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  1. #1
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    ActiBlizzard making more money than ever from Wow?

    The Q2 2014 Conference Call has just been released and i notice something very interesting...

    CLICKY - Slideshow Presentation

    Sub numbers are now down to 6.8million, other threads can discuss this, but ActiBlizzard make a very interesting statement on page 6 of the Slideshow. It refers to Wow and reads:-

    "Revenues up Year on Year
    Subscriber decline in Q2 similar to last expansion cycle
    Beta testing has begun for Warlords of Draenor"


    So basically, even though sub numbers have declined they have managed to increase their revenues from Wow. To put into a broader context for everyone to understand, ActiBlizzard are making more money from Wow now than they did when sub numbers were at their peak back in Wrath in 2009/10. That means that on average they make more money out of each subscriber that they currently have now than the subscribers they had back in Wrath. Basically, the players left now are paying more money to Blizzard than the players back in Wrath.

    This effectively means that the Wow playerbase are paying more money for the game at this time than they ever have done in the past. Considering the fact that the actual sub fee has never gone up does this mean that this extra income is from being taken by the extra services and the online store?

    How do people feel about this?

    Is everyone happy to pay more for Wow now than in the past?

    How are Blizzard raising so much more cash from Wow at this time?

    EDIT: this statement has nothing to do with any other Blizzard game. Other Blizzard games are listed seperately in the report. This statement is specifically about Wow income only.
    Last edited by mmoc978ad45763; 2014-08-06 at 10:02 AM.

  2. #2
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    they make alot of money from hearthstone and people buying stuff from the pet/mount store

  3. #3
    The Lightbringer Highlord Hanibuhl's Avatar
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    Due to the mobile release of Hearthstone, ActiBlizz has gotten a lot of new customers.

  4. #4
    Titan Yunru's Avatar
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    Its called feeding adiction. Its hard to quit once you spend so much time in a game.
    Don't sweat the details!!!

  5. #5
    Herald of the Titans Kuthe's Avatar
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    Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, WoW's transmog/pet/mount/boosts store.

    ^All those are making them more money.

    Along with the 1.5million preorders of WoD at an increased price than previous.
    The sub price hasn't increased, they just have found new ways to tempt money from under people.
    We stopped searching for monsters under our beds when we realized that they were inside us.

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  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Endemonadia View Post
    Is everyone happy to pay more for Wow now than in the past?
    Don't know what this means. I've been paying the exact same amount of money since 2005 whenever I was subbed.

  7. #7
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    not necceserily.
    you can make more mony in two ways: charge costumers more and/or reduce production cost.
    and i think its both.

    they get more money with less subs, yes. mostly with the cashshop. but i dont think its enough to compensate for the subloss from the prime.
    i mean, to get that kind of money off of wow, nealry everyone would need to buy a mount or pet every two month, and thats not realistical.
    the sub itself hasnt increased much.
    we dont know how merchandies fits into this, so no clue if thats a factor or if they dont count that towards wow.

    but they still could reduce costs to increase the money they make. and i think thats a big way they do that.
    not just cost for new content, but they probably reduced the cost for the server by a big margin.
    bandwidth is much cheaper now, then it was in the early days. and capable hardware is also cheaper.
    and when we factor in they have to server less people its easy to see that the upkeepcosts of wow sank a good amount.


    so, that what i think how they get more and more money out of us.
    getting more money from us and not spending so much on wow

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Descense View Post
    Its called feeding adiction. Its hard to quit once you spend so much time in a game.
    It's also really hard to compete with WoW's 10+ years of content and polish, especially on a much smaller budget. Wildstar tried to compete and failed miserably in the polish department.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kuthe View Post
    Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, WoW's transmog/pet/mount/boosts store.

    ^All those are making them more money.
    Quote Originally Posted by MickM View Post
    Due to the mobile release of Hearthstone, ActiBlizz has gotten a lot of new customers.
    The statement on the Conference Call is talking specifically about Wow and not about any other Blizzard game... Hearthstone has a seperate section in the report.

    They make more money from Wow now than at any other time.

  10. #10
    I am Murloc!
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    Quote Originally Posted by Endemonadia View Post
    Is everyone happy to pay more for Wow now than in the past?
    I thought that since i pay the same i pay less since money is worth less now *shrugs*

  11. #11
    Blizz store - Services - subs - I think more and more people use it

  12. #12
    Elemental Lord TJ's Avatar
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    How is WoW making money? Have you seen all the additions to the cash shop? They make millions from people buying all of the pets and mounts from it and it's something they can always rely on as some people have no self control and have to buy it straight away. If revenue is down for whatever reason they can release a new mount and rake back a few million.

  13. #13
    Titan Yunru's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NeverStop View Post
    It's also really hard to compete with WoW's 10+ years of content and polish, especially on a much smaller budget. Wildstar tried to compete and failed miserably in the polish department.
    Not just wow. Heartstone has a similar feel.
    Don't sweat the details!!!

  14. #14
    It isn't just that people are buying stuff in the cash shop. They're also massively reduced costs. Remember not so long ago they made a lot of customer service reps redundant, and automated much of what these staff were dealing with. They've probably also consolidated their physical infrastructure onto cheaper - but no less capable - hardware. Perhaps more people are paying to watch virtual Blizz Con in order to get the battle pet. As someone above says, creating and then feeding an addiction is something that Blizzard have made an art form of. Only yesterday they confirmed that they're looking to make it possible for achievements to rewards toys. The next step is to make toys available in the cash shop or via other redemption. This will increase the cash they generate even if the numbers playing actually reduces.
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  15. #15
    Merely a Setback Kaleredar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pull My Finger View Post
    Don't know what this means. I've been paying the exact same amount of money since 2005 whenever I was subbed.
    With inflation, you're actually paying less

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Hoddie View Post
    It isn't just that people are buying stuff in the cash shop. They're also massively reduced costs. Remember not so long ago they made a lot of customer service reps redundant, and automated much of what these staff were dealing with. They've probably also consolidated their physical infrastructure onto cheaper - but no less capable - hardware. Perhaps more people are paying to watch virtual Blizz Con in order to get the battle pet. As someone above says, creating and then feeding an addiction is something that Blizzard have made an art form of. Only yesterday they confirmed that they're looking to make it possible for achievements to rewards toys. The next step is to make toys available in the cash shop or via other redemption. This will increase the cash they generate even if the numbers playing actually reduces.
    Some achievements already award toys. Like the titanium seal of dalaran coin.

    And toys were already available from the TCG, so there's no real difference in putting them in the store.
    “Do not lose time on daily trivialities. Do not dwell on petty detail. For all of these things melt away and drift apart within the obscure traffic of time. Live well and live broadly. You are alive and living now. Now is the envy of all of the dead.” ~ Emily3, World of Tomorrow
    Quote Originally Posted by Wells View Post
    Kaleredar is right...
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  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hoddie View Post
    It isn't just that people are buying stuff in the cash shop. They're also massively reduced costs..
    The report is talking about Revenue, not profit. That means they take in more cash at this time than they ever did... im sure their profit margin is also much fatter, as u say, but that isnt what this report is saying... INCOME not profit.
    Last edited by mmoc978ad45763; 2014-08-06 at 10:04 AM.

  17. #17
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    Character services, ingame store. Lets say you buy SOMETHING every two months. You effectively pay 25% more than you do for sub alone. (And I bet in total, its much more than 1 buy/player/2months). So, even under that assumption, 6 Million players still make the same money as did 8 Million. And since the system improved ALOT since WotLK, they now make more money, than they did with 10 Million subscribers.

  18. #18
    Merely a Setback Kaleredar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Anarch the Subduer View Post
    Many people will try to deny that they pay more right now than they used to. Conveniently ignoring the last $20 they spent on a realm transfer, a new shop mount or the $50 they spent on a character boost.
    And if I didn't buy any of those non-required services that aren't even remotely important to the game?


    And what if I payed 300 dollars for a spectral tiger back in BC? Compared to that, by fee went way down.
    “Do not lose time on daily trivialities. Do not dwell on petty detail. For all of these things melt away and drift apart within the obscure traffic of time. Live well and live broadly. You are alive and living now. Now is the envy of all of the dead.” ~ Emily3, World of Tomorrow
    Quote Originally Posted by Wells View Post
    Kaleredar is right...
    Words to live by.

  19. #19
    I feel great that they are getting more money, good for them! I really want to see Blizzard stay successful.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Anarch the Subduer View Post
    Many people will try to deny that they pay more right now than they used to. Conveniently ignoring the last $20 they spent on a realm transfer, a new shop mount or the $50 they spent on a character boost.
    Your standard delusional talk. If someone got themselves a realm transfer or a mount, I believe they did it in full awareness and because they were willing to do so, and I don't see why anyone would have to "conveniently ignore" it. Yeah, we get it, everyone's completely retarded, yawn. You're on this weird trip where you're assuming that everyone is some kind of completely mesmerized corporate victim because you seem to have suffered some trauma related to that yourself. Get a grip.

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