blizzard entertainment posts

In addition to sprawling rooms filled with StarCraft 2 and World of WarCraft: Wrath of the Lich King terminals, artist signings, and discussion panels, Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the company's own rock band, Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain, will be providing live entertainment at the show. Even more enticing is that Level 70 is a mere opening act: Video Games Live will be performing symphonic versions of many iconic Blizzard game themes after the all-Blizzard band wraps up.

"The music and performances of Video Games Live and our in-house group, Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain, will help us make the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational an unforgettable experience for our attendees," said Paul Sams, Blizzard Entertainment's chief operating officer.

The two groups will perform near the end of the Invitational, with VGL boasting a full choir, orchestra, and multimedia backdrop. Yes, expect to see slobbering Hydralisks rearing up at the crowd amid the soothing melodies of StarCraft's soundtrack.

Visit the official site of the Worldwide Invitational for more information.

Spanish mag Micromania recently visited the Blizzard Entertainment offices with the intent of procuring a preview of StarCraft 2. While there, they dug up some specs that may or may not be official.

Minumum Requirements
GFX: GeForce 7/8 Series or Radeon 1000/2000 with 256 MB RAM
CPU: Pentium 4
RAM: 1 GB
Internet: ADSL 1 Mbit

Recommended Requirements
GFX: GeForce 8000 or Radeon 2000 series with 512 MB RAM
CPU: Core 2 Duo or Athlon X2.
RAM: 2 GB
Internet: ADSL 3 Mbit

Blizzard has always made a point of aiming for hardware's lowest common denominator in order to reach as broad an audience as possible with their software. According to a recent hardware survey conducted by Valve, most gamers seem able to meet the minimum specifications just fine. But, as any true PC gamer knows, the minimum specs are nothing but text to take up box space; it's the recommended specs that matter.

While these specs have not been confirmed by Blizzard Entertainment, they do not seem too far-fetched. Stay tuned to Big Download for any and all StarCraft 2 news.