WoW gearing up for Microtransactions (of the F2P variety)

[Zipzo]

WoW korea just added a 100% exp boost potion that costs ~0.93 USD, and lasts for one hour. I think this is pretty interesting, personally, but I won't say anything else either way. Take a look at this next link though...describes how it would be the best move for them given their revenue has dropped by 53% in the last 7 months.

http://www.superdataresearch.com/blo...otransactions/

[ohshift]

I bet "randomsite#89" knows a lot more about Blizzards revenue than Blizard itself.

[Stino]

I bet "randomsite#89" knows a lot more about Blizzards revenue than Blizard itself.

Because Blizzard is totally 100% honest and upfront about everything.

[Rucati]

A: This isn't news. At all. Not even a little. Been known for months.
B: I'm not about to trust some site with terrible math skills to tell me what Blizzards revenue is.

[Pebrocks The Warlock]

I'm pretty sure this is only staying on Asian servers since they pay completely differently than everyone else.

[korrable]

WoW korea just added a 100% exp boost potion that costs ~0.93 USD, and lasts for one hour. I think this is pretty interesting, personally, but I won't say anything else either way. Take a look at this next link though...describes how it would be the best move for them given their revenue has dropped by 53% in the last 7 months.

http://www.superdataresearch.com/blo...otransactions/

This is pretty old news.
They had it up for testing on PTR.

[vindicatorx]

It would be stupid on their parts to go FTP anytime soon. I know if they do go F2P I will never play WoW again.

[MoanaLisa]

Take a look at this next link though...describes how it would be the best move for them given their revenue has dropped by 53% in the last 7 months.

Comparing total revenue for September of last year when they were pre-selling the expansion--remember it launched in late September??--with April of this year when they weren't selling expansions is the first clue that the article you quoted was written by someone that couldn't find their ass with both hands.

As another example: Walmart--or just about any retailer--gains revenue during the Christmas season that is considerably higher than it is in July.

Just think about it.

[Travio]

Because Blizzard is totally 100% honest and upfront about everything.

Because it's legally required as a public company to be 100% honest and upfront with their shareholders during their reports, which we see every quarter.

[Airwaves]

It is only for asian realms who pay different then eu, oceanic and us realms.

[bluspacecow]

Well I had a quick look on through Activision Blizzard's investor site.

In particular their SEC filings that AFAIK constitute a federal document for which they are dire and severe consequences for lying on.

I have several issues with the linked article from Super Data Research

1) It uses an odd choices of months to compare. April 2013 and November 2012

Activision Blizzard only release GAAP Net Revenues by Segment/Platform Mix for three month periods , not separated out into one month periods.

2) Why those two months ? The article was released in September 2013 where you have a selection of these quarterlies to use data from : End of June 2013 , End of March 2013 , End of December 2012 , End of September 2012

3) Given that Activision Blizzard released revenue amounts include things like Call of Duty elite memberships , Skylander Toys and other Activision related sales how have they separated the Activision part out ?

4) Looking at the quarterly reports & annual reports I have no idea where they're getting their figures from. According to :

http://investor.activision.com/secfi...104659-13-8490

Their online subscriptions revenue for the 3 months ending December 31 , 2012 was $285 Million , not the $612 million per that quarter as they would have you believe (IE If they've estimated April by taking the June 2013 amount and dividing by 3 it follows to reason that if they made $204 million in Nov 2012 , times that by 3 for the quarterly figure amount)

AB's annual report :

http://investor.activision.com/commo...ual_Report.pdf

Lists their online subscriptions as $986 million for the entire year.

[Lochton]

WoW korea just added a 100% exp boost potion that costs ~0.93 USD, and lasts for one hour. I think this is pretty interesting, personally, but I won't say anything else either way. Take a look at this next link though...describes how it would be the best move for them given their revenue has dropped by 53% in the last 7 months.

http://www.superdataresearch.com/blo...otransactions/

This is old news. It's the XP bonus potion, though it will only be in asia for the time being. There's multiple other threads of this sort, some are rage and some are praise, but doesn't change the fact that it's not news.

[Arbs]

Months ago we had people freaking out about this & this was on the PTR for testing as when does Asia ever test stuff, It was said this was only for Asia & people though it was coming to US/EU yet there are no plans for it to come here.

Asia is a totally different market than it is here, while this is accepted over there it isn't over here. But people will feed off any sort of information.

[bluspacecow]

IIRC They had a dev interview with a French site that said the in game store would be a good interface to their Blizzard store where they already sell mounts and pets on.

[Sierra85]

it is news that it is going live in an official way, so that's good.

Microtransactions are paving the way for F2P and whether thats good or bad for the future of WoW is open to some discussion.

[Freeasacar]

it is news that it is going live in an official way, so that's good.

Microtransactions are paving the way for F2P and whether thats good or bad for the future of WoW is open to some discussion.

If you look at some of the blue posts from around the time the head items were added to the Blizzard store, they state that they were an experiment to see how selling gear in the store would be reacted to in the Western market and realized afterwards that it was a mistake. They also mentioned that the f2p model wouldn't suit the way WoW was designed. Of course that doesn't mean it won't ever come to that. Just look at how different the game is now from Vanilla and tell me to my face that such a change wouldn't be viable.

Also on the subject of f2p I heard some discussion on a podcast that made me realize something the other day. The guy talking hadn't played since the Vanilla/TBC days and had to quit WoW because he was screwing up his life by playing so much. He ruminated that as soon as WoW's subscription numbers drop below a certain point, Blizzard will have the f2p model pre-loaded and ready to be activated on the PTR with the flick of a switch. A game with this much money behind it NEEDS to have a fail-safe if things start heading into a downward spiral, though at the moment we are simply seeing a decline. Scary to think about but it could easily happen.

[xanzul]

Because Blizzard is totally 100% honest and upfront about everything.

If this is how you feel then stop playing their games and stop paying for their products and move the fuck on already. Jesus christ enough is enough.

- - - Updated - - -

This is old news. It's the XP bonus potion, though it will only be in asia for the time being. There's multiple other threads of this sort, some are rage and some are praise, but doesn't change the fact that it's not news.

Seriously? Not one but two mods have posted in this thread and you yourself even state that this thread is spam and you leave it open. There are no words for how completely nonsensical this is. With all due respect isn't part of a moderator's duties to close spam threads? This kind of thing is happening far, far too often.

[Slant]

Well, yeah.
Because there are laws against fraud.

LOL, like that's a valid point in this debate. I could twist every sentence Blizzard says and turn it any direction I want. That's what happens when you let PR people run your company. Not saying you're wrong about them being honest or dishonest. Just saying "fraud" is something that doesn't apply to the game industry, really. Jesus Christ... get back to earth. Slinging around buzzwords. Disgusting.

On that note: Korea is not EU/West. When will people get that message. However dishonest you think Blizzard is, they have never made a secret of their intentions with Korea or the asian market. The culture is different, gaming behaviour is different. And Blizzard always took the stance that special circumstances require special treatment. So whatever crazy you see happening in Korea does not translate to the rest of WoW. Christ, get real people...

[Hyve]

Because Blizzard is totally 100% honest and upfront about everything.

Blizzard is a company, it is illegal for them to lie about their profits. The shareholders would sue if they were being told false information, and the various agencies set up to combat business corruption would shut them down ...

[xanzul]

Months ago we had people freaking out about this & this was on the PTR for testing as when does Asia ever test stuff, It was said this was only for Asia & people though it was coming to US/EU yet there are no plans for it to come here.

Asia is a totally different market than it is here, while this is accepted over there it isn't over here. But people will feed off any sort of information.

You mean on the forums it isn't accepted. Don't think for even a second that the views of those on the forums are the views of those who just play the game and don't give a fuck about the politics and agendas here.

- - - Updated - - -

it is news that it is going live in an official way, so that's good.

Microtransactions are paving the way for F2P and whether thats good or bad for the future of WoW is open to some discussion.

It was never a possibility that this wouldn't go live in Asian markets so no, it isn't news just as it wasn't news in the previous 5 threads that have been made in the past week alone. As far as free to play goes, mixed payment models are the norm for mmos now. Pretty much every single subscription based mmo that has gone free to play in the past few years has maintained its usual subscription model for those who want everything in one package. I highly doubt Wow will ever go exclusively free to play nor will many other mmos in the future.