility of WoW on the iPhone. Now, Baris Karadogan, a venture capitalist with ComVentures, is making a prediction that a cut-down version of World of Warcraft might be making its way to mobile gaming.

“The game will be different but it will be the extension of the overall experience. So when you have three hours free, you’ll play the real thing, when you have 30 minutes free you’ll play a small casual game on your PC that counts towards your experience in the big game and when you have 5 minutes free you’ll play the mobile handset version.”

While this prediction doesn’t make me confident that something like this is indeed possible, a man can dream. And so can I. — Andrew Dobrow

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After spending weeks of your life signed on to World of Warcraft (or Warcrack as we like to call it) you’d like something to show for it. FigurePrints has a service that allows you to replicate your character with a actual plaque figurine.

Through a partnership with Blizzard, FigurePrints uses 3D scanning technology to create a life-like creation of your character, complete with a name plate for identiffication purposes (which makes it much easier to identify the mangled body of a lost soul is Azeroth). — Andrew Dobrow

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I gave up on PCs after I just couldn’t allow myself to see another blue screen. I feared for my laptops life if I were to ever see one again. My obsession with World Of Warcraft might be my downfall back to the PC. The new World Of Warcraft-branded Dell Laptops come with a slew of extra WoW-themed features.

Set for a December 11 release, the WoW Dell notebook comes in your choice of Alliance or Horde colors, sporting a full Burning Crusade package, plus a WoW backpack filled with tons of goodies, including the game itself, strategy guides, and a special account that offers access to a unique in-game pet. It also comes with a coupon for a super cool WoW action figure. The problem is, it’s gonna cost you $4,500 (ouch!) to get. — Andrew Dobrow

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Blizzard has added a set of new World Of Warcraft commercials to their official WoW site. So far they have posted versions with Mr. T, who claims to have a Night Elf Mohawk, despite the lack of a Mohawk class (though Mr. T claims to have expert computer skills), and William Shatner making his own appearance, admitting to being a Shaman.

You must watch the videos to believe it. Some really funny, real commercials featuring nerdy cult followed celebrities? You can’t lose! — Andrew Dobrow

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As I was browsing around Amazon, I came across an interesting entry when I searched for World of Warcraft. The page in question is a pre-order page for the WoW expansion Wrath Of The Lich King. Amazon says the shipping date is November 30th, 2008, with the game retailing for $39.99 on the online superstore.

Now, we know Amazon sometimes leaves this up to speculation, putting a guess-timation date when no such date is confirmed, yet after I placed my order, the order status maintains that it will arrive between December 4th and 8th, confirming a November 30th release. Last we heard from Blizzard was their interview about the new Death Knight class, with the exception of a few screeshots. — Andrew Dobrow

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The Make-A-Wish Foundation has been making terminally ill people’s dreams come true for decades. This little boy with a brain tumor must of been one huge World of Warcraft fan.

10-year-old Ezra Chatterton had his wish fulfilled when Blizzard agreed to give him a full hands-on onslaught of WoW goodness. Ezra got the chance to record his voice in a studio for his character, designed his own weapon, created his own quest, and was even given the chance to use a one-of-a-kind cross bow which dealt out some serious damage. — Andrew Dobrow

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This girl is my new love at the moment. Of course, she doesn’t know it yet. This true hardcore gamer got a tattoo of the Horde symbol from the popular MMO, World Of Warcraft.

Her WoW character is a Tauren Warrior, which is the same as me. Just more proof of our fate. If you wanna chat, check me out on the Archimonde server. The name is Zoejoe, and I will /say with you if you desire. That goes for all of you WoW junkies. /moo — Andrew Dobrow

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Blizzard Entertainment has announced that its expansion for World of Warcraft, Burning Crusades, has sold around 3.5 million units in its first month of release, making it the record holder for most one-month sales for a PC game. In its first 24 hours of release, the game sold a staggering 2.4 million copies, more then the previous holder of the one-month record. Now, a month and half after the release, Burning Crusades monthly sales total is going to be an epic record to break.

Both Amazon and Walmart recorded record breaking pre-orders for the WoW expansion, with Walmart Senior Vice President Gary Severson saying “Not only was The Burning Crusade the top-selling item in our electronics department the day it released; it had the best day-one sales of any PC game launch in our company’s history.â€? The global phenomenon of WoW continues to grow as more people seek to reach the now cherished level 70. — Andrew Dobrow

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Not only do we love World of Warcraft, but we love eating cake too! Sometimes both at the same time. Posted on the ArsTechnica forum is this beautiful example of what a mixture of creativity and baking prowess can create. All we can say about this is….well, WoW!

My good friend makes kick-ass cakes as a hobby. Last year she started dating my old roomate who plays World of Warcraft a fair amount around his job; for Christmas she aquired a “WoW stole my boyfriend” t-shirt.

She is good-natured about his love of Warcraft, however, as shown by the birthday cake she made him three weeks ago

To the boyfriend, we say “You lucky, geek!”. To the girlfriend, “Don’t worry. You are not the first to lose their loved one to a video game. In fact, Wolfenstein had a horrible effect on my relationship with my first girlfriend when I was 11.” And that does it for our relationship counseling.

Anyway, the cake looks great and we would love to just sink our teeth into it, but sadly our girlfriends don’t bake. Wait…we don’t have girlfriends. *sigh*

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