Blizzard launches real money in-game pet store (plus some goes to charity)

[LK]

FigurePrints is getting in on the action. Seems like there's a Matrix of "Cute Pets I.P." (Pandaren Monk, Perky Pug) to "Ways To Make People Pay For Cute Pets" (TCG, FigurePrints, Plush) that they are going through to maximize profits.

[Teleku]

This is why Blizzard is rich and everybody else has a failed mmo.

[Merusk]

This is why Blizzard is rich and everybody else has a failed mmo.

Pretty much my exact thought.  All this stuff they're branding with WoW lately (Mice, Headsets, Mouse pads, etc)  has anyone else been able to even attempt this?  Has anyone tried it where it didn't come across as a blatant cash grab?  I mean, sure that's what these are but for some reason the company has so much goodwill that nobody's lambasting them for it the way SOE or Turbine would have been.

[pxib]

Has anyone tried it where it didn't come across as a blatant cash grab?  I mean, sure that's what these are but for some reason the company has so much goodwill that nobody's lambasting them for it the way SOE or Turbine would have been.

SOE and Turbine have made enemies of their own players. Blizzard hasn't. Much the same way people so rarely complain about how blatant Google is about gathering, processing, and making money off of everybody's personal info.

[Ironwood]

Indeed.

[Lakov_Sanite]

On Tuesday, Feb. 16, we were honored to host a special event at our Irvine, Calif. headquarters to mark the donation of more than $1.1 million to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Make-A-Wish Foundation International, two organizations that grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions in 36 countries around the world.

This donation, which was based on 50 percent of the total sales during November and December of the Pandaren Monk pet for World of Warcraft, was ultimately made possible by the World of Warcraft community. We appreciate the support the community showed for this important cause.

As part of yesterday's event, we invited 15 wish children and their families to tour the Blizzard campus, meet with the World of Warcraft development team, and participate in a variety of fun activities. Check out the press release to read more about the event, and visit the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Make-A-Wish Foundation International websites to learn more about these organizations.

[caladein]

Review of the plushes on Tomopop.

In short: $25 each, on the Blizzard Store later today now, and they're totally as cute as they first seemed.  Apparently, they also fly up with you if you're on a flying mount which is super-awesome (ala Argent Gruntling with Pony Bridle).





Edit: Up on the store now.

[Minvaren]

Apparently, they also fly up with you if you're on a flying mount which is super-awesome (ala Argent Gruntling with Pony Bridle).

I feel this urge to squee, and I almost never have a pet out in-game.

[caladein]

Other non-combat pets can do that, but they're either kind of ugly (Moths, Dragonhawks, and Tickbirds) or kind of rare (Firefly) or both... like my Proto-Drake Whelp:



Anyway, they're up in the store now and I picked up the Wind Rider Cub.  Shipping seemed a touch steep at $6.21 for Ground to Los Angeles, but that's probably just Amazon Prime and ~$4 Overnight from Monoprice talking.

[apocrypha]

Gryhon & Wind-Rider cub pets sold out in the EU store already, in under a week, at 25 euros (£22, about $33) each. Either they sold much better than I would have expected at that price, or they had a really small supply to begin with.

One of my guildies got the wind-rider one from his wife for his birthday, it's very cute, but £22 is over my comfort threshold for a vanity pet :(

[SurfD]

Gryhon & Wind-Rider cub pets sold out in the EU store already, in under a week, at 25 euros (£22, about $33) each. Either they sold much better than I would have expected at that price, or they had a really small supply to begin with.

One of my guildies got the wind-rider one from his wife for his birthday, it's very cute, but £22 is over my comfort threshold for a vanity pet :(

It's not just a vanity pet though, it is also a plushie as well, which is probably a steal at that much.   hell, just buy two, put one on ebay for 3x what you paid for it, and come out of the whole thing with extra cash in your wallet.

[Xanthippe]

Bought one of each - they just arrived.   Love them.

 

[Simond]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzvwK_NFshU

"New toys for me?!" 

[Mrbloodworth]

Has anyone tried it where it didn't come across as a blatant cash grab?  I mean, sure that's what these are but for some reason the company has so much goodwill that nobody's lambasting them for it the way SOE or Turbine would have been.

SOE and Turbine have made enemies of their own players. Blizzard hasn't. Much the same way people so rarely complain about how blatant Google is about gathering, processing, and making money off of everybody's personal info.

Whut?

[Minvaren]

Other non-combat pets can do that, but they're either kind of ugly (Moths, Dragonhawks, and Tickbirds) or kind of rare (Firefly) or both... like my Proto-Drake Whelp:

Found out this weekend that my Nether Ray Fry does that.  squee!

[Xanthippe]

I think this is all new behavior, because I don't recall any of my other flying pets flying.

I do miss the days of having my hunter pets run alongside my mount.  I wish they'd bring that back.

My daughter and I both had pig hunter pets, and then picked up Mr. Wiggles.  We looked as though we had a herd of pigs when we ran around, which was fun.

[SurfD]

My daughter and I both had pig hunter pets, and then picked up Mr. Wiggles.  We looked as though we had a herd of pigs when we ran around, which was fun.

I love doing that on my shaman.  Throw on the Don Carlos hat and summon the wolf pet, cast Spirit Wolves, shift ghost wolf, and you are your own personal Wolf Pack.

[Lakov_Sanite]

http://www.mmo-champion.com/news-2/celestial-steed-and-lil%27xt-to-be-sold-in-the-blizzard-store/

It was inevitable but I'm starting to worry the line between baseline/premium content is forming.

[sickrubik]

http://www.mmo-champion.com/news-2/celestial-steed-and-lil%27xt-to-be-sold-in-the-blizzard-store/

It was inevitable but I'm starting to worry the line between baseline/premium content is forming.

I'm not sure how either of these changes anything. What do these two do that the previous pets have not? (Admittedly one is a mount this time, but scales with your riding skill and so isn't something above what can be had in game.)

[Nonentity]

It'll be nice to have another potential 310% mount, outside of the one I currently have.

[LK]

Blizzard can't make blockbuster games more than once every couple of years, but they can bang out a mount that costs half the box price of a retail game and sell millions.

[AutomaticZen]

[Typhon]

lol, that's hysterical

[Ingmar]

Hmmm $25 is enough to make me think twice about buying it. At $15 I wouldn't think twice probably.

[Rendakor]

I said that too until I saw one in game. However...

Currently in Queue...

Position: 11162 - Estimated time: 2  hours

[Merusk]

It'll be nice to have another potential 310% mount, outside of the one I currently have.

Agreed. I'm sick of only using the protodrake.  I've even slummed it up and used some of the Netherwing or DK mounts instead recently.

[Lantyssa]

It's not a consideration at those prices.  The Wind Rider Cub was easy to justify -- both the mini and the plushie were adorable, and there's at least a physical product involved.  $5 is about my limit for purely digital items though.  Free Realms has the right idea for its pet and mount prices.  Not that Blizzard is hurting, I'm sure.

[March]

I'd pay $25 for the final Flying skill... I've never had 5k gold on any combination of characters ever.

Heck, I'd pay $25 to level any crafting skill to the bottom tier of the most current content so I don't have to go to goldshire to pick herbs or somethin'

There's a whole host of gates I'd pay to kick through.... and I'm not talking about uber end-game gates... just gates that keep me out of current content.

[LK]

I wish I had March's perspective. Then I'd probably be rich.

[Setanta]

I'd pay $25 for the final Flying skill... I've never had 5k gold on any combination of characters ever.

Heck, I'd pay $25 to level any crafting skill to the bottom tier of the most current content so I don't have to go to goldshire to pick herbs or somethin'

There's a whole host of gates I'd pay to kick through.... and I'm not talking about uber end-game gates... just gates that keep me out of current content.

Sadly, I'd pay for 310% flying simply because I don't have the sustained time to raid to get the achievements for a mount. Crafting is another one I'd pay for.

[Ingmar]

My 310% mount required very little sustained raiding activity. It does take a year of real time, but it isn't all that painful to get the world event reward, and the playtime can just be done in bursts every few weeks (on their schedule though of course.)

[LK]

Once I missed an event for the 310% mount I lost a lot of motivation to play.

You don't buy a 310% mount though, you have to possess a mount that goes that fast first. I see that being misreported in places. Blizzard isn't selling game-play enhancing items. The mount is still cosmetic.

[Ingmar]

Sort of. It does amount to a certain amount of gold saved on characters who will never have to buy a real mount now; while the cost of the mount is only a small percentage of the total cost, which is mostly the skill, it still adds up to a few hundred gold worth of value after you roll a couple new characters. The same can't really be said for the vanity pets since those really are purely cosmetic. You won't get to 310% without possessing another mount, but you can get to 280%.

[Typhon]

If you buy the mount, you can have it on ALL your characters?

[Ingmar]

If you buy the mount, you can have it on ALL your characters?

That's how the vanity pets from the store work.

EDIT:

Once activated, this World of Warcraft in-game mount key applies to all present and future characters on a single North American World of Warcraft license.