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WoW f2p?
Akulas
Member RarePosts: 3,006
Blizzard Online Entertainment has just announts that their fantasy based MMORPG; World of Warcraft is making a transition to free to play status on March 14th 2011. What does this mean for World of Warcraft lovers? Simply put you can freely download World of warcraft and all expansions from the Blizzard store for $14.29. Those who have already purchased previous expansion will be compensated with 5000 free Blizzard Cash.
Since the games release, World of Warcraft has had a strong release and a solid playerbase. Over the years the game to what would be considered current standards seems to be dated. Because of this and in order to get fresh blood into the game Blizzard Online Entertainment has decided to make the transistion to free to play status.
Blizzard has decided to add a cash shop using Blizzard Cash to purchase unique and powerful items while still trying to maintain a balance to the game. One of the item shop features is you can use Blizzard cash to raise the max level cap up to 100 as well as unlocking a new expansions for just 10000 Blizzard Cash. ($95 value)
For a list of official changes and what this will mean for the future of World of Warcraft click here.
p.s. This isn'st true but I wouldn't put it past Blizzard.
This isn't a signature, you just think it is.
Comments
I doubt this would ever happen.
LMFAO, your post is very very similar to mine a few months back.
I hate to say this i realy do, but blizzards WoW will stand strong for another decade, in about 10 years from now, they might still have a bigger paying subscription then any other mmo with the same marketing.
I realy hope they fire Ghostcrawler who is on a crusade to change what was wow all about.
And i hope GW2 will burn those baby wow fanboys who ruined the game with tears of nerfs and spoonfedding the kids with easy mode contend.
Vanila wow = epic
TBC = Good
WoTLK = Baby Mode
Cataclysm = 11 year old kids forming 90% of the population kewl and stfu noob is used in evry single line in chat
My version of WoW going free to play, a nightmare. http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/294388/page/1
@Mothanos and the others.
To be honest, I feel exactly the same. I also even sat down and did a personal reflection, if it is maybe only me. However, WoW's community ruined the whole game for me and all my friends.
We all stopped playing this game a few weeks ago. You know what I am playing at the moment and what really cought me again.
I play a Bard on Fippy Darkpaw - it is just awesome. You have to take a look at this. The zones are alive with people, you hear the old LFM at Derv1/Orc1 and people are advertising stuff in Commonlands - just like in the old days. The community is adult, people help each other again.
Try it out, you will experience it yourself.
Cheers
-Bloobers
There won't be a game that kills WoW, it will kill itself.
it has been prophesied.
What WILL happen is:
1. A basic battle chest box with all content included at 19.99 (dollars or Euros, you choose). When ? No idea, it could be as late as 2014...But my bet is on mid 2012 (before the next expansion).
2. A combo subscription with the new MMO and free access to all of the BattleNet services included set at 19.99 dollars in 2014/2015.
Blizzard should be fools to make it F2P because they would loose 1 billion dollar income from it on a yearly basis.
Through the combo subs, WOW will probably exist as a P2P game for the next 20 years.
With the right graphical tuning and adaptation on future powerful portable systems (like Ipad etc), I don't even see it dissapear in the next 3 decades. I am quite convinced parts of the game will be played on these portable systems (like small daily BG's etc...) in a few years time.
Blizzard has now enough money to put 1 billion dollars in any new projects they want to make. Estimates these days are they sit on a money hill of around 2.5 billion dollars...
With these kind of resources, they could do anything.
op
dont be a plank
GW1 and probably F2P GW2 are a playing ground for kids ... as they simply have no paid subcriptions.
The only time I saw standing some 10 year old kids at a shop before MMO boxes ... it was before the GW booth.
Free to play is simply that: kids join who have no resources or parents who don't want to pay a sub.
the last time I spoke 12 year old twins about GW: they play GW because they don't get the money to play a real subscription based MMO.
They simply know WOW has more to offer, but they don't get the money for it from their parents.
Economics are always simple.
The only thing that will destroy wow will be wow itself. Personally I have walked away from that nightmare a long time ago and nothing will bring me back. I think wow might have to move to a "freemium" model eventually to compete, but I don't see the game getting any worse as a result. They only thing blizzard cares about is money. Once they realize that they can make more money from a free to play game than a pay to play game, they will make the switch. Free to play games are far more expensive to play than premium games, oddly enough. Just look at the financial success of DDO, LOTRO, and possibly CO.
That's a very ignorant post.
What about people, like myself, who simply find that having a busy social and work life precludes them from paying a monthly sub? My current lifestyle means that paying a monthly sub is often a waste of money. Whereas GW suits my playstyle, and only asks me to pay for the boxes. I'm happy with that arrangement, and so are ArenaNet, or they wouldn't use that business model.
Are you mad at people that can't pay a sub, or mad at people who won't?
Back on topic, why would Blizzard ever use the FtP model, when they're doing so very well, financially, with the current model.
In my experience, the first success of anything is usually the only real success within said thing. Generally-speaking, of course. Time changes all things, but I doubt we will ever see a 'Western' MMO ever reaching and surpassing Blizzard's sucess.
He's just panicking, which is understandable.
To the OP. Never gonna happen. At least not in near future.
Eat me!