Outside of gold farmers and those obsessive guys at Nihilum, not very many people get the opportunity to play a game like World of Warcraft professionally. For a select few, however, there’s the annual Arena Tournament — a six-week-long series of global player-versus-player events that culminate in a cash purse totaling over $200,000. Blizzard announced this morning that sign-ups for the 2009 Arena Tournament will be kicking off next Tuesday, February 17, and for the one-time entry fee of $20, players with existing World of Warcraft accounts can create up to three level 80 characters on the special Arena qualification servers.
What’s the incentive — apart from the aforementioned fat stack of prize money — to drop 20 bones on this competition? Participants have the chance to earn the in-game title of Vanquisher for their characters on regular servers, as well as the exclusive armored murloc pet pictured above. It’s also a great way for PVP-obsessed gamers to test their skills against one another on a level playing field, as everyone on the Arena servers is level 80, and they all have access to the same pool of predetermined gear sets.
Does the World of Warcraft Arena Tournament sound like a worthwhile investment to you, 1UP readers? Or are you turned off by the idea of spending an additional 20 bucks just for the privilege of serious PVP competition — especially in a game that already has a monthly fee? Toss in your two cents in the comments below.
Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology
The Emmy Awards for Monitoring for compliance standards for ATSC & DVB transport streams:Rohde & SchwarzTektronixThomsonPixelmetrix CorporationFollowing are the advanced media technology winners for Science, Engineering & Technology for Broadband & Personal Television. The Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for Best Use of Commercial Advertising on Stand-Alone Broadband Devices (Personal Computers)* are:The L Word in Second LifeShowtime Networks/Electric Sheep CompanyThe Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for Best Use for Creation and Distribution of Interactive Commercial Advertising Delivered Through Multi-Channel Broadband Devices (Digital Set Top Boxes)are:Axe Boost Your E.S.P. Interactive Channel ExperienceBrightline iTV/Unilever