A Lawyer's take on the new UI policy
by Adam Holisky 
Apr 1st 2009 at 7:00PM
The intertubes are abuzz with the new UI policy enacted by Blizzard a couple weeks ago. Not being able to charge for add-ons or solicit donations has caused quite a stir amongst some folks. Certain add-on authors are even going as far as to boycott their projects until Blizzard changes their policy.ZAM networks, who runs the WoW information site Allakhazam, got a chance to sit down and talk with Connie Mableson, a lawyer specializing in Intellectual Property Law and Computer and Internet Law. You can read the full interview over at their site.
One of the highlights of the interview is that Connie thinks Blizzard will begin monetizing the UI. "Based on all the changes Blizzard is making, I believe the Blizzard business model is to "Monetize" UI Mods/add-ons by developing them in house and offering them for sale to players "
Now I don't necessarily agree with the end analysis, but her arguments are compelling and make sense.
It will be interesting in another year or so to see where this UI policy change lands us. We'll have to wait and see!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Add-Ons, Interviews
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Nennutir Apr 1st 2009 7:03PM
I find it rather unlikely that Blizzard will ever charge for in-house addons. My reasoning? It's Blizzard.
aunion Apr 1st 2009 7:08PM
Where were you when they started selling char sex and appearance change? Or started selling Trading Cards which might give you ingame items? Or started allowing people to move chars from pve to pvp for money? Since Blizz got bought by activision they've started taking any opportunity to make money :p.
Shevaresh Apr 1st 2009 7:09PM
Blizzard? Yeah, not gonna happen. Blizzard was a decent company, largely run by people who enjoy the game (I think).
Activision-Blizzard? Yeah, I can see that.
Tyrsenus Apr 2nd 2009 10:15AM
That quote is out of context. The full quote is:
"Based on all the changes Blizzard is making, I believe the Blizzard business model is to "Monetize" UI Mods/add-ons by developing them in house and offering them for sale to players. "Monetization" is adapting non-revenue-generating assets to generate revenue. The "non-revenue" generating assets are those created by the add-on developers that interact with the Blizzard code to make the gaming experience more enjoyable or meaningful for the player."
Meaning
Develop In-house addons -> better UI -> Greater player satisfaction -> Greater player retention -> Increased revenue
NOT
Develop in-house addons -> Charge players to use them -> Increased revenue.
Develop
Xerous Apr 1st 2009 7:34PM
Like the App store for the iphone... Not that it's a good thing but it does pay the devs and has some type of ...uhg..filtering...
hold up Apr 1st 2009 8:06PM
Hmm... I remember someone saying awhile back that he thought this was Blizzard's move toward monetizing add on release packs...
Now if I could only find... #16 below...
http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/20/new-add-on-policy-makes-selling-add-ons-against-the-rules/
And maybe your right... Blizzard may not have charged for add ons... but Blizzard/Activision sure as hell will. We don't know what business model they are going to use, whether its an addon suite where you get a bundle of addons, you can purchase individual addons or even when you subscribe to WoW Platinum for $19.99 a month you get free Blizzard addons and an in game vanity pet (doesn't count towards achievement). In the end, the company is in the business of making money. This is just another avenue that old school Blizzard left in the community's hands and now Activision wants to take the reins.
Urza Apr 1st 2009 10:52PM
I remember when people said Blizzard was going to sell gold when Blizzard started to serious crack down on gold sellers.
This has nothing to do with Blizzard selling stuff. Blizzard has been farming the mod community for new features for years and in many cases their offerings have been second rate.
So if Blizzard did try to sell their own mods, people aren't going to pay for them since the free ones are already better (like the new threat meter, it's neat, but it's nothing compared to Omen.)
Kryxx Apr 2nd 2009 4:56PM
@aunion: A business trying to make money... preposterous! How dare they!
aunion Apr 2nd 2009 7:23PM
I'm not claiming they haven't got the right to make money as a business, only that saying that Blizzard would never charge for something like addons is a bit naive seeing how eager Blizz has been to make money from any possible source recently :p
Blinken Apr 1st 2009 7:05PM
u can almost garuntee i huge drop in players if they have to pay for add ons
AyaJulia Apr 1st 2009 7:06PM
Yeah, I'm thinking no. lolalla.
Maralach Apr 1st 2009 7:09PM
I have the feeling that lawyer puts glider in the same booth as addons. Anyways, it is not a neutral view on the topic in my opinion.
Firestride Apr 1st 2009 7:12PM
Yeah, all those people who say they'll quit if such-and-such nerf remains? They really would leave this time. Blizzard knows this.
Fung Apr 1st 2009 7:13PM
monetize is weasel-word for "appropriate", as in 'take ownership of'.
it's opposite weasel-word is "externalize", aka passing the buck.
jam Apr 1st 2009 7:14PM
I don't believe it. Nah.
Blarger Apr 1st 2009 7:17PM
You should've used the "Blizzard, Activision's Pet" picture for this
Ezzy Apr 1st 2009 7:20PM
Pretty much Blizz made this change because of carbonite. They were making money off of it where as most other add-ons get just enough money to run their website. (Usually paid for by the ads on their site anyway.)
Anyway any changes to the UI that Blizz would want to make would be made default.
Sumitra Apr 1st 2009 7:58PM
Just for the record, for-pay addons have been around for years, long before Carbonite.
Something else changed to cause this.
The Glider decision empowering Blizzard?
Exclusive deals for in-game ads with a Blizzard partner?
Can't do anything but speculate since Blizzard has not posted a single word on the topic since the policy change came down weeks ago.
rhorle Apr 1st 2009 7:22PM
Looks like someone fell for an april fools joke.
rhorle Apr 1st 2009 7:28PM
Simple searching, and actually reading alakazams article leads to WOW interface http://www.wowinterface.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21585
Its clear this isn't happening, and never would. http://s.wowinterface.com/storage/newsimages/WoW3.1-InGame-AddOn-Store.jpg