Posts with tag Microtransactions

Those cute little in-game pets -- they're not so innocent. Once you allow one of the little buggers to slip past your legs and dash into the house, there's no getting all those muddy little paw prints off the floor (or the couch). Is there anybody out there who can harden their heart after just one? I'm afraid to even dip a toe into those waters, fearful that Lil' Ragnaros will begin bellowing "By PayPal be purged!" as my pet tab ticks inexorably upward. Indeed, I whisked him from my Amazon wish list the morning I realized in horror that should someone ever bestow me with his code, the door would stand wide open to the rest of his irresistible little friends.

So how are you fine, upstanding consumers coping with the pressure? Have you snatched up a brand new Swift Windsteed? Do purchasable pets and mounts hold no interest for you? Do you pick and choose? Collect them all?

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Since the advent of gold sellers, players have discussed the ethics of buying gold with real currency, as well as what would if Blizzard started selling gold. Then came the Guardian Cub, and suddenly Blizzard was allowing gold buying and selling via a vanity pet.

Later, Blizzard hit us with the announcement that Diablo III would have an auction house that uses real money. Now that the Real-Money Auction House has been launched, the debates have heated up. This guide is to help you decide, debate, or deliberate about real money in Blizzard games.

Real-money transactions for WoW

• The implications of a real-dollar auction house
• What WoW can learn from other transaction models, part 1 and part 2
• Guardian Cub pros and cons
• WoW's immune system and the gold selling virus
• Blizzard responds to Guardian Cub controversy
• Guardian Cub pet available for purchase
• How much is a Guardian Cub worth?
• Guardian cub taking a bite out of third-party gold sales

Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Mathew McCurley takes you through the world running parallel to the games we love and enjoy, full of rules, regulations, and esoteroic topics that slip through the cracks.

The Titanic was the largest cruise ship ever built. It was proclaimed to be unsinkable, defying natural laws to those who did not understand how the behemoth could float. In the end, the Titanic sunk not because she was a weak ship but because the ship tried to turn from an iceberg, causing catastrophic hull damage. If the ship had plowed through the iceberg and not changed course, there is a greater chance it could have avoided catastrophe.

While comparing Blizzard to the Titanic doesn't exactly evoke a positive connotation, it should. The Titanic sunk because of mistakes made. Blizzard's conservative game design attitude and philosophy have served it well -- being open to change and modification while holding on to the core concepts of WoW and trying not to deviate in profound, risky ways. The risk sometimes works -- transmogrification, void storage, Raid Finder, Real ID (and soon Battletags), etc. Sometimes, the risk doesn't exactly lead to the best reward -- the Real ID debacle, the vocal hardcore minority and Cataclysm heroics, and the Dance Studio. Blizzard understands that the juggernaut cannot turn too quickly, or it risks the type of deep, jagged incision that sinks the unsinkable.

We already knew that real money would play a role in Diablo III, but we didn't have a great deal of official word. Now, Blizzard has released a FAQ about the Battle.net Balance providing a much deeper look at the upcoming system.

Essentially, you have a Battle.net Balance made up of points. Adding value to your Battle.net Balance is executed through charging up. You can charge up your Battle.net Balance using debit or credit cards, or sales from Diablo III auctions. Be aware, though, that you can't convert Battle.net Balance back into cash; once you put money there, it stays there. (There is an exception in some regions using PayPal, but details are scarce on that right now.)

Some of the Battle.net details are a little fuzzy right now because Blizzard is forced to deal with a lot of regional-specific laws. For example, in some regions, it'll have to empty value from a Battle.net Balance that hasn't been accessed in three years. Which regions? We don't know yet.

The most exciting bit of this news, however, is that you'll be able to purchase World of Warcraft prepaid game time using your Battle.net Balance. So if you're pretty good at the Diablo III Auction House, you might be able to kiss your subscription fee goodbye.

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If you were struggling against horrible killer androids yesterday (like I was, thanks to Ziebart the Destroyer) you may have missed the news of the Guardian Cub pet, or as Young Master McCurley likes to call it, gold on the paw. There's been a lot of discussion as to what this pet actually means, if it's opening the door to real money trading in World of Warcraft, whether it (and not Deathwing) is the true harbinger of Cataclysm, etc etc. Now Blizzard comes out swinging (okay, more like comes out with cool rationality) in response to a forum thread.

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.

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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.

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Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Mathew McCurley takes you through the world running parallel to the games we love and enjoy, full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play?

Two weeks ago, The Lawbringer took a look at the EVE Online currency model, what happens when value is dictated by the players, and the successes and failures that Blizzard can learn from when moving forward the revenue model for WoW or any other secret MMOs in the pipe. This week, part 2 discusses the batch currency model, where players purchase one set of currency and earn another. While WoW is not likely to move to this type of currency in the near future, Diablo 3 has already embraced it with the real-money transaction auction house, which eschews a purchased currency for, well, currency.

The prime example in recent gaming history of the successful batch currency model is Riot Game's wonderful League of Legends. I've been a Defense of the Ancients fan since the early days of the mod, and the fact that such a simple concept has evolved to a genre in and of itself is remarkable. Combined with the fact that there are 15 million accounts, millions playing all over the world, and a ridiculously successful microtransaction model for customization and convenience items, League of Legends has got the world captivated. But why is World of Warcraft not something that could benefit from selling its own currency, or, rather, why would Blizzard never let it happen? Let's find out.

It was just revealed that Diablo 3 will feature a dual-currency auction house for in-game gold and for real currency, allowing players to spend real money for Diablo 3 items. Blizzard will not sell those items directly but rather will facilitate auctions between players. Players will receive real currency for their sales, and Blizzard will take a cut off the sales of real-currency items. Blizzard is entering some pretty crazy territory with the Diablo 3 auction house, and the implications may be even more huge for the massively multiplayer market than for the Diablo multiplayer experience.

One of WoW's biggest issues that currently plagues Blizzard (as well as the MMO genre in general) is the existence of a gray market in which companies sell in-game currency to willing buyers against the game's terms of service. Many free-to-play MMOs and online games combat this market by selling their own currencies for use in-game, making the currency non-tradeable, or selling items in a microtransaction marketplace. Blizzard has not yet made a free-to-play MMO where these concepts could come to any kind of fruition, and WoW's virtual goods store is very limited in scope and price point.

With the huge success of the free-to-play model in the United States and Europe, a feat which many said was not going to go over too well outside of the Asian markets, paying for your game over time instead of up front has become a staple, an afterthought, to gamers.

World of Warcraft isn't going true free-to-play any time soon, of course. The subscription model works for WoW in a fairly unique way. The number of global subscriptions for WoW make up such a huge, defined income that removing that income from the table in favor of the "5-percenters," the people who presumably pay for items in-game, would be almost criminal in terms of corporate mismanagement -- unless, of course, you could make more money on those 5-percenters than you do on 11.4 million monthly subscriptions, which seems like a hefty move to make.

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

Hello again. Foxlight here. If you don't know me, let me explain -- yours truly is accustomed to stretch limos. Orc chauffeurs. Throngs of worshippers. Glittery ponies. Fabulous accommodations. The best.

Which is why it was so hard on me when my dad cut off my credit card last month. "Frivolous purchases." As if! I needed that 8,000 gold worth of gloves and boots -- do you know how cutthroat the blood elf fashion scene is? And really, 8,000 gold is a bargain when you think about it. It'd have been way more if I'd bought shirts, too. In fact, when you think about it, I did him a favor! Ugh!

Anyhow. I'd been lowered to having to take ... public transportation. It's the worst ever. I mean, I'm not a racist, but ... goblins take public transportation. They smell weird. Like, greasy. I'm not a racist, though. I have a goblin friend. Just saying.

Okay, focus, Foxlight, back on topic. I needed a much more fierce mode of transportation. So I picked up the Silvermoon Pennypincher and found an ad for a barely used flying lion mount. He doesn't have sparkles, but he's still pretty fierce. And man, is he ever flaming. He was pretty expensive, too, but I sold my paladin-ing services in the back rooms of Ragefire Chasm to save up some money. Dirty work, but a blood elf boy's gotta do what a blood elf boy's gotta do. Took me a few weeks, but I put together enough gold to buy that stunning beast.

I must say, he was even more beautiful once I put a collar on him and made him mine. Gotta admit, at first I was worried that I'd have trouble riding him because he was so big. But I just had to relax and there was no problem. He's so gorgeous, oh my God. I rode him until the sun came up over Murder Row. The only problem, though, is that everyone in Silvermoon is now riding one. Foxlight sets the trend, and then all these followers just jump on.

So anyway, not that I even really care, but what are you doing this weekend? (Maybe we should brunch?) And, oh yeah: "Gigantic winged lion. Did you get it? Why or why not?"

It seems that every new MMORPG wants to bill itself as a "WoW killer." From Lord of the Rings Online to Age of Conan to (most recently) RIFT, everyone wants a piece of the most popular subscription-based MMORPG of all time.

To date, World of Warcraft has weathered the competition. Its subscriber numbers have reached an all-time high (now over 12 million), with its latest Cataclysm expansion selling nearly 5 million copies in the first month alone. The game should remain popular and successful for years to come. Still, even Blizzard admits: It can't stay on top forever.

So what happens when the game starts losing a significant amount of its subscriber base? If what happened to Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online is any clue, World of Warcraft might move to a free-to-play model. Since switching to free-to-play, both of Turbine's games added subscribers and increased revenues.

This past weekend, I sat in on the free-to-play MMO panel held at the PAX East 2011 conference in Boston. Afterward, I caught up with Robert Ferrari, VP of Publishing and Business Development for Sanrio Digital (Hello Kitty Online), to discuss WoW. We discussed the free-to-play industry and whether or not World of Warcraft could eventually find a place in it.

"WoW has to be looking at a free-to-play model currently," Ferrari theorized.

Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Running parallel to the games we love and enjoy is a world full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play?

eBay and massively multiplayer online role playing games have a deep, rich and occasionally sordid past. As social beings, we've been bartering, trading and selling our time and goods for the entirety of human history. The internet just made things even easier. Hell, buying some gold or an item off of eBay isn't the first time you've probably spent money for a work-around in a game. Ever heard of Game Genie? We paid money for that at one point in our lives.

This week, The Lawbringer delves into the past, remembering the good ol' days when the internet came in three varieties: 28.8k, 33.6k and 56k v.90. Also, 14.4k, but only losers had such weak baud. Please don't make me go back further in time. You're probably making modem sounds right now, pretending to go ksshhhh ksshhhh bee doo be dooo wha wha wha wha wha wha wha beeboobeeboobeebeeboobeep, so we should probably start this up.

Here at WoW.com we're on a Daily Quest (which we try to do every day, honest) to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment and you may see it here tomorrow! Take a look at the links below, and be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW related sites.

TDQ's back from an unplanned Cataclysm-news-overload hiatus! And what better topic to come back to than the epic debate currently raging over Blizzard's new starpony spacepony sparklepony My Little Algalon Pony Celestial Steed?

• Want to see the rest of the above comic? Of course you do. It's from Wowhead's latest comic by Noxychu. Wowhead also speculates on the number of Celestial Steeds sold.
• WoW.com's sister-site Massively has an opinion on this latest addition to the world of microtransactions.
• The 'mental Shaman talks sparkuls.
• Mystic Chicanery thinks this is more than a micro-payment.
• Big Bear Butt says it's superficial.
• Life in Azeroth has a thing or two to say about slippery slopes.
• Leafshine thinks this changes everything and asks: am I a beautiful and unique snowflake?
• Dechion's Place talks on Blizzard's marketing genius.
• Ixobelle explains how to create demand.
• Oh look, an alt! is happy.
• Matticus is ashamed.

Is $25 too steep a price for you to pay for a pony made of stars? $10 too much for a train-smashing vanity pet? No worries, because we're giving away two of each right here, right now on WoW.com.

To enter, leave a comment on this post between now and the same time tomorrow. To be specific, the contest ends on April 16th at 5:00 PM EDT. Winners must be legal residents of the United States or Canada (except Quebec). You may only enter once, and winners must be 18 years of age or older. Four winners will be chosen at random. The prizes up for grabs are:

• Two Celestial Steeds worth $25 each
• Two Lil' XTs worth $10 each

Click here for complete official rules.

Rumors have been swirling around the Internet this weekend, reporting that the WoW Trading Card Game was ending this year after the release of the upcoming Scourgewar expansion set due to mishandling of marketing by the Upper Deck team. The rumor apparently started at Rawrcast, where it was attributed to a "reliable source".

Apparently not that reliable! Catching wind of the rumor, Upper Deck responded through its Senior Director, Scott Gaeta, saying that not only was the TCG not "over," but that it was steaming along right on schedule. Said Gaeta:

"Plans for future sets have been moving along as normal and we even announced a good chunk of the 2010 product schedule a week ago. Just recently the Upper Deck team was at Blizzard to discuss plans for 2011 and just today we were at Blizzard to get a sneak peak of Icecrown Citadel, to help in the development of the 2010 Raid Deck and Treasure Packs. We have lots of great plans for 2010 and beyond and look forward to another great year for the WOW TCG. Thanks for your enthusiasm and support! "

Good enough for me. Interneterati who heard the rumor attributed the TCG's purported demise to a myriad of culprits, including Blizzard's new microtransactional Pet Store, Activision grand poobah and laser-precise IP exploiter Bobby Kotick, or even the iron tabletop gaming fist of Magic: The Gathering. Of course, none of those ended up being the case.

Me, I'm glad to see that the TCG isn't going away, but let's start seeing some of those cool vanity loot card items attainable through other means, yeah? And the rocket mount an Engineering item.