Blizzard responds to Guardian Cub controversy
by Matthew Rossi 
Oct 11th 2011 at 4:00PM
Bashiok - Re: Blizzard, you've crossed the line
TCG Loot card mounts like the Spectral Tiger have been BoE for a long time now (since patch 3.2), and that was and continues to be well-received, and as far as we've been able to tell hasn't had any adverse impact to the game or economy - despite them selling for sometimes astronomical amounts of gold.
It's potentially worth noting that no new gold is being introduced into the game's economy with those mounts or the new Guardian Cub pet.
Our goal with the Guardian Cub is to provide alternative ways for players who don't want to spend real money to add these pets to their collection. Even though this has been available a while now with the TCG mounts, this is obviously a new kind of way to deliver Pet Store pets, and we're definitely interested to hear your feedback and ultimately see how this will play out.
It's potentially worth noting that no new gold is being introduced into the game's economy with those mounts or the new Guardian Cub pet.
Our goal with the Guardian Cub is to provide alternative ways for players who don't want to spend real money to add these pets to their collection. Even though this has been available a while now with the TCG mounts, this is obviously a new kind of way to deliver Pet Store pets, and we're definitely interested to hear your feedback and ultimately see how this will play out.
To be fair, since this is exactly what I said about the Cub on the WoW Insider Show this week, I'm already on record as agreeing with him fully. The only difference between the Guardian Cub and loot cards is that you don't have to spend money hoping you'll get the Cub. You spend ten bucks and you know you have one.
Well, also, the thing is adorable. That's not really germane to the discussion, though. What do you think about our friendly Cub? Cute pet, money for gold, soul-meltingly cute step off of the slippery slope? Tell us.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
Skyburnone Oct 11th 2011 4:04PM
I say it's a good idea. A cute, good, soul-meltingly good step off of the slippery slope kind of idea.
Imnick Oct 11th 2011 4:33PM
I've always been slightly confused about this
Is the rating system REALLY for blacking out posts that simply express opinions you disagree with?
Psiwave Oct 11th 2011 4:49PM
It's very cute.
The thing is, as far as gold buying goes, after the first few weeks who's gonna buy one? I can only see the price of these (ah price) going down, so they aren't worth much to investors. Are there really enough pet collectors to sustain a Market?
Sunaseni Oct 11th 2011 4:56PM
People downrate posts they don't like. If you have a contradictory opinion from the majority, present it in a good way that fosters discussion, and even they will have to admit, "You make a good point." Bitching about being blacked out just leads to another blacked out post.
blazenor Oct 11th 2011 5:00PM
I don't really have a real problem with buying the pet, but more about what will be next? The next thing could be an in-game store to buy things and the reason will be to make things easier to buy them. This can lead to the very things I hate about some F2P MMO and I really believe this is Blizzard way of either testing the waters for MT/RMT or slowing putting them in.
Thatacus Oct 11th 2011 5:00PM
This is how I reacted when I first saw this little cub:
http://youtu.be/WIDPYKdtgsc
johnny.ramos1 Oct 11th 2011 9:09PM
unlike reg blizzard store pets, this one only goes to your one character. so if you and your 1500 alts wants one. you'd have to buy 1500 of these bad boys to make you feel good about not neglecting your gnome DK, Sparky who you sometimes feel gets the mini pet shaft.
Saltypoison Oct 11th 2011 4:07PM
I don't really care about the RMT side of this, my concern lies with stolen accounts. I've seen many threads in the CS forum recently of people dropping gold on mounts that were bought via stolen accounts, only to have the gold not refunded and the mount stripped from their account. How will Blizz protect the sales in this case?
Brett Porter Oct 11th 2011 7:36PM
Now, not saying this was Blizzard's intention, I don't know. But if I buy a cub to sell to someone for real in game gold, I'm getting that gold from them instead of a gold seller. Who we know to most likely be an account stealer who uses that gold to get real money.
But, as more folks use the cub to transfer $10 into in game gold, less people will need to buy gold from very unsafe and immoral gold sources. Eventually the gold sellers' power wains and they die a miserable and shriveled death.
Or go to another game, which is more likely.
Imnick Oct 11th 2011 4:08PM
fuck im falling down all these slopes........
Schadenfreude Oct 11th 2011 4:14PM
I warned you about slopes bro
JC_Icefox Oct 11th 2011 4:30PM
I told you dog!
devilsei Oct 11th 2011 4:29PM
But, they're just so darn slippery! And the shark pit you jump over looked like real fun when others went down it!
artifex Oct 11th 2011 4:34PM
So levitate or slow fall, already.
ixidane Oct 11th 2011 7:54PM
The slope ruse was a....
DISTACTION
Niallus Oct 22nd 2011 12:37PM
I HAVE the pet...........
Bended Oct 11th 2011 4:10PM
Gold sellers don't introduce new gold to the game either. They steal it from one person and sell it to the other. No new gold there.
Those mounts have been BOE for a while now. You cant get them any more unless you buy it off ebay.....
Trading card game is a gamble. You get a bonus (almost like a drop chance) that rarely turns out to be something of in game value. The only gamble involved in this pet is keeping them in the AH with out reaching the saturation point.
This is the same as the real money AH in diablo 3. Its ok to sell items.... as long as blizzard gets their share.
Which way will this slope slip to next?
Noyou Oct 11th 2011 4:18PM
Gold sellers do introduce new gold into the economy when the hacked gold goes to the buyer the hacked player gets their gold/items restored. The only way it wouldn't is if they are able to track down the gold and take it away from the person who bought it.
Drakkenfyre Oct 11th 2011 5:13PM
Uh, Noyou, in some cases Blizzard DOES remove the gold from the person who bought it.
You buy an obscenely large amount of gold (say 20,000g) and get caught, and watch Blizzard take it away.
cmichaelcooper Oct 11th 2011 5:17PM
I don't believe this is in any way going to turn into a situation that equates to Blizzard selling in-game currency. Lets define two parties:
Buyer - a player that might potentially purchase the pet from another player in-game, either directly or through the auction house.
Seller - a player trying to sell the pet once they obtain one, either by purchasing or getting one as a gift.
Supply will be infinite, and the barrier to entry is very low. Demand will be low because it will be stupid easy to obtain the pet, so everybody who wants one will probably get one quickly either by buying it themselves or getting them as gifts. The value on the auction house will end up being very low because the time it takes to make a significant amount of in-game gold is more valuable than the $10 the pet costs.
Essentially, if I'm a seller, I need to make a pretty large amount of gold to justify spending my $10 of real money. Probably well over 1000 gold. As a buyer, my time is valuable to me, so I would rather just spend 10 bucks and not waste the time it's going to take farming the gold. That simple fact will create a situation in which the seller will want a big chunk of gold for giving up real currency, but the buyer won't pay it because the time it takes to make that gold outweighs the value of just dropping 10 bucks real quick.
Additionally, if anybody is worried about people using the cubs as a legitimate exchange medium for buying gold from gold farmers, I don't think having to spend an additional $10 on the pet will be attractive, and the gold sellers aren't going to give you a price break just to help you save risk.
To summarize, the rules of supply and demand, and the real money component required to obtain the cub will ultimately remove any possibility of using it for meaningful in-game profit.