Originally posted by Scalebane

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Dracondis

If you don't want to spend the money, don't.  Just don't expect them to hand the pets over for free.

 

Nothing in the game is 'free', because the players are already paying for it - with their subscription fees.

Players said they would pay for stuff, so blizzard put stuff for them to buy, its the players fault not blizzards.

You know, I've always wondered when they asked us WoWers if we would pay for stuff, cause I definitely never got a memo about it.

Originally posted by Uronksur

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Dracondis

If you don't want to spend the money, don't.  Just don't expect them to hand the pets over for free.

 

Nothing in the game is 'free', because the players are already paying for it - with their subscription fees.

 

Yea, and now they are allowing people to get some non-essential extra fluff easier by just paying a little extra. Big whoop.

Yes and tomorrow you gonna be able to buy a full set of T8 Epic Armor.

This is a movie already seen somewhere else, it starts with fluff stuff and it ends with the real deal.
Wake up will ya?

Originally posted by Cursedsei

Originally posted by Scalebane

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Dracondis

If you don't want to spend the money, don't.  Just don't expect them to hand the pets over for free.

 

Nothing in the game is 'free', because the players are already paying for it - with their subscription fees.

Players said they would pay for stuff, so blizzard put stuff for them to buy, its the players fault not blizzards.

 

You know, I've always wondered when they asked us WoWers if we would pay for stuff, cause I definitely never got a memo about it.

They didn't ask, people on the official boards are always saying they will pay for this and that, i blame them.  if they are willing to pay i can't blame a company for saying okay!

Originally posted by Simiel

Originally posted by Stradden

MMORPG.com's Jon Wood uses his column this week to look at the recent announcement that Blizzard will be offering in-game pets for real life money and the fan reaction, or over-reaction to the news.

Yesterday, Blizzard announced that they would be adding an in-game shop where players could buy vanity pets, and in characteristic fashion, the MMO world went bat dung crazy. Even my Facebook, which is loaded with MMO folks, was taken over by posts about Blizzard moving to microtransactions.

I swear, the way people react to these things you'd think that item stores were Godzilla and Western players were the poor residents of Tokyo just trying to get away from the damned thing, wrecking everything they know and eating everyone they love.

For the record, they're not, but we'll leave my personal opinions about item mall based games for another rant entirely. Instead, we'll focus on this particular announcement. Comparing this announcement, by the way, with microtransaction revenue models games, is like comparing apples and zebras. It just doesn't make any sense.

Read Wood: WoW Pets and Boy Who Cried Wolf.

 

Lame, old arguments combined and transformed into a semi-fancy worded article by someone who does not matter at all.

Anyone could write the same, in fact, they did, but their opinions don't shout as loud as those of a guy whose job is to write for an MMO website in boring and uncatchy English.

Now he would think that his reference between micro-transaction and zebra is smart, but it's a horrible analysis. People don't compare the announcement to the micro-transaction, they assume that the announcement LEADS to transaction, this guy is writing a column here for a reason, and it might just be too obvious for me to even talk about.

Sorry if the focus of this post is shifted, what I want to say was, it's obvious that people over-reacted to the announcement, but on the other hand, this guy is no genius, anyone could have figured this out without his awesome column. On the other hand, who is he to disprove the other argument without further proof? Continuously comparing components of WoW to movie tickets and apples and zebra doesn't prove that your argument is any more accurate than the opposing reasoning, so this mighty Jon Wood is just another forum poster, in my goddamn opinion. SORRY "MY FRIEND".

 

Your first sentence applies to you as well... Neither do I for that matter. Blizzard is a multi BILLION dollar corporation at this point. They have demonstrated that they have a very keen sense of what makes them money.  Losing a small percentage of players over something trival like this, isn't even going to show up above the normal churn for them.

Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by streea

But no. Instead you spent all that time going "STOP QQING!" by... QQing. No insight into the industry aside from "the more you yell, the less they'll listen to you" (which is only true of companies that honestly don't care about their playerbase). Not actually adding anything to the massive 200+ string. Instead, it was a giant nerdrage where you're right and they're wrong and those against this should shut up.

Welcome to the world of columns and opinion pieces.

And for the record, the entire article revolves around the encroachment of a different revenue model into the Western MMO market, and how in some cases people over-react to them. This over-reaction to harmless additions is indeed making it easier and easier for those powers that be to ignore the voices of their players. This, in turn, will make it easier for companies to get away with less scrupulous behavior. Who's going to listen to the boy who cried wolf when a wolf actually appears if they've pointed at every house dog that's walked by and screamed bloody murder?

But yeah, it was probably just an un-thought out nerdrage.

 

No ,i did not se anything helpfull implementation about "new revenue model " what i see is blizz doing a charity it is harmless dont discuss and STFU approach ,if you think adding a new revenue model and harmless additions opposite things .Make your mind is this a new revenue model for blizz or not.

Like or not there are alot people dont like any kind of RMT/micro transactions at subscription games (excluding F2P micro transactions game ,they have more haters) on mmorpg.com and every time when something like this happened it discussed to hell and beyond ,do you remember SOE item shop or SWG :TOR micro transaction rage ?

Question is why  suddenly there is a column and opipion pieces ,why this came when  blizz  announced their shop but not for other companies?Double standards ,hypocrisy? Or why is this column defending blizz  (i would not mind if other games defended before) ?

Originally posted by Cursedsei

Originally posted by nkryptik

Originally posted by Stradden

MMORPG.com's Jon Wood uses his column this week to look at the recent announcement that Blizzard will be offering in-game pets for real life money and the fan reaction, or over-reaction to the news.

Yesterday, Blizzard announced that they would be adding an in-game shop where players could buy vanity pets, and in characteristic fashion, the MMO world went bat dung crazy. Even my Facebook, which is loaded with MMO folks, was taken over by posts about Blizzard moving to microtransactions.

I swear, the way people react to these things you'd think that item stores were Godzilla and Western players were the poor residents of Tokyo just trying to get away from the damned thing, wrecking everything they know and eating everyone they love.

For the record, they're not, but we'll leave my personal opinions about item mall based games for another rant entirely. Instead, we'll focus on this particular announcement. Comparing this announcement, by the way, with microtransaction revenue models games, is like comparing apples and zebras. It just doesn't make any sense.

Read Wood: WoW Pets and Boy Who Cried Wolf.

 

I find it weird how this gets ripped on and it is going to a charity but yet there was no big press blow out when you had to buy trading cards to get the in game items, or the Pepsi / Mountain Dew robots and I have never seen it blown up how you have to pay all that cash for Blizzcon tickets to get a murloc or a bear with a murloc on it's head so why does it have to be a charity event to get the press and start everyone hating on it?

 

I DEMAND A RETRACTION AND AN APPOLOGY TO THE CHARITY!

 

Some people did moan about the TCG, but then again, the TCG is a stand-alone product, that they chose to incorporate some things (mainly fluff like biscuits, fiery steps, and the like) to try and get WoW players to try the card game out, I dont need to play WoW to like a Warcraft-based card game.

The Battle-fuel bots were part of the promotion for the WoW-inspired Mountain Dew Horde and Alliance drinks, it cost NOTHING to get the pet bot.

Blizzcon tickets are also a stand-alone thing. YOU dont have to go to Blizzcon, its just Blizzards way of saying "thanks for spending the money to come here", on top of EVERYTHING else that comes with the tickets.

 

 

Money spent to obtain in-game items is money spent I just do not understand why all this hate is drawn towards something that is going to help a charity when  none of the other were blow up to be this big of a deal.   You "spent money" to buy the Dew to get the robot in game, you "spent money" to buy the Trading Cards to get items in game, you "spent money" to buy the Blizzcon tickets to get the murloc or bear mount.  It is no different here you are "spending money" BUT instead of Blizz pocketing all of it the Make A Wish Foundation gets some, so I still cannot understand the hate being show so much towards this and not towards the other things.  Is it the fact that all these people actually hate the fact a child who may die at a really young age may get a wish granted to them that is causing all this hate to be shown or is it jealousy that is driving this hate fiasco?  The fact that I have a son with Autism I will proudly show my support for the Make a Wish Foundation by displaying these on ALL my accounts, I am not afraid to show in public that I supported a charity and no we never used his Wish option as there are many more children out there who will die that the funding will go towards giving them their wish, we are just fortunate our son's illness is chronic not terminal.

I do want to thank the haters because publicity for a non-profit organization like Make-A-Wish is getting by keeping this thread moving is awesome and all the money being raised  by this hate by people who never knew about these pets but now know and are buying them is worth millions.

Originally posted by ste2000

Originally posted by Uronksur

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Dracondis

If you don't want to spend the money, don't.  Just don't expect them to hand the pets over for free.

 

Nothing in the game is 'free', because the players are already paying for it - with their subscription fees.

 

Yea, and now they are allowing people to get some non-essential extra fluff easier by just paying a little extra. Big whoop.

Yes and tomorrow you gonna be able to buy a full set of T8 Epic Armor.

This is a movie already seen somewhere else, it starts with fluff stuff and it ends with the real deal.
Wake up will ya?

if they do i'll just go play something else, see no drama at all, woot!

Originally posted by Cursedsei

Originally posted by Scalebane

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Dracondis

If you don't want to spend the money, don't.  Just don't expect them to hand the pets over for free.

 

Nothing in the game is 'free', because the players are already paying for it - with their subscription fees.

Players said they would pay for stuff, so blizzard put stuff for them to buy, its the players fault not blizzards.

 

You know, I've always wondered when they asked us WoWers if we would pay for stuff, cause I definitely never got a memo about it.

When you bought the game. Blizzard is a frickin for-profit business, with investors, and a bottom line. If you don't like their product, you are free to cancel your subscription to their product.

Christ, where do you get the impression that Blizzard has EVER been some kindly studio that cares more about being cheap for you then their own profits? How naive.

Originally posted by Wraithone

Your first sentence applies to you as well... Neither do I for that matter. Blizzard is a multi BILLION dollar corporation at this point. They have demonstrated that they have a very keen sense of what makes them money.  Losing a small percentage of players over something trival like this, isn't even going to show up above the normal churn for them.

Oh, we'll see how small the percentage is. We'll see.

In the early '80s, the bottom dropped out of the home video game industry. It CAN happen here.

Blizzard needs to be very careful here.  Trust is a hard thing to re-earn after losing it.  If Blizz introduces a full RMT model for things like gear, etc you will hear a "disturbance" that would make SWG NGE or Trammel to UO's outrage seem like a whisper.

Players don't forget and seldom forgive.  If something like that happens then nevermind about WoW, Blizzard really should be worrying about the success of their next title.

Originally posted by Ruyn

Blizzard needs to be very careful here.  Trust is a hard thing to re-earn after losing it.  If Blizz introduces a full RMT model for things like gear, etc you will hear a "disturbance" that would make SWG NGE or Trammel to UO's outrage seem like a whisper.

Players don't forget and seldom forgive.  If something like that happens then Blizzard really should be worrying about the success of their next title.

I have already crossed off SC2, D3, and the next Blizzard MMO, unless this move is backed away from.

 Best editorial I´ve read on this site!! Keep ut the good work!

Originally posted by Ruyn

Blizzard needs to be very careful here.  Trust is a hard thing to re-earn after losing it.  If Blizz introduces a full RMT model for things like gear, etc you will hear a "disturbance" that would make SWG NGE or Trammel to UO's outrage seem like a whisper.

Players don't forget and seldom forgive.  If something like that happens then nevermind about WoW, Blizzard really should be worrying about the success of their next title.

well i see some people upset about it around here and a few on the official forums, but by the amount of lil kt's and pandarans running around the servers now, especially mine, there were a lot of them, i think its safe to say its a success for blizzard.

Hmm I wonder if its a cultural thing if you accept what Blizzard is doing or not.

Maybe its harder for us Europeans, who are more socialists, to accept that companies are just motivated by greed. And for you Americans its not a big deal since capitalism is more natural for you.

(sorry this was just a thought dont want to turn this into a political debate ;))

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Wraithone

Your first sentence applies to you as well... Neither do I for that matter. Blizzard is a multi BILLION dollar corporation at this point. They have demonstrated that they have a very keen sense of what makes them money.  Losing a small percentage of players over something trival like this, isn't even going to show up above the normal churn for them.

Oh, we'll see how small the percentage is. We'll see.

In the early '80s, the bottom dropped out of the home video game industry. It CAN happen here.

Oh please. If you think the average casual gamer cares at all that Blizzard is setting up a way to buy some useless bonus pets, your kidding yourself.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Ruyn

Blizzard needs to be very careful here.  Trust is a hard thing to re-earn after losing it.  If Blizz introduces a full RMT model for things like gear, etc you will hear a "disturbance" that would make SWG NGE or Trammel to UO's outrage seem like a whisper.

Players don't forget and seldom forgive.  If something like that happens then Blizzard really should be worrying about the success of their next title.

I have already crossed off SC2, D3, and the next Blizzard MMO, unless this move is backed away from.

Apparently from what I have been hearing there will be a "free" option for people to play on battlenet servers and there will also be a payment option on battlenet as well. If Blizzard does the sub+rmt model for their new mmo I will not be playing that either.

Originally posted by Papadam

Hmm I wonder if its a cultural thing if you accept what Blizzard is doing or not.

Maybe its harder for us Europeans, who are more socialists, to accept that companies are just motivated by greed. And for you Americans its not a big deal since capitalism is more natural for you.

(sorry this was just a thought dont want to turn this into a political debate ;))

 

Hey I'm a Canadian and if anyone cannot see that any company who makes it big is not powered by money and greed they need to sit back and think a long while on the things that are called stock markets and investors.  eg. company no make big money, company no investors, no investors, company go broke and close.

Yep there it is ABC or 123 it is not that hard to understand just some cannot grab the concept that the guy in front of you at a convention or on a forum that says we will never do this does not call the shots and they have no more say in if it will be done than the guy who is still only thinking about buying the game. 

The main issue that Mr Wood fails to understand is that charging us for extra items on top of a subscription is what gets us players so upset.

In a game like DDO, which is now F2P, I have no problem with them charging me to buy "points" which in turn buys various ingame items.  After all, they are getting no money  from me on a regular basis, so need some way to gather some funds.

Yet Blizzard charges you to buy the game, charges you to buy the expansions, charges you money to continue playing AND now wants to charge you even more?  THAT is what gets players so upset.  Especially considering the enormous amount of money they get monthly from subscription fees alone.

Why are people condemning Blizzard (well vivendi, Blizzard are the developers, vivendi are bankers) for something they have not done, and probably will never do.

You cannot buy gear, xp bonuses or characters on the store, just 2 vanity pets.  Just because you think something will happen does not mean it will.

Ill be the first in line to burn an effigy of Blizzard IF they add gear and game changing items, but as im 99.9% sure it wont ever happen Im not running around in a full NERGRAGE.

Blizzard/vivendi are a business, their #1 goal is to make money just like Turbin,SOE,NCSOFT and any other developer/publisher you care to mention.  Blizzard are not  charity and just because they have more money than other developers it does not mean they have to give it all away to charity, have lower subscription fees or free Expansions.

They are develping WoW,SC2,D3,Bnet2.0 and the mystery MMO it all takes money folks and the quality blizzard demand if not cheap.

Get over it.

Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by Khalathwyr

"By raising a gigantic stink about this particular move on Blizzard's part, the only thing that is going to happen is that next time, when a company actually does do something offensive like charge a subscription and offer game-enhancing items within a store, is that no one is going to listen to the horde of people that are crying foul."

For the record this is the first time I've commented on this specific recent topic. Disclosure out of the way, I understand your point but I think you too easily forget that with companies who see the bottom line constantly as you state in your article, it is very common practice to "start" such practices with somethings that seem harmless and "for a good cause". That way they lure people into complacency. Use the "non-essential" items as a test run and to setup the infrastructure needed. Then, after a while, add 1 or 2 items that affect gameplay and release statements downplaying the "degree" of effect they have.

It's a snowball effect. These companies want to justify their actions sometimes by claiming the majority of the customers want this or that. That's why themepark games are being made a dime a dozen. Well, the majority of Western gamers don't seem to want item malls.

They need to take the hint and investigate other ways to get money. Like adding premium servers that cater to various gameplay subsets. I know roleplayers would pay extra on monthly fees for the chance to have more systems that gave more depth and player control. PvPers would also for servers that offered up more options to them. These are things western gamers want! Yet they (companies) consistently ignore them and try to push and edge in things they don't want.

You're making pretty far reaching assumptions here. I mean, sure I suppose this COULD be leading to something more, but I don't think that just because that possibility exists that everyone should assume it to be the case. Looking rationally at this and the other RMT that Blizzard offers like the various change to character options that players have, a pattern seems to indicate that the company's plan is to offer aesthetic options only.

Your statements, said rationally and in an informed way as they were, about the possibility existing that companies might take advantage of something like this are perfectly valid. You said it, you backed it up and made people aware of a possibility. you didn't rage at the top of your virtual lungs.

using the boy who cried wolf analogy: You said - hey guys, there might be wolves in this area so watch out. You didn't say - Sweet jebus, a WOLF! RUUUNNNNN!!!!

I'm not saying that Blizzard won't turn around one day and open a full blown cash shop. I'm just saying that the time to bang on pots and pans, hit panic buttons and scream as loudly as possible hasn't come yet and the more often people do all of those things on this subject, the less effective it becomes.

 

Yeah, and I can agree that as it is those two items don't seem like they affect gameplay thus my conservation of my limited "sweet jebus'", lol. That said, and knowing full well that game companies do not prioritize customer wants over what they perceive will elevate their bottom line (and I'm not judging that fact; it's just a fact), it's up to us to exam all angles of possibility from certain actions.

To sit idly and without analytical thought (and not the Jamestown paranoia) on what those action could turn into and then evaluate what our own response would be should that happen seems a justifiable course to me. I know that I personally would play a game with RMT at this point (that's not meant that I might change my mind but instead to show that I have previously played such a game) and working out my actions, even if on a forum, isn't a etiquette faux paux if voiced in a reasonable way. I get what you mean about all the "sky is falling" and "end of MMO gaming" posts, though. Those would be better suited if they just read "Well, if Blizzard starts selling "useful" items I'll cancel" or "This action concerns me and I'm going to cancel".

People love the dramatic, though.