The Blizzard Store

[Josh123]

I think Blizzard has started to become pretty lame and in my opinion it is Activision that is the cause. Here lately all I seem to be seeing is gaming companies looking for more ways to nickel and dime consumers. What the hell are we paying $15 a month for if they plan to charge for this crap? How is this mount any different from the new mounts they plan to add in the 4.2 patch? Instead of adding it into the next content they would rather release it a month or two early and charge $25? Nice one Blizzard.

I honestly don't give a crap about the mount, but I think it's ridiculous that they charge already paying subscribers $25 for mounts and $10 for companions.

I really hope they don't pull this crap with Diablo 3 but I won't be surprised if they do.

 

[Anubis]

mounts you purchase from the store are not available in game any other way. and they aren't Nickel and dimeing anyone as YOU DON'T HAVE TO FUCKING BUY THEM

 

[guyver01]

This is basically a flying horse, .

hey.. buddy?

THIS

is a horse.


THIS

is a lion.

It's not basically a flying horse... it's not even a fucking horse.


If you want your Rant to mean anything.... learn the type of animal first.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

i'm jelly.

 

[Schfifty Five]

I'm growing seriously concerned with the precedent the Blizzard is setting in the world of DLC.

In case you didn't know, Bizzard's latest addition:

http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100001495

This is basically a flying horse, it confers no gameplay advantage and many players already have 100+ flying horses.

Blizzard is asking $25US for this thing and apparently sales were so successful on release day that prospective buyers were placed in a queue of up to 30 minutes while waiting for a code to be generated.

I would hate it if other developers looked at this, knowing that entire DLC packs which extend the story of the game and frankly add 1000x as much content are selling for $10 while Blizzard gets $25 for a horse in an already subscription-based game. Their reaction is likely to be "I can sell my DLC for a lot more".

I have never bought an item from the Blizzard store, however I have exchanged large amounts of in-game currency to have someone else "gift" the item to me. This raises all sorts of other concerns around legitimised gold selling but in the end, Blizzard is still getting a load of money for what must frankly be a pittance of development time invested.

I honestly don't think any other game developer would be anywhere near as successful as Blizz/WoW is with their DLC. That's why Blizz/WoW can sell it for a huge premium like that.

No other MMO has the player base or popularity as WoW so I doubt an MMO like "Rift" or something could charge $25 for one piece of DLC.

 

[vrait]

Its cause they are owned by Activi$ion, what do you expect?

 

[waggy]

its silly. i know a few people t hat has purchased EVERY mount and pet they have offered. i just laugh at them.

but its not like they are getting a epic weapon or such. its just a vanity item.

 

[lord_emperor]

hey.. buddy?

THIS

is a horse.

THIS

is a lion.

It's not basically a flying horse... it's not even a fucking horse.

If you want your Rant to mean anything.... learn the type of animal first.

 

[CPA]

Or the cost of hosting and maintaining their server farms along with developing, testing new content or revamping old content, of which Blizzard has consistently kept up and done well with this game along with paying for other ongoing costs associated with promoting WoW. In other words they make a shit load of money because they have a shit load of bills to pay on top of being a for profit business.

Edit: Collector additions of digital games that offer "armor sets, character models, etc" are basically the same deal as this mount. In essence you're paying for a virtual item that only exists on your hard drive.

This. And this is also why most people don't know what they're talking about. They see a purple horse and $25 and think the company is being greedy. Something has to pay for the bills.

 

[lord_emperor]

Something has to pay for the bills.

Something like the up-front cost of the game and monthly subscription fee?

Blizzard posted incredible profits from World of Warcraft before selling things on the Blizzard Store.

 

[Red Storm]

While I'm against this kind of stuff, there really is no base for complaint. This stuff is all optional for people who want it, so there's nothing more to say. They could offer a bag of dog poop for $100 and nobody really has any right to complain because Blizzard isn't forcing you to buy it.

 

[AstroManLuca]

While I'm against this kind of stuff, there really is no base for complaint. This stuff is all optional for people who want it, so there's nothing more to say. They could offer a bag of dog poop for $100 and nobody really has any right to complain because Blizzard isn't forcing you to buy it.

You really are right. The same applies to Hat Hatress 2 - all the pay stuff is completely optional and provides no in-game advantage to the buyer.

I guess it just offends me on some level that people spend their money on such inane stuff.

 

[Glitchny]

Something like the up-front cost of the game and monthly subscription fee?

Blizzard posted incredible profits from World of Warcraft before selling things on the Blizzard Store.

So what? They are a company, they exist to make money. They can sell whatever they want, however they want.

 

[Red Storm]

I guess it just offends me on some level that people spend their money on such inane stuff.

Me too, but if that's their hobby, then why not? I'm sure all of us value certain things more than what their "market value" may be. If someone really loves WoW and really loves pets and flying mounts, then good for them, Blizzard is catering to their desires.

And one thing I've noticed regarding Team Fortress 2's hat market... you can actually make a pretty good amount of money with trading. So there is some benefit to be had if you really want to get into it.

 

[exar333]

So what? They are a company, they exist to make money. They can sell whatever they want, however they want.

True, but it still doesnt change that users that pay $25 for this are idiots. Well within their rights, but idiots nonetheless.

 

[Anubis]

True, but it still doesnt change that users that pay $25 for this are idiots. Well within their rights, but idiots nonetheless.

not sure anyone was saying they weren't idiots

 

[Modular]

Bingo. If the game sucks, no one is going to shell that cash out. This was discussed during the first $25 horse they released for WoW.

I see your point, but then how do you explain this: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2168620&highlight=cod+fee:whiste:

 

[cronos]

I see your point, but then how do you explain this: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2168620&highlight=cod+fee:whiste:

The answer is already in his words that you quoted: "If the game sucks, no one is going to shell that cash out. "

 

[Fhistleb]

My wife wanted this and I got it for her. Honestly I say to each their own, if you want to buy this to fly on go for it. I already have a device I made for myself and i'm pretty happy with it.

 

[Gung-Ho]

Its cause they are owned by Activi$ion, what do you expect?

This was goofy and juvenile when people did it with TSR on USENET. It's still goofy and juvenile almost 20 years later. Please stop.

 

[J-Money]

A business finding ways to increase profits?

Those fuckers!

I hope the stockholders do not stand for this outrage of increasing profits and they sell sell sell!

 

[skace]

As far as I'm concerned, Blizzard does store-bought items very well. Keep it in the realms of vanity items that do not do anything, make them oddly expensive so that every player in the world isn't running around with the same mount, release them after other items in the game that do the same function are relatively common and do a damn good job on the item itself.

 

[magomago]

yeah if i was a hardcore wow player i'd be mad if you can buy anything beyond vanity items. imagine running hundreds of hours to gear up, and then find out that 25 dollars can get a total noob something that matches what you spent forever to farm.

besides its a game, and if you see something that you think looks pretty, and want it, why not? if you don't want it, don't worry. i don't think this is killing gaming at all; one poster pointed out that it probably took a single developer to do this (although realistically it probably bounced back and forth between marketing to tweak the look) and I don't think lots of resources were sucked into it.

its basically a way to make more money, and probably the safest and fairest way to do so