60 thoughts on “that time i hosted blizzcon”

1. You’re NOT terrible…And some of us love you. Keep up the great work. Good luck with the flight… 🙂

2. Hope you’re doing fine, Will. Come through Memphis one day. I’ll take you and the Ms. to Elvis’ house for dinner.

3. I always love reading about things like conventions from the actor/creator/person who everyone is looking at’s perspective. I know how challenging it can be to just talk to a room full of people. Multiply that by many thousand, and you sir are a very, very brave man. Happy anniversary to you and your lovey wife. I hope you have a safe flight home. Cheers!

4. ps….the casinos are pretty neat in Tunica, Mississippi down the road from me, too ! The buffets are mind-blowing !

5. I am so glad you hosted Blizzcon! You were the cutest awkward nerd dad!

6. For your entertainment I highly recommend checking out ETC’s video for ‘Rogues do it From Behind.’

7. Wish I could still travel easily, because it sounds like it was a blast. Did you get to try any Overwatch?

   As for who E.T.C is, it’s Elite Tauren Chieftian, a metal band composed of Blizzard employees. They mostly do Warcraft-inspired songs like “Power of the Horde”, “I Am Murlock”, and “Rogues Do It From Behind”. They actually have in-game characters can be seen performing regularly at the Darkmoon Faire.

   And don’t worry, even most WoW players only know of them from going to the Faire.

   1. Blizzard also made the drummer into a Heroes of the Storm character, which is whom the cosplay was of in the contest. Blizzard named that HotS character E.T.C.

8. Wil, I missed your work at Blizzcon, but as someone who is front of people all of the time, the voice of doubt will always convince us of the worst. Yes, there will be people who dislike the things we do live. We will make mistakes. We will even have people who don’t like us, period.

   Please keep believing that there are some us who support just about everything you do, even if it doesn’t scratch our itch or we don’t understand your passion for it completely. That is the joy of being fans. We support you in your endeavors.

   Congratulations on Blizzcon, the anniversary (the Anne-iversary?), Powers, and co-starring with a legend of comedy. That sounds like a great couple of weeks!

9. I was not at Blizzcon, but I am sure you were funny, ironic and as knowledgeable as most of the people in that room. Believe me. if those of us going to anime cons, PAX cons or comic cons had to pass a test for admission, probably a large percentage would not make it in(me included). Congrats on 16 years of marriage. Not sure if your etc. was ETC News (Machinima) on YouTube or not. If it was, I am sure those guys are fine with you. I thought those judgmental voices were only in my head. My theory is that they are just microbial trolls (aka midi-chlorians?), not to be believed. For purely selfish reasons, please continue going to those cons. Maybe someday I will get to see you at a panel.

10. Funny thing is, I can see Bob Newhart doing stand-up in his prime where his agent calls him about this really excited nerd. He gets humanity. He’ll get you.

11. Great to hear you got a lot of positive feed back from Blizzcon (i knew the people would love you)

    Congrats on your 16th wedding anniversary

12. I played wow for almost 6 years and in the post when you said etc.. I had no idea who you were talking about.

13. My boyfriend and I loved the tales of Boogers the Boggit! It made us so happy and sad we never wanted to have to kill Boggits again. But of course that’s impossible. So we just have to say, “Sorry Boogers,” when it happens.

    In all honesty we’ve been really disillusioned with World of Warcraft this past year so I wasn’t even going to waste the money on a virtual ticket. But when I saw your blog post about how you were hosting I needed to have that in my life. I thought you were really great on stage, even if you were nervous you seemed so genuinely thrilled to be there.

    I hope you’ll keep playing Blizzard games even now that Blizzcon is over (your experiences are so funny and relatable)!

    Happy Anniversary!

14. Until someone has done the MC role they really don’t appreciate how hard it is. Over the past year I’ve been working hard to build up my speaking business, including training with professionals. The mantra I learned – You can be a performer or a critic. You can’t be both. I’m really glad you chose performer.

    Happy anniversary to the two of you, 16 years is a big deal.

    PS Comments are closed on Rollins post so I’ve got to add here – HUGE fan of Rollins. I probably would have asked him about his snakes, which definitely would have fallen under spaz.

15. You did a wonderful job! It was great meeting you after the contests backstage. My wife was geeking out at meeting you as much as you were with her costume (the goren) 🙂

    1. Her costume was amazing! Having killed endless Goren in Blackrock Foundry everyone in my group was all, “AH! A Goren! Awesome! Don’t explode and kill us all >.<“, she did a great job! 😀

16. I thought you did great even though I was watching from behind stage waiting for my turn to walk the stage. You are not the only one to say 2016 do worry about it.As for not knowing ETC well I chalked that up to nerves. And while Dan Miller was Cosplaying the ETC master skin from Hero’s of the Storm there is an ingame band made up of blizzard employees and you should totally check them out on YouTube

17. You did AMAZING!!! I only wish you would have given yourself an a because you truly earned it. I loved everything about your MC performance, down to the journal entries. Please reconsider your score and know that we love you. 🙂 You truly have been the best Blizzcon MC ever.

18. I watched the talent/contest segment from beginning to end. I think you did a good job, but the crowd did not give you much in return. No offense to the Blizzcon-goers, but I think this is where you see some of their social awkwardness coming through. Kudos for keeping your cool and not seeming flustered by the lack of feedback you were getting.
    As a retired casual Warcraft player, I related to much of your commentary and found it amusing. I didn’t notice any of the mistakes you mentioned (I don’t know who E.T.C. is, either.)

    1. Not sure if you were there or watching on the stream, but in person the crowd (at least where I was and what I could hear) were pretty vocal about laughing and cheering at stuff, maybe I was just lucky or it didn’t carry over into the stream but we were definitely engaged, it was a great segment!

19. I got to watch Blizzcon through the virtual pass and I was soooo excited to see you!! I thought you did awesome! I loved your commentary and even the little goofs (long music pause while you finished your tomato salad) was funny. Thank you for throwing in a Star Trek joke by the way with the “red shirts” that was great 😀 Hopefully you get to host Blizzcon again in the future! I give you an A+, Wheaton <3

20. My husband and I were so excited when we heard you’d be at Blizzcon. I thought you did a great job! You did seem nervous, but who the hell wouldn’t be nervous in front of THAT many people?! I really enjoyed your journal entry and your Diablo jokes. Diablo didn’t get a lot of love at the con this year, so it was great to have an MC that really loves the game.

    Give yourself an A and be proud of what you did! You got 8000+ people to moo for crying out loud. There’s nothing better than that 😛

    On a side note that you might enjoy, it was hilarious hearing the crowd around me react to you saying you have grown children. Everyone got out their phones and started googling your age and trying to decide if the math worked out. I could hear people arguing over it all around me. It didn’t seem to dawn on anyone that you might have adopted the boys.

21. Hey I really enjoyed the show, and you made me and my guild laugh a lot. You did great, and thank you.

22. I think you did an awesome job! We all make mistakes. I was so nervous about how long it took me to get across the stage in my centaur costume but you made me feel better by calling me amazing as I painfully tiptoed my way across the stage 😛 That’s bonus points to your grade! <3 I really hope you had a fun time at Blizzcon.

23. The Boogers story went over my head, but to be fair, I was distracted by the fact that my band was waiting behind the curtain to come onstage and I had my own mental checklist to run through. I will have to watch that part again here at home and get a proper judgement 🙂

    1. Hit enter too soon! You are a gracious fellow and did a terrific job as host. It was a pleasure to meet you. I sincerely hope to see you at future BlizzCons.

       1. You were fine, Wil.

          I was watching via Virtual Ticket (the first that I’ve ever ordered, and only ordered because you were hosting). You seemed a bit hesitant / nervous, but you recovered. Go back and watch some stuff from previous hosts, like Jay Mohr. At least you made sure you were familiar w/ the source material, and it showed.

          Keep up the great work, and pat yourself on the back.

24. A friend of mine at Blizzcon described you as “wonderful.” Don’t let the crazy people get you down; I have no deal what Blizzard is all about, but you’ve really emerged as terrific in these last few years. Chin up, Mate! I’m sorry I missed you in real time! BTW, I do weekend workshops on mindfulness and meditation–and I STILL get haters! How can you hate someone who spends a weekend trying to help you to relax and feel good, for heavens’ sake?!?!? But there they are. It’s really not you. I promise.

25. FWIW, you and Henry Rollins inspire me for similar reasons:

    1.) You (both) work hard as a matter of first principles, because it is in you to do nothing less, whereas a lot of people in your position simply work until they’ve maximized revenue per unit of effort.
    2.) You (both) prepare because you take responsibility for putting on a good show, whereas a lot of people in your position believe they simply need to show up with a sharpie.
    3.) You (both) consistently do the uncomfortable thing and re-invent yourself because it would mortify you to rest on your laurels, whereas many people in your position wear their laurels up-front.
    4.) You (both) speak your mind and you own the outcome of doing so, whereas a lot of people in your position take the temperature of the room before saying whatever the winds favor.

    There’s a great interview of H.R. where he talks about his childhood and getting his break and quitting his job at Baskin Robbins to sing for Black Flag. In that interview he’s asked about… Hmm… I think the question was something about why he has remained successful for so many years across so many endeavors. (I’m heavily paraphrasing here, as I heard this interview years ago)
    He says something like: “I work hard (to stay sharp and relevant) because I know that I could wind up back scooping ice-cream… I don’t take ANY of this for granted.” I live by those words.

    Anyway, the point is that you do great stuff because you don’t fear work and you don’t lack backbone. But if you did nothing but kiss babies, pet puppies, and give away hundred dollar bills — some people would still find a reason to hate you. Some people define their identity through criticism rather than creation, though I’ve never found those people to be worth much consideration.

    Keep on taking names and kicking a*. 😉

26. Way to go Wil! Keep up the good work! Here’s hoping the flight wasn’t for shit

27. By the way, H.R. has a movie coming out toward the end of the year. The trailer looks pretty wicked. It’s called: “He never died.”

28. Wil, your loved by thousands if not more so don’t let it get to you. You Rock!

29. Bob Newhart is still alive? And you got to meet him? I’m jealous!

30. Mrs. and I watched via the virtual ticket and thoroughly enjoyed what you did. We could tell you were a little bit uncomfortable for the first few minutes, but hey, 12,000 people is enough to make anyone nervous. When you had moments where you finally relaxed enough to be yourself, and fell off script, you were absolutely at your best. It’s hard to tell when you’re getting in your own way, but when you finally realize it, and let yourself go, that’s when the magic happens.

    Keep it up, keep making things, and play more games!

31. You were amazing Wil Wheaton! I am ashamed to say that gamers are a notoriously tough crowd, sometimes you can do everything right and they’d still be harping you. Keep up your fantastic work!

32. Will, I only got to see the livestream of the show. You did AWESOME. Seriously I would say you’re my favourite Blizzcon host if all time. The way you where so ooaitiv about the community, the way your humour got through, just everything was so good, and u can’t believe that anybody would bash on you for making mistakes. I didn’t catch up on most of them, and really, when you’re standing in front of that many people, who wouldn’t? I’m sure some of these haters wouldn’t even manage to make a noise on a stage like that. I’ve been there, as a cosplayer, and just walking is terrifying enough as it is.
    So as everybody else that say you did a good job…you did! And I’d love to see you up on that stage again! 😀

33. If you can get the attention of one person in the audience you have succeeded. If you get the attention of 7000 you have conquered the audience. Good job Wil Wheaton I’m always a fan .

34. I loved you on Eureka. I love that you play yourself on Big Bang. Meeting Bob Newhart is exciting. I love his character on big bang. I doubt you will be as bad as Sheldon is.

    It’s interesting when someone who is successful as you, still has doubts about yourself. It makes those in the limelight more down to earth. Tell that guy in your head to shut up!.

    Congrats on the anniversary!. The pic of you to is great! My husband an I will celebrate our 26th next month.

35. Happy anniversary Wil!

36. My wife and I watched the Blizzcon live stream and you did an exemplary job. Don’t feel as if you were anything less than excellent. We’re fans. My wife even has your plushie. 😉

    Thanks to uldihaa for providing the explanation that I was going to provide about who E.T.C. is. They were once “Level (60) Elite Tauren Chieftain,” with the (60) increasing each time the level cap in WoW increased.

37. My husband and I were in the audience, and were so excited that you hosted! Even though you had some nerves in the beginning, rest assured that most of your audience understands that we are an imposing crowd, and nerves are to be expected. You also get points for saying up front which games you have or haven’t played, no one expects you to have played everything, as long as you’ve played a Blizzard game and loved it, you’re one of us.

    Boogers was a cute story, btw – it didn’t fall flat, it just didn’t quite have a punchline to get a read on the audience either way. Poor Boogers.

    And if you’re still feeling self-conscious about it – your audience had pretty much been going hard all day. We were all pretty worn out, which is at least part of the reason we weren’t twice as loud; we just didn’t have the energy to be as enthusiastic as we felt. I feel like my hands still ache from too much clapping.

    I admit I was kinda hoping I’d run into you somewhere during the con, because I’ve been a fan for years, and it would have been awesome to meet you face to face – you’ve been a positive influence on my life, and I feel like it’s important that you know. You also introduced me to Catan, which I am uncannily good at, and I thank you for all my victories.

    We’ll gladly welcome you back next year Wil. Play more games! And don’t worry, Mrs. Wheaton – it’s research!

38. Isn’t that the craziest thing? We can’t be happy that thousands are positive about what we put out there. We get stuck on the fact that not everyone is good with it!

    I try to remember that when I feel that way, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just means I care what I create and show to the world. If I didn’t care, I’d put crap out and no-one would like it.

39. As the co-creator of the E.T.C. costume and the tiny human that walked that 7ft Tauren around Blizzcon 2015, I just wanted to thank you for taking on hosting the contest. You did an AMAZING job!!! With all the strange and wonderful Blizzcon throws at you, you conveyed a genuine sense of awe and appreciation for the efforts of each contestant…cosplay is indeed the purest form of flattery a fan can give an artist.
    On a side note, the whole E.T.C. et cetera thing made the rest of the con all the more fun, everyone knew that the huge cow rocker was Dan Miller, et cetera 🙂
    And Blizzcon 2014, when his cosplay was the Abomination, Hardwick jokingly asked if he could even bow in that suit as Dan crossed the stage…he bowed and Hardwick called himself a jerk 😉

40. Hi Will, I saw you on the Internet at Blizzcon.
    First I want to tell you that you have done great.
    I think everyone is in such a big deal once excited and makes a mistake, that’s normal, it is human.
    The story of the Boogers Boggit which was really great, it has pleased me very much.
    I hope we see you again next year at Blizzcon.
    PS: I love TableTop!
    Best regards from Bavaria and stay as you are;)

41. Shit happens, Wil. Etc, etc, etc. 🙂

    Don’t worry, unlike Shatner, you’re welcome on our bridge any time you damn well please.

42. I was there, saw you live and you rocked the place. Everyone near me was saying how good it was, one guy made a mocking snort laugh at ‘2016’ and everyone around him went “Shhhhhhhh! /scowl”, so yeah, I think you pretty much did a great job and the vast majority of the audience loved it. Hope they bring you back every year, as I’m pretty sure you’ll only get better and better! 😀

43. Not gonna sugar-coat it, I was very on the fence about you hosting when I heard about it. I’m pleased to report that I enjoyed it, particularly Boogers’s Journal. You and Ryan make a good writing team and the little mistakes on stage were charming rather than annoying simply because you let the awkward happen and rolled with it. It felt more like a big party being hosted by the bravest nerd in the room instead of a polished awards ceremony.

44. I would not worry about the hardcore WoW players attacking you about your Etcetera faux pas. When they attempt their attack they will either a) run out of slack on their USB cable to continue their attack b)leave the range of their wireless device resulting in the same.

    Also, if one of them braves the outer world to come after you their chronic carpel tunnel syndrome will prevent them from inflicting any actual damage….probably.

    Mostly congratulations on your 16th wedding anniversary. Mrs. Sakers and I will be celebrating the same soon enough, assuming I don’t get eaten by rodents in the meantime. Do us all a favor and give us more cameos of the horse headed action figure. That is all.

    1. Please don’t turn it into an attack on hardcore WoW players, there are many of us who loved Wills segment 🙂

45. I was there at Blizzcon and I was cheering you on the whole time. I did yell “15” when you said “2016,” but I was not near enough to the stage. I can’t believe they didn’t put “E.T.C.” rather than “Etc” on the card for you. I don’t really know who is either. Anyway, it was my first Blizzcon and I’m so glad you were the host. Thank you for all you did, for being funny, and for really celebrating the awesome community there. I hope you get to do it again!

46. You’re a little TOO worried about what others think. Do your best & remember NOBODY can please EVERYBODY 🙂 ****it’s okay 🙂 🙂 🙂

    1. Well, when I’m hired by a company to entertain their audience, it’s kind of important that I care what that audience thinks, is the thing.

       1. I distinctly remember a point in your career that you weren’t awesome. It was that time you were amazing. Don’t ever doubt yourself. i know as a rule it doesnt mean all that much, but you have more twitter followers than most A-list actors. And you earned every single one.

          1. You’re very kind. Thank you.

47. Wil you were amazing at Blizzcon! Thanks for being so awesome. What’s funny is my husband just told me you will be at Mensa AG this year too. See you on June!

48. Belatedly, you were the first MC in half a decade that didn’t make me actively cringe at Blizzcon. Jay Mohr was horrid to the community, especially women, and actually showed up drunk and high a couple times. Last year’s MC, who I know is a friend of yours, was much better but still made a few too many crude and sexist jokes. I suspect he just watched a lot of what Jay Mohr had done and tried to recreate it, though. But you actually showed love for the community and compassion for it, as opposed to the mocking we got every other year. I would get the (so sadly terrible) virtual ticket again just for you if you come back. Please come back, you are the MC Blizzcon needs and deserves. You were also really enjoyable to my wow-playing kids, who are 12 and 14, which is no mean feat.

49. I was at a radio course for my volunteer fire brigade today. I got seriously rattled and shaky because FOUR people were kinda hassling me about my incorrect wording of a radio message as i spoke it. Four. All people who know me and care about my well being. How you got up there and did what you did, Wil, when you have anxiety and all, I will never know, but you are a winner because you took those steps up there. Everything after that is just gravy. 🙂 PS. Volunteer fireys is generally very fun and a worthy, helpy thing to do, so I wouldn’t like to let my comment put anyone off. If you’ve ever thought of doing it, go do it! You are needed!

50. Wil,
    You were wonderful! I’ve watched Blizzcon via the Virtual Ticket for …well, forever, and I thought you did a great job. The Boggle story was great and I loved how excited you were for all the contestants. it was great to have someone MC’ing who truly appreciates the work and effort that all the cosplay contestants put into their costumes.

    And, of all the Blizzcons I’ve watched, this was the first one where I was hoping that they would bring you back again next year. I hope they do, because aside from being an excellent host, you demonstrated your passion for gaming and that you truly understand the gamer community.

    I wish I could give you a big hug and let you know what great job you did. So, ask Anne to give you a hug for me. And keep up the great work….I’ve been a big fan since back in the “Wesley Crusher” days!

    pattycakes

Comments are closed.