WoW Lost 300k Subscribers, Patch 4.3 this year, Blizzcon 2011 Tickets, Blue Posts

Originally Posted by gnomeirl

I quit in June and continue to stay away from the game after 6 years of playing it. This news is vindication.

For the past two years, I've been looking forward to the day Diablo III is released, but when it was announced this week that there would be an auction house and real money involved, I was completely turned off.

Blizzard interprets the great amount of time people spend playing WoW as willingness to do anything they want. They are wrong. We spend a great deal of time playing their games, particularly WoW, because they're fun -- or were fun. FORCING people to play by making games grindy, by creating heavy requirements as incentive to play the game more, is foolish. Make the game fun and people will come; making them grindy so that we can't do anything else is ungrateful.

A personal peeve of mine is the almost monthly, sometimes weekly, changes made to the game, particularly class changes. I realize that balancing the game is important, but it, again, FORCES people to abandon characters they've spent so much time on and start over. IT IS EXTREMELY TIRESOME. You may believe that more dissatisfaction springs from an unbalanced game, but it would be a mistake not to recognize this complaint as one of the major causes of lost subscribers.

It is unfathomable to me that a company so wealthy and intelligent can't figure out why or make changes to prevent the loss of subscribers. They've been using a heavy hand when they should be using finesse.

I totally agree that the constant changes and nerfs are what puts me off as well. Having to relearn your class ever 1-2 months is what's killing this game for me. Add to that the homogenizing of classes and specs and it's no wonder we get more and more bored.
The absolute worst thing for me though is the total lack of care that the devs show the community, they are just tone deaf and arrogant.
Been playing now 2 months after having had 4 months off WoW and I'm thinking about taking another long break again since nothing seems to change.

Originally Posted by Kisuro

And yet, revenue went up. Magic?

Actually Blizzard lost revenue year to year.

lol
i would imagine most of the subs lost are hunters tired of blizz crap with how they handle hunters and never fix them for pvp

Those 300k are all shamans so who cares

Can't say I'm surprised that WoW lost another 300k subscribers. I've logged on less and less recently. That "new factor" is no longer present in the game, even with new content from 4.2. I've seen and done everything they've released in the last 6 months in some form or another. It all feels reused and stale. I guess this was inevitable, there's only so much different content you can design in an MMO. Eventually all of your designs are used up and you have to start using them again. I think we've reached the creative limit in WoW.

I like new trial system. Even though i've quit the game in january, now hav trial acc just to log into game some times watching ppl duelin etc.

Originally Posted by Beyond2

I'll go ahead and throw in one last reply to all the people telling me to "suck it up and raid if you want your tier gear" No. I'd rather unsub than be forced to do things I don't enjoy. That sub money can go to another game like League of Legends or something else. I'll say it again, clearer this time: I will not be forced by a GAME that required a MONTHLY FEE to do something I DO NOT FIND FUN to enjoy said game. Its a waste of money. And its funny, because you can argue your "tier should be raiders only derp derp" point on the forums all you want. I've spoken with my wallet. So have nearly a million others. Guess what blizzard is going to listen to? I'll give you a hint: It isn't the people on the forums, its the people who stopped paying. "YOU SHOULD HAVE TO WORK FOR IT YOU ENTITLED BLAH BLAH BLAH RAGE" Yes. I should. I had to work for my tier 9/10 in WotLK. It took me three months of grinding heroics to finish my sets. That's work. Sorry if you don't agree, but it is. That system worked, that system kept me playing. I do not give two fucks if you think I'm acting entitled. I'm a paying customer. Blizzard can either cater to me, and get my subscription fee, or they can ignore me, and i'll spend my money elsewhere. And no, this HAS worked in the past, it was called WotLK. I subbed through most of WotLK from the end of ulduar on. The system for tier worked from ToC onward - I had a gear set to obtain. I had a goal I could reach. This continued through ICC. If you wanted your vanity gear, you got it doing 25m raids, getting tokens, and what not.

I'm not sure if you can get anymore pompous and diluted good sir. I'm quite certain that the majority of unsubs are players who got bored with the game or had RL obligations, and not players like you. I will go on to say that unsubs like you probably compromise less than 1% of total unsubs. I've never met anyone in game who was so infatuated with the way that their avatar looks. Who the hell pays $15 a month on a game that provides so much, only to play dress-up? Beyond2 I don't think this is the game for you, try looking for a game with the word "Barbie" in the title.

Originally Posted by Marxman

Can't say I'm surprised that WoW lost another 300k subscribers. I've logged on less and less recently. That "new factor" is no longer present in the game, even with new content from 4.2. I've seen and done everything they've released in the last 6 months in some form or another. It all feels reused and stale. I guess this was inevitable, there's only so much different content you can design in an MMO. Eventually all of your designs are used up and you have to start using them again. I think we've reached the creative limit in WoW.

No. It's not about that they're out of ideas. It's all about money, developing brand *new* things cost more time and cash. Any1 remember TBC? why it was cool? because Arakkoa, Ethereals etc. they was something u havent seen in wow before. It was totally new things and new lore etc. But if u think of WotLK it was about Vikings etc. what ppl already know from real-life, so it wasnt that cool if u compare to TBC content.

Im not saying TBC was better, but any person realistic and smart enough will notice that they did cut costs for WotLK (not including Ulduar). Also they did cut costs for Cataclysm. Just reused models etc. all the way mostly.

U can easily realise this by urself. Imagine u would be developing a game and u would hav two diferent options:

1. Copy something alredy exist
2. Create ur universe, characters etc. from scratch

There's HUGE difference between those two options.

bring back tbc plzz

well, I guess we know where all of the money before, and definitely now will be going, they see they`re losing a lot of subs... the game isn`t DYING, it`s far from that... but being out $15mil, is far from a little. so they dump all of the money into Titan, all of their best developers have probably gone and since moved on to the new project... I don`t want to even think about what the next WoW expansion will be, but honestly I was expecting a revamped TBC so they could recycle every bit of content they could with as little money as possible... unless of course, they`re doing the opposite and putting MORE into it to gain those subs back, because more lost subs = less development on WoW and Titan because of loss of money

Some of you seem to think it is wrong to enjoy the game because you no longer (or never?) do. Why is that? I see nothing wrong with not enjoying the game -- hell, I take very long breaks when it becomes boring or stale to me -- but why insist that everyone else feel the same way you do? Why sneer at the people who still enjoy it, and make high-handed claims that all is doomed and dead? Why act as if a game is a sinking ship and only the stupid won't jump off? That either-you're-with-me-or-against me mentality really bothers me, it just seems so pointlessly full of insults. Anyways, whether WoW has 12 million subscribers or 500,000, I am still enjoying myself in my little corner of the game. I hope Blizz stays true to what made them great in the past, and that the higher ups don't give in to pressures about sales (though, understandably, it's not that simple. . .but still, hopes).

Originally Posted by Rivehn

Can anyone say Guild Wars 2? I'm pretty sure all those people who left are waiting for that game or at least most

I don't know about you but I've never quit a game to 'wait for' a new game. I tend to wait until, you know, that new game is out first.

Originally Posted by Kwickslash

I'm one of those 300k and I'm not one of the "whiney people that didn't get what I want" that you speak of... As someone above me said, I've been playing this for 6+ years and the game is becoming stale. I'd rather leave and be thankful for the fond memories the game has given me.

Please don't resort to generalisations.

Im with you, its just recycled content and nothing too exciting, i had fun but WoW became a massive time sink

Originally Posted by ohshift

Next week, they announce a drop in subscription prices and free wotlk, to go along with the new vanilla+bc pack.while, of course, keeping the game up with shitty updates

Please note that the subscription price over the years hasnt rised even though most other consumer prices all over the world has. So you can say that wow subscription is getting cheaper and cheaper every year.

1 million customers lost and Ghostcrawler is still drawing a paycheck. that amazes me more than anything else. name another business where the lead guy can lose a million paying people and not get thrown out on the street.

Go back to the old talent trees! Guess i will continue to be one of the 600k ppl.

Originally Posted by garion55

1 million customers lost and Ghostcrawler is still drawing a paycheck. that amazes me more than anything else. name another business where the lead guy can lose a million paying people and not get thrown out on the street.

Bank of America
JPMorgan Chase
CitiGroup
Wells Fargo
Goldman Sachs
Morgan Stanley
Metlife

AND

The US Government.

Originally Posted by martinboy

Please note that the subscription price over the years hasnt rised even though most other consumer prices all over the world has. So you can say that wow subscription is getting cheaper and cheaper every year.

Bandwidth gets cheaper and cheaper every year.

You're missing the point. I do not want to be forced to raid. I do not enjoy raids. I do not enjoy anything about them.

Lets examine that in the frame that WoW is a GAME. Yes, a game. Why do we play games? To have FUN.

Okay. That out of the way, what was 'fun' for me was completing my tier set. Five man dungeons with close friends ARE fun. Raids with 4-21 people I don't know are NOT fun.

Wrath had a system in place where I could play WoW, with my friends, have fun, and eventually meet my goal of having a complete armor set. That was all it took to keep me paying, honestly.

I don't care that I can get "my two piece bonus" - I'm not in it for the power upgrade. I want a complete, coherent armor set, preferably one that looks halfway fucking decent. None of this "dungeon blues look like vendor trash, tier set looks like you're a superhero" bullshit. Actual effort into a tier set that is rewarding to finish, obtainable from dungeons. That's all I ask for. The game code has unused recolors of the current tier sets. Wrath had Tier 10, sanctified tier 10, and heroic sanctified. Why can't Blizz see that they took the casual's loot progression away?

Further on the subject of the "you can earn three whole pieces, stop bitching": Mismatched armor sucks. That's all there is to it. Its a "compromise" that is not any good for the casual player. Oh you mean i can have the shiny hands, chest, and legs (which all by the way have no unique polygons, those special effects are reserved for the head and shoulders!) but be stuck wearing this shitty blue chest and troll dungeon helm? I want a complete set of armor. That's it.

And For all the people complaining that I want it too easy, no. I want it like Wrath. Raid-point acquiring outside of raids was slower than shit in Wrath. I don't think I should be able to get the same armor in the same time as a raider. But I think that over time it should be COMPLETELY POSSIBLE to finish the armor set without being forced to raid. So you can put me on record as saying "Getting the same amount of raid tokens for not raiding is stupid" I think that was a poor choice on their part, and a part of their "compromise" to try and keep people like me from unsubbing. Now Instead of working for my tier, I get three pieces handed to me and told to fuck off to my five-mans. That's worse. Three pieces with no effort, but unable to finish the set? Yeah, no. Blizz screwed the pooch here.

Also, you can take the rings, trinkets, necks, backs, and boots and shove them. I don't give two shits about any of the loot that has a minimal impact on how your character looks. Those could be completely raid drops and I wouldn't give a shit. If all that could be bought for tokens was a COMPLETE tier set, and that was it, just five pieces, I'd be completely content.


Oh, and one more time to drive the point home. I DO NOT CARE HOW EASY A RAID DUNGEON IS. PERIOD. I DO NOT ENJOY RAIDS. I DO NOT ENJOY THE ATMOSPHERE, I DO NOT ENJOY ANYTHING ABOUT RAIDS. I WOULD SOONER UNSUB (and did) THAN PAY TO BE FORCED TO RAID FOR ANY HALFWAY DECENT LOOKING ARMOR.

I'm sure someone's going to say "good riddance, blah blah blah" news for you, people unsubscribing is going to get a response from blizzard. Wrath had a lot of customers, Cata is seeing a massive fallout. Guess what? They catered to the hardcores at the start of cata. Guess what formula they're going to try next?

looks like the blizzard slavedrivers are going to have to work the devs hard to push content out.