Just this last weekend, Blizzard unveiled an attractive new layout for its online store — with some substantial new additions I hope their competitors rapidly adopt as well. In addition to boasting a worthy assortment of not only retail games but books, clothing, action figures, even a pair of three-ring binders — the update also includes digital delivery.
While currently limited to WarCraft III, its expansion The Frozen Throne and StarCraft: Anthology, the Diablo II series is scheduled to follow.
What I found even more exciting were the pair of perks you get simply for registering with the store. After registering a Blizzard account, you can sign up for the Blizzard Beta Lottery, which automatically enters you in upcoming Beta key drawings…
But most admirably of all, the new Blizzard store allows you to register your existing CD-keys to supposedly secure all the same benefits of digital distribution without having to purchase the damn game again, or even register a credit card. Sounds like something that should be uniform throughout our entire digital world: Imagine if you could get some new Beatles MP3 files by registering your LP? Or your magnetic cassette? Or even the CD that it’s apparently illegal to rip?
Personally, I can’t wait to have a copy of StarCraft that won’t snap in half, get lost in the couch or otherwise meet an untimely end; and as soon as I track down my current, errant CD-ROM, I’ll be back with my impressions of the digitally delivered version.
UPDATE 5.7.08, 1:00PM: Finding the disc turned out to be far easier than actually getting the service to work. Before I was allowed to register my CD-key, the website told me I must confirm my email address, by replying to an automated message Blizzard would send me. Over 24 hours later, I’ve yet to receive any message. Giving tech support a quick call, a helpful representative told me that the Blizzard servers are currently being overwhelmed by the number of users signing up, and these confirmation emails are being fed into a queue. If you still don’t get your confirmation email within 48 hours, Blizzard recommend shooting them an email at billing@blizzard.com.
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