14 DAY TRIAL // BlizzCon, the single biggest single developer conference, has just closed its doors on Saturday after a very eventful two days, and, according to Blizzard, is better than a full pledged TV campaign in terms of getting different messages out there.
BlizzCon has been held for quite some time, since 2005, and serves as the gathering point for a lot of the most dedicated Blizzard fans in the world.
Since the company launched World of Warcraft, the attendance numbers have been increasing by leaps and bounds, and in recent years tickets have been sold out in a matter of minutes.
This convention, according to Blizzard, will get better results for the company than a TV ad campaign of around 1 million U.S. dollars.
Speaking to Gamasutra, Blizzard COO Paul Sams says that the convention has an 'incredible value', and that it will continue to hold it in the following years.
"[Fans] are the ones who are the most influential from a word of mouth perspective. If we do great things, those people who have crossed states or oceans to attend our event are going to tell the others," he said. "We have found this to be an incredibly valuable experience."
According to a few inside sources, Blizzard spent around $1 million this year in order to organize BlizzCon and all of the events held in California.
"Some companies would argue we'd rather spend that money on TV advertising since that will have a greater reach than with the 20,000 attendees that come," said Sams.
"I would argue that - for us - making sure those 20,000 people have the most incredible experience possible will do as much for us, if not more, as spending that amount on TV advertising."
BlizzCon, for Blizzard, is instrumental in developing a great relationship with the company, one that plays a huge role in sales.
"And that's not the case for all companies. Some are more focused on reach. We want to build long term relationships with people as a company - not just for a single game."
This year's BlizzCon was filled with interesting announcements concerning Diablo III, including the announcement of its fifth and last class, the Demon Hunter, the confirmation of a beta stage, and other details.