(And I thought that "tying" sales were unlawful...)

Not quite. Product Tying usually refers to indepedent and distinctive products, whereas the authenticator would not itself be an indepedent product, but rather something Blizzard has found to be integral to the operation of their game.

It would be difficult, if not impossible to make any kind of argument that Blizzard's actions would serve to harm consumers, or restrict competition.

Cataclysm isn't mandatory, it is optionary just like the authenticaters. The only difference is that a larger portion of the playerbase will buy it.

Mr. Ziebart, how about those people who buy Cataclysm online?

IIRC recently Blizz removed the shipping cost on their authenticators. Since you live in another country, shipping would be alot more than the miniscule amount they waive for domestic customer.
I've noticed alot of people who have issues getting authenticators are those in other areas especially in areas where the game isnt even sold. If Blizz was to make it mandatory it might be a big issue for them but Blizz will probably get out of helping them by saying they arent in a country where the game is authorized to be sold.
Im torn about the Authenticator in the Cataclysm box idea. Yes it would be great way to get everybody a token but would waste alot at the same time. I got one as soon as they were announced and then I got another one in my Blizzcon bag. I dont really need a 3rd token.

I've played WoW with my wife for over 3 years now and I've got to say that although the Authenticators seem like a Godsend answer to everyone who was or knows someone who has been hacked, I can see it being most troublesome getting to the more than fair player base outside the US.

Blizzard actually have Latin America servers but won't sell/ship the authenticators to them. I live in Brazil myself and you all can imagine the hardships of buying Vanilla, BC and Wrath all the way from here. After a long time Blizz has finally decided to start accepting Paypal for the monthly subscriptions, but every other service (name/faction change, transfers, etc.) still require US issued credit card.

I've had relatives help me out; when they moved from the US to Europe I had to resource to my guild master - though I wasn't comfortable with it, it was either do this or stop playing.

The vast majority of players that play WoW from other countries outside the US *did* get their copy online, so what do you do on that scenario? Try purchasing any games at Amazon or any other store and have it ship to Brazil, Argentina, Chile or somewhere else (just to cover Latin America) and see what you get - either it's not allowed to, or you'll end up paying over $200 in tax + ship/handling.

I'm just saying, authenticators are the way to go imho, but there's more to it than simply $6.50.

Aaaanyway, after a bit of fiddling around, I found out that my Blackberry model is actually supported for the Mobile Authenticator; I'm now $0.99 poorer and way happier and more comfortable (and I even got me a new pet).

So, some good came out of this thread after all, at least for me :D

Oh, btw: WTB edit button

From what I understand the issue with shipping Authenticators is this:

Since it is technically a computer security device, customs on such an object can be incredibly high, and in some nations the import/export of such objects is restricted or even forbidden. In order to get the device into some countries, Blizzard would have to lie about what's in the package, or ship it with another item which falls under another category that they could then call the main contents of the package (ie, shipping it with a T-shirt, the majority of the package would then contain "apparel").

If Blizzard were to lie on the contents of the package, they could potentially get into a heap of legal trouble.

I'm not on Blizzard's Sales or Legal team, of course, so I can't confirm this is the case for them, but a friend who does eBay sales of computer hardware explained to me how this could be an issue.