Blizzard has just announced their plans to implement BattleTags into Battle.net, which seems to be another form of player-chosen nickname. Here is how Blizzard describes a BattleTag: A BattleTag is a unified, player-chosen nickname that will identify you across all of Battle.net -- in Blizzard Entertainment games, on our official websites, and in our community forums. Similar to the Real ID system, BattleTags will ultimately give players on Battle.net a new way to manage public profiles, find and chat with friends they've met while playing, form groups, and stay connected across multiple Blizzard games.
The entire article is rather long, also having an FAQ section. When will World of Warcraft and StarCraft II support BattleTags?
Our plan is for all current and future Blizzard games to support BattleTags eventually. However, we don’t have any announcements to make regarding when BattleTags will be integrated into World of Warcraft or StarCraft II at this time. Will this affect my World of Warcraft or StarCraft II character names in any way?
Your World of Warcraft character names will continue to exist and work as they currently do. We’re still in the process of determining how we will handle StarCraft II character names once BattleTags are integrated into the game.
So basically, BattleTags sit between Real ID and Character Names, allowing people to keep in touch across Blizzard games without revealing personal information in the method of Real ID. We'll post more news about BattleTags as information is released, but in the meantime, you can create your BattleTag here. Source:
Battle.net - Introducing BattleTags
On May 26th, 2011, StarCraft: Legacy staff was invited over to Blizzard HQ for the first-ever look at Heart of the Swarm. Within, we took in the sights of all the artwork and statues that Blizzard Entertainment prided itself with. Now, the pictures that were taken within Blizz HQ and the Blizzard Museum are all posted here, for everyone to admire.
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StarCraft: Legacy - The Blizzard Museum
 The Smithsonian American Art Museum has announced an exhibition called The Art of Video Games. It is one of the first exhibitions to explore the forty-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies.
Around 240 games were on the ballot for selection but only 80 were selected. Blizzard Entertainment games on the winning list include: Diablo II, StarCraft and World of WarCraft. World of WarCraft is one of the five playable games that will be included in the exhibition.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is located in Washington, D.C in the United States and is known for its extensive art collection. This exhibition will be on 3rd floor North from March 16, 2012 to September 30, 2012. Source:
Smithsonian American Art Museum - The Art of Video Games
 Today Activision-Blizzard's 2011 First Quarter Earnings Call was broadcast live over the web to investors and the press. During the call it was suggested by the presenters that it StarCraft II's second installment, Heart of the Swarm likely wouldn't be released until 2012. However, Mike Morhaime, Blizzard's President, did announce that portions of Heart of the Swarm will be shown to the worldwide press later this month. Even more exciting for Blizzard gamers is the announcement by Morhaime that later this year - we might be playing Diablo III in a closed beta later this year.
"We began internal company-wide testing last week. The game looks great and we're currently targeting a Q3 launch for external beta testing." However, Morhaime was quick to follow up that statement with a typical caveat - Blizzard would not compromise quality to hit a release window. As hardcore gamers, we can appreciate the sentiment. If you're interested in seeing the slides or listening to a recording of the call, make sure to check out the source. Just beware of the investment bankers' questions as the end whose interest lied solely in the direction of subscriber numbers and the monetization of various gaming services and content. Source:Activision.com - Activision Blizzard First Quarter Calendar 2011 Results Conference Call"
 As a part of Blizzard Entertainment's continuing celebration of its 20th anniversary, co-founders Frank Pearce and Mike Morhaime play a fun game of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty on the NASDAQ stock exchange's big screen in New York City, moments before ringing the closing bell on Monday, March 7th. Blizzard Entertainment recently turned twenty years old and Blizzard has slowly been adding to its special anniversary mini-site. Today, Blizzard released a 48 minute video that looks back at the origins of current day Blizzard Entertainment. Full of old photos and interviews with influential Blizzard employees, the video offers a candidly rare look back at the history of the developer, their early years, and the project choices the ever-evolving team has made. As Blizzard looks forward, if you're interested, make sure you check out its past. Sources:Blizzard Entertainment: 20 Year Anniversary - Blizzard RetrospectiveKotaku.com - Blizzard Shuts Down NASDAQ
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