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 by Hakker, Level 17
Last updated at November 4, 2009, 4:28 pm
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So its finally happened, Blizzard jumped the shark and joined the bandwagon that is RMT. As of today you can buy an in game Lich pet or a kung fu pandaren (cwutididthar?).
From the forum post
Today we’re pleased to introduce the Pet Store for World of Warcraft, a new way for players to obtain in-game pets to join them on their adventures in Azeroth. Two brand-new companions are now available for purchase exclusively at the Pet Store in the online Blizzard Store: Lil’ K.T. and the Pandaren Monk.
Make a Difference: Pandaren Monk Charity Pet
Enter the Pandaren Monk, ( http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100000763 ) a martial-arts expert who’s here to help celebrate the upcoming fifth anniversary of World of Warcraft. He may be cute, but he’s proof that even the softest of critters can overcome the hardest of circumstances. For every Pandaren Monk that finds its way to a player’s side between now and the end of the year (December 31, 2009 at 11:59 PDT), we’ll donate 50 percent of the $10 purchasing price to the Make-a-Wish Foundation in an effort to brew up a little hope, strength, and joy in a child’s life.
Lil’ K.T., the Littlest Lich
Lil’ K.T. is a miniature lich who bears a striking resemblance to the legendary lord of Naxxramas, Kel’Thuzad. But don’t let his diminutive stature fool you: Lil’ K.T. has a diabolical laugh and wields true power at his bony fingertips, randomly wreaking icy havoc on critters who dare to cross his path. You can now buy this new pet for $10 on the Blizzard Store. (http://us.blizzard.com/store/ )
In order to receive a purchased pet, you’ll need to merge your World of Warcraft account with a Battle.net account. For more information on Battle.net, please visit the FAQ. ( https://us.battle.net/faq/index.html ) For more information on the new Pet Store, visit the Pet Store FAQ. ( http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=29845 )
You can find the pets here
So what do you guys think? Like i said in my previous blog, i think this is just the first step down a long slippery slope. Bobby Kotick has already shown us how greedy he can be, and theres no doubt he was behind this whole thing, and whatever else blizzard has in store for us.
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17 comments
elohel Nov 4, 2009 at 4:51 pm
+2 votes
If they made honor gear through the store it would be way more cost effective for me then countless hours of honor grinding which is not enjoyable.
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Smokeee Nov 4, 2009 at 5:59 pm
+0 votes
Honor is so easy to accumulate through WG's. You guys need to stop trying to grind it all in one night and killing yourself like you did during HWL climb with measley 300 honor for 20+ minute games, and then acting like its so painful. WG gives you over 16k honor each week, for the same 20 minutes of play.
Nobody to blame but yourselves. Paying RL money for honor is crazy.
Nobody to blame but yourselves. Paying RL money for honor is crazy.
Zezo Nov 4, 2009 at 9:16 pm
+1 votes
You can also pay $2.00 to take a bus ride or $15 for a cab (in my city, at least). I'll take the cab every time.
Just because you can do something in a more cost effective way doesn't mean everyone wants to. It's a lot let of a hassle and a lot less time consuming just to pay for honor. If you have money to spare, why not?
Just because you can do something in a more cost effective way doesn't mean everyone wants to. It's a lot let of a hassle and a lot less time consuming just to pay for honor. If you have money to spare, why not?
Lesane Nov 4, 2009 at 5:09 pm
+6 votes
You can say what you want, but I'm pretty sure most people in the position of running a business would look for more ways to maximize profit.
Besides that, it's really just a pet. You don't need it for anything. As for faction/race change, they're actually doing you a favor with those as I'd much rather convert my current character for 30 bucks than having to start over from the scratch which would take weeks, and when translated to working hours comes down to much more than 30 bucks.
In the end even video gaming developers are part of companies which are aiming for more profit. Easy to call them greedy from your position as a customer. Do I like it? No. But I can't blame them for doing it as I would've probably done the same in their position.
Besides that, it's really just a pet. You don't need it for anything. As for faction/race change, they're actually doing you a favor with those as I'd much rather convert my current character for 30 bucks than having to start over from the scratch which would take weeks, and when translated to working hours comes down to much more than 30 bucks.
In the end even video gaming developers are part of companies which are aiming for more profit. Easy to call them greedy from your position as a customer. Do I like it? No. But I can't blame them for doing it as I would've probably done the same in their position.
Snikkums Nov 4, 2009 at 8:00 pm
+1 votes
Claiming that micro-transactions or related pay models is good for business is an enormously risky assumption to make. It can end up hurting the game itself but more importantly the brand, for future versions of that Universe, and the company, for future offerings. Let's imagine WoW goes full MT, you can get any gear for the right price, etc. Great for business? For the year of profit bump sure; perhaps for the end-cycle of that particular MMO too. But next time Blizzard offers an MMO, people who quit WoW for MTs are not going to pick it up.
Gouging customers, or alienating less wealthy customers who can't compete due to price is not good for long-term business. Neither is turning a formerly quality product to absolute crap. All future trust that their next game will not turn to crap is vacated.
NOT EVERYTHING THAT IS PROFITABLE IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS
Gouging customers, or alienating less wealthy customers who can't compete due to price is not good for long-term business. Neither is turning a formerly quality product to absolute crap. All future trust that their next game will not turn to crap is vacated.
NOT EVERYTHING THAT IS PROFITABLE IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS
Lesane Nov 4, 2009 at 8:17 pm
+1 votes
I'm pretty sure they won't add transactions that would jeopardize the core of the game itself (as in buyable gear or something similar). But for meaningless things like pets and character recustomisation, why not? They're already subscription based, I think they know better than to go full transaction on top of that, but for certain side features for addicts they can make exceptions. And like I said, as with faction change for example, that's a good way to add transactions on top of subscription without hurting the game itself. It only helps people, I don't think anyone will be deviated from the game because of it being possible, but it sure as hell will probably save some people from quitting the game because they couldn't play with their friends or because they needed something different without restarting from scratch.
Snikkums Nov 4, 2009 at 8:38 pm
+1 votes
If they stop at meaningless fluff perhaps. If they actually sell gear it'll be bad. Or, somewhere in the middle--for example do these pets count towards pet achievements? If so an acheivement-junkie might feel compelled to buy one with real $$. The recent faction changes DID affect real in-game potential, due to Will of the Forsaken and pvp. Not quite meaningless when players feel pressured into paying extra $$ for ingame progress.
But the main thing is that I disagree with your "pretty sure". This isn't the start of a slippery slope, it's somewhere in the middle. Server changes-->PvE to PvP server changes-->Faction changes-->Race changes-->Pets for Sale-->...what's next? Anyone who thought the slope would've stopped at one of the earlier points would now be wrong. Anyone who brought up an implication in Blizzard's statements that they wouldn't implement the "next step" would be wrong.
At some point, if the slippery slope fallacy is predicted true with enough steps it ceases to become a fallacy. Seems to me Blizzard is fully going down the slope, and the slope is real.
But the main thing is that I disagree with your "pretty sure". This isn't the start of a slippery slope, it's somewhere in the middle. Server changes-->PvE to PvP server changes-->Faction changes-->Race changes-->Pets for Sale-->...what's next? Anyone who thought the slope would've stopped at one of the earlier points would now be wrong. Anyone who brought up an implication in Blizzard's statements that they wouldn't implement the "next step" would be wrong.
At some point, if the slippery slope fallacy is predicted true with enough steps it ceases to become a fallacy. Seems to me Blizzard is fully going down the slope, and the slope is real.
Lesane Nov 4, 2009 at 9:42 pm
+1 votes
You don't need to pay for "ingame progress" when it comes to faction changing. Rerolling and starting from scratch is free, however, everyone knows that it takes a ****load of time before you're back at the level you used to be on so Blizzard offers you a real money alternative to skip the hassle.
Pretty sure the pets will count towards the achievement though, but again, you don't need to buy these pets to get the achievement. They'll just make it easier. Aside from the pets, all the services they offered give you pretty much nothing and only change something about your current character, unless you want to count racials as "getting something", but you lose something at the same time.
P.S: If anyone thinks they were pressured into faction change or buying pets with real money for achievements, they should consider spending their RL cash on a psychiatrist rather than ingame items.
Pretty sure the pets will count towards the achievement though, but again, you don't need to buy these pets to get the achievement. They'll just make it easier. Aside from the pets, all the services they offered give you pretty much nothing and only change something about your current character, unless you want to count racials as "getting something", but you lose something at the same time.
P.S: If anyone thinks they were pressured into faction change or buying pets with real money for achievements, they should consider spending their RL cash on a psychiatrist rather than ingame items.
Snikkums Nov 4, 2009 at 9:59 pm
+1 votes
Not really. Let's say you love being a fire mage. You join an arena team whose goal is 2500. Think you'd experience pressure to switch to frost or arcane? Same thing with racials and arena. Let's say the team you've been a part of for three seasons is Alliance, and your teammates decide to switch horde for WOTF. They may pressure you into joining them. Feeling pressure isn't a sure indicator of mental illness.
Maybe it is if the person spends $30 on faction-change rather than his monthly gas bill. That's kind of my point--sane people will quit WoW if that's the decision they have to make, assuming more and more pay-for-progress initiatives are introduced. Or they'll decide that the next MMO they play will be one whose costs are stable, and with WoW being unstable will decide to not give another Blizzard MMO a try.
Maybe it is if the person spends $30 on faction-change rather than his monthly gas bill. That's kind of my point--sane people will quit WoW if that's the decision they have to make, assuming more and more pay-for-progress initiatives are introduced. Or they'll decide that the next MMO they play will be one whose costs are stable, and with WoW being unstable will decide to not give another Blizzard MMO a try.
Phyzik Nov 4, 2009 at 5:40 pm
+1 votes
This isn't any surprise. It's not that big of a deal either.
In-game pet store? That's a feature a lot of players want, and really has no effect on the game. If the customers really want something and are willing to pay, there aren't many businesses out there that would turn them down.
I can see why people worry about this being the beginning of the end, but you can't fight money.
In-game pet store? That's a feature a lot of players want, and really has no effect on the game. If the customers really want something and are willing to pay, there aren't many businesses out there that would turn them down.
I can see why people worry about this being the beginning of the end, but you can't fight money.
Smokeee Nov 4, 2009 at 5:53 pm
+1 votes
On the heels of single players selling bonus content modules(Dragon Age) which i think is pretty messed up considering they have 2 available already at the release of their game. Like they finished the game and realized they could milk more money out of reducing the content and selling it separately at release :p
Its not a pretty picture where rpg's are headed right now in terms of greedy marketing.
Its not a pretty picture where rpg's are headed right now in terms of greedy marketing.
Squarepusher Nov 4, 2009 at 6:19 pm
+1 votes
They're hoarding up money to be able to be able to have something to ride on if the transition to microtransaction based subscription doesnt work out as well?
And perhaps to show people that microtransactions equal lots of money aswell to allow it to actually go through with shareholders and ****...
Maybe.
And perhaps to show people that microtransactions equal lots of money aswell to allow it to actually go through with shareholders and ****...
Maybe.
abija Nov 7, 2009 at 5:32 am
+1 votes
Keep in mind they have 3 dev teams working at games that take 5+ years to develop.
As long as these services don't provide an advantage in game, they're all great.
As long as these services don't provide an advantage in game, they're all great.
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