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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Will you be buying either of the new vanity pets?
by Josh Rose 
Nov 30th 2010 at 8:00AM
Blizzard has been selling us in-game items for a while now; however, it has kept this to noncombat pets and mounts -- things that, outside of counting for totals for achievements, have little to no real effect on gameplay. Some of the items Blizzard does for self-profit, and sometimes it sells in-game pets for charity. People who buy the items get different reactions from the community; the sparkle pony especially got a lot of hate.
Personally, I have not bought any of the real-money pets, partially because I am not a collector and partially because I felt that paying for downloadable content should add something major to the game experience. However, I am considering buying the Ragnaros pet for one main reason: because Rags is my major epic memory of vanilla WoW, I always felt he was an awesome model and so imposing, and many of us went around saying "too soon" on Vent.
Have you bought any of the vanity pets? Do you buy them all as a completionist/collector? Do you pick and choose the ones you think look cool? Do you only buy the charity pets? Or do you avoid real money transactions in games altogether?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 12)
dave.tidey Nov 30th 2010 8:14AM
I completely agree. I had the same thought process this morning, I don't ever see myself buying premium content, however the added perk of donating to charity highly appeals to me and I condone Blizzard taking the relatively small time it would take to resize and tweak existing artwork in order to generate revenue for charity. The deal-maker for me would be that I get to choose the charity.
It's a shame they will only donate 50% of the revenue generated to charity though. I'm certain they can afford to not make a penny on these two products for sales between 29th November and 31st December. Slightly disappointing.
veil Nov 30th 2010 9:31AM
every time i read a comment stating "they could've donated more", i think, "well so could you without the need to buy a vanity item". the fact that a portion of the proceeds even goes to charity when it didn't have to is plenty charitable.
xenothaulus Nov 30th 2010 8:11AM
I would buy any of the real money items if I could use in-game gold to get them. I have hundreds of thousands of gold and about 8 dollars. :|
xenothaulus Nov 30th 2010 8:15AM
Damn doubleposts.
MusedMoose Nov 30th 2010 8:11AM
I'll probably buy the moonkin pets for myself and a friend - partly 'cause they're ridiculously cute, partly 'cause it's for charity, and partly 'cause today's her birthday and it would be a nice surprise. ^_^ The only other things I have in-game that are the result of real money purchases are the pets for the authenticator (core hound) and the plushie griffin and wind rider. I didn't entirely get those for the pets, though. The authenticator is just plain a good idea, and the plushies, well, I have a small collection of unusual stuffed animals, so I had to get those.
Also: the Ragnaros pet isn't for charity, only the moonkin is. I don't know if anyone else has pointed this out; there are no replies as I write this but I'm sure there will be by the time I post it.
sephirah Nov 30th 2010 8:11AM
Lil' Ragnaros isn't for charity, only Moonkin Hatchling is.
bk0 Nov 30th 2010 8:11AM
I haven't purchased any mounts or pets, so in the end I might buy ONE, but thats a big maybe.
Manadar Nov 30th 2010 8:11AM
Paying for the game, the expansions and then also the monthly subscription should be enough to be able to get all items in WoW by in-game means. Having to pay extra for items are a big no-no for me, and if I want to donate to charity, I'll make a donation so all the money goes to charity instead of only half of it or whatever Blizzard gets for each purchase.
Thundrcrackr Nov 30th 2010 8:19AM
I agree. So many people seem to ignore the fact that only half the money is going to charity.
If you really care about giving to charity you should give the entire amount directly to the charity.
Josin Nov 30th 2010 11:18AM
Too many people think that people buy this as a way to donate to charity. I believe it's more of an incentive to buy it, rather than a reason to buy it.
I like to do charitable work and give when I can. When I can get something I'd probably buy anyway AND give to a charity I support, that's just icing on the cake.
Kevin S. Nov 30th 2010 8:12AM
They are cute, but I can't see spending money on something I'd spend so little time with.
pietrex Nov 30th 2010 8:15AM
The Lil' Ragnaros does not help the charity. Only the Moonkin Hatchling does.
On topic: I have not bought any of the pets or mounts yet and I do not intend to. The price, when exchanged to PLN (the Polish currency) is ridiculously high. And even though I do have about 80 pets on my main, I rarely remember to bring them out, so I'd forget about the new ones after a week or two anyway. I'd rather waste my money on a race change, which is more important to me. I envy those for whom the price is not high, though. If it was, for instance, four times lower than it currently is, I'd definitely reconsider it.
Ice Nov 30th 2010 9:27AM
"The Lil' Ragnaros does not help the charity. Only the Moonkin Hatchling does."
I had to quote that because I found it so funny.
RAGNAROS DO NO CARE FOR KIDS. But you adultsized mortal can use my being itself to cook feasts for that pug you are about to kill your brains in. All according to myy plaan.
pietrex Nov 30th 2010 10:00AM
Hah. Well, obviously, the great little boss does not have the time for the poor children! He's busy killing critters.
albanesp Nov 30th 2010 8:16AM
already purchased both of them last night! I am definitely a collector and the charity gave me the excuse I needed to make a guilt free purchase.
Ragnaros is an interesting pet in that he doesn't move until you are far away, then in true rags fashion travels underground and pops up beside you. Oh, he also doubles as a campfire if you need to cook (seriously).
The baby boomkin is really cute and we (my boomkin and I) ended up starting a (small) dance party in front of the AH Org last night.
G01851 Nov 30th 2010 8:27AM
Same here... it was a fun gathering, no negative comments, and people just chatting... a nice change ;) Meanwhile, Gamon died several times.
Jack Nov 30th 2010 8:17AM
nop, but I not gonna go all in this topic again like people just will down vote me same!
Sleutel Nov 30th 2010 8:19AM
Two copies of each, as soon as you announced they went live: one for me, and one for my friend. I'd promised him a Baby Boomkin as part of his birthday present back in October, and I decided he should get a Ragnaros, too, since they're only $10. :D
awesomelyglorious Nov 30th 2010 8:20AM
I bought Lil' Ragnaros immediately after he was available. I also bought the Panaderan Monk, Lil' KT and Lil' XT when they were first available (and the sparkle pony, which I regret. I regret it because I have a tendency to push the spacebar constantly when moving--Hi, my name is Zulf and I like to jump everywhere I go--and the sparkle pony sounds like I am murdering it when running through a no-fly zone.)
I love the Paderan Monk (he is adorable) and until I got Deathy, my Panderan Monk was always fighting by my side. Now I cycle randomly through Deathy, Core Hound, Panderan Monk, and Lil' Raganaros. The other two pets are cool, but the awesome factor ended rather quickly for me. Now I only break out XT when someone has a train set out, or another mechanical pet to destroy. KT rarely gets out.
A friend has the Moonkin pet, and while it is very cute and dances, it is not $10 appealing to me. Lil' Raganros, on the other hand, is huge and is bigger than I am after drinking noggenfogger, plus his travel animation is awesome, well, he is a giant ball of fire!
Enesty Nov 30th 2010 10:02AM
"and the other because baby Rags is for charity. The idea of giving to charity makes the thought of spending real money on a vanity pet somehow less frivolous. "
and thats the point where blizzard got you. If Blizzard was truly motivated to do something good, they would give all the money they make with the pet to charity. instead, they are using the charity-aspect, and people like you fall for it. blizz (or activition, for what its worth) just realized, that if they give 50% of the money away and say "this pet is for a good cause" instead of keeping everything, they actually make more money, because people are buying the pet for "a good cause".
sure, charity-organisations woudn't care. if they get money, thats allways a good thing. but please don't think, that blizzards motivation is charitable giving. it's just the better deal for them.
oh yeah, and celebrating the 6th anniversary without a minipet-gift, but offering minipets for real money at the SAME DAY in the battle.net shop is a real dickmove. and don't tell me the 6th birthday is no milestone. EVERY Birthday is a milestone for a MMO.