Of all the talk about companies being greedy, or screwing their player base, I can't think of better example of this than what Blizzard has just done and I am appalled. 50% of one pet equaled 1.1 million? So does that means they made 3.3 more on the other pet and the leftover 50% of the one they chose to donate with or did they choose the lower profitable of the 2 to use for the donation? Either way Blizzard won. That 1.1 mil is going to be a tax write off so they win again. Blizzard makes enough money that they don't need RMT's to donate what likely is a drop in the bucket of what they gross in a year. The winner here is Make a Wish and I'm happy for that but I really think Blizzard could have done better. Shame on you Blizzard for fleecing your paying customers and shame on you fanboi's for defending them.
How have blizzard 'fleeced' their customers exactly? I wasn't aware it was mandatory to buy these pets, people did so of their own free will. Also right from the off blizz stated which pet they would be donating 50% of the profits, the panderan I believe?
I just think it's a sorry day when people have to see so much bad in a story like this and also says alot about the MMO community atm more than it does about big bad wolf companies like blizzard.
Seriously people you have no idea how much it costs to run a business. I am really glad that you think Blizzard pockets all the cash. Most company's are lucky if they can squeak out an honest 3-5% net profit. What you deem as greed may simply be the cost of doing business.
Have any of you actually ever seen, met or spoken with a child that was a Make A Wish recipient? I have. What Blizzard did was good. Stop thinking that the world revolves around you and your petty opinions. Show some compassion and act like human beings.
Yes, my son.. This was a GREAT thing that Blizzard did... really fantastic.
Of all the talk about companies being greedy, or screwing their player base, I can't think of better example of this than what Blizzard has just done and I am appalled. 50% of one pet equaled 1.1 million? So does that means they made 3.3 more on the other pet and the leftover 50% of the one they chose to donate with or did they choose the lower profitable of the 2 to use for the donation? Either way Blizzard won. That 1.1 mil is going to be a tax write off so they win again. Blizzard makes enough money that they don't need RMT's to donate what likely is a drop in the bucket of what they gross in a year. The winner here is Make a Wish and I'm happy for that but I really think Blizzard could have done better. Shame on you Blizzard for fleecing your paying customers and shame on you fanboi's for defending them.
Assumptions, they make an *** out of you, firstly you cannot extrapolate equal sales between the two pets without actually using numbers provided by Blizzard. Don't you think that, as one of the pets always had a charitable content, it's possible that many people bought the pet which gave a donation and that many didn't buy the other one? That's a given in these instances normally, charity makes warm fuzzies in people's hearts and buying an in game pet gives them something cool for doing so.
I donate to charity directly, because then they get all my money, but that's my choice.
Blizzard haven't "screwed" anyone here, everyone involved knew what they were paying for and paid it. Little tantrums of outrage aside and all.
There's no fleecing here, just an outpouring of illogical rhetoric designed to make you feel superior to Blizzard, and sadly in truth, neither of us are, unless you are a multi-millionaire chucking large amounts of cash at charities every week and I suspect by the fact that you are wittering on here, that's not the case.
There's some strange folk in this forum, from those who think the answer to making a loss on your accounts is to donate money to charity - mmm... shareholders would be really impressed with that. To those who cannot see the wood for the trees, "like yeah, they gave $1.1 million dollars to a charity, what bastards it could have paid for more GMs". It seems that for some people their irrational hatred of a game (I've never hated a game, just decided not to play them, hate's a bit strong to waste on a game) has turned them into crazy people full stop. Make a Wish is not the charity that would have gotten my money, but it is nonetheless a worthy cause and Blizzard should be congratulated for making some dying kids lives better. And anybody who resents that, you need to take a long hard look at your priorities.
I don't hate the donation, never said that, I hate how Blizzard used the whole thing to gain more profit, and publicity while getting a tax cut all at the same time. Make A Wish is a good cause, and any help to them is a great thing, but the thing you fail to see is why people are pissed. It is not what they did, it is how they did it.
Here's a newsflash for you. Believe it or not, Blizzard makes that much whether it's a charity or not. A majority of those who bought the pets didn't buy them for the specific reason for the charity, if so they would have donated directed to the charity themselves. Do you really believe that Blizzard needs to prop up sales by announcing a portion is going to charity? The game and all it's services brings in over a billion dollars a year. A Billion.
How much bet that a very, very small percentage of those here crying "greed!" and flinging other general hate at Blizzard have actually donated to charity themselves lately?
How much bet that a very, very small percentage of those here crying "greed!" and flinging other general hate at Blizzard have actually donated to charity themselves lately?
Excellent observation. Blizzard didn't have to donate any of that 1.1 *million*. The fact that they get some good PR from it is irrelevant. The charity is no doubt thrilled to have the money.
It was obviously a maneuver to generate more income, or else 100% of both pets were to be donated, not 50% of one of the pets. Nonetheless is commendable and surelly a great help to the foundation. They didnt have to donate any money and the pets would sell like hot cakes either way, so, kudos to Blizzard, I wish more companies would also help this kind of causes
Black and White did a similar thing, the "white box" gave i think $5 to charity (back when game costed like 39.99) but Black box was cheeper so right off the bat you were choosing "good or evil"
How much bet that a very, very small percentage of those here crying "greed!" and flinging other general hate at Blizzard have actually donated to charity themselves lately?
Excellent observation. Blizzard didn't have to donate any of that 1.1 *million*. The fact that they get some good PR from it is irrelevant. The charity is no doubt thrilled to have the money.
it's a sad, sad thing, i've heard the same cries when i talk about my book (50% of all profits go to a charity) sure its a PR buzz but does that really take away from the results?
This is no different from other fundraising events held by other corporations. Blizzard didn't have to do this, but they did and I'm certain Make-A-Wish is quite happy with the funds Blizzard raised (key word there). Also, this is one part of Blizzard charitable giving. Who knows what other donations and employee giving programs they participate in.
Instead of quickly jumping to criticism, we should applaud a big win for both organizations: Blizzard and Make-A-Wish.
The stupidity of the people on these forums never seases to amaze me. I dont care how or what they did to get the money. They donated a million fing dollors to a childrens foundation. Thats where this should end. How many of you have donated to anything?
The guy who posted about them being in the red so they had too? You my friend are an idiot. They make millions of dollors a MONTH. they are bleeding money.
Great job to any company ( and yes a donation is a donation , if a hooker donates half her money from a BJ its still a donation of her money) that donates.
Kudos Blizzard . a million bucks is a million bucks great job!
I hope no one from make a wish ever reads these boards...................
100% of both pets might have been $4.4 million...just sayin.
Last time I checked Blizzard were not a charity that gave money out, they are a bloody business, if they wanted they could have given fuck all, and kept everything ebcause they are a fuuckign business.
Maybe u are mistaking charities that give money out for free and businesses that are meant to generate money.
All true of course, but blizzard is not the first company to give out to charity.
They just did it in another way, getting some profit themself in the run.
Lets face it, Blizz is no small time company and the creation of said pets ( wich I purhased ) netted them a nice profit.
Charity work is of course a PR gimmick, to do something just from the kindness of your heart requires a heart.
Corporations are non personal entities and as such have no such thing.
None the less, if you make me give you 5$ just for the opportunity to give 5$ to someone who needs it?
Not really all that far from the crazily corrupts countries of the third world.
To be honest, I do not really see ANY company turning down a profit machine like this, no matter how evil.
If anyone asked you the following!
Hey mate, you have a reasonably successlful thing going, how about we turn that thing and make you another of couple of million dollars, and in the end turn you out as the good guy?
Would you turn it down?
Could we all get this thing clear please?
Charity is doing something out of the goodness of your heart, possibly with a LOSS to yourself.
One friggin PR gimmick is doing something with no friggin regards whats so ever above to just to get an upper edge!
To sum it up!
These pets cost blizzard almost nothing.
They, claiming the "charity" card, sold a LOT of these things.
Like asking someone, "here, 2 million dollars for you, but you need to give 1 million away"
Opposed to......... Nothing.
Blizzard are my heroes, especially the make a wish foundation thing, I can not tell you how much this pisses me of!
I am not so sure anymore!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Originally posted by Jerek_
I wonder if you honestly even believe what you type, or if you live in a made up world of facts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
100% of both pets might have been $4.4 million...just sayin.
Last time I checked Blizzard were not a charity that gave money out, they are a bloody business, if they wanted they could have given fuck all, and kept everything ebcause they are a fuuckign business.
Maybe u are mistaking charities that give money out for free and businesses that are meant to generate money.
All true of course, but blizzard is not the first company to give out to charity.
They just did it in another way, getting some profit themself in the run.
Lets face it, Blizz is no small time company and the creation of said pets ( wich I purhased ) netted them a nice profit.
Charity work is of course a PR gimmick, to do something just from the kindness of your heart requires a heart.
Corporations are non personal entities and as such have no such thing.
None the less, if you make me give you 5$ just for the opportunity to give 5$ to someone who needs it?
Not really all that far from the crazily corrupts countries of the third world.
To be honest, I do not really see ANY company turning down a profit machine like this, no matter how evil.
If anyone asked you the following!
Hey mate, you have a reasonably successlful thing going, how about we turn that thing and make you another of couple of million dollars, and in the end turn you out as the good guy?
Would you turn it down?
Could we all get this thing clear please?
Charity is doing something out of the goodness of your heart, possibly with a LOSS to yourself.
One friggin PR gimmick is doing something with no friggin regards whats so ever above to just to get an upper edge!
To sum it up!
These pets cost blizzard almost nothing.
They, claiming the "charity" card, sold a LOT of these things.
Like asking someone, "here, 2 million dollars for you, but you need to give 1 million away"
Opposed to......... Nothing.
Blizzard are my heroes, especially the make a wish foundation thing, I can not tell you how much this pisses me of!
I am not so sure anymore!!
they are also the ONLY game company i know if Acredited with the BBB and have a A+ ranking, meaning they mediated EVERY complaint to the satisfaction of the BBB and the consumer. Think about that.
I detest the purchase of virtual items within a sub base game. I recently quit World of Warcraft, due to this new trend of selling virtual item, if only they said before hand that they were going to donate the money to make a wish. Then maybe I would have purchased a little panda and not quit the game entirely. I have a new found respect for Blizzard; this is what a video game company is supposed to do. When you’re rolling in money and asking for more what better way to earn outstanding reputation but donate the extra to a needy cause.
I detest the purchase of virtual items within a sub base game. I recently quit World of Warcraft, due to this new trend of selling virtual item, if only they said before hand that they were going to donate the money to make a wish. Then maybe I would have purchased a little panda and not quit the game entirely. I have a new found respect for Blizzard; this is what a video game company is supposed to do. When you’re rolling in money and asking for more what better way to earn outstanding reputation but donate the extra to a needy cause.
They said that half of the proceeds would go to Make a Wish from the beginning. It was even on their launcher
The bottom line is that if they were really concerned about the charity then they would have given all the profits to Make A Wish. Though it seems they kept a million for themselves too.
The bottom line is that if they were really concerned about the charity then they would have given all the profits to Make A Wish. Though it seems they kept a million for themselves too.
That is ABSOLUTE bull. By your logic if I donate some spare cash I don't really care about the charity I give it to because I didn't give all my earnings to them. Complete nonsense.
They are a BUSINESS. The sooner people get that through their heads this world will be a more intelligent place. It really isn't a hard concept to understand. If they can get good PR whilst help out a charity, so what?! That's called killing two birds with one stone. I'd rather them use that as a marketing ploy than spend the million on advertising instead.
This hatred for Blizzard has gone waaaaay too far. Instead of appreciating the fact that the charity now has an extra million $, people will look for something negative to complain about. Disgusting and extremely pathetic.
The bottom line is that if they were really concerned about the charity then they would have given all the profits to Make A Wish. Though it seems they kept a million for themselves too.
That is ABSOLUTE bull. By your logic if I donate some spare cash I don't really care about the charity I give it to because I didn't give all my earnings to them. Complete nonsense.
They are a BUSINESS. The sooner people get that through their heads this world will be a more intelligent place. It really isn't a hard concept to understand. If they can get good PR whilst help out a charity, so what?! That's called killing two birds with one stone. I'd rather them use that as a marketing ploy than spend the million on advertising instead.
This hatred for Blizzard has gone waaaaay too far. Instead of appreciating the fact that the charity now has an extra million $, people will look for something negative to complain about. Disgusting and extremely pathetic.
/agree. the hate on blizzard on this website goes too far, its just insane, i mean, 1.1MILLION to a charity, and people still talk about how bad blizzard is? Ask the kids who are going to have fun from this 1.1million if they also hate blizzard, hm?
AND ALSO TO THE HATERS
Has the company of your MMO (or the company of your previous MMO) ever done a donation of 1.1 MILLION to a charity?
The bottom line is that if they were really concerned about the charity then they would have given all the profits to Make A Wish. Though it seems they kept a million for themselves too.
That is ABSOLUTE bull. By your logic if I donate some spare cash I don't really care about the charity I give it to because I didn't give all my earnings to them. Complete nonsense.
They are a BUSINESS. The sooner people get that through their heads this world will be a more intelligent place. It really isn't a hard concept to understand. If they can get good PR whilst help out a charity, so what?! That's called killing two birds with one stone. I'd rather them use that as a marketing ploy than spend the million on advertising instead.
This hatred for Blizzard has gone waaaaay too far. Instead of appreciating the fact that the charity now has an extra million $, people will look for something negative to complain about. Disgusting and extremely pathetic.
/agree. the hate on blizzard on this website goes too far, its just insane, i mean, 1.1MILLION to a charity, and people still talk about how bad blizzard is? Ask the kids who are going to have fun from this 1.1million if they also hate blizzard, hm?
AND ALSO TO THE HATERS
Has the company of your MMO (or the company of your previous MMO) ever done a donation of 1.1 MILLION to a charity?
Who hates ? When people do telethons or anything for charity do they keep all the money ? No, 100% go towards the charity they are raising money for. Perfect example is also Haiti. All the money people donated for the cause goes to the people of Haiti but yet some people will spin it as a hete thing towards Blizzard to make it look like it is not greed just because it is Blizzard. Sorry but alot of us out here in the real world do not look through those rose-colored glasses.
The bottom line is that if they were really concerned about the charity then they would have given all the profits to Make A Wish. Though it seems they kept a million for themselves too.
That is ABSOLUTE bull. By your logic if I donate some spare cash I don't really care about the charity I give it to because I didn't give all my earnings to them. Complete nonsense.
They are a BUSINESS. The sooner people get that through their heads this world will be a more intelligent place. It really isn't a hard concept to understand. If they can get good PR whilst help out a charity, so what?! That's called killing two birds with one stone. I'd rather them use that as a marketing ploy than spend the million on advertising instead.
This hatred for Blizzard has gone waaaaay too far. Instead of appreciating the fact that the charity now has an extra million $, people will look for something negative to complain about. Disgusting and extremely pathetic.
/agree. the hate on blizzard on this website goes too far, its just insane, i mean, 1.1MILLION to a charity, and people still talk about how bad blizzard is? Ask the kids who are going to have fun from this 1.1million if they also hate blizzard, hm?
AND ALSO TO THE HATERS
Has the company of your MMO (or the company of your previous MMO) ever done a donation of 1.1 MILLION to a charity?
Who hates ? When people do telethons or anything for charity do they keep all the money ? No, 100% go towards the charity they are raising money for. Perfect example is also Haiti. All the money people donated for the cause goes to the people of Haiti but yet some people will spin it as a hete thing towards Blizzard to make it look like it is not greed just because it is Blizzard. Sorry but alot of us out here in the real world do not look through those rose-colored glasses.
another way to look at it is that, if Blizzard hadnt done this, would those people have donated any money at all, its doubtful, but by doing it, Blizzard actually gave people an incentive/reward of sorts for donating money to a worthwhile charity, its a shame there are people out there who are so blinded by their own prejudices that they cant accept it when a company like Blizzard actually does something good, especially when they didnt have to.
The amount of idiocy coming from this thread is just frightening.
FACT 1: MaW foundation got $1.1mil , for kids they take care of, which is pretty big donation.
FACT 2: It is good (mostly as this thread proves) PR for Blizzard, makes them look better both in the eyes of their customers (I'm customer of company that cares) and their employees (I work for company that cares)
FACT 3: Someone who bought that pet not only received cool in-game vanity pet (he would probably buy anyways) but also may feel nice cause half of his money went for good cause.
FACT 4: This kind of donation is nothing new, most of big companies use it in some form or another but mostly it's $0.1-$1, 1-5% of product cost etc, Blizzard donated half of the money they get from this pet. And yes it is product like any other, they would sell it anyways
Looking at 1-3 you can see that this move made everyone happy (other then retarded trolls lurking forums), MaW foundation and their kids, Blizzard and their customer who bought the pet.
Why the hell someone would think this is wrong?
And to trolls that cry, that they could have donated more, sure they could, so can you, so why won't you donate your last 2 months savings like now? Go, i dare you, and then you can come and complain.
This is no different from other fundraising events held by other corporations. Blizzard didn't have to do this, but they did and I'm certain Make-A-Wish is quite happy with the funds Blizzard raised (key word there). Also, this is one part of Blizzard charitable giving. Who knows what other donations and employee giving programs they participate in. Instead of quickly jumping to criticism, we should applaud a big win for both organizations: Blizzard and Make-A-Wish.
This is very different than many fund raisers, because most fund raisers are out to do nothing more than raise funds for a cause. They are not looking to turn a profit for themselves. They most certainly are not trying to hide a controversial addition to their product behind the good graces of charity so that anyone with a complaint has to face people making the claims you are right now.
I don't care that blizzard wants to make money. I don't like cash shops in subscription games. I think it is low to cloak a bullshit money grab behind the goodwill of giving to charity. Blizzard could have done any number of other things to support a charity besides this and don't for a second think this was not a calculate choice for those reasons.
I am glad that make a wish is getting a nice donation. It is a charity I personally support, but that does not protect them from scrutiny of their business actions.
Applaud for make a wish for getting a donation, sure.
Applaud blizzard for making a donation, sure.
Ignore the reasons why blizzard made this donation and what they are trying to hide? No way. A giant middle finger to blizzard for being douchebags and trying to hide cash shops behind charity just to quiet dissension.
If I am not incorrect another charity just turned down some mmos "fund raiser", because it was to controvercial in method. Similar to this and I think it was make a wish, but the details escape me, so I could be wrong.
Originally posted by SaintViktor Who hates ? When people do telethons or anything for charity do they keep all the money ? No, 100% go towards the charity they are raising money for. Perfect example is also Haiti. All the money people donated for the cause goes to the people of Haiti but yet some people will spin it as a hete thing towards Blizzard to make it look like it is not greed just because it is Blizzard. Sorry but alot of us out here in the real world do not look through those rose-colored glasses.
As someone who works in the charitable industry I'd say very rarely will 100% of a donation will go toward the mission. That's just a side note though. : )
I'd argue against your characterization of greed. Blizzard didn't have to raise money for Make-A-Wish, they choose to. Many companies will partner with charitable organizations on campaigns. How many times have you seen or heard 'a part of this purchase will go toward x organization'? In my opinion, and it's shared with every charitable organization I've worked with, that such partnerships are a great vehicle for raising donations.
There's no nefarious intent here.
I think the addition of a charitable donation is nice, but I don't see the promotion as compelling enough to be the sole reason of the purchase (i.e. I think people would've bought the item either way). What the promotion amounts to is supporting a cause while receiving a nice benefit.
Originally posted by SaintViktor Who hates ? When people do telethons or anything for charity do they keep all the money ? No, 100% go towards the charity they are raising money for. Perfect example is also Haiti. All the money people donated for the cause goes to the people of Haiti but yet some people will spin it as a hete thing towards Blizzard to make it look like it is not greed just because it is Blizzard. Sorry but alot of us out here in the real world do not look through those rose-colored glasses.
As someone who works in the charitable industry I'd say very rarely will 100% of a donation will go toward the mission. That's just a side note though. : )
I'd argue against your characterization of greed. Blizzard didn't have to raise money for Make-A-Wish, they choose to. Many companies will partner with charitable organizations on campaigns. How many times have you seen or heard 'a part of this purchase will go toward x organization'? In my opinion, and it's shared with every charitable organization I've worked with, that such partnerships are a great vehicle for raising donations.
There's no nefarious intent here.
I think the addition of a charitable donation is nice, but I don't see the promotion as compelling enough to be the sole reason of the purchase (i.e. I think people would've bought the item either way). What the promotion amounts to is supporting a cause while receiving a nice benefit.
Originally posted by SaintViktor Who hates ? When people do telethons or anything for charity do they keep all the money ? No, 100% go towards the charity they are raising money for. Perfect example is also Haiti. All the money people donated for the cause goes to the people of Haiti but yet some people will spin it as a hete thing towards Blizzard to make it look like it is not greed just because it is Blizzard. Sorry but alot of us out here in the real world do not look through those rose-colored glasses.
As someone who works in the charitable industry I'd say very rarely will 100% of a donation will go toward the mission. That's just a side note though. : )
I'd argue against your characterization of greed. Blizzard didn't have to raise money for Make-A-Wish, they choose to. Many companies will partner with charitable organizations on campaigns. How many times have you seen or heard 'a part of this purchase will go toward x organization'? In my opinion, and it's shared with every charitable organization I've worked with, that such partnerships are a great vehicle for raising donations.
There's no nefarious intent here.
I think the addition of a charitable donation is nice, but I don't see the promotion as compelling enough to be the sole reason of the purchase (i.e. I think people would've bought the item either way). What the promotion amounts to is supporting a cause while receiving a nice benefit.
You are overlooking the fact that this was done when blizzard introduced a virtual item cash shop into their mmo.
That is the only reason they did it and you should acknowledge that. It does leave a nasty taste in the mouth, because they are exploiting the goodwill of charity in some attempt to buy acceptance for something that is controversial.
Comments
How have blizzard 'fleeced' their customers exactly? I wasn't aware it was mandatory to buy these pets, people did so of their own free will. Also right from the off blizz stated which pet they would be donating 50% of the profits, the panderan I believe?
I just think it's a sorry day when people have to see so much bad in a story like this and also says alot about the MMO community atm more than it does about big bad wolf companies like blizzard.
Seriously people you have no idea how much it costs to run a business. I am really glad that you think Blizzard pockets all the cash. Most company's are lucky if they can squeak out an honest 3-5% net profit. What you deem as greed may simply be the cost of doing business.
Old
Yes, my son.. This was a GREAT thing that Blizzard did... really fantastic.
Assumptions, they make an *** out of you, firstly you cannot extrapolate equal sales between the two pets without actually using numbers provided by Blizzard. Don't you think that, as one of the pets always had a charitable content, it's possible that many people bought the pet which gave a donation and that many didn't buy the other one? That's a given in these instances normally, charity makes warm fuzzies in people's hearts and buying an in game pet gives them something cool for doing so.
I donate to charity directly, because then they get all my money, but that's my choice.
Blizzard haven't "screwed" anyone here, everyone involved knew what they were paying for and paid it. Little tantrums of outrage aside and all.
There's no fleecing here, just an outpouring of illogical rhetoric designed to make you feel superior to Blizzard, and sadly in truth, neither of us are, unless you are a multi-millionaire chucking large amounts of cash at charities every week and I suspect by the fact that you are wittering on here, that's not the case.
I don't hate the donation, never said that, I hate how Blizzard used the whole thing to gain more profit, and publicity while getting a tax cut all at the same time. Make A Wish is a good cause, and any help to them is a great thing, but the thing you fail to see is why people are pissed. It is not what they did, it is how they did it.
Here's a newsflash for you. Believe it or not, Blizzard makes that much whether it's a charity or not. A majority of those who bought the pets didn't buy them for the specific reason for the charity, if so they would have donated directed to the charity themselves. Do you really believe that Blizzard needs to prop up sales by announcing a portion is going to charity? The game and all it's services brings in over a billion dollars a year. A Billion.
How much bet that a very, very small percentage of those here crying "greed!" and flinging other general hate at Blizzard have actually donated to charity themselves lately?
Excellent observation. Blizzard didn't have to donate any of that 1.1 *million*. The fact that they get some good PR from it is irrelevant. The charity is no doubt thrilled to have the money.
Black and White did a similar thing, the "white box" gave i think $5 to charity (back when game costed like 39.99) but Black box was cheeper so right off the bat you were choosing "good or evil"
Excellent observation. Blizzard didn't have to donate any of that 1.1 *million*. The fact that they get some good PR from it is irrelevant. The charity is no doubt thrilled to have the money.
it's a sad, sad thing, i've heard the same cries when i talk about my book (50% of all profits go to a charity) sure its a PR buzz but does that really take away from the results?
This is no different from other fundraising events held by other corporations. Blizzard didn't have to do this, but they did and I'm certain Make-A-Wish is quite happy with the funds Blizzard raised (key word there). Also, this is one part of Blizzard charitable giving. Who knows what other donations and employee giving programs they participate in.
Instead of quickly jumping to criticism, we should applaud a big win for both organizations: Blizzard and Make-A-Wish.
The stupidity of the people on these forums never seases to amaze me. I dont care how or what they did to get the money. They donated a million fing dollors to a childrens foundation. Thats where this should end. How many of you have donated to anything?
The guy who posted about them being in the red so they had too? You my friend are an idiot. They make millions of dollors a MONTH. they are bleeding money.
Great job to any company ( and yes a donation is a donation , if a hooker donates half her money from a BJ its still a donation of her money) that donates.
Kudos Blizzard . a million bucks is a million bucks great job!
I hope no one from make a wish ever reads these boards...................
Last time I checked Blizzard were not a charity that gave money out, they are a bloody business, if they wanted they could have given fuck all, and kept everything ebcause they are a fuuckign business.
Maybe u are mistaking charities that give money out for free and businesses that are meant to generate money.
All true of course, but blizzard is not the first company to give out to charity.
They just did it in another way, getting some profit themself in the run.
Lets face it, Blizz is no small time company and the creation of said pets ( wich I purhased ) netted them a nice profit.
Charity work is of course a PR gimmick, to do something just from the kindness of your heart requires a heart.
Corporations are non personal entities and as such have no such thing.
None the less, if you make me give you 5$ just for the opportunity to give 5$ to someone who needs it?
Not really all that far from the crazily corrupts countries of the third world.
To be honest, I do not really see ANY company turning down a profit machine like this, no matter how evil.
If anyone asked you the following!
Hey mate, you have a reasonably successlful thing going, how about we turn that thing and make you another of couple of million dollars, and in the end turn you out as the good guy?
Would you turn it down?
Could we all get this thing clear please?
Charity is doing something out of the goodness of your heart, possibly with a LOSS to yourself.
One friggin PR gimmick is doing something with no friggin regards whats so ever above to just to get an upper edge!
To sum it up!
These pets cost blizzard almost nothing.
They, claiming the "charity" card, sold a LOT of these things.
Like asking someone, "here, 2 million dollars for you, but you need to give 1 million away"
Opposed to......... Nothing.
Blizzard are my heroes, especially the make a wish foundation thing, I can not tell you how much this pisses me of!
I am not so sure anymore!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Jerek_
I wonder if you honestly even believe what you type, or if you live in a made up world of facts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last time I checked Blizzard were not a charity that gave money out, they are a bloody business, if they wanted they could have given fuck all, and kept everything ebcause they are a fuuckign business.
Maybe u are mistaking charities that give money out for free and businesses that are meant to generate money.
All true of course, but blizzard is not the first company to give out to charity.
They just did it in another way, getting some profit themself in the run.
Lets face it, Blizz is no small time company and the creation of said pets ( wich I purhased ) netted them a nice profit.
Charity work is of course a PR gimmick, to do something just from the kindness of your heart requires a heart.
Corporations are non personal entities and as such have no such thing.
None the less, if you make me give you 5$ just for the opportunity to give 5$ to someone who needs it?
Not really all that far from the crazily corrupts countries of the third world.
To be honest, I do not really see ANY company turning down a profit machine like this, no matter how evil.
If anyone asked you the following!
Hey mate, you have a reasonably successlful thing going, how about we turn that thing and make you another of couple of million dollars, and in the end turn you out as the good guy?
Would you turn it down?
Could we all get this thing clear please?
Charity is doing something out of the goodness of your heart, possibly with a LOSS to yourself.
One friggin PR gimmick is doing something with no friggin regards whats so ever above to just to get an upper edge!
To sum it up!
These pets cost blizzard almost nothing.
They, claiming the "charity" card, sold a LOT of these things.
Like asking someone, "here, 2 million dollars for you, but you need to give 1 million away"
Opposed to......... Nothing.
Blizzard are my heroes, especially the make a wish foundation thing, I can not tell you how much this pisses me of!
I am not so sure anymore!!
they are also the ONLY game company i know if Acredited with the BBB and have a A+ ranking, meaning they mediated EVERY complaint to the satisfaction of the BBB and the consumer. Think about that.
I detest the purchase of virtual items within a sub base game. I recently quit World of Warcraft, due to this new trend of selling virtual item, if only they said before hand that they were going to donate the money to make a wish. Then maybe I would have purchased a little panda and not quit the game entirely. I have a new found respect for Blizzard; this is what a video game company is supposed to do. When you’re rolling in money and asking for more what better way to earn outstanding reputation but donate the extra to a needy cause.
They said that half of the proceeds would go to Make a Wish from the beginning. It was even on their launcher
A witty saying proves nothing.
-Voltaire
The bottom line is that if they were really concerned about the charity then they would have given all the profits to Make A Wish. Though it seems they kept a million for themselves too.
That is ABSOLUTE bull. By your logic if I donate some spare cash I don't really care about the charity I give it to because I didn't give all my earnings to them. Complete nonsense.
They are a BUSINESS. The sooner people get that through their heads this world will be a more intelligent place. It really isn't a hard concept to understand. If they can get good PR whilst help out a charity, so what?! That's called killing two birds with one stone. I'd rather them use that as a marketing ploy than spend the million on advertising instead.
This hatred for Blizzard has gone waaaaay too far. Instead of appreciating the fact that the charity now has an extra million $, people will look for something negative to complain about. Disgusting and extremely pathetic.
That is ABSOLUTE bull. By your logic if I donate some spare cash I don't really care about the charity I give it to because I didn't give all my earnings to them. Complete nonsense.
They are a BUSINESS. The sooner people get that through their heads this world will be a more intelligent place. It really isn't a hard concept to understand. If they can get good PR whilst help out a charity, so what?! That's called killing two birds with one stone. I'd rather them use that as a marketing ploy than spend the million on advertising instead.
This hatred for Blizzard has gone waaaaay too far. Instead of appreciating the fact that the charity now has an extra million $, people will look for something negative to complain about. Disgusting and extremely pathetic.
/agree. the hate on blizzard on this website goes too far, its just insane, i mean, 1.1MILLION to a charity, and people still talk about how bad blizzard is? Ask the kids who are going to have fun from this 1.1million if they also hate blizzard, hm?
AND ALSO TO THE HATERS
Has the company of your MMO (or the company of your previous MMO) ever done a donation of 1.1 MILLION to a charity?
That is ABSOLUTE bull. By your logic if I donate some spare cash I don't really care about the charity I give it to because I didn't give all my earnings to them. Complete nonsense.
They are a BUSINESS. The sooner people get that through their heads this world will be a more intelligent place. It really isn't a hard concept to understand. If they can get good PR whilst help out a charity, so what?! That's called killing two birds with one stone. I'd rather them use that as a marketing ploy than spend the million on advertising instead.
This hatred for Blizzard has gone waaaaay too far. Instead of appreciating the fact that the charity now has an extra million $, people will look for something negative to complain about. Disgusting and extremely pathetic.
/agree. the hate on blizzard on this website goes too far, its just insane, i mean, 1.1MILLION to a charity, and people still talk about how bad blizzard is? Ask the kids who are going to have fun from this 1.1million if they also hate blizzard, hm?
AND ALSO TO THE HATERS
Has the company of your MMO (or the company of your previous MMO) ever done a donation of 1.1 MILLION to a charity?
Who hates ? When people do telethons or anything for charity do they keep all the money ? No, 100% go towards the charity they are raising money for. Perfect example is also Haiti. All the money people donated for the cause goes to the people of Haiti but yet some people will spin it as a hete thing towards Blizzard to make it look like it is not greed just because it is Blizzard. Sorry but alot of us out here in the real world do not look through those rose-colored glasses.
That is ABSOLUTE bull. By your logic if I donate some spare cash I don't really care about the charity I give it to because I didn't give all my earnings to them. Complete nonsense.
They are a BUSINESS. The sooner people get that through their heads this world will be a more intelligent place. It really isn't a hard concept to understand. If they can get good PR whilst help out a charity, so what?! That's called killing two birds with one stone. I'd rather them use that as a marketing ploy than spend the million on advertising instead.
This hatred for Blizzard has gone waaaaay too far. Instead of appreciating the fact that the charity now has an extra million $, people will look for something negative to complain about. Disgusting and extremely pathetic.
/agree. the hate on blizzard on this website goes too far, its just insane, i mean, 1.1MILLION to a charity, and people still talk about how bad blizzard is? Ask the kids who are going to have fun from this 1.1million if they also hate blizzard, hm?
AND ALSO TO THE HATERS
Has the company of your MMO (or the company of your previous MMO) ever done a donation of 1.1 MILLION to a charity?
Who hates ? When people do telethons or anything for charity do they keep all the money ? No, 100% go towards the charity they are raising money for. Perfect example is also Haiti. All the money people donated for the cause goes to the people of Haiti but yet some people will spin it as a hete thing towards Blizzard to make it look like it is not greed just because it is Blizzard. Sorry but alot of us out here in the real world do not look through those rose-colored glasses.
another way to look at it is that, if Blizzard hadnt done this, would those people have donated any money at all, its doubtful, but by doing it, Blizzard actually gave people an incentive/reward of sorts for donating money to a worthwhile charity, its a shame there are people out there who are so blinded by their own prejudices that they cant accept it when a company like Blizzard actually does something good, especially when they didnt have to.
The amount of idiocy coming from this thread is just frightening.
FACT 1: MaW foundation got $1.1mil , for kids they take care of, which is pretty big donation.
FACT 2: It is good (mostly as this thread proves) PR for Blizzard, makes them look better both in the eyes of their customers (I'm customer of company that cares) and their employees (I work for company that cares)
FACT 3: Someone who bought that pet not only received cool in-game vanity pet (he would probably buy anyways) but also may feel nice cause half of his money went for good cause.
FACT 4: This kind of donation is nothing new, most of big companies use it in some form or another but mostly it's $0.1-$1, 1-5% of product cost etc, Blizzard donated half of the money they get from this pet. And yes it is product like any other, they would sell it anyways
Looking at 1-3 you can see that this move made everyone happy (other then retarded trolls lurking forums), MaW foundation and their kids, Blizzard and their customer who bought the pet.
Why the hell someone would think this is wrong?
And to trolls that cry, that they could have donated more, sure they could, so can you, so why won't you donate your last 2 months savings like now? Go, i dare you, and then you can come and complain.
This is very different than many fund raisers, because most fund raisers are out to do nothing more than raise funds for a cause. They are not looking to turn a profit for themselves. They most certainly are not trying to hide a controversial addition to their product behind the good graces of charity so that anyone with a complaint has to face people making the claims you are right now.
I don't care that blizzard wants to make money. I don't like cash shops in subscription games. I think it is low to cloak a bullshit money grab behind the goodwill of giving to charity. Blizzard could have done any number of other things to support a charity besides this and don't for a second think this was not a calculate choice for those reasons.
I am glad that make a wish is getting a nice donation. It is a charity I personally support, but that does not protect them from scrutiny of their business actions.
Applaud for make a wish for getting a donation, sure.
Applaud blizzard for making a donation, sure.
Ignore the reasons why blizzard made this donation and what they are trying to hide? No way. A giant middle finger to blizzard for being douchebags and trying to hide cash shops behind charity just to quiet dissension.
If I am not incorrect another charity just turned down some mmos "fund raiser", because it was to controvercial in method. Similar to this and I think it was make a wish, but the details escape me, so I could be wrong.
As someone who works in the charitable industry I'd say very rarely will 100% of a donation will go toward the mission. That's just a side note though. : )
I'd argue against your characterization of greed. Blizzard didn't have to raise money for Make-A-Wish, they choose to. Many companies will partner with charitable organizations on campaigns. How many times have you seen or heard 'a part of this purchase will go toward x organization'? In my opinion, and it's shared with every charitable organization I've worked with, that such partnerships are a great vehicle for raising donations.
There's no nefarious intent here.
I think the addition of a charitable donation is nice, but I don't see the promotion as compelling enough to be the sole reason of the purchase (i.e. I think people would've bought the item either way). What the promotion amounts to is supporting a cause while receiving a nice benefit.
As someone who works in the charitable industry I'd say very rarely will 100% of a donation will go toward the mission. That's just a side note though. : )
I'd argue against your characterization of greed. Blizzard didn't have to raise money for Make-A-Wish, they choose to. Many companies will partner with charitable organizations on campaigns. How many times have you seen or heard 'a part of this purchase will go toward x organization'? In my opinion, and it's shared with every charitable organization I've worked with, that such partnerships are a great vehicle for raising donations.
There's no nefarious intent here.
I think the addition of a charitable donation is nice, but I don't see the promotion as compelling enough to be the sole reason of the purchase (i.e. I think people would've bought the item either way). What the promotion amounts to is supporting a cause while receiving a nice benefit.
This post perfectly represents my views.
As someone who works in the charitable industry I'd say very rarely will 100% of a donation will go toward the mission. That's just a side note though. : )
I'd argue against your characterization of greed. Blizzard didn't have to raise money for Make-A-Wish, they choose to. Many companies will partner with charitable organizations on campaigns. How many times have you seen or heard 'a part of this purchase will go toward x organization'? In my opinion, and it's shared with every charitable organization I've worked with, that such partnerships are a great vehicle for raising donations.
There's no nefarious intent here.
I think the addition of a charitable donation is nice, but I don't see the promotion as compelling enough to be the sole reason of the purchase (i.e. I think people would've bought the item either way). What the promotion amounts to is supporting a cause while receiving a nice benefit.
You are overlooking the fact that this was done when blizzard introduced a virtual item cash shop into their mmo.
That is the only reason they did it and you should acknowledge that. It does leave a nasty taste in the mouth, because they are exploiting the goodwill of charity in some attempt to buy acceptance for something that is controversial.