This is Blizzards first step to attune their WOW player base to micro-transactions. Mark my words; it will not end with this.

Personally I would pay for whatever thing that makes my gaming experience better; xp, armor, weapons, looks, special abilities etc etc.

Originally posted by chrisel

This is Blizzards first step to attune their WOW player base to micro-transactions. Mark my words; it will not end with this.

Personally I would pay for whatever thing that makes my gaming experience better; xp, armor, weapons, looks, special abilities etc etc.

Then you are working hand-in-hand with them.

looking forward to premium b.net

On another note, donating is to give for a cause, selfishly expecting something in return is just buying. So you are really just BUYING this piece of shit called a pet, not donating to any fucking cause. Get a clue, you just look like a dumbass if you buy one of these, and more of a dumbass if you think that the action would be beneficial to any human being.

if you want to donate, then write off a check, bring food to shelters and such, not supporting this company.

And yes, I'm perfectly calm. :)

Originally posted by Mardy

They do it because unfortunately people do spend a lot of money buying cash shop items.  Here's a recent example.  In EQ1 someone posted about having burned $300 into LoN card game, in hopes to get a loot card he wanted.  Of course $300 later he didn't get the item he wanted.  This is just 1 person.

 

Now $300 can buy you almost 2 years worth of subscription to the game.  So even if some people leave the game due to these RMT/cash shops, the companies are making too much money off people who have too much money to spend on virtual goods.  They can stand to lose subscribers.

 

This is why these companies gamble and implement RMT, and this is why we will see more RMT in all future MMO's.  Yes, people kick & scream, but in the end of the day, they make too much money off the people that do spend money.  They also realize $15/month is cheap entertainment and that we're all a bunch of gamers addicted to playing games.

I'm not addicted to anything. I can quit MMOs. It took me two days to quit smoking.

I'm a man - I don't bend over for anyone.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by chrisel

This is Blizzards first step to attune their WOW player base to micro-transactions. Mark my words; it will not end with this.

Personally I would pay for whatever thing that makes my gaming experience better; xp, armor, weapons, looks, special abilities etc etc.

 

Then you are working hand-in-hand with them.

If he/she is, that's up to him/her. You have to accept people prefer different things. Personally I don't like the idea of item shops or buying an advantage in any way. I'm not even a big fan of DLC or paid expansions. However I understand that others have a different outlook. Attacking the players who decide they like a certain aspect, is just as bad as shooting yourself in the foot.

Companies won't take it seriously if your attacks are aimed at their playerbase and not at the feature your damning.

Originally posted by Swoogie

Now if you pay $200 and get full raid gear and a maxed out char then we have a problem.

Why?  What's the problem???

According to the sell-out / whore philosophy of current MMO gaming, =everything= should be available for the right price.  There is no right or wrong, the end justifies the means.

 Why would you have a problem with someone Buying a fully geared and maxed character?

For that matter, why would you have a problem with someone Buying a raid victory?

Originally posted by Malickie

 

If he/she is, that's up to him/her. You have to accept people prefer different things. Personally I don't like the idea of item shops or buying an advantage in any way. I'm not even a big fan of DLC or paid expansions. However I understand that others have a different outlook. Attacking the players who decide they like a certain aspect, is just as bad as shooting yourself in the foot.

Companies won't take it seriously if your attacks are aimed at their playerbase and not at the feature your damning.

It wasn't an attack. It was a statement of fact. Are you new to the internet - to call that an attack?

I support games selling vanity items.  It draws more people into the game.  This said, I do not approve of anything that gives a 'free ride' to anyone.  You should not be able to purchases weapons, armor, xp, etc.  But frankly, I don't see how buying a pet is any different then buying a sex change, or going to the barber shop in WoW.  It affects your appearance, and nothing in the game mechanics.

 Thats the thing too, i troll around the WoW official forums a lot and i have seen it a lot, people saying they will pay for this or that, hell if people are so willing to pay then i say milk the bastards for every cent.

But seriously, people keep saying they will pay for such and such so of course a business is gonna tap into that, making money isn't being greedy.  just because a company can rake in billions doesn't mean they are greedy for wanting to make more money.

Hell i bet anyone here would love to make tons of money any way they could.

beginning of the end of the largest MMO to date.

Originally posted by decoy26517

beginning of the end of the largest MMO to date.

When Project Hydra come out?

 STFU! Ugh... Are we all talking about the same blizzard that only release their games if it is pretty much polished to the max and allows pretty much anyone to play? They have more respect for their games than any other company out there. They always stand by there games no matter how crappy it was or is. Get a grip of yourself people. 

I doubt they will EVER do anything that gives the players with more money the I win "button". No, just pure and simple no. No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!!! Shame on your guys, you should slap yourselves for thinking of blizzard as such. 

RMT has been a growing thing and is a major part of F2P games. Grow up! 

BTW! Blizzard is HUGE I doubt they will ever end because of financial issues and I HIGHLY doubt they have financial issues right now. Also SC2 each pack is a FULL GAME! meaning the amount of game content/time you got in the original SC games you will get in just one of the SC2 games. So if you have all the SC2 cases you will have 3x the amount of game play content/time than any game out in the market. 

(Not a fanboi nor Do I play WoW at all. WoW sucks really bad.) I just hate when people are idiotic and spread false ideals. 

What is the StarCraft II Trilogy?
The StarCraft II Trilogy consists of the base StarCraft II game and two subsequent expansion sets. StarCraft II is subtitled Wings of Liberty (working title) and will include a lengthy single-player campaign that focuses on the terrans and puts players in the role of Jim Raynor, one of the series' main heroes. The first expansion set, Heart of the Swarm (working title), will follow later and include a single-player campaign focusing on the zerg and Kerrigan, Queen of Blades. The second expansion set, Legacy of the Void (working title), will continue the story experience with a single-player campaign centered on the protoss.

Do some homework please: www.starcraft2.com/faq.xml#trilogy

Originally posted by Angelicremix

I support games selling vanity items.  It draws more people into the game.

I don't think this is true either. If anything, this will drive people away from the game.

So how does adding RMT to P2P make sense? As Mardy pointed out, the people who buy those items make up for the people who leave by a considerable margin. I know who she's talking about when she mentioned someone buying 300$ worth of LoN cards to get a mount.

This strategy works because the rich are rich and the poor are poor, the people who get upset about this are not only people who can see the issues with this, but also just people who can't afford these items or are unwilling to spend more money on the game. That leaves people who are willing and are able to afford these items, more than enough to compensate for anyone leaving.

But for this to work, you can't just sell one item, you need to sell a plethora of items, because once the first item is bought, your store stops selling, so Blizzard will need to create more items until eventually they become better and more attractive. The slippery slope is in sight and people can see it.

Originally posted by Joker2240

RMT has been a growing thing and is a major part of F2P games. Grow up!

WoW was P2P last I checked. 

The premise that some content or items are only available through extra fees is the exact reason this is such an issue for players. Because P2P in the past dictated that you had access to all items through the game, which is not the case with most F2P games.

How about....

Blizzard created content ingame for getting pets like these ?  Or is it just easier to create daily quests and let the ppl pay extra for Pets?

Well - as long as ppl pay for it - you will get it.

But gone are they days when Blizzard created games for gamers to enjoy.  This is the first real proof of that.  And it makes me sad. 

Originally posted by Mardy

Originally posted by Cecropia 

Sounds like he was saying he cared about mmos.

What happens with a game this big, is that it can transform the genre with changes that take place within it.

 

Yup, as we've already experienced with WoW the game itself.  Just because Blizzard/WoW did it, every other companies wanted a slice of it and started to follow its path.  Good or bad, it doesn't matter, it's the fact that if Blizzard/WoW does it, everybody else in the genre will want to do it.

  Uhm....dude Blizzard just NOW did it. SoE did it long before hand with their xp potions and the armors you can buy have no stat benefit only visual sexyness. Youve got this all backwards. Blizzard/WoW is once again copying SoE because theyve seen its succesful. And you want to know the funny thing about this? Everquest 2's first RMT was a cute fuzzy bear pet that if you got supported a charity. If that isnt proof that Blizzard is copying everquest i have no clue what is.  But i wont go on a WoW bash rant its too easy.

Originally posted by pepsibottle

Originally posted by Angelicremix

I support games selling vanity items.  It draws more people into the game.

 

I don't think this is true either. If anything, this will drive people away from the game.

So how does adding RMT to P2P make sense? As Mardy pointed out, the people who buy those items make up for the people who leave by a considerable margin. I know who she's talking about when she mentioned someone buying 300$ worth of LoN cards to get a mount.

This strategy works because the rich are rich and the poor are poor, the people who get upset about this are not only people who can see the issues with this, but also just people who can't afford these items or are unwilling to spend more money on the game. That leaves people who are willing and are able to afford these items, more than enough to compensate for anyone leaving.

But for this to work, you can't just sell one item, you need to sell a plethora of items, because once the first item is bought, your store stops selling, so Blizzard will need to create more items until eventually they become better and more attractive. The slippery slope is in sight and people can see it.

I don't see how giving people ways to customize their characters for a little money would be driving them away.  People already pay for racial changes, sex changes, and haircuts, why not add in clothes and pets?  I know you guys are all big bad scary gamers, but you aren't everyone who plays video games.  I am entitled to my opinion, and honestly for all the time I spend raiding, sometimes it is enough to just sit and play dress up with my toons and making them look pretty. 

Microtransactions aren't going away.  I have not and will not support an MMO that provides a way to buy your way to the top of a game.  But I will certainly support the sale of items that allow me to better customize my toon.

Originally posted by Lunary

Originally posted by Mardy

Originally posted by Cecropia 

Sounds like he was saying he cared about mmos.

What happens with a game this big, is that it can transform the genre with changes that take place within it.

 

Yup, as we've already experienced with WoW the game itself.  Just because Blizzard/WoW did it, every other companies wanted a slice of it and started to follow its path.  Good or bad, it doesn't matter, it's the fact that if Blizzard/WoW does it, everybody else in the genre will want to do it.

  Uhm....dude Blizzard just NOW did it. SoE did it long before hand with their xp potions and the armors you can buy have no stat benefit only visual sexyness. Youve got this all backwards. Blizzard/WoW is once again copying SoE because theyve seen its succesful. And you want to know the funny thing about this? Everquest 2's first RMT was a cute fuzzy bear pet that if you got supported a charity. If that isnt proof that Blizzard is copying everquest i have no clue what is.  But i wont go on a WoW bash rant its too easy.

Uhm...dude, we all know SOE has had cash shop for quite some time now.  And uhm...dude, we also know WoW got lots of their ideas from EQ1.  But that isn't the point.  The point is, because WoW is the biggest, most profitable MMO on the market, if they do it, you can be sure the rest of all companies sitting on the fence will follow.

Just look at what people did creating all sorts of games we've seen in the past 4 years looking, feeling, and playing like WoW.  Not as polished as WoW, but they were too eerily like WoW.  Companies always look at the #1 and try to follow the pack.  So if Blizzard goes forward with first cute lil teddy bears, then more and more exclusive items that people have to pay cash for, then the rest of the companies will follow.

Originally posted by Ibluerate

Originally posted by Caleveira

If the most succesful MMO moves towards RMT the rest cant be far behind. Its great to see WOW continues its tradition of "improving" the MMO genre...

 

WoW Fanboi to the defense!

Oh wait...

Defending a game on MMORPG.com is like being given a wooden shield, stripped naked and then told to keep yourself alive while a dragon continuously breathes fire on you...

Think ya missed the sarcasm in Cales post. What WoW does, most other MMOs try and follow. And what WoW does, becomes the standard for future MMOs. So if Blizzard decided to jack up the monthly fee to 19bucks...every other MMO would follow suit. So now they are going with monthly sub and RMT....expect to see more of this in future MMOs.

Originally posted by Angelicremix

Originally posted by pepsibottle

Originally posted by Angelicremix

I support games selling vanity items.  It draws more people into the game.

 

I don't think this is true either. If anything, this will drive people away from the game.

So how does adding RMT to P2P make sense? As Mardy pointed out, the people who buy those items make up for the people who leave by a considerable margin. I know who she's talking about when she mentioned someone buying 300$ worth of LoN cards to get a mount.

This strategy works because the rich are rich and the poor are poor, the people who get upset about this are not only people who can see the issues with this, but also just people who can't afford these items or are unwilling to spend more money on the game. That leaves people who are willing and are able to afford these items, more than enough to compensate for anyone leaving.

But for this to work, you can't just sell one item, you need to sell a plethora of items, because once the first item is bought, your store stops selling, so Blizzard will need to create more items until eventually they become better and more attractive. The slippery slope is in sight and people can see it.

 

I don't see how giving people ways to customize their characters for a little money would be driving them away.  People already pay for racial changes, sex changes, and haircuts, why not add in clothes and pets?  I know you guys are all big bad scary gamers, but you aren't everyone who plays video games.  I am entitled to my opinion, and honestly for all the time I spend raiding, sometimes it is enough to just sit and play dress up with my toons and making them look pretty. 

Microtransactions aren't going away.  I have not and will not support an MMO that provides a way to buy your way to the top of a game.  But I will certainly support the sale of items that allow me to better customize my toon.

So paying customers should be denied customization choices? How bout forcing everyone that doesnt RMT to wear nothing but old ragged underwear...

Technically, Blizzard has been doing RMT for quite some time. Now it is for in game items which are pure vanity and offer nothing in game.

Originally posted by Caleveira

Originally posted by Angelicremix

Originally posted by pepsibottle

Originally posted by Angelicremix

I support games selling vanity items.  It draws more people into the game.

 

I don't think this is true either. If anything, this will drive people away from the game.

So how does adding RMT to P2P make sense? As Mardy pointed out, the people who buy those items make up for the people who leave by a considerable margin. I know who she's talking about when she mentioned someone buying 300$ worth of LoN cards to get a mount.

This strategy works because the rich are rich and the poor are poor, the people who get upset about this are not only people who can see the issues with this, but also just people who can't afford these items or are unwilling to spend more money on the game. That leaves people who are willing and are able to afford these items, more than enough to compensate for anyone leaving.

But for this to work, you can't just sell one item, you need to sell a plethora of items, because once the first item is bought, your store stops selling, so Blizzard will need to create more items until eventually they become better and more attractive. The slippery slope is in sight and people can see it.

 

I don't see how giving people ways to customize their characters for a little money would be driving them away.  People already pay for racial changes, sex changes, and haircuts, why not add in clothes and pets?  I know you guys are all big bad scary gamers, but you aren't everyone who plays video games.  I am entitled to my opinion, and honestly for all the time I spend raiding, sometimes it is enough to just sit and play dress up with my toons and making them look pretty. 

Microtransactions aren't going away.  I have not and will not support an MMO that provides a way to buy your way to the top of a game.  But I will certainly support the sale of items that allow me to better customize my toon.

 

So paying customers should be denied customization choices? How bout forcing everyone that doesnt RMT to wear nothing but old ragged underwear...

Nowhere in my argument did I say paying customers should be denied customization choices.  I stated that I support the sale of items that allow me to 'better' customize my toon.  Every game comes with a standard amount of customization.  I enjoy that aspect of the game.  I'm willing to pay extra for it.  That's my point.

Originally posted by Mardy

Originally posted by Lunary

Originally posted by Mardy

Originally posted by Cecropia 

Sounds like he was saying he cared about mmos.

What happens with a game this big, is that it can transform the genre with changes that take place within it.

 

Yup, as we've already experienced with WoW the game itself.  Just because Blizzard/WoW did it, every other companies wanted a slice of it and started to follow its path.  Good or bad, it doesn't matter, it's the fact that if Blizzard/WoW does it, everybody else in the genre will want to do it.

  Uhm....dude Blizzard just NOW did it. SoE did it long before hand with their xp potions and the armors you can buy have no stat benefit only visual sexyness. Youve got this all backwards. Blizzard/WoW is once again copying SoE because theyve seen its succesful. And you want to know the funny thing about this? Everquest 2's first RMT was a cute fuzzy bear pet that if you got supported a charity. If that isnt proof that Blizzard is copying everquest i have no clue what is.  But i wont go on a WoW bash rant its too easy.

 

Uhm...dude, we all know SOE has had cash shop for quite some time now.  And uhm...dude, we also know WoW got lots of their ideas from EQ1.  But that isn't the point.  The point is, because WoW is the biggest, most profitable MMO on the market, if they do it, you can be sure the rest of all companies sitting on the fence will follow.

 

Just look at what people did creating all sorts of games we've seen in the past 4 years looking, feeling, and playing like WoW.  Not as polished as WoW, but they were too eerily like WoW.  Companies always look at the #1 and try to follow the pack.  So if Blizzard goes forward with first cute lil teddy bears, then more and more exclusive items that people have to pay cash for, then the rest of the companies will follow.

Its just very irritating for me. WoW's entire idea is derived off of everquest 1 and 2.  They took something great  rolled it up into a phallic shape. Humped themselves with it and then sold it to the world. I find personally WoW's popularity is  due to its extremely simple gameplay.  It sure isnt the graphics that win it any awards because if you have a strogn enough computer you can fine tune everquest 2's graphics to blow it out of the water. Ive done side by side screenshot comparisons of each game at max graphics in similar looking locations and its just revolting to me personally and ive had a few wow players agree on this. So it leads me to beleive the popularity is based on the easy gameplay which i gather this information first hand. I was a beta tester before WoW was released to the public and then a year or so ago i was checking it out on a friends account seeing if they put anything worth enjoying into it. And it hadnt really changed much in my opinion. Also in eq2 weve had people who claim they are in the top raid guilds for WoW come on over yet they get slaughtered every time trying to raid or group in eq2.  And what really irritates me is now SoE is dumbing down eq2 trying to make it as easy as WoW is to try and win back some of the less skillful and braindead players of WoW Now that ive done all ym complaining what is it you think lures people to that game? Because i certainly cannot figure it out. To me all i see is a very cheap knockoff of something great that by some grace of god managed to become the number one game out there. I miss the simple days of gaming. Where everquest 1 was god and nothing could match it.  Now every Jo and his mother has their own mmo and they are all the same as you pointed out. A cheesy wow knockoff. And since wow is already a knockoff your just going down the line of terrible ideas. When will it end?! Are we beyond the generation of new and great ideas? *flails and nerd rages and crys and touches myself*

Originally posted by Brib0ne

Originally posted by Ibluerate

Honestly?

You're pathetic...

It's two pets...

Not armor and XP boosts...

 

You're naive

It's been a slippery slope for this game, and we all knew it was a matter of time.  After Activision's acquisition you could clearly see the game was going to be trashed and RMTs, cashgrabs, and in-game changes would come.

I love all the fanbois: "that will never happen"  It's happening, don't be surprised when they start offering armor for cash..

Glad I left that sinking ship.

And technically your argument is a slippery slope. Slippery slope arguments cannot be proven and there really is no way to know where its going. Blizzard has actually been UP FRONT with the playerbase and said it is something they have considered so I respect their honesty. No where did they say "RMT will never happen" and then turn around and do it (like other companies have done).

So for now, I trust Blizzard when they say its for cosmetic or vanity items only (much like the trading card game items) and I will continue to do so until I have reason not too. I will not enter into a slippery slope argument just because of what other companies have done.

And to be honest, unless you play WOW, it really doesn't matter anyway.

Originally posted by Brib0ne

Originally posted by Ibluerate

Honestly?

You're pathetic...

It's two pets...

Not armor and XP boosts...

 

You're naive

It's been a slippery slope for this game, and we all knew it was a matter of time.  After Activision's acquisition you could clearly see the game was going to be trashed and RMTs, cashgrabs, and in-game changes would come.

I love all the fanbois: "that will never happen"  It's happening, don't be surprised when they start offering armor for cash..

Glad I left that sinking ship.

I have a friend who's a WoW addict that's spent almost as much money on micro-transactions and account subscriptions with that game than I did for my computer (and it's no slouch).  They already have RMT's to change race, gender, server, faction etc; what honestly makes people think it wouldn't go one small step further and offer items for cash?  The worst part is people, like my friend, will continue to pay for all that garbage left and right.