should an expansion pack come with 1 month play time

[Strakha]

For me its the cheapest entertainment I do, so it really doesn't matter, but obviously i'd take free money.

[Dreyo]

My reasoning is: you should be able to use a product you just buy without additional purchase.

Doesn't make sense, no. I mean, Newegg will sell you this fancy piece of computer hardware:



What makes you think that just this one component should get you any value on its own?

[MoanaLisa]

People like free stuff. I don't think it's entirely necessary though and seriously doubt that paying $40 for access to the expansion for a month would be all that attractive to players who have left.

In the end, that's what it is: $40 for 30 days access.

[Deleted]

People like free stuff. I don't think it's entirely necessary though and seriously doubt that paying $40 for access to the expansion for a month would be all that attractive to players who have left.

In the end, that's what it is: $40 for 30 days access.

U forget that Blizzard got slated on the forums during cata when they introduced the Special Offer to tempt old players back... the principle was - Why are Blizzard rewarding players who quit over loyal players who have remained subbed?

The point is that Blizzard are absolutely terrible at rewarding their loyal customers with free 'stuff'. These days Blizzard have the face of a cold-hearted money-grabbing corporate giant and not the face of fun videogame fans.

Nobody wants Blizzard to lose money, we all want them to turn a profit but there comes a point when profit margins are simply obscene. The fact they just admitted they have $4.6billion cash sitting around (in the Vivendi buyout story) very much shows this.

NOTE: i cant remember the exact offer so maybe someone can help me out?... something about instant lev85 and free playtime rings a bell.

[Deleted]

I just wish they'd do away with the stupid expansion sets and just have one functional bundle CD-key available for someone who's starting WoW.
This is the main deterrent for any player thinking of starting or resubbing after long breaks - you have to purchase the chest, then Cataclysm and finally MOP. That's THREE freaking CD-keys just to get this thing started!

It could cost even 50 euro on release. But ffs, just make it one working pack.

[Deleted]

I just wish they'd do away with the stupid expansion sets and just have one functional bundle CD-key available for someone who's starting WoW.
This is the main deterrent for any player thinking of starting or resubbing after long breaks - you have to purchase the chest, then Cataclysm and finally MOP. That's THREE freaking CD-keys just to get this thing started!

It could cost even 50 euro on release. But ffs, just make it one working pack.

It costs ALOT of money for a new player...

The original game and each expansion cost £30 each, thats £150 before u even start paying the monthly subs.

[Reyzzz]

It costs ALOT of money for a new player...

The original game and each expansion cost £30 each, thats £150 before u even start paying the monthly subs.

I heard there is this thing called battle-chest for 15 euros/20 pounds/20 dollars, which contains vanilla/BC/WotLK+1 month of game time.

[MoanaLisa]

U forget that Blizzard got slated on the forums during cata when they introduced the Special Offer to tempt old players back... the principle was - Why are Blizzard rewarding players who quit over loyal players who have remained subbed?

NOTE: i cant remember the exact offer so maybe someone can help me out?... something about instant lev85 and free playtime rings a bell.

It was the return of the Scroll of Resurrection and the returning player got a free 80--not 85--a free realm transfer so you could play with your friend, a free upgrade to Cataclysm, a week of free time and a free set of level 80 gear.

To the main point: No I didn't forget anything about the Special Offer. It simply didn't have anything to do with my main point which was to answer those that were thinking that getting a free month with an expansion purchase would bring back old players. I don't think it will. If someone wants to buy the expansion they'll likely buy the expansion and reactivate their account. If they're on the fence or not interested, spending the cost of an expansion just to get a free month is a terrible deal.

Some kind of deal like the above would be fine for players who are no longer in the game. That's not the same as everyone getting a free month for buying the expansion.

A customer loyalty program would be nice enough but probably cause more problems than it would solve over the long run. The Annual Pass was a pass at that and it was an endless source of complaining. It's not really a priority as far as I'm concerned. I used to subscribe to magazines a long time ago and didn't expect them to send me free books or anything. You get what you agree to pay for.

As for getting into the game for new players: $40 for the expansion for existing accounts; $60 dollars for the expansion and everything before it for new players would be fair and simple.

[Thetruth1400]

I'm fine with the way it works now. I'd rather pay $40 and my usual $15 subscription fee then $60 for the same game with one month "free" time included.

Blizzard is a company. There goal is to make money. If they want to give an incentive I'd say maybe a week free game time with each expansion, but not a month. If they offer a month free with each expansion, assuming they sell the same number as current sub numbers, that's 8.3 million subs or roughly $124,500,000 they're giving away in free play time for one month. A horrible business move. They would most likely inflate the base cost of the expansion to at least offset the loss a little. Instead of $40 like now, it will probably be, in the least, $50.