Blizzard Entertainment rocked the gaming community at this years BlizzCon event after announcing "Starcraft II" would be released episodically over three volumes, each part focusing on only one race. The assumption was that to play one games worth of content you would need to pay for three separate discs.

Fans became increasingly worried that the merger between Blizzard and Activision was beginning to affect Blizzard's business model negatively. In an effort to clear up a few misconceptions, here are some facts that may have slipped by you.









"The fact of the matter is, it's absolutely, positively untrue about us trying to stretch it out and milk it. People think that it was a monetary driven decision. I can absolutely, positively tell you, with 100 per cent certainty, that that was not part of the conversation. I guarantee it. I give my word. There was never, ever a conversation where we said, 'let's do this because we're going to make more money'. I guarantee it. As a matter of fact the sole reason we did it was because we thought it was going to be a better experience. Anybody that says otherwise is not correct. It is absolutely not what we did it for," said Blizzard COO Paul Sams.

Also mentioned was Blizzard Entertainment's desire to monetize Battle.net, which many mistook for a plan to charge a monthly fee. Blizzard later clarified the statement, to monetize the service meant things like improved advertising aspects, fees for non-essential elements like server and name changes, possibly even download-able content similar to Steam, who knows.

"With Battle.Net we're definitely looking at possible different features that we might be able to do for additional money. We're not talking about Hellgate or anything like that. We're not going to tack things on. I think World of Warcraft is a great example to look at. We charge people if they want to switch servers or if they want name changes, things that aren't core to the game experience, they're really just optional things that some people want. It takes us some development work to do it, so it makes sense to charge for it. We would never do something like say to get the full game experience, you'll have to pay extra,” said Blizzard VP Rob Pardo.

Changes to game play has sections of the fan base on edge too. Worries that Blizzard may be editing the core game play elements to accommodate for the beginners is yet another concern. Video footage of game play has the game looking slow and sluggish in comparison to the original, while new features like auto-mining has players worried Blizzard is leaning too far towards the beginner element, at the expense of competitive aspects.

"The general fan base is excited. Although most of the competitive players (myself included) are concerned the game won't be as competitive because of features like auto-mining and multiple building selection. Right now the game looks far from an eSport," said Nick "Tasteless" Plott.

Blizzard have built a reputation on doing right by their fans, but I can't remember ever having seen consumer confidence in Blizzard this shaken. Worries that perhaps "Starcraft II" will be too sluggish or simple or that Battle.net will become a subscription service are all relevant concerns to be put to Blizzard, but are they still listening?

[Topic A] The "Starcraft" franchise has gone through some significant changes over the past year or so, some fans are confident Blizzard will deliver a highly polished and satisfying game play experience, some aren't as optimistic. What are your expectations for "Starcraft II"?

[Topic B] The recent merger between Blizzard and Activision has observers concerned that perhaps Activision's overly profit-driven business model has affected Blizzard's methods, releasing "Starcraft II" in three parts being one of those questionable methods. How do you think, if at all, Activision has influenced Blizzard?

[Topic C] Battle.net, despite being the original stomping grounds for online competitive play, has become increasingly more irrelevant over the years. Battle.net 2.0 is a great opportunity for Blizzard to build a new platform that will stand the test of time, like Steam. Do you expect Blizzard will capitalize on the opportunity they have with Battle.net 2.0 and what kind of features are you hoping to see implemented?