Happy birthday WoW, where's mah cake?
by Amanda Rivera 
Nov 18th 2007 at 4:28PM
Three years ago next week, Blizzard unleashed the Massively Multiplayer Online experience that is World of Warcraft, changing online gaming forever. Since then, the throng of believers, err players, have ballooned to 9.3 million. Many of those players have loyally played the game since that chilly day in November, watching the game unfold into the semi-polished gem it is today. But with all that time spent in the game, playing since open beta, since closed beta, some even since alpha, these players are receiving no rewards for their efforts, and that, according to Causal WoW, is a shame.
Veteran rewards take many shapes and sizes in MMOs today. In games such as City of
It seems that despite the call for such a system, Blizzard has left this one out of the equation. This might be simply because there are many other vanity rewards to show off in the game, that we collectors can build a stable of non-combat pets, can grind reputation with every faction possible and ride a different epic mount every day of the week. Perhaps this is enough for us, and perhaps adding veteran rewards to the game would mean cheapening the experience. Personally, I think if you can have a title for your previous prowess in PvP, you should have a title for being a beta tester.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Spiritfire Nov 18th 2007 5:03PM
The cake is a lie!
(sorry, it was begging to be said)
4STR4STALeatherBelt Nov 18th 2007 6:01PM
It's complete and utter bullshit. They give the awesome little items such as the Fishing Chair and the BBQ Grill to the card playing tards, but not to veterans.
Star Wars Galaxies had a lot wrong with it while it was good, but the veteran reward system was simply excellent. Every 3 months you unlocked new items, but you could also choice the old ones aswell, one at a time ofc. It let you really customise what you wanted for sticking with the game. Not all of it was combat related, infact most of it was decoration/housing related.
That's 2 things SWG did right that WoW hasn't even bothered with; Player Housing and Vet Rewards. Minigames to a lesser degree.
bugmaster Nov 18th 2007 6:11PM
off topic: seriously whats the deal with player housing never rly got the urge to make a home in a game
on topic: rewards would be nice yes but if you are playing the game for 3 years straight(like i do, damn its been three years already:S where did my time go)
then the likelyhood of getting more stuff then most people is already high
but a little love for uss old timers wouldnt be wrong
doug Nov 18th 2007 6:18PM
I think it's hardly "complete and utter bullshit". And really a Fishing Chair and a Grill are not "awesome". Fun for a few days, otherwise they just take up bag space. One man's trash, i guess...
Hedwig Nov 18th 2007 8:24PM
You know, I never really thought about it, but the author makes a good point.
I've been a loyal WoW player since closed beta. I purchased on the first day of release. And I've never taken more than four months off since that day (and only because I got pissed off at my guild).
So, darnit... we do deserve a little love back from WoW. Sure, they might convince themselves that it's all because THEY made a great game. But, brothers and sisters, without *US*, what would that game be???
Our loyalty, our interest -- our very presence -- in this virtual world was crucial to the success of WoW. We are an intrinsic part of the puzzle. Blizzard may have been the tree in the woods, but they needed *us* to hear it!!
So yes, yes, yes. We strong, we proud, we who have been there before the beginning, deserve a little love from the Blizzard.
I'd be happy with a free month.
Unregistered Nov 18th 2007 9:12PM
dont be silly guys. the majority of the players came after the original release. of course they wont want to insult their cash cow players. income only from those loyal players from day one (or beta) just wont pay for their mansions, cars and babes.
Tyy Nov 18th 2007 10:53PM
A simple tabard would do the job for me, the tabard could vary by age.
I would like to see the addition of character birthdates to the armory to enjoy and laugh at the unavoidable comments and insults on the realm forums.
4STR4STALeatherBelt Nov 19th 2007 4:55AM
@ 4
Of course I was only using those as examples bud. I would hardly class them as anything too special, but I really enjoy the little things like that. (I mean comeon, the Fishing Chair is just pure Epic Win!)
No doubt Titles, Tabards, other clothing items etc could also be suitable.
Fizzl Nov 19th 2007 6:11AM
@2
Ultima Online did both first :P
Tyrean Nov 19th 2007 7:20AM
I always regarded "veteran rewards" as a tacit bribe for sticking with an aging game when there are other, better options available. Right now, I don't think anyone needs any extra reason to stick with WoW.
I've been playing WoW since the closed Beta, I'm one of the people who would be given these rewards (and I've received such rewards in several past games). But things like this inevitably eat up more and more dev resources, at the very least because they have to come up with new and better rewards every year. I'd rather have regular infusions new content, like we saw in Patch 2.3 (which, in almost any other game, would have been a paid expansion). That's the sort of thing that'll going to keep me playing.
ThorinII Nov 19th 2007 9:48AM
I've not bee around since beta or anything. But, I think those who have should at least have the option of displaying a title or something. Why not? (Other than the dev time spent working on the rewards as pointed out by #10.)
Algorithm Nov 19th 2007 10:17AM
I began playing WoW at release, and way back then, I bought the collector's edition. I have a little panda to show how long I've played (except I took about an almost 2 year break, so it's completely misleading).
The truth is, I think one of the biggest strengths of WoW is how accessible things are. A blood elf, which could not possibly have been played for over a year, is on equal footing with an orc, who was created in 2004. A frostsaber mount is impressive, and it can be earned at any time for those willing to put the time in.
Other games with veteran systems make completionists just starting the game discouraged.
Giving people who have played the game for a long time veteran awards is essentially rewarding someone for doing nothing, and screws over those starting the game new for the first time.
As a side note, I think the trading card, Blizzcon, and collector's edition awards are dumb (even though I have one). It's just unfair to players who are earning their in game rewards IN GAME.
Frump Nov 19th 2007 2:29PM
Like Algorithm, I bought the collectors edition the day it came out. I've also recently come back from a two year hiatus. I do not play on the same server as when i began. I now have a lvl 37 warrior, and still everyday somebody will ask me where i got my mini-Diablo. (most people call it a monster, since they were probably in grade school when we were all playing Diablo).
I think this is enough. If you didn't front the extra $30 when you started, you had your chance. I'm just happy that the game has caught on, so i can waste my otherwise useful life leveling my toon.
Spenda Nov 19th 2007 4:15PM
I hope they never do this. I'm so tired of hearing people brag about how they've been playing since alpha/open beta/closed beta. Who cares? A lot of those folks still don't know how to play their class (or maybe they did, but never paid attention to all of the class changes that have gone on).
Playing the game for a long time doesn't make you special in the game. If anything they should reward their long time loyal customers with a free month, or some other out of game reward.
From Blizzards perspective, the reason they don't do something like this is that they want more customers. You don't want to alienate new players with the feeling that they will never have the chance to be as "important" as veteran players.