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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsTom Chilton suggests Mists of Pandaria "wildly overhyped"
by Anne Stickney 
Aug 31st 2011 at 4:00PM
Maybe Mists of Pandaria isn't quite as likely as we all thought. IGN PC had a chat with Game Director Tom Chilton about the rumors of the upcoming expansion, as well as the upcoming patch 4.3 and the possibility of WoW moving to a free-to-play model.
Chiming in on the subject of transmogrification was Art Director Chris Robinson, who explained a little about the details behind the feature and its restrictions. Robinson clarified that protecting class integrity was an important factor in both armor design and the upcoming transmogrification feature: "When you see those demon wings you know 'Okay that's a warlock,' you know you can apply that to his tier twenty-one armor but it's still a warlock."
So what about free-to-play? Chilton confirms that it's "definitely a possibility," but for those of you looking for an immediate free-to-play version of WoW, you're going to have to wait. Chilton clarified that the change would be a dramatic departure from Blizzard's current business model, and it would take quite a bit of convincing to switch models.
As to the subject of Pandaren ...
Speculation swirled recently regarding Blizzard's decision to trademark "Mists of Pandaria," as many thought it may indicate the name of the next World of Warcraft expansion. Pandaria, in Warcraft lore, refers to the home of the Pandaren, basically humanoid war pandas you may remember making an appearance as neutral heroes in Warcraft III. Chilton said the speculation was, "wildly overhyped." He added, "if you look at traditionally how we've handled that race it's been in those secondary products because we haven't realized it in the world. Most of the time when we do anything panda-related it's going to be a comic book or a figurine or something like that."
Comic books, figurines, or a new expansion? Time and undoubtedly BlizzCon will tell. Check out the full article over at IGN PC.
Chiming in on the subject of transmogrification was Art Director Chris Robinson, who explained a little about the details behind the feature and its restrictions. Robinson clarified that protecting class integrity was an important factor in both armor design and the upcoming transmogrification feature: "When you see those demon wings you know 'Okay that's a warlock,' you know you can apply that to his tier twenty-one armor but it's still a warlock."
So what about free-to-play? Chilton confirms that it's "definitely a possibility," but for those of you looking for an immediate free-to-play version of WoW, you're going to have to wait. Chilton clarified that the change would be a dramatic departure from Blizzard's current business model, and it would take quite a bit of convincing to switch models.
As to the subject of Pandaren ...
Speculation swirled recently regarding Blizzard's decision to trademark "Mists of Pandaria," as many thought it may indicate the name of the next World of Warcraft expansion. Pandaria, in Warcraft lore, refers to the home of the Pandaren, basically humanoid war pandas you may remember making an appearance as neutral heroes in Warcraft III. Chilton said the speculation was, "wildly overhyped." He added, "if you look at traditionally how we've handled that race it's been in those secondary products because we haven't realized it in the world. Most of the time when we do anything panda-related it's going to be a comic book or a figurine or something like that."
Comic books, figurines, or a new expansion? Time and undoubtedly BlizzCon will tell. Check out the full article over at IGN PC.
Filed under: News items, Rumors
Reader Comments (Page 6 of 7)
Snuzzle Sep 1st 2011 12:15AM
Then I've got bad news for you. WOW is currently free to play up to level 20.
snarkygoldfish Sep 1st 2011 12:59AM
Yeah, free-til-20 does not reflect the F2P model Chilton is talking about NOR the concerns I was addressing. Especially considering other players knew what it was I was talking about quite clearly. ;)
Anyway, yes, F2P for WoW is likely maaaaany years down the road - but even then...why? Would the benefit of micro transactions really outweigh even a reduction in subscription cost? I mean, even EQ and EQ2 still charge subscriptions. Even RO - one of the oldest Korean MMOs still have a subscription option (and better regulated servers for those premium members) - and I hope WoW would give me the same.
underground_slacker Aug 31st 2011 6:59PM
did they not say somethign very bloody similar when everyone was saying "cataclysm?!? cold that be whats coming after wrath?!?"
fool me once...
brain314 Aug 31st 2011 7:42PM
You can't get fooled again.
Rajah Aug 31st 2011 7:42PM
I believe it's a near certainty that the next expansion will be called Mists of Pandaria. The timing of the trademark filing, relative to Blizzcon, is an exact match for the pattern of previous expansions. The types of goods and services specified in the filing are also exact matches to filings for previous expansions. Conversely, this filing is inconsistent with what would be expected for a new line of comic books, trading cards, action figures, or other similar merchandise. Moreover, if this is not to be the name of the next expansion, then that must mean no expansion will be announced at Blizzcon because they would not announce a new expansion without first filing for a trademark.
At the same time, I believe Chilton was being honest and accurate in terming the speculation about Pandaren to be wildly overhyped. Note that he's not denying that "Mists of Pandaria" will be the name of the next expansion, only that many people have gone off the deep end with their speculation. The trademarked phrase mentions only Pandaria, a place. It says nothing about the Pandaren themselves, about them being a neutral playable race, or any of the other bizarre ideas that have been tossed out there. It's entirely possible that the next expansion could play out in Pandaria with the Pandaren themselves remaining as elusive as ever.
Either way, you can be sure that Blizzard will make no official confirmation until Blizzcon. Legal and marketing won't allow it.
MusedMoose Aug 31st 2011 7:51PM
Well said, and you make a really good point there in your second paragraph. I would imagine that Blizzard is used to our rampant speculation by now, but there is such a thing as too much. Also, since some fans take any indication of a possible future feature as a set-in-stone promise (see the newest Dev Watercooler and GC's comment about Abyssal Maw), I can only imagine the headaches that any leaks create for the devs.
I swear, if we don't get to play as Pandaren, we're going to see people bitching about it and acting like it was a removed feature. Even though Blizzard has said absolutely nothing that could even be hinted at meaning that. Kind of sad, really, how worked up some fans get. Nothing wrong with enjoying the game, but damn, it's never a life-or-death thing.
And personally, I would love it if we get to go to Pandaria and discover that the Pandaren have disappeared into the mists, and much of the expansion pack is discovering what happened, rather than just having a new big bad to punch for treasure. I doubt it would happen that way, but I think it'd be cool.
Noyou Aug 31st 2011 8:02PM
The bitching machine is a lot like the one that tosses tennis balls. You can choose to swing or not swing but it keeps pumping out ball after ball.
As far as mists go, I think we will see Panda's in 4.3 at the new Dark Moon Faire. I think we will see Pandas in the next expac. Even possibly go to their mysterious homeland. I don't think we will be playing them anytime soon. Which is not to say we won't be playing them ever. But It would be epic if we did ;)
BladedDingo Aug 31st 2011 7:52PM
Maybe mist of.pandaria mean we are just going to pandaria. Doesnt mean the pandra are still there. Maybe they left en masse, or got wiped out in the cataclysm and we're just not re-discovering their homeland.
Ullaana Aug 31st 2011 8:58PM
So basically, "So long and thanks for all the bamboo"?
Snuzzle Sep 1st 2011 12:21AM
That would be a terribly depressing xpak, wouldn't it?
"Welcome to Pandaria, population you. Please try not to trip or slip as you step over the mangled Panda corpses, and please try not to cry as you do quests reliving their massacre. You can't change what happened or save even a single one. Be ready to cry harder than you did at that quest about the dying hunter and his bear."
DBriggs304 Aug 31st 2011 10:06PM
Hopefully it actually is for another product. We don't need panda's running around. Worgen are bad enough
Ullaana Aug 31st 2011 10:45PM
At least Pandaren would be natives, not off-worlders like Orcs, Draenei, or Ethereals.
Trido Aug 31st 2011 11:22PM
And, China + Game with Pandas does not mix very well at all. Blizz won't do playable Pandas or anything like that as it would be WotLK x infinity.
Snuzzle Sep 1st 2011 12:18AM
I really wish people would stop spouting this off like it's gospel. The reason CHina had a problem with Pandaren was they were wearing Japanese clothing and their culture was based on Japan. That would be like doing a race of bald eagle people with British accents who really like having tea and crumpets. It's wrong.
Once the culture and clothing was changed to not be Japanese anymore, China had no more problems with Pandaren.
trefpoid Sep 1st 2011 12:30AM
people still believe that China has an anti videogame Panda law?.. c'mon, they don't even have copyright laws that prevent chinese guys to open WoW theme parks illegaly and u want 'em to even care about Blizzard creating humanoid Pandas? there's a chinese MMO with playable humanoid Pandas already and they couldn't care less. As Snuzzle explained, the only controversy came from the samurai armor on Pandaren, as soon as they fixed that, they forgot about it.
Suzaku Sep 1st 2011 7:46AM
@Snuzzle: Far worse than the example you gave, considering the history of widespread atrocities inflicted on the Chinese people by the Japanese military during the Sino-Chinese Wars and World War II.
SaintStryfe Sep 1st 2011 1:24AM
If MoP is not an expansion, my bet is a WoW-themed game for Mobile Phones - a Pandarian-themed game with some tie-in to WoW would be a huge new area of expansion for Blizz.
Shinji Sep 1st 2011 1:31AM
I know I am getting into the conversation a bit late, but I personally find it very reasonable that this could be the next expansion. I have a feeling that Blizz is just a tad nervous about Star Wars launching before too long, and they know that the wildly popular, fan-favorite Pandaren would be just the right-hook needed to combat The Old Republic. I expect a major announcement both at Blizzcon and within a week or two after the release date for Star Wars is announced.
Hairfish Sep 1st 2011 3:07AM
Why on Azeroth would the Chinese have a problem with ANYTHING related to Pandaren, least of all their clothing? Pandaren are NOT Chinese. They're...Pandarian.
People need to stop being so damned snippy.
Nina Katarina Sep 1st 2011 6:38AM
While the pandaria speculation is fun, I thought that these two paragraphs from the article about the Deathwing raid were far more interesting - I'm intrigued at how a multi-stage raid encounter like this will unfold:
"The Deathwing encounter sounds as though it'll be especially time intensive. Chilton said that, if you were to take into account the encounter's multiple stages, it would be longer than any other in the game. "The fight takes place in multiple different environments, you'll actually potentially get loot at different points in the encounter so it's broken up into larger scale overall. Players will start at Wyrmrest Temple and then eventually it progresses to players fighting on [Deathwing's] back flying towards the Maelstrom, trying to wrestle him to the ground, basically."
Building up to this encounter will be a series of new five man instances meant to build up to the Deathwing fight. "They tie in from story standpoint," said Chilton. "Really the five man instances are all about building up to the Deathwing fight in a lot the same way that the five-man instances in Icecrown were building up to the king, so all of them are very tied together story-wise.""