BlizzCast 4 was released yesterday, but with all the Blizzcon ticket nonesense, it kinda got ignored! So here it is, transcripted even !

BlizzCast episode 4 brings us several new perspectives on World of Warcraft. Starting us off is an interview with Russell Brower, director of audio and video, about the process of creating music for World of Warcraft to be a part of an evolving, epic experience in the world of Azeroth. Next we interview World of Warcraft game designer Jonathan LeCraft about professions, covering both what we have learned from them in the past and where they are going in Wrath of the Lich King. We finish up the episode with our Q&A segment, which features developers answering a variety of questions from our communities.

Lots of interesting stuff, with a mostly WoW based theme! Hope you guys got your Blizzcon tickets yesterday, because the site is apparently down.

I always thought it was funny when people said Blizzard getting into MMOs would be good for the industry. It turns out that's not so true.  Rik Alexander from Monumental Games had this to say to Games Industry.biz about why he didn't want to compete with the MMO mammoth!

Monumental Games boss Rik Alexander has explained why his studio is producing an MMO based around football - rather than opting for a more traditional fantasy theme.

"Sports just makes the most sense," he told the audience at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, during an MMO roundtable. "Loads of people like football. At Monumental we want to take national pastimes and make them MMOs - things like fishing or trainspotting," Alexander said - though he was careful to note Monumental isn't currently working on any fishing or trainspotting-themed games.

"Fantasy is very well serviced. I'd need a billion quid to take on WoW," he added, to which Redbedlam boss Kerry Fraser-Robinson responded, "I could do it for a tenth of that."

For those wondering, a billion quid is way more then a billion US dollars!

World of Warcraft Miniatures Game - Downloadable Demo

From Comic-Con to Gen Con, the World of Warcraft Miniatures Game is taking the summer convention circuit by storm! And now, the Minis are invading the homes of World of Warcraft fans everywhere, with the launch of the Downloadable Demo! Visit WoWMinis.com to play this amazing game in the comfort of your own castle, cave or cottage!

Blizzard has just launched the official site for BlizzCon 2008, which takes place October 10-11 in Anaheim, CA. Head on over for info on travel accomodations, good bag sneak peeks, and all the up-to-the minute news on tournaments and contests.

Of course, we here at Allakhazam will be here for you with our coverage of BlizzCon. Just two months to go!

Worldofwarcraft.com has updated it's regions level page to include Northrend, the area to be introduced in the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion. The lowest level suggested in Northrend is 68-72 in the Borean Tundra, a contested area, while the highest areas are reserved for players at a suggested level 77-80.

This means that most of us won't hit the higher areas for at least a few weeks. There will be someone, of course, who will hit the suggested level range in a couple of days. There's always someone...