WoW is a subscription game - why employ scummy F2P tactics?

[SNES-1990]

Damn shareholders

I hate it as a gamer, but I'm totally guilty of buying shares. Dark China money? Don't mind if I do!

[Vlaid]

I'm talking about utter crap like:
-store mounts
-character boosts
-"get this now before it's too late and we arbitrarily remove it"
-purchasable cosmetics
-whale targeting
-cute fox people

I mean yeah sure it allows Activi$$ion Bill$$ard to rake in more money but it damages the integrity of the game. You'd expect to see crap like this in games like League of Legends and all of those billions of mobile "clash of clashes" clones. Not a monthly-sub based game like WoW.

Listen up, Kotick. If you want to suck $$$ out of your hapless victims then by all means do so but do it in a separate mobile game that is clearly designed to bleed the whales dry. Leave WoW alone and let us have our fantasy RPG.

Integrity left when Activision took over. Blizzard is now a AAA gaming company and that includes being beholden to the shareholders and nobody else. As long as we keep paying, they'll keep doing whatever rakes in the $$$. Why do you think they are sprinting for the China market as fast as they can? The culture there is way more accepting of F2P/P2W.

If you don't like it your choices are to switch to games more in line with your views on gaming or keep contributing to the problem.

[Big Thanks]

The same reason why you are trashing them for something that is supposed to be a selfless act of kindness. Because they can. Very few fundraisers are open ended for all of eternity. It could be something that is imposed by the charity itself. I know my local store has several donation drives and they work for the charity for duration and times instead of just having it year round.

What?

The charity sales are only up until dec 31. The charity ENDS on Dec 31.
The thing is...every single donator has no idea if they are supporting Blizzard or the actual charity "at this point"

If u buy an Alpaca NOW, am i supporting Blizzard? Or the charity? We dont know.
The only way to make this "cool" is if Blizzard creates a "live" money earned counter for us to see how much money they made atm.
To stop donating when the cap is reached...

[rhorle]

The charity sales are only up until dec 31. The charity ENDS on Dec 31.
The thing is...every single donator has no idea if they are supporting Blizzard or the actual charity "at this point"

Do you know what the current date is? That is how you tell where the money is going to at this point. The cap is not going to be hit in less than a day. And it doesn't even matter if the you know when the cap is hit or not. You buy it if you want it and your money will go to a charity. If you don't want buy it then don't. You can always donate directly to a charity where you don't know how much money is going to the charity, a head hunter, or to the charities overhead costs.

Why are you concerned with making charity donations cool? Just donate or do not. Don't try to ruin someone actually trying to get people to help out when they otherwise might not simply because you are a scrooge.

[Senshenzu]

My analogy was spot on. Your membership/subscription gets you exactly what you signed up for. Optional things (mounts or yoga) are not required to perform at the highest level of the game. If I want to fly on a special looking mount then I can buy it. If I want to get into yoga then I can pay for it. It is exactly the same thing because both are optional and do not have any bearing on what you subscribed for.

Sorry for the late response making these million-dollar money moves recently.... Your analogy is not correct. You just stated that you pay for a service. This in your initial quote or what im paraphrasing is wrong. Everything you pay for at the gym should come with the gym. You pay 15 dollars a month. If a new piece of equipment (a mount) comes in are you expected to shell out more money just to have the opportunity to use this new piece of equipment? The answer is no. You have an option to use any piece of equipment at any time assuming the place is open once you pay a fee. You see imagine if a GYM would try to get away with that? They wouldn't Th. I have noticed gamers are very low people who are easily walked on. The fact that you defend or promote your idea is sad in itself. Anyhow though I do get where youre coming from. Just please think about sides of the topic before replying if you do.

[Big Thanks]

Do you know what the current date is? That is how you tell where the money is going to at this point. The cap is not going to be hit in less than a day. And it doesn't even matter if the you know when the cap is hit or not. You buy it if you want it and your money will go to a charity. If you don't want buy it then don't. You can always donate directly to a charity where you don't know how much money is going to the charity, a head hunter, or to the charities overhead costs.

Why are you concerned with making charity donations cool? Just donate or do not. Don't try to ruin someone actually trying to get people to help out when they otherwise might not simply because you are a scrooge.

What the hell kind of position are you having on this?

You buy it if you want it and your money will go to a charity

Incorrect, if the limit is met, my money goes to Blizzard.

Why are you concerned with making charity donations cool?

I dont want it to be "cool".
A charity is a charity, ALL money should go to the charities. WHY have the cap of 3 million? I simply dont understand!
Am i crazy? Why have a cap?

[Senshenzu]

Do you know what the current date is? That is how you tell where the money is going to at this point. The cap is not going to be hit in less than a day. And it doesn't even matter if the you know when the cap is hit or not. You buy it if you want it and your money will go to a charity. If you don't want buy it then don't. You can always donate directly to a charity where you don't know how much money is going to the charity, a head hunter, or to the charities overhead costs.

Why are you concerned with making charity donations cool? Just donate or do not. Don't try to ruin someone actually trying to get people to help out when they otherwise might not simply because you are a scrooge.

Shadoowpunk has a point Rhorle. Why give money-wasting 10 dollars that is given to blizzard so high ups get a fatter Christmas bonus, or know that your 10 dollars went to the charity. If the money was known he instead could give the organization 10 dollars themselves and as a result not have been given a Christmas bonus to someone who didnt need it. I actually own a prominent share in this company and when i tell you that they get Christmas bonuses you better believe they're fat. This is even when my other investors forced blizzard to shut it down for small employees which they " put in their salaries". Big guys still get bonuses sadly. It is what it is.

[Big Thanks]

Shadoowpunk has a point Rhorle. Why give money-wasting 10 dollars that is given to blizzard so high ups get a fatter Christmas bonus, or know that your 10 dollars went to the charity. If the money was known he instead could give the organization 10 dollars themselves and as a result not have been given a Christmas bonus to someone who didnt need it. I actually own a prominent share in this company and when i tell you that they get Christmas bonuses you better believe they're fat. This is even when my other investors forced blizzard to shut it down for small employees which they " put in their salaries". Big guys still get bonuses sadly. It is what it is.

Ofcourse im happy 1.5 million dollars may go to both charities...but the "cap" is so unprofessional...i just cant seem to understand the logic behind it?
WHy create doubt? And uncertainty? On a charity?

[Milfshaked]

A charity is a charity, ALL money should go to the charities. WHY have the cap of 3 million? I simply dont understand!
Am i crazy? Why have a cap?

I dont think that all money has to go to a charity. Taking a percent cut of the cost to cover expenses would be fine. For example, if 90% went to charity that would be pretty fine. As long as it is clearly written of course.

The problem is as you mention, having a cap. It makes absolutely no sense to have a cap and it is scummy beyond belief. It is so misleading in an attempt to basically scam people in believing they are donating to charity while in fact after the cap is reached, 100% of the money goes to Blizzard.

[Ehrenpanzer]

I'm talking about utter crap like:
-store mounts
-character boosts
-"get this now before it's too late and we arbitrarily remove it"
-purchasable cosmetics
-whale targeting
-cute fox people

I mean yeah sure it allows Activi$$ion Bill$$ard to rake in more money but it damages the integrity of the game. You'd expect to see crap like this in games like League of Legends and all of those billions of mobile "clash of clashes" clones. Not a monthly-sub based game like WoW.

Listen up, Kotick. If you want to suck $$$ out of your hapless victims then by all means do so but do it in a separate mobile game that is clearly designed to bleed the whales dry. Leave WoW alone and let us have our fantasy RPG.

well, to take your objections point by point....

1) Store mounts have no affect on the game... they dont go faster, they dont do extra things, its purely a cosmetic "look what I bought" thing.

2) Mild advantage, I would point out though that every xpac since MoP has included a "boost to level X" included.

3) Who cares? Are you REALLY that worried about sparkle pony 6.7 or "random helm visual 2.4"?

4) Cosmetics.... who cares?

5) ?

6) Fox people are not locked behind a paywall

[rhorle]

I dont want it to be "cool".

Then why did you say it will only be "cool" if something happens? Why even care about something being "cool" if you don't care about it being "cool". I have already told you why a cap can exist. The Charity states it so they get the money at a specific time. The company just decides to cap how much they give. Not everything has to be for all of eternity just because.

Have you every given to charity? Did you keep giving? Are you planning on giving for the rest of your life? Why did you cap it?

- - - Updated - - -

This is even when my other investors forced blizzard to shut it down for small employees which they " put in their salaries". Big guys still get bonuses sadly. It is what it is.

Then don't give money to Blizzard. It is that simple. Promotions like these are designed to get people who otherwise would not give money to a charity to do so. Thousands of companies do things like this. Even companies on the verge of disappearing, Sears, still run donation campaigns. You having a stake in the company is meaningless. Christmas bonuses for executives is meaningless.

This is the first year that Blizzard has openly stated a cap on donations. You own statement says they have gotten bonuses in the past despite not stating a cap. So it is irrelevant. If you don't want to go through a middle man and are willing to donate then do so directly. If you need to be convinced to donate then buy the pet. It is pretty simple and not some elaborate conspiracy of greed.

If you really were a large share investor you would understand that. But your stance makes your claims suspect.

[Big Thanks]

Then why did you say it will only be "cool" if something happens? Why even care about something being "cool" if you don't care about it being "cool". I have already told you why a cap can exist. The Charity states it so they get the money at a specific time. The company just decides to cap how much they give. Not everything has to be for all of eternity just because.

Have you every given to charity? Did you keep giving? Are you planning on giving for the rest of your life? Why did you cap it?

Your sense of morality and professionalism is all over the place....IMO

Its a cha-ri-ty- A charity.
You understand that it is a charity.

The "giver" wants his/her money to go to a charity.

By implementing a "cap" you create doubt and uncertainty...on a friggin charity, to the consumer.
There is already an end date of the charity (Dec 31), so why have on TOP of that a cap that makes the rest of the money to go to Blizzard?
Why do you say on your post "not everything has to be for all eternity"? WHen the charity ends on Dec 31?

All im saying is that it makes no sense, its unprofessional...and its debatable if is even more than that.

[rhorle]

Your sense of morality and professionalism is all over the place....IMO

My morality is all over the place because I don't agree with you? Okay. I didn't know you were such an authority. Yes it is a charity. So? If the giver wants their money to go to charity why are they being bribed to give it? Because that is what promotions like this are. Bribery. If the giver wants to give to charity then they would do so directly with out having to be given a gift for giving.

There is no doubt or uncertainty by implementing a cap. Thousands of charitable drives have happened with caps. The group that does the local fourth of July fireworks has a funding drive every year with a cap. There is nothing morally wrong about doing that. There is nothing unprofessional about doing it.

It is not debatable if it is morally wrong. It isn't. It isn't debatable if it is unprofessional. It isn't. The fact that you didn't answer if you have given to charity and kept giving for all of your life shows that this isn't fake outrage from you. Because why haven't you kept giving? Why did you impose a cap on your own donations? If it is okay for you to put a cap why is it wrong for blizzard?

I know why. Because then you wouldn't be able to trash them.

[Big Thanks]

My morality is all over the place because I don't agree with you? Okay. I didn't know you were such an authority. Yes it is a charity. So? If the giver wants their money to go to charity why are they being bribed to give it? Because that is what promotions like this are. Bribery. If the giver wants to give to charity then they would do so directly with out having to be given a gift for giving.

There is no doubt or uncertainty by implementing a cap. Thousands of charitable drives have happened with caps. The group that does the local fourth of July fireworks has a funding drive every year with a cap. There is nothing morally wrong about doing that. There is nothing unprofessional about doing it.

It is not debatable if it is morally wrong. It isn't. It isn't debatable if it is unprofessional. It isn't. The fact that you didn't answer if you have given to charity and kept giving for all of your life shows that this isn't fake outrage from you. Because why haven't you kept giving? Why did you impose a cap on your own donations? If it is okay for you to put a cap why is it wrong for blizzard?

I know why. Because then you wouldn't be able to trash them.

If Blizzard made 6 million dollars on this charity, how would you react?

Simple as that. Try to use morality and professionalism on this example.

[rhorle]

If Blizzard made 6 million dollars on this charity, how would you react? Simple as that. Try to use morality and professionalism on this example.

The same as I react any other time. I don't care. They still donated money to charity. There is nothing morally wrong with donating only a portion to charity. For example you are not a morally bad person simply because you have not donated all your money to charity. You are not a morally wrong person because you decided to keep some money so you could buy a computer and an internet connection while there are hungry and starving children in the world.

You are trying to make this about morality and professionalism. You keep looking for a way to make Blizzard out to be a bad guy. 3 million is still going to a charity that they would otherwise not get. Yet to you that is a bad thing. That right there says that your concept of morality is not a good standard to view things from.

[Big Thanks]

The same as I react any other time. I don't care. They still donated money to charity. There is nothing morally wrong with donating only a portion to charity. For example you are not a morally bad person simply because you have not donated all your money to charity. You are not a morally wrong person because you decided to keep some money so you could buy a computer and an internet connection while there are hungry and starving children in the world.

You are trying to make this about morality and professionalism. You keep looking for a way to make Blizzard out to be a bad guy. 3 million is still going to a charity that they would otherwise not get. Yet to you that is a bad thing. That right there says that your concept of morality is not a good standard to view things from.

Ok, we have different opinions then.

just for my exiting thoughts.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is UK's regulator of advertising. They apply the Ad Codes, written by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP)
And in their "Charity Section" they say this:

Be clear about what the charity does
Consumers should have a clear understanding of the work the charity does before they make the transactional decision to donate money and advertisers should ensure that their messaging doesn’t mislead consumers either through exaggeration or ambiguity. A complaint about ad for a homelessness charity was not upheld because the ASA found that the help the charity was able to offer was consistent with the impression given to consumers in the ad.

https://www.asa.org.uk/news/four-top...vertising.html

And Blizzard says on their first sentence:

When you purchase the in-game pet by December 31, 2019* in the Blizzard Shop or the in-game shop, we’ll donate 100% of the purchase price** to be shared equally with Make-A-Wish® and WE

Only to give the full information on an asterisks about the "cap"

Dubious...IMO

[rhorle]

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is UK's regulator of advertising. They apply the Ad Codes, written by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP)And in their "Charity Section" they say this:

Nothing Blizzard has done violates that section. It is also referencing the Charity and not the fundraiser. Blizzard has given you a clear understanding of where the money is going. 100% of the donations go to the charities up to a 3 million cap. You have nothing to say that they won't make a statement when that cap is met. You are calling something dubious because you need a reason to hate.

Like I said you have imposed a cap on your own charitable donations. Do you consider your own donations to be morally bad? That is really all we need to know here. You are applying different logic to Blizzard then to your own charitable donations simply because you are looking for a reason to hate on Blizzard. Instead of seeing 3 million dollars generated for a charity.

But hey giving 3 million dollars is bad. Terrible. We should all be outraged that someone has donated such a large sum!

[Big Thanks]

Blizzard has given you a clear understanding of where the money is going.

Double false.
1) The information is on an asterisk and not in the original sentence of the advertisement
2) The "consumer" has zero idea if at this point he is giving Blizzard money OR the charity

Like I said you have imposed a cap on your own charitable donations. Do you consider your own donations to be morally bad? That is really all we need to know here. You are applying different logic to Blizzard then to your own charitable donations simply because you are looking for a reason to hate on Blizzard.

Im not "just hating" i think, IMO, is dubious, when the COSUMER has no idea where the money is going at this point.
Unless they have a counter...like this site:

https://teamtrees.org/

[Bakis]

WoW is cheap as a subscription.
If they want to make more money with useless shit making their franchise worse... (well they are idiots and do) then let them.

[rhorle]

Double false.
1) The information is on an asterisk and not in the original sentence of the advertisement
2) The "consumer" has zero idea if at this point he is giving Blizzard money OR the charity

Asterisk is a legally recognized way of conveying legal information to customers. The promotion was just started today. At this point every customer knows their money is going to the charity in the way Blizzard has stated. It remains to be seen what blizzard will do when that cap is met. They will likely update the store pages just as they do for the past charity items.

https://us.shop.battle.net/en-us/pro...aft-pet-shadow

You have gone from "I find it strange" to it is morally and professionally wrong. You are using what ever sentiment you can to call it wrong or terrible for them to do. Heck you even implied I am bad morally for not agreeing with you.