Is milking money from server transfers bad business by blizzard?

[grexly75]

Being optional doesn't justify the price level. Stop pretending that it does.

Maybe they put it at that price point to try and discourage abuse of the system that has been around since TBC. And yet even with the cost some do abuse the system you have whole guilds mass transfer to get a realm first in the new raid on a server where no one has gotten it yet.

And well Blizz would be going oh sweet with 10 or 25 people mass transferring for that reason.

[bloodwulf]

Everyone draws the line for what is reasonable in a different spot. I don't really think a one time fee of $25 is that obscene, but of course I don't have a lot of similar services in other games to compare it to. In any case, it's like the price of eating out one night. It's probably not a hardship for anyone and even if it was, you still have the option of leveling up a new character or opting not to transfer.

I'm not saying it's a great deal, but it doesn't really seem high enough to get worked up over, either. The way you guys are talking, you make it sound like hundreds of dollars or something.

This exactly. Its an entirely optional service. Having a high price point is also a safety net to prevent abuse. If it was decreased to $10 you can guarantee that gold sellers would use it more than they currently do. If $25 for one character is barely more than it cost to eat out now a days. Could i see it possibly being beneficial to have a bulk discount? Yeah, but at same time, i don't see it as necessary. My last transfer was from Illidan to Windrunner (including faction change), i manually moved two characters ($110) and leveled the rest, it sucked, but I don't blame Blizzard for it, they are a smart company that does some great things (multiple minipets with 100% proceeds to charitable groups) that get ignored completely, so I can understand them wanting to keep shareholders happy. Not bad business, this is the literal definition of Good Business.

[Airwaves]

Sigh... its pointless on this forum. So many clueless people here that have no idea why the charge for server xfers. It isn't about money at all. Its about server balance. If they were to have free transfers or hell $5 ones. EVERY SINGLE REALM will be 99% one sided. Yes yes yes some servers are fucked it atm with balance but it would be ALOT worse if they were free/cheap.

This exactly. Its an entirely optional service. Having a high price point is also a safety net to prevent abuse. If it was decreased to $10 you can guarantee that gold sellers would use it more than they currently do. If $25 for one character is barely more than it cost to eat out now a days. Could i see it possibly being beneficial to have a bulk discount? Yeah, but at same time, i don't see it as necessary. My last transfer was from Illidan to Windrunner (including faction change), i manually moved two characters ($110) and leveled the rest, it sucked, but I don't blame Blizzard for it, they are a smart company that does some great things (multiple minipets with 100% proceeds to charitable groups) that get ignored completely, so I can understand them wanting to keep shareholders happy. Not bad business, this is the literal definition of Good Business.

Money isn't a problem for gold sellers they just use stolen cards to pay for everything. And blizz ends up having to give the money back.

[PetersenIII]

Maybe they put it at that price point to try and discourage abuse of the system that has been around since TBC. And yet even with the cost some do abuse the system you have whole guilds mass transfer to get a realm first in the new raid on a server where no one has gotten it yet.

And well Blizz would be going oh sweet with 10 or 25 people mass transferring for that reason.

Yeah, it's working really well, then, isn't it? Also, why not fix the actual problem (raid locks resetting on server transfer) rather than hope that money deters people who are getting paid to 'be the best'.

[bloodwulf]

Yeah, it's working really well, then, isn't it? Also, why not fix the actual problem (raid locks resetting on server transfer) rather than hope that money deters people who are getting paid to 'be the best'.

He was not solely talking about raid abuse. You can also have some economies utterly destroyed by free transfers. I know exactly how i could rape my current servers economy with free transfers.

[bledgor]

Better poll

Are players needy, impossible to satisfy customers who will never be happy no matter what they are given?

Yes

edited for fail typing skills.

[torterra275]

I voted No but I think they should offer a "Complete Server Switch" option which transfers all your characters to a new realm instead of one at a time. Could price that one at 50-75€ and put a 3 month downtime on it.

Agree 100%, IMO the only flaw with server transfers. They need a "bundle" deal.

[Darsithis]

Seriously? Seriously? So if your cable bill doubled that's not greedy behavior on behalf of the cable company?

There are big differences. Cable provides an actual service that is the service unto itself. Server transfers is a completely separate and optional service that is not required, in any way, to play the game to its fullest, the same way there are optional services that the cable company offers for a fee. These are extra movie channels, early movies or shows, and pay-per-view or on-demand movies/music/tv shows. None of those extras are required in order to have or enjoy cable TV service.

If Blizzard changed the fee to $50 I probably wouldn't complain since I never use it, but I'm sure I would balk at the idea of using it and speak with my wallet: not purchasing a transfer if I felt one was needed for me to continue enjoying the game in the way I want to. As people would stop using the service, Blizzard would bring the price down. Since they're not, clearly most people are fine with the nominal fee that is charged.

Being optional doesn't justify the price level. Stop pretending that it does.

Justify the "price level"? I wasn't aware that $25 for a server transfer was an outrageous amount of money for something completely not required in any fashion to play the game. And since it's been $25 from the start, it isn't like they suddenly are running amok with some ridiculous price. If you're able to afford the $16.19 (in America, at least) per month cost, you can afford an extra $9 for a transfer if you suddenly so badly need one.

[strangerdanger]

To answer the question... it's great business for them. If people are still paying for the server transfers then it is a smart move by them.

Now do I think that the price tag for a server xfer is too much, yes. But that wasn't the question.

[Banzhe]

Blizzard charges ridiculous fees for server transfers.

Players face a huge price if they have to transfer their main and alts if their server is dead for example, horrible population imbalance etc.

Question is....especially that games like GW2 have free server transfers..... is the fact that blizzard still charges money for this just a greedy tactic on their part to suck every last bit of money they can before WOW dies?

I vote yes because other games have free transfers making blizzard look greedy. Discuss.

Simple really, if you can't afford something, don't do it.., same logic behind the "I don't have time", if you don't have time don't play.

Poll : Should players stop expecting WoW to follow the over-hyped wanna-be mmo's and stop making the same threads about the same topic over n' over?

I vote yes!

[Sam the Wiser]

I would be OK with it if they lower it to 10 bucks.

[Kuthe]

No because then people would be changing servers each week to abuse other AH's, and it would cause more server in-balances.
This causes people from swapping servers unless they really have to. So I like it.

[scvd]

One day, people will look back at their super Blizzard defending comments and think, "Wow, I was such a tool".

[ringpriest]

How is charging fees for optional services greedy?

Because it's rent extraction. They are charging many times what the service - which obviously, only they can provide - costs them.

The only defense Blizzard might have would be to argue that the $25 price point is necessary for balance, to keep people from swapping servers "too much" from either a balance or abuse perspective. I don't give this argument much credence though, because: 1) Blizzard is happy to let massively unbalanced or underpopulated realms languish for years, so obviously balance isn't that big of a concern for them, and 2) they could reduce the price to $5 or $10 for a month as part of some unique promotion and see how it works out. They certainly aren't timid about radically changing aspects of the game that don't have a direct price tag attached.

[hellosaltygoodness]

Yes, an excellent business move...... but is it a moral one?

lol, moral? they are overcharging for a video game server transfer, not the damn cure for cancer. jeez.

[Seranthor]

Never had a guild or friend group transfer servers, have you? There's a hell of a lot more reasons to transfer yourself rather than "Oh boy, I feel like a new server now". I've transferred several times but never because I wanted a change in scenery.

Stating rerolling as an option also completely misses the issue of whether or not the price level on transfers is appropriate.

Nope, in fact, my guild would never switch servers. Friends come and go, just friend switches servers now, doesn't in fact stop you from grouping with them. I'm on my server by choice and I'm staying by choice, I've never considered switching servers.

[Halicia]

To answer the question... it's great business for them. If people are still paying for the server transfers then it is a smart move by them.

Except that in an MMO, any mechanic that creates a wall between two friends playing together is detrimental by nature.

As has been mentioned already, other MMOs provide this service for free and it has hardly caused servers to go up in flames. Population imbalance is another problem entirely, and will never be solved by simply charging more money.

[Seranthor]

It's not greedy, but you have to admit that the price point is a little overdue for a rethink, $25 USD is something I would never pay, even if circumstances dictated that I really needed to transfer (that's around $30 here).

Their whole automated service price points need a rethink to be perfectly honest, they are a tad on the expensive side. Chances are you'll only see a decrease when wow gets a little older and the automated services get used less and less.

maybe the price is an intentional thing to make you actually think 'Do I REALLY want to switch servers, how important to me is a server switch?'

or... they could give you one free server xfer and then charge 50$ for everyone after that and limit it to 1 xfer per year... but that probably would be cried about too

[Shadowbane]

It is somewhat necessary though. Low population realms would instantly be abandoned. High population realms would become even more crowded. Economies would go weird as gold is taken to and from the server all the time.

If they made race changes / etc free, people would just swap to human for PvP or to whatever class is best for their PvE racials. I imagine it would have some impact on the game if it were made free, though I agree it could do with being a little cheaper.

If we're talking business though, from a business perspective, I'm sure Blizzard are thinking no, this is very good for our business.

[Seranthor]

One day, people will look back at their super Blizzard defending comments and think, "Wow, I was such a tool".

its not defending blizzard, its pointing out the myriad of reasons of how free server changes can and would be abused, and no, I'm not going to insult or attack you for your point of view. Despite the fact that the entire purpose of your post was to attack opinions that differ from your own.