by Mathew McCurley 
May 31st 2011 at 1:22PM
Filed under: Blizzard
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| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Call to Arms: Eye of the Storm | 5/25 - 5/28 |
| Call to Arms: Alterac Valley | 6/1 - 6/4 |
| Darkmoon Faire | 6/3 - 6/9 |
| Call to Arms: Warsong Gulch | 6/8 - 6/11 |
| Call to Arms: Strand of the Ancients | 6/15 - 6/18 |
| Midsummer Fire Festival | 6/21 - 7/4 |
| Call to Arms: Isle of Conquest | 6/22 - 6/25 |
| Call to Arms: The Battle for Gilneas | 6/29 - 7/2 |
| Call to Arms: Twin Peaks | 7/6 - 7/9 |
| Call to Arms: Arathi Basin | 7/13 - 7/16 |
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
wutsconflag May 31st 2011 1:28PM
SPARKLE LION.... GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Ominous May 31st 2011 1:29PM
Nice.
That'll be added to the collection.
I'd prefer, however, for Blizzard to donate at least a certain percentage - of ALL sales - to charity.
wutsconflag May 31st 2011 1:35PM
"I'd prefer, however, for Blizzard to donate at least a certain percentage - of ALL sales - to charity."
This x a million.
Syllean May 31st 2011 1:58PM
I've bought pets simply because the proceeds, or a significant portion of the proceeds, went to charity. While store bought mounts are attractive in the fact that every toon I create can use as soon as I get the appropriate training, I will not likely pay $25 for a vanity item unless at least 25% of the proceeds go to charity.
Darthregis May 31st 2011 2:08PM
I'm with Syllean.
Great looking mount, but I would be more inclined to buy it were some of the proceeds were going to a charity of some sort.
jfofla May 31st 2011 2:08PM
Do you also write Exxon, Ford, and Microsoft demanding they donate to charities?
Blizzard is a publically owned company that has a DUTY to make money for their stockholders.
Why can't people understand that?
jealouspirate May 31st 2011 2:10PM
I don't get this sentiment. Obviously donating to charity is a good thing, but it's also basically the opposite of Blizzard's mandate (which is to make money for shareholders). Why do people seem to want (or even expect) corporations to donate to charity?
This seems especially odd considering that it would be a simple flow-through of money directly from customers to a charity. Why not just donate yourself? In cases like this Blizzard just acts as a needless middle-man.
If you care about a charitable cause, then donate to it. Don't want for a company to give you a lollipop for it.
patgamer May 31st 2011 2:15PM
Don't mean to sound like a jerk here but why do people require somthing in return when giving to a charity?
I have no problem with Blizzard keeping every single cent they make off these bad boys, I'm just curious why we need to receive somthing when WE are the ones donating.. wrist bands, badges, stickers, hats, in game mounts.. It's all the same.
Is it just the norm now? you gotta get somthing out of right..
Anywho it's about time I bought somthing from the store.. May as well start with this.
Eros May 31st 2011 2:16PM
If you want to donate to a charity then donate. You don't need to do it through blizzard
AutumnBringer May 31st 2011 2:23PM
Right on. We should actually petition this from Blizzard.
We'll ask that Blizzard do that when you, Ominous, personally agree donate at least a certain percentage - of ALL income - to charity.
Vitos May 31st 2011 2:33PM
I think it might actually be a good business practice to add a 10% to charity deal with this. I mean, they would have to get 10% more sales, but I think with this and smaller transactions (eg. the pets) it is distinctly likely that they would have a 20-30% increase in sales generating a greater net revenue as well as some positive press.
But I can't be sure about numbers really.
Darthregis May 31st 2011 2:39PM
I don't see anyone making a demand for some proceeds to go to charity. Just people stating that they'd prefer it. Nor is anyone making a demand that part of their subscription fee go to charity, either.
They're just saying that they might buy that vanity item IF some of the proceeds went to charity.
As per the Exxon/Ford/Microsoft reference...no, I don't expect Ford to put some of my car purchase toward charity. But I would probably consider the $500 Metallic Blue paint option if $100 of it went to the Red Cross. Otherwise, I'm okay with Matte Red.
Exxon - I'll pay to fill up my car without a donation, but I might buy that windshield washer fluid if $1 went to Japan Relief. Otherwise, I'll get the same stuff for less at Walmart.
While some folk may use this as an excuse to consider themselves charitable, not all of us do. I already donate to two charities. But some people are willing to spend extra money on stuff they don't *really* need, as long as they know some of that money will get to folks who need it more than a massive corporation.
And some speak of how Blizzard's objective is to make the most money for their investors/stockholders. Well, it's a balance of getting $25 from some people and getting $0 who would only buy it with a charitable incentive VS. getting maybe $20 from both groups and giving $5 per purchase to a charity in which they would likely get a tax benefit. (The $20/$5 split is obviously arbitrary.)
Ultimately, it's up to Blizzard how they want to market these vanity items. And it's up to the player if they want to spend the money, charitable incentives or not.
jfofla May 31st 2011 3:08PM
The real reason people want a portion donated to charity is so THEY can justify the purchase.
These people are frothing at the mouth against Microtransactions, but if a portion is going to charity, well then, they don't mind buying that sweet mount.
After all, it is for a good cause, wink wink.
Hypocrisy, that is what it is.
cronos12 May 31st 2011 3:10PM
I'm not sure why Darthregis got down voted, but I share his sentiment, as do others it seems.
Yes, I could donate directly to a charity, and I do.
Yes, I could buy this mount without proceeds going towards a charity, and I may.
But, I definitely bought the Cenarion Hatchling because of the charity aspect, despite having already donated to the Japan Relief Cause.
I don't need the mount. I don't need a reward for donating to charity. But if i'm on the fence about an extra product (like the mount) and there's a donation to charity involved, i'm more apt to purchase the item than I am without.
And the charitable donations would help Activision's Bottom Line, not as much as straight profit would, but think of the free press and tax breaks.
relmatos May 31st 2011 3:30PM
@jfofla
If I were a paying customer of any of those companies and they were trying to sell me something that should be available for free, you can bet I would.
That said, the only thing I purchased was the Cenarion Hatchling because all of the proceeds went to charity.
In my opinion, every time that blizzard donates a percentage of the sale of one of these items, they're just profiting under the disguise of charity and they should always donate 100% of the money made.
jfofla May 31st 2011 3:53PM
@relmatos
This idea that something "should be free is hogwash".
Blizzard is not in the business to meet your displaced ideals, but to make money.
I am all for Blizzard making ungodly sums of money. Why? Because they make the best Games on the planet with that money.
I don't care how much money Kobe Bryant makes, because I love watching The Black Mamba do what nobody else can do.
Stop this falsley righteous campaign against Blizzard making money.
Wild Colors May 31st 2011 4:01PM
Really, we're downrating the comments of people who say that perhaps companies should engage in charitable giving, and uprating those of people who say their sole purpose should be profits?
Ayn Rand would be ecstatic if she were alive today.
For the record, I admit that current American law/culture permits (and often expects) that corporations will be solely focused on profits. But I think I personally would prefer to live in a society where they were also focused on community outreach and charitable giving. (fwiw, Blizzard does do a bit of this)
At the very least, I'd prefer to live in a society where we didn't downvote into oblivion the comments of people suggesting that charitable giving is important.
Schadenfreude May 31st 2011 4:46PM
For me at least, paying real-life money for intangible goods, like mounts/pets in game, feels strange. Even though I know objectively that the intangible good has real costs (development time, salary of the artist, etc.), I still kind of feel like I'm not really making a fair trade of money for goods. IF, however, a portion of the price was going to charity, then I could feel like the exchange was more reasonable.
relmatos May 31st 2011 8:15PM
We all know that blizzard is in it to make money.
However, I do not think that players should have to pay for extra things after they've paid for the game, expansion packs and a monthly fee.
The only way I can see that being acceptable is if it is for charity.
Now stop this fanboyism and praise of everything a company is doing. They are a company and will not love you more or less if you fight for them or say what you think.
Instead, do what you can to help improve the world. No harm will come to you for promoting charity in companies and that might help change the way companies think.
Thanos73 May 31st 2011 8:19PM
jfofla May 31st 2011 3:08PM
The real reason people want a portion donated to charity is so THEY can justify the purchase.
These people are frothing at the mouth against Microtransactions, but if a portion is going to charity, well then, they don't mind buying that sweet mount.
After all, it is for a good cause, wink wink.
Hypocrisy, that is what it is.
=======================================================
You are an idiot! Of course people want to have a reason to buy a VANITY item. It is a useless item that has no out come on your game play. It is not hypocrisy to want something you do not need but would want to but IF a certain percentage of said purchase went to a good cause. A vast majority of people who play the game won't buy silly vanity items unless there is a reason and those reasons are game play and charity. Get a fucking clue.