Updated character models + Cash Shop = Everyones happy

[Deleted]

Lol yeah, how about blizz makes raid instances that look blocky and white without the right textures and a huge white dragon model for every one of the raid bosses and say : You want your raid to look like a raid? Pay 100 euros! It's not like you can't get gear from 14 white dragons instead of 14 cool looking bosses! How about charging us for zones looking good in the next expansion too? :O Else they would look white and barren! I know! Everything that's aesthetic should be charged!

/sarcasm mode deactivated...

[Vash The Stampede]

Just some perspective here. SWTOR is free to play and the game doesn't have low quality models. Then there's Dark Souls, which I bought for $15 and is an entirely new game. Why would anyone spend any extra money into WoW when it's clearly better spent somewhere else? I'm surprised that Blizzard is getting away with $15 monthly fee.

Just do yourselves a favor and don't buy this crap. Learn to save money. Blizzard is nickel and dimming their customers cause people actually buy this crap. We as a community are responsible in reminding those people that they wasted real money for a stupid helm that's on fire. As cool as that may seem to people, without any real effort thrown into getting it I will continue to make fun of you. Just like how I make fun of your LFR gear.

Also as a reminder that I can copy your stupid helms because I have the Ai-Li's Skymirror. I could also use a potion or be a Mage with a glyph. Lets be realistic here, you'll get tired of that transmog and you'll end up letting it sit in the bank. I'll have my 10 minutes worth of fun with it and forget all about it.

[Deleted]

Blizzard can charge what they want because they don't have a competitor. Unfortunately, for the consumer, no other mmo even comes close to wow's appeal or has its customer base. If Blizzard do something greedy then no one is going to jump ship and go to another mmo in protest. Why do you think the people who just do arena and have endured horrific balance issues and blatant disregard for them as customers have suffered and borne it for so long? Blizzard have a virtual monopoly (pun intended) and if there is a service in their game that you feel is too expensive for what it is or for the effort gone into making it then there's not much you can do. "I want the cheaper character transfer services in SWTOR but I also want to play WoW". Well you're not going leave wow and play SWTOR for this are you, because the rest of that game is crap.

The current issues aside, I still don't understand why things like character transfers, race changes, faction changes are so expensive. There are various reasons why something can be expensive: its materials are rare and expensive; it requires a lot of labour to create; it requires a lot of expertise to create. NONE of these reasons apply to the aforementioned services. Blizzard are literally printing money when it comes to this. I've hard people say that they are expensive to stop people from using them so much. So Blizzard's solution is to dissuade from their usage whilst also pocketing a tidy profit? Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight............Just do like Guild Wars 2 and enable them but give them a time limit - say one service every month.

This is what the Blizzard of 1998 would have implemented.

Personally I do feel that Blizzard had a lot more integrity in the late 90s as smaller but more creative company and that some of their recent actions have been undermining this.

I wonder though, is it possible to continue expanding as a major corporation and keep your integrity? I doubt it.

It's kind of like Apple. Their image was always about being the kooky underdog who came out with the best products in the face of a huge borg-like competitor. This image was partly responsible for their success and created a legion of fans in the late 90s early 2000s who would blindly agree with whatever marketing babble their "visionary" CEO was spouting at MacWorld keynotes. But now they're turning into, if not already turned into, that borg-like competitor but they still try to project that image of the hipster underdog.

Blizzard is the same. They are still hanging onto a certain image they formed (or was formed of them) as a company in the 90s for marketing purposes. You can see it everywhere, and it's particularly excruciating to see Community Managers (read Blizzard Spin Doctors) both try to cheesily embody this whilst putting the consumer back in line in the same posts.

Don't get me wrong, wow is still a very good game and I love it, but some of the stuff Blizzard have been doing, whilst understandable, has made me realise this is not the same company I grew up with. And once you understand that, you'll have a much better time accepting that you just paid £15 to change from a human into a gnome!

[Medivhe]

Why are you so eager for blizzard to make more money? It isn't your buiseness, you gain nothing out of it, and character models is something that was promised long ago and everyone agrees is needed for at least the vanilla races.

Although i can see more paid character customization if wow ever goes F2P.

[shanthi]

So, assuming this happens of course, where did your sub fee go? not towards the premium raid, of course. They did not use your own sub fee to develop the premium raid and then charge extra for it. Blizzard would never do that.

You made up a hypothetical and then said "gasp, Blizzard then misused the fees! Blizzard would never do that!"

Blizzard hasn't done that. If they do that, then I'll criticize them. I'm not going to criticize them for a fantasy future you've concocted.

That said, we're pretty much just restating our positions in different words, so there's probably no point continuing on.

[Vash The Stampede]

Blizzard can charge what they want because they don't have a competitor. Unfortunately, for the consumer, no other mmo even comes close to wow's appeal or has its customer base. If Blizzard do something greedy then no one is going to jump ship and go to another mmo in protest. Why do you think the people who just do arena and have endured horrific balance issues and blatant disregard for them as customers have suffered and borne it for so long? Blizzard have a virtual monopoly (pun intended) and if there is a service in their game that you feel is too expensive for what it is or for the effort gone into making it then there's not much you can do. "I want the cheaper character transfer services in SWTOR but I also want to play WoW". Well you're not going leave wow and play SWTOR for this are you, because the rest of that game is crap.

This isn't just a Blizzard thing, as most publishers realize that if you like the game then you'll find a way to pay to play. That's why Microsoft was ready to turn the Xbone into a consumer jail cell. Despite that game sales are actually down across the board.

Companies are just getting greedier. Yes we know it's a business, and their goal is to make money, but get too greedy and you'll lose it all. Just ask Microsoft about their Xbone. As far as the internet is concerned, Microsoft lost to Sony. The only reason Blizzard continues to do what they do with WoW is because there is no competition. As much as people love SWTOR, it isn't comparable to WoW.

[TS26]

You made up a hypothetical and then said "gasp, Blizzard then misused the fees! Blizzard would never do that!"

Blizzard hasn't done that. If they do that, then I'll criticize them. I'm not going to criticize them for a fantasy future you've concocted.

That said, we're pretty much just restating our positions in different words, so there's probably no point continuing on.

Yes, they'd never take out pieces of content and charge it extra. I mean, there isn't a cash shop or anything, right?

On any case, you didn't answer my question, hypothetical or not..

- - - Updated - - -

Lol yeah, how about blizz makes raid instances that look blocky and white without the right textures and a huge white dragon model for every one of the raid bosses and say : You want your raid to look like a raid? Pay 100 euros! It's not like you can't get gear from 14 white dragons instead of 14 cool looking bosses! How about charging us for zones looking good in the next expansion too? :O Else they would look white and barren! I know! Everything that's aesthetic should be charged!

/sarcasm mode deactivated...

I don't think you even realized what the OP meant. He's simply saying that if this happens, people can't argue against it.

[shanthi]

Yes, they'd never take out pieces of content and charge it extra. I mean, there isn't a cash shop or anything, right?

They haven't stopped producing the amount of subscriber content that they've always produced, or dropped the quality of it, in my opinion. When they do, I'll have a problem with them. I'm getting bored of explaining that over and over while you make up increasingly silly hypotheticals, which are covered by those first two sentences. So unless you have a new point to make, I'll leave you to it.

[Deleted]

Stop crying about it people, pretty much all fo you would end up buying it anyway rather than quiting. So yeah I really hope they show up in cash shop for like 25 bucks each to teach y'all a lesson

[TS26]

They haven't stopped producing the amount of subscriber content that they've always produced, or dropped the quality of it, in my opinion. When they do, I'll have a problem with them. I'm getting bored of explaining that over and over while you make up increasingly silly hypotheticals, which are covered by those first two sentences. So unless you have a new point to make, I'll leave you to it.

Right, choosing not to answer a hypothetical question is ok because it didn't happen yet. That makes sense.

[Deleted]

Perfect for Blizzard's get-rich-quick scheme.

Dunno if you have noticed, but it's a bit late for that now..

[shise]

Gladly your atrocious idea will never happen and we'll simply have the model updates with the next X pack

[andy199345]

only read the first 3 pages, don't have the time or the patients to read the rest, but would it not be better if blizz just gave everybody the new model, and then put the old models on the store, so those who actually like their old look, can shell out the $15 for it, then blizz would still get their money and people still get their choice

[Kickbuttmario]

Everyone wins, except the people who want updated models and expect them for no additional cost.

Would it make a lot of money? It would make a sh*t ton.

Would it be a huge slap to loyal customers? The hugest.

Would swimming in money outweigh the angry community? You tell me.

Using that logic, then absolutely no content should be released for free - the sub just gets you in the game. What's the message even? That we need to pay for "it"? What's this "it"? Updated models? Content? If it's the former, then you're implying that it's already announced that they are selling for an additional cost, which isn't true. It's not "that simple", especially with an argument as broken as your own.

That's not what I meant. As I was quitting this game, it took me a long time to realize that most of their cosmetic items are priced insanely high. They have these other transfer services, that are priced, again, insanely high (fucking $20-$30, you kidding me??). Yet, people will still pay for it. It is obvious that all of this is a huge slap in the face to the consumer, as they are already paying for a sub. But here's the thing about economics, Blizzard know that no matter what, they will have the demand for these items and consumers will continue to pay.

That is why I say, you have a few choices, as proper consumers. Either pay for the cosmetic items because in your mind the price is fair, or don't pay for the cosmetic items because in your mind the price isn't fair, or the third option, get out why you still can and not purchase any of these items or sub for a company like this. It's really that simple. Depending on your views on Blizzard corporation and if you find it worthy on paying for their game while they still bluntly go this far with their cash shop, it's up to you on what you want to do.

I say to the majority who are complaining and are angry with this entire cash shop and their prices on this thread, either accept it and continue to play the game, or quit.

[shanthi]

Right, choosing not to answer a hypothetical question is ok because it didn't happen yet. That makes sense.

I did answer it, with the first two sentences of my previous post. Those cover any hypothetical. If and when Blizzard stops providing enough high-quality content to be worth $15 a month, I'll have a problem with Blizzard and the game.

So you can keep thinking up new hypotheticals and keep applying that answer to it. Having to give you the same answer to increasingly silly hypotheticals is boring.

[Jtbrig7390]

This isn't just a Blizzard thing, as most publishers realize that if you like the game then you'll find a way to pay to play. That's why Microsoft was ready to turn the Xbone into a consumer jail cell. Despite that game sales are actually down across the board.

Companies are just getting greedier. Yes we know it's a business, and their goal is to make money, but get too greedy and you'll lose it all. Just ask Microsoft about their Xbone. As far as the internet is concerned, Microsoft lost to Sony. The only reason Blizzard continues to do what they do with WoW is because there is no competition. As much as people love SWTOR, it isn't comparable to WoW.

The thing is WOW dose now have competition its the F2p/B2p market and every day its getting bigger and better.

At lease that is how I see it and like many have said people are leaving wow in truck loads for many reasons don't you think for some of the people leaving there reason is why pay 15$ a month and still have to pay extra when I can just go to a f2p game "Like Rift" get really good content and buy what I feel is needed from the cash shop and still be able to play even if I don't spend a dime in it.

[Deleted]

The thing is WOW dose now have competition its the F2p/B2p market and every day its getting bigger and better.

At lease that is how I see it and like many have said people are leaving wow in truck loads for many reasons don't you think for some of the people leaving there reason is why pay 15$ a month and still have to pay extra when I can just go to a f2p game "Like Rift" get really good content and buy what I feel is needed from the cash shop and still be able to play even if I don't spend a dime in it.

This phenomenon of people leaving WoW to go to F2P/B2P games is more of a thing in the east, namely China. But it's a whole different culture over there with a completely different business model.

The thing is, I don't think your Rift argument holds up. WoW still doesn't have competition because the quality of other games in the mmo market not to mention the established player base (an important factor in deciding which mmo to play) is just not there. THe price doesn't have much to do with being a competitor to wow.

Think of it like Coke and Pepsi.

If I go somewhere and they don't have Coke I'll be happy to drink Pepsi. If they don't have Coke but they do have Piss, I'm not going to drink Piss even though it's free.

[Jtbrig7390]

This phenomenon of people leaving WoW to go to F2P/B2P games is more of a thing in the east, namely China. But it's a whole different culture over there with a completely different business model.

The thing is, I don't think your Rift argument holds up. WoW still doesn't have competition because the quality of other games in the mmo market not to mention the established player base (an important factor in deciding which mmo to play) is just not there. THe price doesn't have much to do with being a competitor to wow.

Think of it like Coke and Pepsi.

If I go somewhere and they don't have Coke I'll be happy to drink Pepsi. If they don't have Coke but they do have Piss, I'm not going to drink Piss even though it's free.

...Quality of those games is opinion based I personally think Guild Wars 2/Rift's content is Equal to if not better then wow's content.

Also you can not prove that its mostly a thing in the east all we know is tons of people are leaving wow for different reasons and you can't rule out the fact there is so many F2p/B2p mmo's being one of them.

Wow is Coke and F2p/B2p is Pepsi if you don't like one you try the other and that is what people is doing. If F2p/B2p"Pepsi" is giving people the same taste and what they want from Wow "Coke" they will chose F2p/B2p since its Free/Cheaper.

And as I stated the Quality of F2p/B2p games is getting better and better each day Guild Wars 2 and Rift show this.

[Urti]

Yeah and while were at it, why dont we just make all ingame gear grey boxes. Since its just cosmetic. Blizzard are a struggling indie dev company you know! They need the money, so thats why I think tier gear should be on the cash shop only.

After all guys its just cosmetics.

WTB My Tauren tanking in an empty refrigerator box. Bonus points if there is a dead gnome scribbled on it in crayon. Put THAT on the cash shop and I'm in. Seriously, put the silly, fun, and RP stuff like that on the cash shop, and keep the epic looks for in-game rewards. I'd love to be able to pick up things like the Troll shoes or invisible shirt on the store for a couple bucks. I's also like to see them put some of the older TCG mounts and stuff on there too since it is practically impossible to find anymore.

[shanthi]

Or.. right, now heres a crazy thought, try and follow me on this one. Or, they just put them INGAME with that £10 they get from everyone every month

Maybe you already get £10/$15 worth of content every month and the store stuff is extra that they'd never have produced in the first place if the store didn't exist.

I mean, I get that unlimited content would be good. Why can't Starcraft be included in the money we already pay? Why can't the WoW books be included? We already pay money!