Something Fishy Going on at Diablo3.com

One more day and we find out what the hell (OOOHHH, knee slappah pun intended) is going on with Diablo3.com:

In the past days there have been a lot of activity in the network sites after the countdown teaser. A few forum threads keep continuous debate between Diablo fans of what this announcement will be. I have given a few responses of what it is not, to make sure fans won't be thinking the wrong thing. We have made no claims and expect fans to not get caught up with the wave of speculations and rumors in the forums and the web to the point to believe them.

With that said, I will mention some of those I have ruled out since it seems fans haven't thoroughfully read all the forum posts in said thread.

Things the May 1 Announcement are not:
1. It is not an official announcement of Diablo 3
2. It is not about an upcoming Diablo novel
3. It is not a Network merge

Only Blizzard Entertainment may make an official announcement of games, unless we had a leak. However, we have no leaks. We know as much as you do whether or not there will or not be an announcement at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals. We do have our own set of theories such as the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals ending the same day Diablo II was released (June 29 2000) and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction expansion being released (June 29, 2001). We will all have to wait and see what happens.

I have been open commenting there will be new Diablo novels.... [Read More]

And now there's this new note:

I would like to take this time to remind everyone that Diablo3.com has its very own IRC channel on the irc.gamesurge.net network. The channel is #diablo3 . It would be a good idea to drop by and learn how to get to the channel in case the web site ever goes down... like... if... 200 gaming web sites suddenly linked to diablo3.com and 200 thousand visitors made our servers crash.

You can visit http://www.diablo3.com/cmps_index.php?page=chat for a web based chat room but I recommend downloading an IRC client such as www.mirc.com .

Once installed you need to type in /server irc.gamesurge.net at the command line then /join #diablo3

Server: irc.gamesurge.net
Channel: #diablo3

See ya there!

Oh noes, what's going on? Is everyone leaving Blizzard for Funcom!? What could it be!? And I swear, if it's a kid's show or that movie rumour again, I'm going to be pretty sad.

FREE VEGGIE CRISPS FOR EVERYONE!?

p.s. Fat gamers, I would like to recommend Flat Earth's line of dericious chips for you to eat instead of Ding Dongs. Right now my faves are the Tangy Tomato Ranch and the Farmland Cheddar. Don't worry, they're a gazillion times better than Sun Chips and half the Doritoes flavours out there.

Try them!

UPDATE: Here is the crappy ass update. Boo.

Apr 30, 2008 - 8:26 PM - by mockery Ahoy there, fellow Diablo fans!

Well, there's no point in beating around the bush any longer, so let's get right down to it. A few months ago we were contacted by Blizzard in regards to the Diablo3.com domain name. While they appreciate all the work that's been put into running this big Diablo fan community over the years, they still want the domain name. Hmm, I wonder why? Now before you get all up in arms about it, allow me to explain a few things.

First off, this fan site isn't going anywhere, it's just getting a new name: Diablofans.com! Blizzard is actually being really cool about it, giving us all the time we need to make it a smooth transition before we hand the old domain over to them. So be sure to update all of your bookmarks and point 'em to diablofans.com instead. Your user accounts will all still be perfectly functional and, along with this new site name, we'll soon have a big site redesign up and running as well. A new name, a new look. Huzzah!

Secondly, while Blizzard is indeed acquiring the diablo3.com domain name, they told me that this shouldn't be considered an announcement for the Diablo 3 game we've been waiting for all these years. They acquire new domains all the time. While this is true, I personally can't help but think that this is a confirmation of sorts that they're working on the next Diablo game. Sure, they can claim it's because they want to protect their intellectual properties 'n what have you, but I can't imagine they would all of a sudden be so interested in the diablo3.com domain if they weren't working on a new Diablo 3 game behind the scenes.

On a final note, I want to thank all of you guys who've made this community so strong over the years. It's only going to get better around here and I hope you'll all stick with us. One of the nice things about this whole name-change ordeal is that Blizzard really appreciates the fact that we're a dedicated fan site and we'll be working with them much more closely in the future to bring you the latest Diablo game news.

It's funny, I've had so many offers over the years from people who wanted to pay a lot o' cash for the diablo3.com domain name and I wasn't even willing to consider then. I set out to have a great Diablo fan site because I simply loved the Diablo series. Fortunately, with the help of some great people on the staff and fans like you, we accomplished just that. But when Blizzard came around asking for the domain, I was excited about it both as a Diablo fan and for their recognition of all the work we've put into the site. Fortunately for us, the diablofans.com domain name was available and it fit perfectly in line with the intentions of this site, so I registered it and here we are. Diablo3.com will still be active for a few more months so everybody can have a chance to get used to the new Diablofans.com domain. After that, it will simply point to the Blizzard.com homepage... at least until they're ready to use it for something more worthwhile. One of the nice things about the new diablofans.com domain is that it's all-encompassing. Instead of the site just being for people waiting on Diablo 3, it can serve as the main hub for *all* current and future Diablo games. Isn't it nice to know you'll always have a place online you can call home? Hey, even Diablo's demon minions need a place to hang their hats too.

Alright, that's all the news for now. I'm sure all of this news is gonna get the Diablo 3 rumor mill running like a mad banshee... so have fun discussing the announcement with your fellow Diablo fans!