Update 2 - Added an additional offer, thanks to George.
Update - Added an additional offer, thanks to Jerigothiel.

World of Warcraft Magazine Canceled
Blizzard just sent a mail to all the subscribers of the World of Warcraft magazine. If you subscribed to the magazine, you can either ask for your money back or get a package of 6 companion pets in game, you might want to look into it now since you apparently only have 2 weeks to do so.






Here is the mail sent to subscribers, thanks to Ocnarian for his forum thread.

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Dear Subscriber,

The World of Warcraft Official Magazine is ending its run, and the current issue, #5, will be the last one.

This has been a difficult decision to come to. Although both Blizzard Entertainment and Future US are very proud of the magazines that we have created together, we have each decided to focus our efforts on other areas.

We really appreciate your support for the magazine and would like to offer you a premium based on your remaining subscription term, or, if you prefer, a full refund of your remaining balance instead. To redeem your premium or request a refund, please visit www.worldofwarcraftthemagazine.com by September 30, 2011.

On the website, you'll need to input the following code to access your options:

[Code removed, obviously]

(Please be aware this code is non-transferable and can only be used once.)

Again, we would like to thank you for your continued support and hope you enjoy reading issue 5 as much as we enjoyed making it.

With thanks,
Future US and Blizzard Entertainment

BlizzCon Store Online Pre-Sale for Attendees
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Have a ticket to BlizzCon 2011? Planning to purchase some souvenirs at the show? Between now and Tuesday, September 20 at 9:59 a.m. Pacific time, BlizzCon 2011 ticket holders attending the show in person are able to shop for items from the BlizzCon 2011 store (while supplies last) during our limited-time-only, online BlizzCon Pre-Sale. Items purchased through this sale will be shipped directly to your home, allowing you to avoid store lines at the show and giving you more time to take in the panels, tournaments, and other events at BlizzCon 2011.

To participate, simply log in to the online Blizzard Store using the Battle.net account you provided when you purchased your BlizzCon 2011 tickets, and click the BlizzCon Sale button in the lower right-hand corner of your screen to browse this year’s selection. Please note that only ticket-holders who provided Battle.net account info will have access to BlizzCon 2011 merchandise during this online sale -- you can view this information in the ticket buyer’s Order History.

Shop BlizzCon now!

If you're planning to purchase this year's BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch BlizzCon from home, you'll have an opportunity to participate in a second BlizzCon merchandise pre-sale September 23 through September 27. Check out our previous BlizzCon Pre-Sale blog post for more information.

Enjoy, and we look forward to seeing you at BlizzCon 2011!

Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Tier 13
[...] Most of this tier was attempting to play off a new ability the class got in Cataclysm, so for instance Time Warp for mages and Wild Mushroom for druid, in some cases (like warrior or warlock) there's playing off of the raid and those themes, and then for others it's a bit more just doing something we think represents the class in a more abstract manner. We're putting them up as soon as they're done, essentially, so from here on out they're likely to be posted rather randomly. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Wind Shear
It's still a part of the plan and you'll find out more information once we get into discussing patch 4.3 class balance. I'm not really able to reveal any plans as of yet. Without any context the information I could provide would only lead to a slew of follow-up questions, which will be answered better in our upcoming announcements. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Tier 13 and Future Armor Art
There is only one objective truth about every single armor set we've ever made -- some people love, and some people hate, each of 'em. The art is completely subjective and your tastes reflect your viewpoint.

That said, our design philosophy for epic sets is not changing at all with the introduction of Transmogrification. We're still going to keep designing what we think is fitting and awesome for each class and tier. We want people to want to wear all of the major armor sets we release. In the future you'll just have the option of deciding what set fits you best aesthetically and adventuring to obtain it, without worrying about the stats. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Paypal and Diablo III Auction House
We're pleased to announce that in most regions, PayPal will be our payment-service partner for the Diablo III auction house, allowing players who trade with real-world currency the ability to cash out the spoils of their battle-torn adventures via a PayPal account.

PayPal will also soon be added in several regions as a payment option on Battle.net, providing another convenient and secure payment method for digital purchases of Blizzard products and services.

We’ll share region-related specifics, as well as further details on everything mentioned above, in the near future. Stay tuned! (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
This article was originally published in forum thread: WoW Magazine Canceled, Blizzcon Store Pre-Sale, Blue Posts started by chaud View original post
Comments 162 Comments
  1. mmoccc35fbd591's Avatar
    "Most of this tier was attempting to play off a new ability the class got in Cataclysm"... so why we have 2 dead dogs on that gigantic (and ugly) shoulders instead of a nice animated Earthquake that looks like the collapsed pillars in Deepholm?
  1. Inexxa's Avatar
    Seems a shame for the mag to be cancelled so early. But I'm sure people will be happy with the pets or money back :P
  1. Envojus's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by McNeil View Post
    Blizzard is actually.... REFUNDING money? WTF? THIS ISN'T THE WORLD I USED TO LIVE IN!!! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE GREEDY BLIZZARD!!! *shoots himself*
    But they still keep their options by offering 6 pets which are pretty much free for Blizzard instead of a refund ^-^
  1. Talydaria's Avatar
    So It looks like this news post crashed the wow mag site... but on another note I sure am glad this was posted I subscribed to the magazine with a email I no longer use and sure enough after I read this I go and check my email and there it is sitting in the spam folder. Looks like I will finally get the pets I haven't bothered buying myself
  1. Acquiesce's Avatar
    So is the hunter set going to be invisible?
  1. Brazinger's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Malleus View Post
    Meanwhile, in actual news: "PayPal will be our payment-service partner for the Diablo III auction house." That just guaranteed beyond a doubt that I won't be buying Diablo III, and I will be trying to talk my friends out of it as well. Paypal are two steps away from being a criminal organisation.
    Me and my friends have used PayPal for a long time and never had problems with it...

    ---------- Post added 2011-09-17 at 02:20 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Jubb View Post
    Diablo 3 looks lame anyway you cant even change the camera to 1st person or rotate / zoom. I can't believe they plan to make it look like a strategy game it's an RPG. Who would want to play such and outdated gameplay style?
    It's not outdated. This type of gameplay is very popular...
  1. good diu bro's Avatar
    Wind ShearIt's still a part of the plan and you'll find out more information once we get into discussing patch 4.3 class balance. I'm not really able to reveal any plans as of yet. Without any context the information I could provide would only lead to a slew of follow-up questions, which will be answered better in our upcoming announcements.
    I wonder how "technical" does increasing the cooldown can get?
  1. durenas's Avatar
    Only two weeks? Really? Rental agreements require more notice than that. There are lots of reasons why someone won't or can't respond within that time frame, and I would expect such an arrangement to be good until the end of the year.
  1. Sammonoske's Avatar
    Most of this tier was attempting to play off a new ability the class got in Cataclysm, so for instance Time Warp for mages and Wild Mushroom for druid..
    Don't think this Blue knows what this mage tier was themed after.

    As for the magazine. I saw this coming. I knew it would end short. They were a bit expansive and they quickly became outdated. If I had subs to the magazine, I would go for the refund. There are a bunch of non-blizz related games coming out in the next few months.
  1. homerunhomer's Avatar
    5 issues, that was an amazing run Blizzard! I'm glad I didn't sign up for that now.
  1. Izaak's Avatar
    Has anyone redeemed their sub for pets yet? Do they provide a code or just send them to your bnet account. I already have three of them, so having each pet as a code makes sense. Otherwise, give me my money back...
  1. Malleus's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by kaintk View Post
    you will not play diablo3 who will certainly be a great game juste because of a auction house that has the option to pay real money ?
    No, I will not play Diablo III because Blizzard have chosen to jump into bed with Payscum.

    Whenever you bring up the subject of how crappy PayPal are, you always get people saying "Weird, I've never had a problem with them" - well, it's not like everyone does, is it? Until you have a problem with PayPal, you're fine. As soon as you have a problem, though, you may as well kiss your cash goodbye.

    My last dealings with PayPal came after I sold an item on eBay and took payment through them. The guy I sold it to told PayPal I hadn't shipped; they gave him a refund and, as I'd already withdrawn the money, demanded that I pay it back into my account. I informed them that I had a proof of posting certificate and would send a copy to them on request, but as I had shipped it was no longer my responsibility. I also sent them an e-mail the buyer had sent me telling an entirely different story to the one he gave PayPal - that his flatmate had used his account without him knowing - along with the results of an eBay trawl that showed he had bought an item identical to mine on the same day, and an e-mail from the seller of that item informing me that the buyer had made no attempt to reclaim money from him.

    The next communication I had from PayScum was an e-mail informing me that my account was being locked and a letter notifying me that they had set the bailiffs on me. They tried to take my money and worse, they damaged my credit rating, and they did so in the face of indisputable proof that I was the one being defrauded. That is who Blizzard are dealing with - and that is why I won't do business with them.
  1. Drakoes's Avatar
    the website is down
  1. George's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Izaak View Post
    Has anyone redeemed their sub for pets yet? Do they provide a code or just send them to your bnet account. I already have three of them, so having each pet as a code makes sense. Otherwise, give me my money back...
    I redeemed my pets and I got 6 codes, one for each pet. I only used the codes for the pets that I didn't already have and saved the rest. Keep in mind that the codes are only valid for one year.
  1. Sammonoske's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Malleus View Post
    No, I will not play Diablo III because Blizzard have chosen to jump into bed with Payscum.

    Whenever you bring up the subject of how crappy PayPal are, you always get people saying "Weird, I've never had a problem with them" - well, it's not like everyone does, is it? Until you have a problem with PayPal, you're fine. As soon as you have a problem, though, you may as well kiss your cash goodbye.

    My last dealings with PayPal came after I sold an item on eBay and took payment through them. The guy I sold it to told PayPal I hadn't shipped; they gave him a refund and, as I'd already withdrawn the money, demanded that I pay it back into my account. I informed them that I had a proof of posting certificate and would send a copy to them on request, but as I had shipped it was no longer my responsibility. I also sent them an e-mail the buyer had sent me telling an entirely different story to the one he gave PayPal - that his flatmate had used his account without him knowing - along with the results of an eBay trawl that showed he had bought an item identical to mine on the same day, and an e-mail from the seller of that item informing me that the buyer had made no attempt to reclaim money from him.

    The next communication I had from PayScum was an e-mail informing me that my account was being locked and a letter notifying me that they had set the bailiffs on me. They tried to take my money and worse, they damaged my credit rating, and they did so in the face of indisputable proof that I was the one being defrauded. That is who Blizzard are dealing with - and that is why I won't do business with them.
    So you had a bad ordeal with Paypal. It doesn't mean you should berate the game, let alone be completely deterred just because of an OPTIONAL service within the game. You can't argue that Paypal is one of the higher known currency transaction services and Blizzard/Activison chose to use their service. Sorry you had a hard time with Paypal but it really has nothing to do with the core gameplay of Diablo.
  1. Doombringer's Avatar
    The magazine was pretty awesome, considering it did not have advertisements (even for WoW-related items -- there may have been articles featuring/referencing these items, but no actual advert pages), was full color front to back, and often featured original art and insightful interviews with Blizzard folks and community members.

    That said, it became clear that they couldn't go on doing this. Print is expensive, and Blizzard has existing means of getting information to players, in a far less costly medium: their websites, and interviews they give to other webzines/partners/etc. BlizzCon too, though that is a pricy venture in and of itself.
  1. Izaak's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by George View Post
    I redeemed my pets and I got 6 codes, one for each pet. I only used the codes for the pets that I didn't already have and saved the rest. Keep in mind that the codes are only valid for one year.
    Thank you!
  1. Trassk's Avatar
    This is bloody criminal. I gave my money for these magazines, and yet when it cancels its publish, I have only 2 weeks to get a refund? I already HAVE all those pets, so a refund is the only thing I can go for now, and yet I have only 2 weeks to respond, and I need to send a bloody letter to them for it? This is crap.
  1. Doombringer's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by mvallas View Post
    Since Tier 13 Mage and Druid are based off of new abilities......does that mean there's a chance that Rogue tier 13 is going to be based on a Smoke Bomb? o_O
    Think a little more abstract. Who or what is famous for using smoke bombs and similar tricks to avoid detection?

    Yeah. Ninjas.

    However, it isn't a hard or fast rule to use a Cataclysm ability to design the tier set. Warlocks and Warriors were clearly exempted from this. Paladins may get an 'inquisitor' set since it is a good fit, but can you say that the Shaman tier 13 fits with... uh, Unleash Elements? No.
  1. ShimmerSwirl's Avatar
    PayPal and Activision united at last...the final proof that this company has officially gone down the toilet.

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