It seems there is a growing number of unhappy Blizzcon/WWI/Dell Beta Club members who were promised beta keys for the WotLK beta in the first wave, and have still not received them. From that information we have been told, a wave of invites went out on the 22nd of July, which included the majority of all the people that had registered their Blizzcon keys (but not all of them).

As if there were not enough players in the juggernaut World of Warcraft, Blizzard has now begun a "Recruit a Friend" campaign. If a player can successfully convince a friend to sign up and play, they will be rewarded with a free mount, faster XP accumulation, and other rewards. Another benefit of the RaF program is that buddies will be able to summon each other from anywhere in the world, and you can grant your friend one free level as well. Blizzard is getting greedy, it seems -- they not only want the sons and daughters playing, but it sounds like they want the parents and grandparents playing too!

Jeff Kaplan, lead designer of Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft, revealed that the MMORPG’s forthcoming achievement system will eventually contribute to an account holder’s “Blizzard Level,” a Gamerscore-like system which collects points from the developer’s other titles. All three of the highly anticipated upcoming Blizzard games will be part of this cross-game point tracking.

Blizzard is apparently fed up with dealing with WoW account thefts. They are now offering a Keychain Token style device which generates a unique code to help prevent unauthorized access. The device generates a six-digit code which links to your account, and is needed to login. It then becomes invalid after a short time. Great idea! Click the link for the official site, click read more for the official info and image. Pretty cool, we say!

PRESS RELEASE

IRVINE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today introduced an optional extra layer of security for World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Designed to attach to a keychain, the lightweight and waterproof Blizzard® Authenticator is an electronic device that generates a six-digit security code at the press of a button. This code is unique, valid only once, and active for a limited time; it must be provided along with the account name and password when signing in to the World of Warcraft account linked to it.

PRESS RELEASE

PARIS, France. – Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that Video Games Live and Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain will both perform at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment® Worldwide Invitational, taking place at the Porte de Versailles Exposition Center in Paris, France over the 28th and 29th of June.

Somehow, the information and some of the assets for the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. You can download it yourself at the link, as well as get some inside info.

In an interview today with Eurogamer, World of Warcraft producer J. Allen Brack said that the flagship MMO will "probably" get a graphical engine overhaul at some point in the future. The new expansion, the Wrath of the Lich King, will feature some minor graphical updates -- new effects for high end PCs , etc., but a real overhaul is likely at some point after.

Well, here is a bit of lighter news today that should put a smile on your face. Uwe Boll, self-proclaimed best video game based movie director around, has admitted he was refused the rights to make Blizzard's phenomenon World of Warcraft into a feature length film. What a stinking pile that would have been, especially if Dungeon Siege is any any indication.

John Smedley, president of SOE, revealed that the PS3 will someday soon have an MMO that will rival the popularity of the phenomenon called World of Warcraft. This statement comes after SOE's move into the SCE facilities during Sony's massive restructuring plan. A bold claim, for sure, but can Sony deliver?

In a misguided attempt to join the MMO sect, yet another old video game legend is going to try his hand. When will the developers learn that right now the MMO population is split so that that it cannot even support the MMO games that are already out? Why do they think there are so many MMO server shutdowns an consolidations? They all want to be the next WoW, but that will not happen until WoW's day is done. Oh well, I digress. Bushnell is going to be working on a new MMO which he has provided no details about, of course, other than to claim there are other ways to play MMO games than the method used by WoW. Good luck to Nolan.