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. Vasz's Avatar
    Well if we only have the seven firelands bosses untill Nov, Dec, lots more will jump ship. Makes me wonder where the 2.5 billion pounds a year goes when it comes to content. Trion are PUMPING out content like no tomorrow, while it looks like Blizzard are on for another 5-6 month gap.
  1. IfOnly's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by atrixx View Post
    I am willing to bet, historically, WOW hasn't seen a massive subscriber shift during the conclusion of the school year. Some, but not 600K worth. I would expect a dip in the summer however, but it is going to be tough for them to get people back in the fall with competition ramping up from TOR. It is probably going to be flat to negative growth for the next 12 months until the Xpac rolls out.
    They actually have always had noticeable drops in summer. Either people don't play or they burn out. With the return of the school year they can't play half as much and it therefore more appreciated. I'm guilty of this last year, but I did come back.
  1. Tidycat's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Pacer View Post
    Notsureifsrs.jpg
    lol your reply made me laugh for real. Something about the "not sure if serious" replies always make me laugh. But yes I was a little serious. Just saying there are other factors (maybe not the kind I exampled) that people leave. Im sure not everybody was like "grabble grabble this game sucks, im leaving"

    *Maybe hard to tell but not being sarcastic
  1. thunderdragon2's Avatar
    tbh i compleatly board atm i cant find a job to keep me preocoupied all the ppl in my area are half my age and i dont drive so i cant go out any where when i want to realy, 2 buss services 1 hr is crap not to mention i got hayfeaver

    so im left with wow that may be boaring as hell since during the summer no1 wants to raid im lucky to even have 2/4 of our firelands raids going ahead, but i dont wana quit coz after the summer things are bck to normal and ill be enjoying my self and dont get me started on the zul agains

    as for 4.3 im hoping for at least 2 raid with between 5 and 8 bosses each 3 5 mans with say 4-6 bosses each and they are all in 1 cycle with a hidden ilv req like in woltk so we dont get sice of then so we can keep up

    that way every1 has viarity

    now im not much of a pvper but an additional bg would be nice

    i know i said im not much of a pvpr but this deathmatch idear thats been thrown around sounds like a good idear

    as for the 300k sub loss like me there proberly board of thee game but unlike me thay got other stuff to fill their time

    good job on the near $2 bilion raised for the japan relief

    sorry for the wall o' text
  1. IfOnly's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Goranhir The Furious View Post
    I got nothing against the game, or Blizzard, or normal players, but for some reason I like seeing butthurt idiots in denial yelling 'no it's not dying 900 000 players lost is NOTHING, NOTHING arrrrrghhhh!' It's like they can't stand people saying that 'players are leaving the game you like muahahahhaha' and they go into some sick rage making excuses why are players leaving lol. Hope another 3 million go away just to see more irrational nerd-rage on the forums, it's delicious!
    You take joy in wanting to see a game die? Wow that just proves how much better you are then everyone else (sarcastic face)
  1. Crashdummy's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Tidycat View Post
    lol your reply made me laugh for real. Something about the "not sure if serious" replies always make me laugh. But yes I was a little serious. Just saying there are other factors (maybe not the kind I exampled) that people leave. Im sure not everybody was like "grabble grabble this game sucks, im leaving"

    *Maybe hard to tell but not being sarcastic
    Q2 is not summer, Q3 is summer.
  1. tehnoobish1's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by sicness View Post
    How can the 4.2 resubs be included in the Q2 report if 4.2 was released in Q3?

    Keep in mind they also announced releasing content patches more frequently just before releasing 4.1, so we really have nothing yet to seriously judge them on for this announcement as we have yet to see the next major patch after 4.2. So far they're keeping their word, by releasing a 5 man and then a raid shortly afterward while typically having only done that every 6 months before.

    4.2 has been out for 5 weeks now and you expect a 4.3 announcement already? Some of you have seriously flawed expectations of what they should be able to accomplish.
    The didn't release "a raid shortly afterward", they actually delayed the release of Firelands and put out 4.1 as a quick measure to keep people amused. Firelands came out 6 months and 3 weeks after the release of cataclysm, so by your own statement of "every 6 months" they actually did fall behind. Whether or not a trend will show up or not is anyone's guess at this point, but you can't say that they have kept their word at all so far either.
  1. heroni's Avatar
    not surprised at all. i for one quit the game after they pulled that stunt by adding a higher ilvl honor gear a week after release. Wouldn't be surprised if more did to, they shure wasted my time enough to make me quit.
  1. el3mentz's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by IfOnly View Post
    You take joy in wanting to see a game die? Wow that just proves how much better you are then everyone else (sarcastic face)
    WoW dying and no one can stop this except Blizzard... WoW needs whole new gameplay design to bring back the players who they lost... But this will never happen... Just wait Guild Wars 2, StarWars The Old Republic or Tera or TITAN or Diablo 3.... Everything has got to an end....

    ONLY I CAN LIVE FOREVER!
  1. kindbuddy's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Beyond2 View Post
    I'll go ahead and throw in one last reply to all the people telling me to "suck it up and raid if you want your tier gear" No. I'd rather unsub than be forced to do things I don't enjoy. That sub money can go to another game like League of Legends or something else. I'll say it again, clearer this time: I will not be forced by a GAME that required a MONTHLY FEE to do something I DO NOT FIND FUN to enjoy said game. Its a waste of money. And its funny, because you can argue your "tier should be raiders only derp derp" point on the forums all you want. I've spoken with my wallet. So have nearly a million others. Guess what blizzard is going to listen to? I'll give you a hint: It isn't the people on the forums, its the people who stopped paying. "YOU SHOULD HAVE TO WORK FOR IT YOU ENTITLED BLAH BLAH BLAH RAGE" Yes. I should. I had to work for my tier 9/10 in WotLK. It took me three months of grinding heroics to finish my sets. That's work. Sorry if you don't agree, but it is. That system worked, that system kept me playing. I do not give two fucks if you think I'm acting entitled. I'm a paying customer. Blizzard can either cater to me, and get my subscription fee, or they can ignore me, and i'll spend my money elsewhere. And no, this HAS worked in the past, it was called WotLK. I subbed through most of WotLK from the end of ulduar on. The system for tier worked from ToC onward - I had a gear set to obtain. I had a goal I could reach. This continued through ICC. If you wanted your vanity gear, you got it doing 25m raids, getting tokens, and what not.
    Notice how many times he uses "I", yep we know what your all about, bud.
  1. wigg1es's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by kindbuddy View Post
    Notice how many times he uses "I", yep we know what your all about, bud.
    This is the best reply you can come up with to a completely logical, supported, and valid argument? Why don't you go have a seat over there, away from your computer. You sound like you could use a break.
  1. Arthzil's Avatar
    2am GMT... yeeeeah... not going to stay up for documentary about people who raid this amazingly "hard" pve content and cry about failures... Even authors don't believe in it since they know they have to give something away for people to bother to watch...
  1. Argroth's Avatar
    Wow is dying and I'm certainly not crying.sad about the game itself but the moral wasteland of players can rot.
  1. ScottsdaleHokie's Avatar
    Not surprising. Cata is by far the worst expansion ever released. Between the class changes, i.e. paladins, and the new crap, linear content, they have pretty much destroyed the game. The only thing that will save it now is another complete overhaul.
  1. Korru's Avatar
    Well guys let's admit it; Wow has passed its prime. >_>
  1. Nahela's Avatar
    Honestly I'd be concerned if WoW wasn't losing subscriptions at this point. The game is 7 years old. It's certainly not 'dying', but it's definitely slowing down. What's more concerning is the industry hasn't pulled out another truly competitive MMO in all this time. Rift came close, but the handling of it was utter garbage.
  1. Shilien's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Rowrin View Post
    I really dont think it is all that surprising. If you look at it, Wotlk statistically was the best time in wow, when the subscriber population peaked at around 12 mill. Something in wotlk raised the player "population cap" of wow. That said, cataclysm was suppose to bring back a burning crusade / vanilla feel to the game. By the looks of it, the game is easing back into Burning crusade / pre-early wotlk levels.
    I think this is pretty much correct. It's almost as if Blizzard listened to the more 'elite' players and tried to make things harder and burned the more 'casual' players so they're quitting.

    You can mock WOW for being too easy all you want, but easy does bring subs. So if your opinion of a game is based on how many subs it has, you have to also consider what that means for it's relative difficulty level.
  1. Vasz's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Argroth View Post
    Wow is dying and I'm certainly not crying.sad about the game itself but the moral wasteland of players can rot.
    While I don't think wow is "dying", you do have to ask yourself: If wow is losing subs this fast when the competition is low (with only RIFT), What will it be like when the BIG GUNS are launched? I think GW2 and SWTOR will take a huge slice of the WoW pie, unless they pull something amazing and fresh out of the bag.

    That being said, investors don't care how many subs wow has, only how much money they are making. If wow is making them money .. everything is seen as fine and dandy.
  1. Parkbench's Avatar
    The game has gotten tired, boring, and either restrictive or too easy (depending on your guild or raid group).. Blizzard has made it clear that they have no intentions of further innovating WoW and are actually trying to streamline a lot of the game play to be even more simple.. You can't put in raid content that even mediocre guilds can clear in the first week and then expect them to want to farm it for 6 months.. There are many MANY guilds that don't have any interest in the frustration of heroic mode raiding.
  1. Argroth's Avatar
    300k more people who decided to do more with their life and leave the undeserved smug elitests and a terrible company (see real money AH in D3) behind.

    Congrats to all those who quit, you have changed your life for the better. This is what happens when a company stops caring even one bit about its customers, lose enough customers and you will lose money too. Sadly some will come back but people are kidding themselves (blind faith in a game/company that they have wasted far too much time in can do that) if they think it will be a large number.

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