Videogames Lead to Behavioral Addiction Mike Tyson’s Paparazzi Punch-Out!! Video GameStop Buys Majority Stake in Video Game Digital Distributor Jolt Miyamoto: 3D Isn’t Everything Are You A Video Game Junkie With Mad Writing Skills? Write For Ripten NFL Super Bowl Champion Steelers Connect with Soldiers in Iraq for Guitar Hero Competition

We reported the launch of Blizzard’s World of War Pet Store a few days ago, and it appears now that the Pandaren Monk pet (which runs $10) is sold out.

Only the insanely loyal Blizzard population could conjure up a sold out status for a virtual item. In reality, as the headline states, the virtual sellout is due to a system error on the Blizzard’s side. A buggy Blizzard launch? What has this World of Warcraft come to? Read more…

Tired of your unimpressive World of Warcraft pet collection? Would you rather die than be caught in Iron Forge with a run of the mill cat following your every move? Well if you answered yes, Blizzard has just the thing … the World of Warcraft Pet Store!

“Today we’re pleased to introduce the Pet Store for ‘World of Warcraft,’ a new way for players to obtain in-game pets to join them on their adventures in Azeroth … Two brand-new companions are now available for purchase exclusively at the Pet Store in the online Blizzard Store: Lil’ K.T. and the Pandaren Monk.”

Each pet will cost $10, with 50% of proceeds earned on Pandaren Monk sales during 2009 donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Here’s your chance to trade in some of that useless real money burning a hole in your pocket and make miniture Kel’Thuzad your bitch!

Morgan Webb joins the ranks of the raiding elite. The beautiful X-Play co-host sits down with several key members of the Blizzard staff to talk about their hugely successful MMO World of Warcraft as it approaches the five year anniversary benchmark. Read more…

Alright, Blizzcon 09 day two is upon us, and the World of Warcraft Dungeons and Raids Panel will be getting started shortly. I will be live blogging the event starting at 1PM PST. Get yourself situated and your refresh button ready to go. Read more…

Sit back, relax, and allow me to type my fingers to the bone in an effort to keep you updated on all your World of Warcraft class panel information as it breaks. Panel starts at 5:00 PM PST. Hit the jump and refresh accordingly. Read more…

Here is a video fly through courtesy of the boys and girls over at Joystiq. Hit play and you will see before and after footage of The Barrens, Ashenvale, Darkshore, Desolace, Stonetalon Mountains, Gilneas, and the Lost Isles. Sit back and hit the play button already.

That’s right. According to a recent interview appearing on the DirecTV live broadcast of the show, everyone who plays World of Warcraft will be able to experience the new zones and alterations made to Azeroth. This also means that once the Cataclysm hits, you won’t be able to access the old quest chains any longer.

Ok guys, I found some food and I am about to start live blogging the Cataclysm panel in a few moments. Make sure to hit refresh repeatedly to get my updates. Here goes. Read more…

Hit the jump for an excerpt from my live blog of the opening ceremonies that talks directly about the World of Warcraft expansion titled Cataclysm. Hit it. Read more…

Mike Morhaime takes the stage after an introduction that asks show attendees to respect each other and not act like a bunch of tchotchke hungry douche bags.

Mike talks about how awesome Blizzard is, before taking a brief pause to resume talking about how awesome Blizzard is.

He talks about how this years tickets sold out in less than one minute — less time than it takes Ret pallys to storm the forums after a nerf. Read more…

Who needs a mount when you can fly. Plus, our armor is shiny and stuff!

Aion, lately, has been the talk of most MMO hoppers, and even some more devoted players. Its game revolves around the two races, and two parts of its world. Asmoade is the world of darkness, where its inhabitants have been covered in darkness, and Elysea, a world bathed in light. Read more…

WoW Insider is reporting on a European World of Warcraft moderator post (translated from French) that they believe points to a 3.2 patch release this coming Wednesday (tomorrow for us) or next Wednesday (August 11th for us). The variable here is the accuracy of the translation.

I do not speak French and WoW Insider’s Eliah Hecht is not 100% sure of his translation attempt either.

Source: WoW Insider

Have you seen Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie Brüno? Did you like it? Well, if you did then you’ll probably love Blizzard’s new Alliance specific tier 9 gear — if not, then I suggest you re-roll Horde, which will soon be much easier as Blizzard announced their intent to let players change their faction.

Seriously though, as a former art major, it doesn’t take long to figure out that more time and thought was put into the Horde tier designs than the Alliance. Either that or one set was thrown together after a company rushed out to see Brüno on their lunch break. Read more…

The Proudmoore server held its 5th annual Gay Pride March a few days ago. This probably makes me sound really dorky, but seeing Horde and Alliance march together like that is a pretty powerful site, even if it’s just a video game. That’s right, I’m a nerd. Deal with it.

The latest batch of World of Warcraft PTR Patch notes are in, and the 3.2.0 patch features a few changes that will likely be viewed as welcome improvements.

In addition to the class changes, 3.2 will also enhance the in-game professions of WoW players. Miners will get more health from toughness, Skinners will see an increase in crit rating, and that 100 Dalaran cooking award chef hat will increase your cooking speed. Chef Flash to the rescue!

See the rest of the changes after the jump. Read more…

Mountain Dew and popular MMO World of Warcraft team up to offer gamers two new beverages capable of changing skin color, muscle tone, and sexual orientation. Oh, I’m sure they promise to give some sort of energy boost too.

Hit the jump for a lovely demonstration of the beverages in action by a gamer who looks nothing like the lovely ladies in the commercial above. Read more…

So, do you really think you have what it takes to be the number one dancer? You better check yo’self before you wreck yo’self then, son. Prove your skill in Blizzard’s new April Fool’s joke for World of Warcraft: the PvP Dance Battle System.

The new “Dance Battle System” will allow players to custoize their crews, see available dance moves through the custom action bar, and more. Read more…

Tired of the constant nerf fest that is Blizzard’s World of Warcraft? Or maybe you are just looking for a break from Azeroth that doesn’t involve getting a job or anything remotely related to life in the “real world”.

Well, if you answered yes to any of those questions and at one point in your life pictured yourself in tightly fitting spandex, then Marvel and Gazillion Entertainment quite possibly have just the thing in store for you.

The two parties agreed on a ten year deal to create a Marvel Universe based Massive Multiplayer Online extravaganza. That’s right – Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and many others will soon be masquerading as quest givers in a game near you.

If quality is your concern, fear not. Gazillion is adequately equipped to create Marvel branded crack as their team of big wigs boast time spent at corporations such as Apple, Blizzard, Microsoft, and Pixar.

So forget those tired old exclamation points you are used to seeing and get ready to let your spider sense point you in the direction of the next quest giver — it’s bound to happen. Read more about the updated deal announcement over at marvel.com and check back with Ripten for more updates.

One of the latest posts on MMO-Champion reveals the tier 8 World of Warcraft stats and set bonuses. In addition, you can check out the latest plot to rain on your fun parade changes that will likely hit your talent tree in the 3.1 patch. As always, when you are done, you can head on over to the WoW class forums and bitch up a storm hoping someone in blue will give a damn. Check out the goods here.

If you’ve ever had a rich mining node ninja’d from under you after clearing the mob of surrounding trash, then you will likely welcome this change with open arms. Blizzard is instituting a mining change in their upcoming World of Warcraft patch — specifically, you will now be able to mine any node with one shot.

If you haven’t leveled a druid with epic flying you are going to want to get on that shit ASAP.

Source: WoW Insider