After a long wait, the time for Diablo 3 is almost here and Blizzard has announced several, global launch events for the release Diablo III which kick off on the evening of May 14. for retail partners in the US, Europe, and Asia.

In the US, the official launch event will be hosted by Blizzard and GameStop at The Great Wheel Court of the Irvine Spectrum Mall in Irvine, CA.

The event kicks off at 8.00pm with giveaways and even the opportunity to win a laser-etched desktop PC from Intel. Members of the Diablo III development team will be on site at each of the official events to meet with players and sign their copies of the game. Attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase the standard edition of the game as well as the Collector’s Edition which contains the following bonus items:

-Exclusive aesthetic artifacts for Diablo III, as well as an exclusive World of Warcraft in-game fetish shaman pet and exclusive StarCraft II Battle.net portraits and army decal.

-A behind-the-scenes Blu-ray/DVD two-disc set with over an hour of interviews detailing how the world of Sanctuary came together.

-The Art of Diablo III, a 208-page art book that catalogs numerous pieces of Diablo III art, from early concepts to final 3D renderings.

-The official Diablo III soundtrack CD, containing 24 original pieces from the game.

-A 4GB USB soulstone, preloaded with full versions of Diablo II and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, and corresponding Diablo skull base.