Buy a WoW Mini-pet to Help Japan's Earthquake Recovery

[John Funk]

Buy a WoW Mini-pet to Help Japan's Earthquake Recovery

Better late than never: WoW players who want an adorable baby flying eagle-horse-reindeer-thing as a companion can help Japanese relief efforts at the same time.

Though the world may have turned its attention to banded together to help financially [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/editors_note/8844-Editors-Note-Better-Than-Before], and WoW maker Blizzard is finally throwing its hat into the ring to do the same with a special in-game pet.

The little Cenarion Hatchling [http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100001530] pet is a miniature version of the hippogryphs (hippogriffs? Blast, I hate that word) already in the game as flying mounts and monsters. It's cute as the proverbial dickens, and will fly around behind your character wherever he or she goes.

The Hatchling will run players $10, and once purchased will give the little pet to all characters - past, present and future - on a World of Warcraft account. 100% of the sales will be donated to Red Cross relief efforts in Japan. Considering that WoW players previously raised $1.1 million [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98391-Pandaren-Monk-Pet-Grants-1-1-Million-Worth-of-Wishes] on sales of the Pandaren Monk in-game pet - of which only $5 went to charity per sale - one can only assume that this will result in a lot of money where it's needed.

I love this new pet, and it's for a great cause, if a little bit slow on the uptake - let it never be said that Blizzard was quick to act, after all. My only (minor) disappointment is that I'd have loved something more Japanese-themed, like the hats Valve added to TF2. Maybe a pet tanuki or nine-tailed fox?

Oh, I know - Blizzard should have called Studio Ghibli and gotten permission to create an in-game pet modeled after Totoro [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Neighbor_Totoro]. I would have bought, like, ten of those.

(Battle.net blog [http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100001530])

Permalink

 

[LavaLampBamboo]

If they made a Totoro pet, the internet would have just broken in half.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; Virtual stuff as a charity tool is the way forward for donations. Gamers get stuff which costs nothing to produce, whilst giving money to a worthy cause.

EVERYBODY WINS! =D

 

[Owlslayer]

I wouldn't really describe that pet as "cute". The first thing that popped into my mind when i saw it was what is that?". But after reading the article, it all made sense. I'm pretty sure Blizzard will collect a tonload of money for Japan. 11 million players? Surely a lot of them want a new pet and/or to donate for a just cause.
And i agree with Mr. Funk that it would have been more awesome had it been something Japan-themed. However, I'm not really into Japanese stuff (well, except anime), so I wouldn't really know if such a thing actually excised in Japanese lore.
Charity is always a nice thing to do.

 

[Alar]

As much as I wish it had been a different pet as well, I'm glad Blizzard is doing this. What's most surprising is the sheer amount of time that proceeds are going to help Japan: three MONTHS. That's a lot of time for sales from any company to be going to charity, and I salute them!

 

[mew4ever23]

Cute? My first reaction was more along the lines of "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT". I'm glad as well that blizzard is doing this.

 

[WrongSprite]

Actually tempted. I worked very hard for the mount version of this, I have a thing for Hippogryphs.

 

[Aratus]

I love these small charity things that companies have been doing to support Japan. Valve and Riot have done the same with skins and hats and its a great way to keep the gaming community connected to everything else. Keep it up!

 

[PrinceofPersia]

Two words: Heck NO! I am not buying anything in-game from Blizzard. They have made enough money to bail out the entire country of Japan heck even put a dent in the US deficit.* I'll donate to the Red Cross or Gamers Heart Japan before I give Blizz a dime. Actually come to think of it I did donate to Red Cross.

*NOTE: estimation on my part as apparently Blizzard has different payment systems in place for different countries and based on report put out by activision blizzard regarding their 2010 sales revenue and costs [http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=548900].

 

[ionveau]

Another tax break for blizzard, dont support their greed just give the money yourself.

 

[Art Axiv]

If they made a Totoro pet, the internet would have just broken in half.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; Virtual stuff as a charity tool is the way forward for donations. Gamers get stuff which costs nothing to produce, whilst giving money to a worthy cause.

EVERYBODY WINS! =D

Check out how much time did it take to make one.. I have highlighted the part which needs adjustment just for you

 

[John Funk]

Two words: Heck NO! I am not buying anything in-game from Blizzard. They have made enough money to bail out the entire country of Japan heck even put a dent in the US deficit.* I'll donate to the Red Cross or Gamers Heart Japan before I give Blizz a dime. Actually come to think of it I did donate to Red Cross.

*NOTE: estimation on my part as apparently Blizzard has different payment systems in place for different countries and based on report put out by activision blizzard regarding their 2010 sales revenue and costs [http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=548900].

Another tax break for blizzard, dont support their greed just give the money yourself.

Thanks, Ebenezers. I'm ashamed to like the Strike Freedom now.

(Reread. 100% of the cost goes to Japan; Blizzard doesn't get a dime. If you aren't yelling at Valve for doing the same thing with its hats-for-Japan sale, you are officially a hypocrite.)

 

[ionveau]

Two words: Heck NO! I am not buying anything in-game from Blizzard. They have made enough money to bail out the entire country of Japan heck even put a dent in the US deficit.* I'll donate to the Red Cross or Gamers Heart Japan before I give Blizz a dime. Actually come to think of it I did donate to Red Cross.

*NOTE: estimation on my part as apparently Blizzard has different payment systems in place for different countries and based on report put out by activision blizzard regarding their 2010 sales revenue and costs [http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=548900].

Another tax break for blizzard, dont support their greed just give the money yourself.

Thanks, Ebenezers. I'm ashamed to like the Strike Freedom now.

(Reread. 100% of the cost goes to Japan; Blizzard doesn't get a dime. If you aren't yelling at Valve for doing the same thing with its hats-for-Japan sale, you are officially a hypocrite.)

ALL donations are tax deductible. You can bet none of those companies would donate anything if that money wasn't tax deductible. Sorry, but that's the cold hard fact.

 

[PrinceofPersia]

Two words: Heck NO! I am not buying anything in-game from Blizzard. They have made enough money to bail out the entire country of Japan heck even put a dent in the US deficit.* I'll donate to the Red Cross or Gamers Heart Japan before I give Blizz a dime. Actually come to think of it I did donate to Red Cross.

*NOTE: estimation on my part as apparently Blizzard has different payment systems in place for different countries and based on report put out by activision blizzard regarding their 2010 sales revenue and costs [http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=548900].

Another tax break for blizzard, dont support their greed just give the money yourself.

Thanks, Ebenezers. I'm ashamed to like the Strike Freedom now.

(Reread. 100% of the cost goes to Japan; Blizzard doesn't get a dime. If you aren't yelling at Valve for doing the same thing with its hats-for-Japan sale, you are officially a hypocrite.)

I know 100% is going to Red Cross but answer me this: Who has their name on the donation? Is it the individual who bought the in-game pet or Blizzard Entertainment? I hope to all that is good that it is the individual who purchased the in-game pet so I can apologize and be proven wrong. But the cynic in me says that Blizzard will lay claim to that and get the donation tax break.

I'd rather every player of WoW go to the Red Cross Website and donate directly to the Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief Fund [https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&5052.donation=form1&df_id=5052] and not just the minimum amount of $10 but as much as they think they can afford. I apologize if I came off as an old Scrooge, I'm just fed up with BIG business.

 

[John Funk]

Two words: Heck NO! I am not buying anything in-game from Blizzard. They have made enough money to bail out the entire country of Japan heck even put a dent in the US deficit.* I'll donate to the Red Cross or Gamers Heart Japan before I give Blizz a dime. Actually come to think of it I did donate to Red Cross.

*NOTE: estimation on my part as apparently Blizzard has different payment systems in place for different countries and based on report put out by activision blizzard regarding their 2010 sales revenue and costs [http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=548900].

Another tax break for blizzard, dont support their greed just give the money yourself.

Thanks, Ebenezers. I'm ashamed to like the Strike Freedom now.

(Reread. 100% of the cost goes to Japan; Blizzard doesn't get a dime. If you aren't yelling at Valve for doing the same thing with its hats-for-Japan sale, you are officially a hypocrite.)

ALL donations are tax deductible. You can bet none of those companies would donate anything if that money wasn't tax deductible. Sorry, but that's the cold hard fact.

Great, so go yell at Valve for donating money from TF2 hats. Or PopCap for make a wish [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109680-PopCap-Makes-Sick-9-Year-Olds-Dream-Game-a-Reality].

It's blatant hypocrisy and nothing else.

 

[Ferisar]

Two words: Heck NO! I am not buying anything in-game from Blizzard. They have made enough money to bail out the entire country of Japan heck even put a dent in the US deficit.* I'll donate to the Red Cross or Gamers Heart Japan before I give Blizz a dime. Actually come to think of it I did donate to Red Cross.

*NOTE: estimation on my part as apparently Blizzard has different payment systems in place for different countries and based on report put out by activision blizzard regarding their 2010 sales revenue and costs [http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=548900].

Another tax break for blizzard, dont support their greed just give the money yourself.

Thanks, Ebenezers. I'm ashamed to like the Strike Freedom now.

(Reread. 100% of the cost goes to Japan; Blizzard doesn't get a dime. If you aren't yelling at Valve for doing the same thing with its hats-for-Japan sale, you are officially a hypocrite.)

I know 100% is going to Red Cross but answer me this: Who has their name on the donation? Is it the individual who bought the in-game pet or Blizzard Entertainment? I hope to all that is good that it is the individual who purchased the in-game pet so I can apologize and be proven wrong. But the cynic in me says that Blizzard will lay claim to that and get the donation tax break.

I'd rather every player of WoW go to the Red Cross Website and donate directly to the Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief Fund [https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&5052.donation=form1&df_id=5052] and not just the minimum amount of $10 but as much as they think they can afford. I apologize if I came off as an old Scrooge, I'm just fed up with BIG business.

Are you serious?
Your first thought when a company asks the 11 something million players of a GAME to donate for a disaster is "IS MY VANITY STAYING INTACT THROUGHOUT ALL THIS? -I'M- THE HERO HERE"
God, what the hell is wrong with people. EVERY GAME COMPANY SO FAR has been all "yeah, our players donated XYZ amounts of cash to the relief efforts". They aren't mentioning your name because it would be a waste of time. If you care for that over actually giving money through an entertainment source that you possess (for ease-of-use purposes) in return for vanity shtuff, then you don't have your priorities straight.

Why can't people just think that other people are capable of being nice every once in a while? "Corporate overlords" consist of people. I don't imagine they are all mindless economic profit drones.

 

[ionveau]

Two words: Heck NO! I am not buying anything in-game from Blizzard. They have made enough money to bail out the entire country of Japan heck even put a dent in the US deficit.* I'll donate to the Red Cross or Gamers Heart Japan before I give Blizz a dime. Actually come to think of it I did donate to Red Cross.

*NOTE: estimation on my part as apparently Blizzard has different payment systems in place for different countries and based on report put out by activision blizzard regarding their 2010 sales revenue and costs [http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=548900].

Another tax break for blizzard, dont support their greed just give the money yourself.

Thanks, Ebenezers. I'm ashamed to like the Strike Freedom now.

(Reread. 100% of the cost goes to Japan; Blizzard doesn't get a dime. If you aren't yelling at Valve for doing the same thing with its hats-for-Japan sale, you are officially a hypocrite.)

I know 100% is going to Red Cross but answer me this: Who has their name on the donation? Is it the individual who bought the in-game pet or Blizzard Entertainment? I hope to all that is good that it is the individual who purchased the in-game pet so I can apologize and be proven wrong. But the cynic in me says that Blizzard will lay claim to that and get the donation tax break.

I'd rather every player of WoW go to the Red Cross Website and donate directly to the Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief Fund [https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&5052.donation=form1&df_id=5052] and not just the minimum amount of $10 but as much as they think they can afford. I apologize if I came off as an old Scrooge, I'm just fed up with BIG business.

Are you serious?
Your first thought when a company asks the 11 something million players of a GAME to donate for a disaster is "IS MY VANITY STAYING INTACT THROUGHOUT ALL THIS? -I'M- THE HERO HERE"
God, what the hell is wrong with people. EVERY GAME COMPANY SO FAR has been all "yeah, our players donated XYZ amounts of cash to the relief efforts". They aren't mentioning your name because it would be a waste of time. If you care for that over actually giving money through an entertainment source that you possess (for ease-of-use purposes) in return for vanity shtuff, then you don't have your priorities straight.

Why can't people just think that other people are capable of being nice every once in a while? "Corporate overlords" consist of people. I don't imagine they are all mindless economic profit drones.

the problem is if they are not they will lose their jobs meaning that they will keep pushing for profit or lose jobs, imagine blizzard giving away warcraft 1 or 2 i cant, while valve gave away portal for no reason other then to hook up mac users. no company will give away anything for free there is always something behind it, i hate blizzard for the fact they are greedy and think as if their player base are spoiled children with too much money. e.g $40 to stream their bliz con online.

They can always prove me wrong by matching how much was raised by the sale and sending it, but from where i see it its just blizzard looking for a tax break without paying anything except maybe the 10-20 hours it took a person to make that texture/model.


Im not saying dont buy it, if your not going to give to the red cross go ahead and buy this
If you are going to give to the red cross dont allow a greedy company's to exploit its users and in turn make itself look generous while giving almost nothing.

 

[Radeonx]

Two words: Heck NO! I am not buying anything in-game from Blizzard. They have made enough money to bail out the entire country of Japan heck even put a dent in the US deficit.* I'll donate to the Red Cross or Gamers Heart Japan before I give Blizz a dime. Actually come to think of it I did donate to Red Cross.

*NOTE: estimation on my part as apparently Blizzard has different payment systems in place for different countries and based on report put out by activision blizzard regarding their 2010 sales revenue and costs [http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=548900].

Another tax break for blizzard, dont support their greed just give the money yourself.

Thanks, Ebenezers. I'm ashamed to like the Strike Freedom now.

(Reread. 100% of the cost goes to Japan; Blizzard doesn't get a dime. If you aren't yelling at Valve for doing the same thing with its hats-for-Japan sale, you are officially a hypocrite.)

ALL donations are tax deductible. You can bet none of those companies would donate anything if that money wasn't tax deductible. Sorry, but that's the cold hard fact.

Great, so go yell at Valve for donating money from TF2 hats. Or PopCap for make a wish [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109680-PopCap-Makes-Sick-9-Year-Olds-Dream-Game-a-Reality].

It's blatant hypocrisy and nothing else.

Thank you. I'm sick of everyone turning into an anti-business, angst-y teenager who thinks that the man is keeping them down and that every practice of good will is a secret scheme to cheat the system and make money.

OT: Definitely gonna get this, I love my Hippogryph mount and I'll love this too.

 

[Tomo Stryker]

Right after Horse Armour, sorry Japan. But I've already donated a good amount of money, your going to have to make due.

 

[Tehlanna TPX]

far too generous snip

There is something wrong with your inner humanity when you've fueled your cynicism to the point where you're taking a fat shit on donations. Whats next? Picketing Salvation Army bell ringers because they're panhandling? I mean, really? I just can't understand people who live in a capitalist environment (or especially a capitalist country) who can sit there and poo poo the engine that feeds them.

If you're so fed up with the way 'big business' is run, do yourself the favor of unplugging and going out to live like a mountain man, or an amish: self sufficient, entirely self maintained and powered. Because otherwise, you sitting there, demanding pay for services rendered at your job, have honestly no right to shit storm blizzard, especially not for a charity offer that is 100% funds GIVEN.

Also: What is the dig about blizzcon about? If you don't want to spend 40 bucks, don't. It's all fucking youtubed later on for people too cheap to pay to go/watch (like me!).

 

[zHellas]

Cute? My first reaction was more along the lines of "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT". I'm glad as well that blizzard is doing this.

My thoughts exactly on both counts.

Though I was a little more weirded out by that abomination thing to actually process what was going on in the post itself.