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Commenting on the event, Mike Morhaime, chief executive officer and co-founder of Blizzard, said in a release that whenever they've been able to meet and interact with Blizzard gamers from around the world, it's been a great experience for them.
Some of the fun activities that BlizzCon will get to see include: hands-on play time with upcoming Blizzard releases; discussions with Blizzard developers; competitive and casual tourneys for players to showcase their talents; activities dedicated to licensed products such as the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game; costume, machinima, and character sound-alike contests complete with prizes; commemorative merchandise based on Blizzard franchises; and a silent auction; among others.
While on the subject of BlizzCon, it would be interesting to note that the first-ever BlizzCon was held in 2005 and saw an 8,000-strong participation. The highlight of the event was that for the first time, the general public were able to try their hand on new races for Blizzard's upcoming "World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade". Among other gifts, attendees were given a card with two special codes; the one allowing an attendee to sign-up for the "Burning Crusade" closed beta test, and the other allowing him/her obtain Murky, the pet Murloc in the game.
The second BlizzCon took place on Aug 3 and 4 last year. The public were allowed to play "Starcraft 2" in single-player or two-vs-two as Terran or Protoss. While much of the game was revealed by Blizzard, what wasn't unveiled was the Zerg race. During the event, "World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King" was officially announced. Last year, all attendees got a 'swag bag' containing an access key to a beta test of a yet-undisclosed title, a Murloc suit for use in WoW, and starter packs for the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game.
