World of Warcraft lost another 300,000 Subscribers last quarter, Patch 4.3 this year
Activision Blizzard latest earning call revealed that World of Warcraft lost another 300,000 subscribers last quarter, following the loss of 600k subscribers announced last quarter.

In this conference call we also learned that:


  • The next patch will include "major raid and dungeon content", we can most likely expect a raid and a 5-man from Patch 4.3
  • Patch 4.3 will be the "largest content update since Cataclysm"
  • It will be released later this year, which means that we can probably expect a PTR soon.

It's also worth noting that despite the loss of players, Mike Morhaime pointed out that the new trial system resulted in an increase in new account creations. For more details on the earning call, go check the coverage on sites such as Venturebeat or Gamasutra.


BlizzCon 2011 Virtual Ticket Now On Sale
The Blizzcon virtual ticket is now available, it seems that some people already got their Murkablo Companion Pet by buying the ticket early. (See this forum thread. However, this is most likely a bug and pets might be removed very soon.



Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Want to experience the panel discussions, tournaments, game-related announcements, and all the excitement of BlizzCon 2011 from the comfort of your own home? Then be sure to check out the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket!

The BlizzCon 2011 Virtual Ticket is now available for purchase around the world for $39.99 USD (pricing may vary by region). Virtual Ticket coverage will be available as a multi-channel Internet stream and also via Pay Per View on DIRECTV in the United States, granting viewers a front-row seat to all of the action on the show floor including exclusive interviews, demos, and more!

New DIRECTV subscribers in the United States who sign up for DIRECTV service between now and September 25 through www.directv.com/blizzcon will receive this year's BlizzCon Virtual Ticket coverage for free. Existing DIRECTV customers will be able to purchase the event on DIRECTV Pay Per View for $39.99 beginning Monday, October 10. Visit www.directv.com/blizzcon for more info.

DIRECTV customers who order the Pay Per View event through DIRECTV will receive the multi-channel Internet stream at no extra charge, and those who order the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket will also receive this year’s to-be-announced BlizzCon-exclusive World of Warcraft and StarCraft II in-game items.

Don't miss out! To learn more about the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket, head on over to our official BlizzCon 2011 Live Stream page or read the FAQ.

Cenarion Hatchling Raises More Than $1.9 Million for Japan Earthquake Relief
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of World of Warcraft players around the world who purchased the Cenarion Hatchling pet, we’ve raised a total of more than $1.9 million USD to support the ongoing earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan. In May, we announced that for every Cenarion Hatchling purchased by July 31, 2011, 100% of the $10 USD adoption fee would be going to assist victims of this disaster -- and the community responded by opening up their hearts and wallets wide. Thanks again for your support and for helping to make an impact on the lives of those affected by these events.

To learn more about the Pet Store, please visit the Pet Store FAQ.

Diablo III Beta Profile Update
Originally Posted by Zarhym (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
The beta test approaches! We’ve just updated our System Check program and would like everyone to update their Battle.net Beta Profile information by running the new one. You should do this regardless of whether there have been hardware changes made to your system.

You can run the new System Check by visiting the Beta Profile settings of your Battle.net account:

https://www.battle.net/account/manag...a-profile.html

I don’t have a Beta Profile
If you haven’t yet created a Beta Profile on your Battle.net account you’ll be presented with two download options, PC and Mac, for our System Check program. Running the program will present you with the Beta Test Opt-In Agreement, and once you agree to that it will immediately query basic computer specification information such as your type of video card, processor, and RAM. Clicking the Send button will then upload the shown information to your account.

On your Beta Profile page, you’ll want to ensure you at least have “Diablo Universe” checked for future testing, if not StarCraft and Warcraft as well. That’s it! You’re now eligible for future beta test opportunities.

I have a Beta Profile
If you’ve previously uploaded your system info you should use the links to download the new System Check program for PC or Mac and update your system info. Run the program, read through the Beta Test Opt-In Agreement that appears, and once you agree to that the program will immediately query your basic computer specification information. Click Send and the program will automatically update your profile with your system specifications. You’ll remain opted in for whichever beta tests you’ve previously selected, and you can change these selections on your Beta Profile page at any time.

Having current system specifications and checking the franchise boxes to express interest in beta testing our future products does not guarantee your entry into the beta test. We will grant a very limited number of people entry from the entire pool of those interested, based on their system specifications and other factors. While having an official Battle.net Beta Profile is one way to potentially get in, we’ll have information on other ways to increase your chances as we draw closer to the beta test.

Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Lack of Blue Posts / "Where are the Blues?"
The whole team is here today. We're actively reading the forums whenever we can while working on other tasks. :)(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Repair costs too expensive?
Repair costs have always scaled with item level. If anything, I'd say this game has a burden of too much gold out in the economy, rather than too little. 4 deaths in 1 5-player Heroic dungeon run is well above what you should expect as an average, and 100 gold is pretty easy to come by at level 85. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

New Warcraft Fan Art
The Blizzard Fan Art Section has been updated with five new pieces of fan artwork set within the Warcraft universe.




"The Raid" Livestream on August 6th @ 6:00PM PST
Blue Loon Films, the studio behind the upcoming World of Warcraft documentary, The Raid, has announced that the live stream of their film will take place on August 6th.

The Raid follows a guild over the course of a few months and features a host of content including in-game and at-home interviews with the players.

To celebrate the release of the film, TypeFrag will be giving away:


  • 1 desktop PC by Doghouse Systems
  • 5 high-end gaming headsets
  • 25, 25-person Ventrilo servers

The PC features an Intel i5 Quad-Core CPU, Windows 7 64-bit, 1TB HDD, 4GB RAM, 2 NVIDIA GTX 460 PCI-E video cards and more!

The live stream of The Raid will take place on August 6th at 6:00PM (PST) and is brought to you in part by TypeFrag, Gamebreaker.tv and Curse!

This article was originally published in forum thread: WoW Lost 300k Subscribers, Patch 4.3 this year, Blizzcon 2011 Tickets, Blue Posts started by Boubouille View original post
Comments 597 Comments
  1. Alixie's Avatar
    People are bored with Wow. I finally got bored of WoW. Ive canceled my sub many times, but after 4 months, I cringe at the though of coming back to the same boring heroics, dungeons, classes, toons, world, same pointless grind, ect. I think Im done with fantasy MMOs for a long time, and going back to my first love, the xbox.
  1. Addiena's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Talion Darkwhisper View Post
    Me and my friends are part of that 300k subscriber loss, and the reason is the same, the game is too easy and too boring. I will personally come back to WoW in a heartbeat if they implement the following.


    7) Make the raids harder and take away the PvP drops from the bosses in Baradin Hold and Wintergrasp.

    Why? Because both raids and PvP should be hard, they should require enough time and effort that if/when you get that best gear you are truly recognised as one of the best players in the game, not somebody who probably beat the raid post-patch and got welfare epics because of it.
    7 sounds like you want to be a special snowflake ...

    Achievements are for standing out from the crowd .. not gear.

    someone with 13k Achievements is someone to be recognised not some raidier who did T11 when it was current but only has 1k achieves but has flashy gear.
  1. Nocturnes's Avatar
    Let's not all facepalm here....as one said before, it's a 7year old game....if you rly believe it will keep a 12million playersbase than something is wrong in your logic. However, 900.000 players in 2 quarters does mean more then a ordinary player who's sick of the game. Revamping was never a good idea to start of with. But let's forget that and look @ the future. Also: Still a 300.000 loss considering they had loads of new subscribers on trial? (isn't clear on that). I just hope they aren't going to milk out this cow....
  1. Snes's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Alixie View Post
    my first love, the xbox.
    Must suck being a youngster these days. I was lucky to grow up in the golden age of gaming :P
  1. Asatru's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Ranikotar View Post
    inb4 WoW is dieing...


    It's most likely 300k whiny people who can't get exactly what they want the way they want it.

    Edit: I do wonder what's going to be in 4.3 though =O!
    900k so far this year. In case you have downs this is 900,000 (Nine Hundred-Thousand) people who have quit the game.
  1. drakonblayde's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Addiena View Post
    7 sounds like you want to be a special snowflake ...

    Achievements are for standing out from the crowd .. not gear.

    someone with 13k Achievements is someone to be recognised not some raidier who did T11 when it was current but only has 1k achieves but has flashy gear.
    Until they actually make achievements account-wide, it's not worth it. The fact that you have to redo them on every character you want kills the fun of being able to play a variety of characters, and just contributes to the boring same ol same ol outlook. I mean, seriously, doing the Argent Tournament on *5* different toons just about drove me batshit insane.
  1. mmocba4f7a59a4's Avatar
    I hope they step up
  1. mmocc7a138e3f7's Avatar
    So another 300k subscribers gone. I have to say im not surprised. To those that say it changes nothing you need to se the bigger pictures. Perhaps you personally do not feel the effect but then imagine Blizzard loosing 300.000 * 12 euro per month in subscriptions fees. Thats 3 million a month gone. Tell me that Blizzard is not worried about that trend keeping up eh?
  1. Hidimitsu's Avatar
    Hope this will be the SSC/TK of Cata and also hoping for 2 extra heroics. IMO they should make 2 extra heroics with each content patch.
  1. drakonblayde's Avatar
    And what it all finally boils down to is that Blizzard started compromising on quality a long time ago. We gave them a pass at first, because they had all that good will. Then we just didn't want to believe it. Now, it's fairly obvious they're enslaved to their quarterly performance, and they care more about the business side of games, and the marketing aspects, then they do about making good games. I miss the days when the answer was 'when it's ready'.
  1. Twuz's Avatar
    It's the beginning of the end i hope, It's a shame that blizzard is going to make another mmo, i'd rather they just stay out of the market for a while.
  1. Jitters's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Demonicans View Post
    Kind of getting tired of people qq'ing about the game being soo ezmode when the world's top guild said h rag was one of the hardest if not THE hardest boss they have ever had to kill and only 6 guilds have downed him so far
    The people who complain ez mode don't do heroic content and if they do they barely touch it.
  1. VXBlade's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Demonidze View Post
    well, maybe Blizzard will now understand, that rehashed content cant hold players in the game.
    That, and a profession system that is broken. A Token System that is Broken.

    Note to blizzard, when you raise the item level Cap, WITH ANY CONTENT PATCH, give all the crafters a reason to be who they are!!!
    For instance... RIGHT NOW...
    Inscriptionists should have at LEAST 1 365 Off Hand Recipe, Shoulder Enchant should have buffed slightly
    Engineers should have a 365 Helm, and the Gun, and at least a buffed tinker (HEY BLIZZARD, NOT ALL ENGINEERS ARE HUNTERS YOU MORONS)
    Blacksmiths... OMG, did you give them ALL THE CASH THIS PATCH?? WTF but aside from that, given their self buff is sockets on gear only they can get sockets on. Not sure what you can do aside from making the gems increase in level or add a socket bonus on the wrists and gloves based on highest stat.
    Alchemists Stones should go to 365
    Tailoring, Leatherworking they did get some new bags.. so I guess that is something, Self buffs should have increased
    Enchanting - Ring Enchants should increase
    Jewelcrafters, buffed Jewelcrafter only gems.

    That's the most frustrating part of wow to me, is the time you take to make a crafter only to have Blizzard systematly poop on a few of you each patch. Take some time and give your professions what they deserve EACH TIME YOU INCREASE ITEM LEVELS!! Its not that hard you lazy sob's. Want me to lay out the coding for easy modification when needed??
  1. banksytroll's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Beyond2 View Post
    See, you think you have this down pat. It has nothing to do with being spoiled. I'm not the child that sits and complains but compliantly takes what is given.

    It is BLIZZARD'S JOB to provide a game that the players want to play. In my case, as far as the game is concerned, I want to earn my gear in an environment I find fun. READ MY POSTS before you make inflammatory claims.

    In a way, you're right, I don't want to WORK for my gear. I want to PLAY the GAME, in a way I find FUN, and obtain gear as I do. I have fun in five-mans. I do not have fun in raids. I still want to have an armor set to work toward, a milestone to accomplish. This gives me incentive to play, and more importantly and more relevant, incentive to PAY blizzard.

    Also, 10/17 of the top of the top pieces? Get the fuck out. The top pieces are heroic items, and those require effort to get. Sorry your normal mode epics don't have the prestige you want, go try heroic if you want your purples to mean something.

    And even if I humor your excuse, then why in the FUCK does that justify leaving the token requirements on the helm and shoulders of the old set? That isn't the best of the best anymore, its mediocre. It's old. But it's still locked. Similarly, they won't even make a dungeon set for 5-man players to collect. There's extra colors of the tier in the game files that goes unused; they could turn that into the "current tier 5 man dungeon set" but do they? nope. Not a single bit of incentive for the five man player.

    At the end of the day, blizzard refuses to cater to the non-raider, and it's costing them in spades. You can sit on your soap box and call anyone who doesn't want to raid for their loot a whiny, spoiled kid, but in reality, blizzard is going to listen to the lost subs instead of the person calling names.
    SIR, SIR! Your complete thought process of playing this game and your self entitled privileges you thing you gain for being a shitty casual who thought Wrath of the Bitch was a good expansion it wasn't outside of Uldar. The natural state of the game in that created soo many bad retarded casual players who can't raid or "want" to raid, you are in the wrong game and lazy ( atleast some of the baddies try'd and then were properly cussed out for being terrabad). Yes, all of the game's yummy treats are for the most part in your grasp one week at a time minus the teir gear the real way. You do 5man dungeons all day in your cramped 1 bedroom apartment in some shitty suburb town. thinking 5man are the greatest form progression to obtain your shiny pieces of gear, if you aren't whoring Chaos Orbs you may as well be retarded for not crafting and atleast making a bunch of gold to buy yourself shinys yes because in Wrath people where doing that if you remember if you aren't too retarded to remember back about 18 months ago. Too bad People won't carry your sorry ass cause people have to pay attention alittle bit but quickly move on cause everything has been nerfed into the ground. Yes , Raiding is a must if you want your trail of shinies, if you don't want to have your teir set. Go play a different game please and save us the time and energy trying to explain you your err and retardation and complaints. its dumb and immature to think that they are going to hand you fucking everything on a platter saying heres your new legendary and and 4/5 teir and best in slot, but sense you want the whole set you drop a teir for being a gear whore who doesn't want to work for anything and is content running in his little hamster wheel complacent with his life never trying. doesn't work here and it doesn't work in real life.

    be gone maggot you sicken me. go play LoL nub

    Also SIR, please think before you speak. You don't even know how dumb you sound. If you want to complain about shit being dumb go post on the blizz forums where you can properly get trolled instead of my tired half ass attempt to flame you for being the lazy douche that you explain to us to be.
  1. Muk's Avatar
    All games loose and gain their player-base from time to time. As new content is released, players are gained. As content gets old, players are lost. World of Wacraft has been the most successful and popular MMO for the past six, almost seven, years. Nothing is going to change that anytime soon, not even Diablo III.
  1. mmoc3ed7b36c0f's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Melilithia View Post
    Nice job with the Japan Effort.

    Also, 4.3... woot!
    This ........good job to all those that contributed.... (lets hop it reaches the ppl that need it)


    shame to see soo few comments about the achievment you guys made at raising the money... and all QQ about 300k subs and content patch.
  1. Mithsploit's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Beyond2 View Post
    It makes me happy to see more people leaving the game. As sick and twisted as that sounds, maybe blizzard will wake the fuck up and make tier accessible to non-raiders like it was in WotLK. Or at least give casuals something to do with rewards that aren't recolored rehashed shit, while raiders get all the new shinies. The new quest zone was a joke; I saw the rewards, I saw how little they value their casual players. "Just give em recolored rares, they'll eat it up. toss in a recolored mount too for kicks" No thank you blizzard, my money will go elsewhere. Make your game casual friendly like it was in WotLK and we'll talk about me re-subbing. If it takes another 1,100,000 people to leave to make a round two million, I hope blizzard it will get blizzard to fix their shit. I want to play WoW, but not in an environment where I have no hope for obtaining an armor set unless I'm a hardcore raider.
    If you're not a raider then what the F do you need bigger shinier gear for?

    Join the 300k and gtfo. Maybe if all that's left are hardcore raiders then we might get some really good raiding content instead of patches with more worthless 5 man heroics.
  1. Linkhyrule's Avatar
    Wow that Blood Elf Death Knight art is so gorgeous =D!!!Hmm 300K subs lost? Like I care. Im going back to looking at the pretty art work now.
  1. mmocd503f3f477's Avatar
    What amazes me more is the fact that there are STILL so many players playing this endless loop of copy paste content that WoW has become. Myself being from the upper tier of humanity (based on income and IQ) i just have to assume that it is the smart ones who are leaving first.
  1. TheEaterofSouls's Avatar
    The funny thing is that people who want to have nothing to do with the game would rather laugh at a sub loss and say things like, "Blizzard are greedy idiots and Wow sucks I hope it dies!" Than just move on with their lives. Some people still like the game. You dont have to encourage negativity. It just causes more trouble.
    (But this is the internet we're dealing with. Things can get very complicated and confusing.) -.-

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