Joystiq has a short chat with Alice of Wonderland. Her comments on BlizzCon are darn insightful:

What could have made it better?

Fan areas:

• by-server gathering spots
• by-server tabled banquet (like SOE)
• fan art gallery
• player panels: be fun to hear the hardcore talking
• developer pods: devs can man a pod and show off their work, answer questions, etc
• social games (e.g. tabletop areas, werewolf tables, etc)
• special area for cosplayers to show off (podiums!), like Tokyo Game Show
• historical galleries, e.g. the history of WoW music (which is brilliant), who composed it, how it was made, how much it cost, the story behind the making, etc. More STORIES…
• better lighting

EA Mythic held a community get-together this week (man, who didn’t) and several sites walked a way with a bounty of booty:

Warhammer Alliance on the Waugh

Secret Life of Mobs Event Roundup

Only War talks about … WAR

WAR-RVR has a bunch of videos 

So, Wrath of the Lich King. I’ve been giving it some time to sink in. And yeah, my reaction is kinda ‘meh’. The concept behind this expansion is a lot less exciting than Burning Crusade. When even the wowaholics at WoWInsider are underwhelmed by their first impression, it sends a strong message to me: Blizzard is getting sloppy.

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Earlier this week I emailed John Smedley at SOE about the announcement this week. Even though I hold this site to no journalistic standards whatsoever, I am nosey as all hell. Just ask my wife.

Discussion was had, email was exchanged. In the end, Mr. Smedley kindly consented to talk with me about their just-announced in-game card game, Legends of Norrath:Oathbound. He’s probably going to cover pretty much all of this stuff in his address to the Fan Faire community tonight, but I had a couple of nerdy specifics that I thought you folks might find interesting.

Here then, is Mr. Smedley’s ‘50,000 foot view’ of the game, and a discussion of the whys and wherefores of SOE’s newest ventures.

Update: Plenty of features on other sites on this topic. The San Jose Merc has the official press release and some commentary from Dean Takahashi. Crecente got to go play the damn thing last month in Denver, and the result is a longish hands-on with the game. To see it firsthand, there’s a trailer up on GameTrailers for the graphics-inclined. The official site has some great stuff on it, including a list of the in-game loot you can get from the first set of cards.

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WLK has a nice look to it, I think, so the abbreviation is good. No big surprise here at all. 1up has the full details on the upcoming expansion, which is going to be the cover story on the next issue of Games For Windows magazine.

The biggest news for existing players is the introduction of the Death Knight, the first new class since WOW’s launch — and, coincidentally, its first Hero Class, too. Other big new features include the introduction of siege weapons and destroyable buildings in both a new Battleground and a brand-new outdoor PVP zone. What Wrath of the Lich King won’t have is any content for new characters: no new races, no new level-1-to-20 zones back in the old world, and little change to the old world.

Update: The official Wrath of the Lich King site is up. A panel at Blizzcon is offering up a few more details on the thing. I like this a lot:

So where’s our Shattrath? DALARAN!!!! “This place might look familiar.” It’ll be the home city for Northrend, so it’ll be on the move a little bit– shows funny animation moving the Dalabubble up there. Kirin Tor are setting up the final fight against the Dragonflight– they’re moving Dalaran to take a stand. It’ll be the home city, and floating above the air, access it from the ground… or flying mounts. Very centrally located in Northrend– we learned a lot from Shattrath, but build in a ton of lore and make it a really cool place.

I’ve been wanting to comment on my gameplay in CoH for a bit. Most of my thoughts are fairly standard stuff for everyone who’s played the game. This past week, though, Issue 10 dropped … and it’s a hoot and a half.

Massive cluster-death right outside the train stations, a brand new zone, higher drops on costume pieces … the new issue has stuff to like for almost everyone playing CoH. Some folks are even using the phrase “best Issue evar“, which I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say. (I’m still playing through the content from Issue 5.)

I’m something of a talker, so I’m going to go ahead and babble about my experiences both Issue 10 and otherwise; feel free to skip the bits about old content if you’re just interested in the new hotness. (sniff)

If you’re thinking of re-upping to check out Issue 10, I highly recommend it you have no excuse! They’ve reactivated your account through Sunday!

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This is so the week for MMOG news, apparently. Club Penguin has found a new owner: Disney.

“PaidContent.org is reporting the acquisition to the tune of $350 million up-front, with the opportunity to earn out an additional $350 million by 2009. “This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of leveraging technology to create and deliver high-quality entertainment around the world and our commitment to investing our capital to generate growth and value for our shareholders … Club Penguin is going to continue to exist as is. The experience will not change at all. It will continue to evolve … We really don’t intend to get in the way of that or do anything by virtue of the way we own it.” With the help of WDIG resources, though, Club Penguin’s poised to go international, with plans to create versions in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, as WDIG and Club Penguin management aim to integrate Club Penguin into the Disney-connected entertainment network over time.