Blizzard tests the microtransaction waters with World of Warcraft |
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| BY Emmanuel Petti Nov. 5th, 2009 | More on: |
Right now it seems that Blizzard is the king of milking its very willing customers of all their disposable income. Between all the paid game related services in World of Warcraft like server transfers, name changing, gender reassignment, faction swapping and now race changing — which by the way go for around $10-25 USD a pop — you would think Blizzard has exhausted its money squeezing options. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, they seem to have found another way to make even more money and that’s by selling you ridiculously adorable and irresistible in-game pets.
Yesterday Blizzard unleashed its latest diabolical plot to take your money by opening the WoW pet store where for $10 you can purchase a pet that does nothing but be adorable. Traditionally these types of pets came from drops, purchased with in-game currency or came as a result of an achievement, and that will still exist. But now Blizzard will be offering exclusive pets that can only be purchased through the Blizzard store. Right now only two pets are offered, the Pandaren Monk whose partial proceeds will go to Make-A-Wish Foundation and Lil’ KT, the mini Lich, who is a much cuter version of Kel’Thuzad, the end boss in the floating Naxxramas dungeon. What’s so special about them? Well for starters Lil’ KT will laugh “maniacally” at foes as you destroy them in PvP. That alone might be worth the 10 bucks.
November 5th, 2009
at 1:34 pm
Ha, sounds like somebody really doesn’t like WoW
November 5th, 2009
at 1:51 pm
Micro-transactions are Satan’s tools. Any games that use them should be condemned, and anyone who blindly follows the nickle and dime plan is only fueling Satan.
Vote with your dollar, it’s the only thing companies understand.
November 5th, 2009
at 2:10 pm
@ Lou Is Cool
Are you fucking serious?
November 5th, 2009
at 4:27 pm
TBH I have to agree with Lou here. WoW is… eer was (?) all about getting cool items based on time and effort invested into the game. Not real world money spend. Well, unless you went to the Chinese ;)
Seriously, this is kinda a bad development that removes the actual gameplay element and replaces it with a financially based social/hording/collecting element. Hording and collecting was always part of WoW. But it was done in a game enviroment.. not a pay with your dollars one.
ps. in Europe these pets cost 10 euro’s. They just replaced the dollar sign with an euro sign. 10 dollars is about 6 euro. With no transportation costs, etc. they are basically just charging us Europians more for the same goods.
November 5th, 2009
at 5:19 pm
$10? Really??
That seems like a hefty price to pay for an animated statue.
November 5th, 2009
at 7:17 pm
You guys realize you don’t have to buy these, it’s the same with changing factions etc.
I don’t understand this $$$ mentality with WoW. Character changes are for people who changed their minds, power levelings are for people who don’t care or just want to level asap, and these pets are for people who want a bunch of pets in the same way of collecting the WoW figurines.
If anything WoW is about playing a videogame online, but that’s just me.
November 5th, 2009
at 8:20 pm
Just for the record, I absolutely love WoW, and Blizzard. I just call it like I see it.
November 5th, 2009
at 8:22 pm
Not to mention it’s mostly sarcastic.
November 5th, 2009
at 11:11 pm
“…I absolutely love WoW, and Blizzard. I just call it like I see it.”
i’ll second that.