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

[caladein]

UO started selling shit like this years ago, it didn't bother me then and doesn't now. It also doesn't bother me that Blizzard is basically announcing "Our customers are sheep!" by charging half the price of a AAA box game for a mount rehue some intern probably banged out in a day. It doesn't even faze me that some people think half the price of a box game is worth not having to pay a whopping 500g or whatever for mounts each time they level an alt.

I just have an involuntary urge to throw my middle fingers up when I see something like that comic, which to me just says "Yes I'm a sheep and I'm smug about it! Maybe I'll pay Blizzard FIFTY bucks next for... uh... I don't know but you can't stop me!"

I really don't get why the price comes up at all.

People having been paying 10-50x as much for loot card mounts on one character for years and maybe it's just a foggy memory, but I don't remember a similar reaction.  Maybe people like a middleman?  Even more germanely, I paid a bit more for the Wind Rider Cub plush and it's as much of a "rehue" (which it isn't) as the Celestial Steed and doesn't replicate any rare-ish functionality.  Oh, and it comes with a plush but that's just real life's useless fluff.  I would totally write a rant defending my $25 purchase of it because I think it's painfully cute and worth every penny for me.  And again, while the people in this thread commented on the price, it was still mostly seen as okay.

Finally, the mount-for-alts argument was never about "any" mount, but for a decent looking one (or one that doesn't get stuck on doors, or give you a tinge of motion sickness).  I recently spent 700 gold and ~750 Stone Keeper Shards getting two characters off their stupid Kodos that can't fit through doors and onto smaller mounts (Armored Brown Bear and Black War Wolf respectively).

[Sheepherder]

If grinding for loot makes the game suck selling an option to make it suck less seems less good than just making it suck less.

There is no loot.  It's goddamn fluff.  The gold value is so inconsequential that it is a matter of half an hour in the game to acquire it.  Stop being a retard.

EDIT: Normally I'm the first to complain about gold.  This is not one of those times.  I've spent more in repair money in this game on my warrior than I would ever recoup by buying one of these, and I'm usually leveling two alts at a time (speaking of which, I need to introduce Ingmar and Sjofn to my hunter and priest).

[Ingmar]

One good thing about it if you're horde, it means never having to ride a fugly windrider ever again.

[Margalis]

There is no loot.  It's goddamn fluff.  The gold value is so inconsequential that it is a matter of half an hour in the game to acquire it.  Stop being a retard.

I guess you somehow missed that I was responding to:

PEOPLE SHOULD GRIND FOR THEIR LOOT LIKE GOD INTENDED!

Pro-tip: Don't call people retards while acting like a retard.

[Sheepherder]

Dude, you're the one that trotted out the "they will soon be charging real money for bugfixes!" bullshit, not me.

[Margalis]

I thought Pollyanna had better manners than to call people retards.

[Typhon]

The QQs though, they are priceless.

Is anyone actually QQing, or is this some Onion bullshit like the Star Trek movie garbage? Everywhere I go on the net people are just 'meh' or 'yay'.

In the early hours post-release there were a number of threads that were pretty over-the-top (well, I thought, anyway), it settled down pretty quickly.  The "here's someone not to group with" video was funny in a, "Really?  You won't group with someone because they have a poor/different grasp of what a dollar is worth than you?" kind of way. 

This thread also delivers - I don't see the Celestial Mount as a gateway drug that will lead to paying for bug fixes as DLC, but I'm a known naive Pollyanna, so I'm not to be trusted.

[Lantyssa]

One good thing about it if you're horde, it means never having to ride a fugly windrider ever again.

You're dead to me!  Dead, I say! <sniffle>

[Fordel]

I admit, I don't understand why the WoW Card Game items were fine, but this isn't.

[LK]

Special items were usually obtained through unique circumstances. Attending an event, getting a lucky grab of a rare, limited item from a card pack (of a popular, separate game), etc. The only reason there was a high price on loot cards was because it was set by people, not by a business.

What seems dodgy here is that now items are being created specifically to be sold directly, with fake limited quantities (it's a digital item only), and for a price that is inconsistent with other DLC items. It's a more obvious exploitation of the audience that shows an unsavory future of WoW and how much more gullible the audience is compared to other DLC audiences. This item was made for the Facebook / Free-To-Play generation, not the "I want an actual game / content I can play for my money" generation.

I am beginning to worry about what things are going to look like 10 years down the road if today's youth is that fucking stupid with their money and desires to get flashy shit that doesn't really do anything.

I imagine I sound pretty stupid / oblivious with some of my assessments here. I just never associated Blizzard with worrying so much about creating non-game content.

[Ingmar]

Ok, seriously, the 'fake limited quanities' thing is in tinfoil hat territory. They've explained multiple times that the only reason it looks that way to the store is they have to generate a code for each one, and the app that does that isn't part of the actual store.

[Rendakor]

It's not a limited quantity. And while the price might be inconsistent with DLC elsewhere, $25 for a mount isn't that bad when pets are $10. I find this MUCH better than the stupid card game shit, because I'd rather pay $25 and get a mount guaranteed then pay hundreds on eBay and hope I don't get scammed.

[LK]

Ok, seriously, the 'fake limited quanities' thing is in tinfoil hat territory. They've explained multiple times that the only reason it looks that way to the store is they have to generate a code for each one, and the app that does that isn't part of the actual store.

Yeah, thinking about it some more and considering the other angles, I was a little off-base there. The whole "Digital item, limited quantities? LOL" perspective fails given their current implementation of redeeming digital items based off loot codes, a system that probably saves them a lot of money since everything is automated.

[Ceryse]

While I personally think its just short of criminally insane to spend $25 on something like this.. I don't hold it against anyone (and especially not Blizzard). I only care when people can purchase in-game advantages over me (which I don't consider this to be). Probably in part because I'm a broke-ass motherfucker.

As for Blizzard... shit like this is exactly why when the big merger happened Blizzard got their name on it. They're exceedingly good at making money, especially considering the rate at which they put out actual products (every fourth ice age). I can't do anything but respect them for the money they're making off of this.

[LK]

As for Blizzard... shit like this is exactly why when the big merger happened Blizzard got their name on it. They're exceedingly good at making money, especially considering the rate at which they put out actual products (every fourth ice age) from World of Warcraft. I can't do anything but respect them for the money they're making off of this.

Blizzard got its name on Actvision Blizzard to exploit the goodwill formed from Blizzard's game development practices, not its money making practices. Shit like this also wouldn't have happened were it not for the fact that WoW is a 5-year old product that isn't experiencing the record growths that typified its early history, which requires a new strategy in making even bigger profits. Or the merger. Take your pick.

Edit: I forgot how greed plays a huge role in all this. I have not been able to muster the feelings of greed that must drive someone to continually improve and grow and do bigger and better things, and it's forced a disconnect.

[Lakov_Sanite]

If anyone thinks activision has any say whatsoever over blizzard they are criminally insane.  The only reason blizzard even merged was because it was convenient for them. 

[LK]

The only reason Blizzard merged was because their parent company, Vivendi, and Activision struck a deal. Blizzard had very little say, if any, in the merger. They are an independent unit involved in the machinations of their corporate parent.

As for what level of influence Activision Blizzard has on Blizzard, I'm sure there's SOME, and it likely has to do with how to increase their business, but they are more hands-off than most. Considering how AB treats its other developers, Blizzard is likely going to be the sole support for the organization once all of AB's other properties are properly exploited (just like they were with Vivendi Universal during their lean years).

[Sheepherder]

I thought Pollyanna had better manners than to call people retards.

I thought when you called a concern troll on his shit it was a binary choice whether he'd be holier-than-thou indignant or resort to "NO U".

As soon as people start getting charged for things they think should be in the base game, they will quit.  We've been down this road before.  A magical starpony is not one of these things, unless you're a eight year old girl. (Pollyanna? Ponies?  Hmm...)  Blizzard has spent their development time since partway through TBC actively undermining their ability to sell exp potions / levelling aids through a cash shop by removing the suck and decreasing the grind.  It's less a slippery slope and more a sheet of float glass.

[Sjofn]

One good thing about it if you're horde, it means never having to ride a fugly windrider ever again.

Which makes it worth every fucking penny. 

[Merusk]

I am beginning to worry about what things are going to look like 10 years down the road if today's youth is that fucking stupid with their money and desires to get flashy shit that doesn't really do anything.

Your parents said the same thing about you and those goddamn Magic cards/ Pogs/ Rock & Roll.  Welcome to adulthood.

[Selby]

Which makes it worth every fucking penny. 

I agree so much it's not even funny.  I *hate* the wind rider animation.  Once I get epic flying I *never* use it again.

[Malakili]

I am beginning to worry about what things are going to look like 10 years down the road if today's youth is that fucking stupid with their money and desires to get flashy shit that doesn't really do anything.

Your parents said the same thing about you and those goddamn Magic cards/ Pogs/ Rock & Roll.  Welcome to adulthood.

To be fair, at least Magic is a game, and Rock and Roll turned out pretty good.  Pogs were a fad in the worst way though.

That being said, your point is right, this isn't any worse than any other thing anyone buys for purely cosmetic/decorative reasons.  Digital stuff like this still carries a stigma of not being worth money because it isn't "real" but if your social scene is online, its every bit as legitimate a purchase as any little trinket people buy and carry around with them.

Edit, not to mention, if it causes you that much happiness to have a shiny horse, its pretty worth it.  Hell, I paid over 8 bucks for a latte, a newspaper, and a cupcake today at a coffee shop.

[Sjofn]

Which makes it worth every fucking penny. 

I agree so much it's not even funny.  I *hate* the wind rider animation.  Once I get epic flying I *never* use it again.

One of the things stalling my Horde characters is that hideous thing. NOT ANYMORE. 

[Velorath]

Edit, not to mention, if it causes you that much happiness to have a shiny horse, its pretty worth it.  Hell, I paid over 8 bucks for a latte, a newspaper, and a cupcake today at a coffee shop.

That's somewhat how I feel.  I'm not going to tell people how they should spend their money.  I do think that whoever at Blizzard made the call to charge $25 for this thing is a bit of a dick for exploiting WoW fans though.  There's no reason that one mount should cost over half the amount that a new expansion costs.

[Merusk]

Item is worth what people.. blah blah blah, economics.

Also, yes, marketers are dicks.  Talk to a few and you find this is truer than you really wanted to know.  If one were to hear your second sentence, then their brain would interpret it as "you should raise the price of expansions!"   

[Lakov_Sanite]

Food at theatres...that's far more heinous. Fuck you and your $5 for stale popcorn.

[Velorath]

Item is worth what people.. blah blah blah, economics.

Also, yes, marketers are dicks.  Talk to a few and you find this is truer than you really wanted to know.  If one were to hear your second sentence, then their brain would interpret it as "you should raise the price of expansions!"   

Which is why "it's worth what people will pay for it" works in the short term, but probably isn't the greatest long term strategy if they did go to the next step and jack up the price for expansions and everything else, at some point they'd run the risk of losing the good will of the fans.

Food at theatres...that's far more heinous. Fuck you and your $5 for stale popcorn.

I'm sure it's been pointed out before on these boards that there are reasons why theaters have to charge a lot for food.

[Lantyssa]

Edit, not to mention, if it causes you that much happiness to have a shiny horse, its pretty worth it.  Hell, I paid over 8 bucks for a latte, a newspaper, and a cupcake today at a coffee shop.

I mock my friends who buy Starbucks' overpriced coffee and food regularly, so this remains in character for me.

[Mosesandstick]

Wait, people pay for newspapers?

[Malakili]

Wait, people pay for newspapers?

Occasionally.

[Margalis]

Again I have no problem with goofy vanity items. If you want to spend $25 on a new texture feel free.

What I don't like is when people are willing to pay for DLC that addresses gameplay problems, rather than those gameplay problems simply being fixed. If you are a developer and you know your game has issues selling a fix rather then just fixing it for everyone strikes me as a bad thing.

It's like the Facebook / social games that make the core game tedious then sell ways to make it go faster. They don't want to fix an obvious problem with the game because the base game being annoying is part of the business model.

Vanity DLC or DLC that gives you more of a game you like (a la Fallout 3) is cool with me. DLC that profits from the base game being annoying is not.

[Sheepherder]

And Blizzard has adeptly dodged that pitfall time and time again.  The benefit in-game from the purchase is marginal until you start talking about several alts getting a free 280 speed mount, in which case you're already spending 10 000+ gold on the training alone.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Reading comprehension is hard.

1.  It's not a re-texture
2.  It doesn't give you riding skill, it's just a mount.
3.  The in game benefit is as stated marginal.  Convenient, but marginal.

I wouldn't want to have to start paying for big fixes but this isn't really a bug fix. There's no issues with characters having enough money to buy a mount, even starting fresh.

[Ratman_tf]

Wait, people pay for newspapers?

Occasionally.

They're still a pretty cheap, disposable dropcloth for modeling and painting.

[Sheepherder]

1.  It's not a re-texture

Sort of.  Not really.  There's probably a few more vertices than Invincible, but it hardly matters.