Originally Posted by
Cronch
I'm honestly surprised to see so many people legitimately excited for the WoW cash shop growth. I figured people would have more common sense, really. What do you think is going to happen when Blizzard sees that they can get away with putting more and more content that should be accessible in-game on the cash shop? They're going to push those boundaries, and there's not been a whole lot feedback from the playerbase indicating that they're about to hit a limit any time soon. Blizzard sees this as an opportunity to double dip (or triple dip, if you include the trading cards) into peoples' wallets, and people are just holding them open for them.
You'll notice I said "content that should be accessible in-game." I said that because that is the fundamental reason people still supported the subscription model. In a market that is almost completely converted to free-to-play or buy-to-play with cash shops, I've seen hundreds, if not thousands, of posts from people saying they stick to WoW because they don't have a cash shop, so all of the content (gear, mounts, pets, everything) could be achieved in-game. That's not the case anymore. Blizzard is actively creating content with the specific goal of hiding it behind a paywall, on top of the subscription fee. And people who so adamantly decried other games for doing this are now cheering Blizzard on as they do it. Don't get me wrong, I don't see a problem with Blizzard implementing something like this specifically in regions that don't pay the subscription fee. But they should at least give subscription-paying players the option to buy those items with gold in-game.
Of course I am pretty much expecting a deluge of spite towards me for saying all this, with such responses as "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT DON'T PAY INTO IT SIMPLE AS THAT." Well, first off, I'm one step ahead of you. I've already frozen my account, which truth be told I've been meaning to for a while now. I just don't play enough to warrant paying anymore, but this whole cash shop thing convinced me to flip the switch for good. Second, the whole "if you don't like it, don't buy it" thing doesn't really work as well as you'd think, especially when it comes to the gaming community at large. The gaming consumer base is pretty devoid of informed consumers, and most informed consumers are often shot down when speaking up by a barrage of "gamer entitlement" name-calling.
I got a bit off track I think, so I'll just say this last: it won't stop at transmog helms, experience boosters, or lesser charm packs. Blizzard used to be adamantly against any microtransactions. But then they saw the profit that was to be had in it. And now that gravy train is rolling and can't be stopped. And the whole time, the majority of the people paying their subscription fees like good little customers won't see a single thing wrong with it.