Blizzard: WoW Won't Be Going Free-To-Play

katsabas

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Apr 23, 2008
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Yup. It seems that running a game for 20 million people isn't something you can do for free. Who would have thought ?

Then again, a lot of MMO are of good quality and are free.
 

Strixvaliano

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Feb 8, 2011
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FelixG said:
HAHAHAHA Wow...synonymous with quality....Its good to see those blizzard folks have a sense of humor atleast...
In Blizzards defense they never really did say what kind of quality so they aren't lying. Although I did have a good laugh at that statement.
 

Nikolaz72

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Apr 23, 2009
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Declining Subscriptionbase, What do?

1: Change to an F2P model.
2: Lower prices.
3: Increase size of shoulderpads.
 

Archemetis

Is Probably Awesome.
Aug 13, 2008
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When did this 'decline' start happening? Because I feel I've missed something, I realise that they've lost 700,000 subscribers out of the 11 million they had, but to me that doesn't scream 'deline'.

I've heard the occasional person make a passing claim that Cata wasn't to their taste, but that isn't 'decline'.

Blizzard is not in the position to go into F2P territory and likely won't be for several years.
Their game practically estalished the standardfor it's market and is still a major player.

With their subscription based model they're in a position to create more content at increasing quality, sure some of their decisions have missed the mark slightly but there's never beenanything as damning as what some people claim.
 

Jadak

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Nov 4, 2008
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Wait, Star Trek Online is free now? I bought that on release and got side tracked before I ever played it, then couldn't be bothered paying to play once I came back to it.

Time to start that thing up :p
 

Freakzooi

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Mar 27, 2009
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RT-Medic-with-shotgun said:
Zulnam said:
Make vanilla-only servers, damn you! Bring back the good times!
Not until they hit bottom. When they hit bottom and realize they are in the shitter they will come out with classic servers.
Or they'll release a different MMO

Seriously, Blizzard is a company. They won't stick to WoW just for the sake of WoW
 

Aprilgold

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EverythingIncredible said:
I'll give them a year.

You know, while their subscriptions continue to plummet to the might of games like Guild Wars 2.
Exactly, also WoW is showing its age, its going to be gone soon from everything else.

And I can't wait till Guild Wars 2, early next year I hope.

Archemetis said:
When did this 'decline' start happening? Because I feel I've missed something, I realise that they've lost 700,000 subscribers out of the 11 million they had, but to me that doesn't scream 'deline'.

I've heard the occasional person make a passing claim that Cata wasn't to their taste, but that isn't 'decline'.

Blizzard is not in the position to go into F2P territory and likely won't be for several years.
Their game practically estalished the standardfor it's market and is still a major player.

With their subscription based model they're in a position to create more content at increasing quality, sure some of their decisions have missed the mark slightly but there's never beenanything as damning as what some people claim.
You'd be surprised, most vets of WoW are basically done with the game, just waiting for something SIMILAIR enough to come along while wanting something with quality.
Not all vets, but most.
 

Rawne1980

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Archemetis said:
When did this 'decline' start happening? Because I feel I've missed something, I realise that they've lost 700,000 subscribers out of the 11 million they had, but to me that doesn't scream 'deline'.
Not saying this to sound like an arse but go back and recheck your numbers.

At the start of Cataclysm they released sub numbers as 12.5 million.

Now the numbers are at 10 - 11 million.

Thats a loss of 1.5 - 2.5 million.

They lost a hell of a lot of subs this past year and they say the numbers are still going down albeit more slowly now.
 

Twilight_guy

Sight, Sound, and Mind
Nov 24, 2008
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Huh... well I don't see them giving in, WoW isn't ever going to die and its not like its going to be there only source of cash considering the real world money options in Dibalo 3 and the fact that they freaking have project Titan sitting in the wings.
 

tautologico

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Apr 5, 2010
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RT-Medic-with-shotgun said:
With WoW on the decline(due to its own dev incompetence) they still make fuck tons past the breaking even mark but they won't keep that number up for long with all the other MMOs coming over the horizon.
Yes, they're so incompetent to still have complete dominance over the market and many millions of subscribers with a game so old. :)

Seriously, WoW is old. It's a good game, but its continued success after all these years exceeds everyone's expectations, even their own. I don't play anymore because the game got old to me, so I prefer to play something entirely new than a revamped one I already played to death. It's no fault of the game, though.

As for changing the game, if Blizzard had changed nothing people would be crying that they didn't change, and if they try new things people complain they're changing a good game. It's no use trying to appease everyone.
 

Lunar Templar

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Mike Kayatta said:
According to him, quality is king, and WoW is synonymous with quality.
isn't this an oxymoron?

Zing! It almost sounds like Morhaime is implying that free-to-play games only use the model to get away with offering lower quality content. Still, many games (such as the upcoming MMO, FireFall [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/9013-Evolve-or-Die]) are pushing the limits what we've come to expect from free-to-play titles. If they can match WoW's quality pixel for pixel, Morhaime might have to reconsider his argument.
just one? how about three

City of Heroes
DDO
Vindictus, if you really wanna drive the dagger in

all 3 are 'pixel to pixel' better, in the literal sense, all are also F2P, and two have content i hold about anything WoW has done, ever.

the third just has great combat :) i like bosses to be a challenge of skill, not a fucking MATH problem.

but really this doesn't surprise me, and by the time they do pull their heads out of their asses it'll be to late. GW2 isn't the only MMO coming out with more emphasis on action, there's TERA, Blade and Soul, Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium, donno how many will be good, but we're moving away from hotkeys and subscriptions. and while they have the sale NOW to justify keeping subs, its coming up fast on the time to ether adapt to whats coming or get left behind, like the relic they are
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Mike Kayatta said:
"I think that there's an underlying, a fundamental, assumption right now that the less you charge, the more money you make ... which isn't true."
Gabe Newell Disagrees [http://www.geekwire.com/2011/experiments-video-game-economics-valves-gabe-newell].

And I think he knows a little more about charging prices for digital items pal, because he invented it! And then he perfected it so no living man could best him in the ring of digital distribution!
 

Xanadu84

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F2P inspires countless people to try a game and be hooked, increasing its profit. With WoW EVERYONE has already tried it, and taken a whack at being hooked. It's not about quality, it's about maximizing profit. WoW made the logical decision here, but it doesn't reflect on quality.
 

tautologico

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Apr 5, 2010
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Archemetis said:
With their subscription based model they're in a position to create more content at increasing quality, sure some of their decisions have missed the mark slightly but there's never beenanything as damning as what some people claim.
No, not really. But this is the internet, where hating something popular is very popular in itself.

Many people have simply played it too much already and more content or cosmetic changes won't appeal again. I know that's my case. But I still think it's a good and very fun game for people relatively new to it.

However, if a truly good new MMO comes out, I can see it attracting a lot of current and former WoW players. I wouldn't call the death of WoW too early though.
 

Ickorus

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Mar 9, 2009
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I can say with certainty that just because an MMO is free to play doesn't mean it's bad quality.

FelixG said:
HAHAHAHA Wow...synonymous with quality....Its good to see those blizzard folks have a sense of humor atleast...
Well to be fair most of it is pretty good quality, it's just that there isn't enough of it.

It's like having the best chef with the best sources and ingredients in the world was to make you a thimbleful of peas, it might be really really good but you're still gonna be hungry afterwards.
 

adamtm

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Aug 22, 2010
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EverythingIncredible said:
I'll give them a year.

You know, while their subscriptions continue to plummet to the might of games like Guild Wars 2.
This

I'm sticking to my prediction that WoW goes free to play in 2013/14 or whenever Titan is released, whichever will come first.

A company running two AAA P2P mmo titles = dumb
 

Clive Howlitzer

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Jan 27, 2011
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Why would it go free to play? It has millions of slaves and makes money hand over fist! If anything, they should probably triple their subscription fee! Honestly, one of the main reasons every other MMO in the universe had to go F2P was because of WoW. You can't compete with WoW for subscription users.
Personally, I find that F2P games are really hit or miss. I had a pretty good experience with F2P games like Vindictus and DDO. However, I played City of Heroes for 5 years as subscription and its new F2P model is a nightmare. It actually costs much more to get access to the same content you did as a subscriber. Whenever I see a game go F2P, I just take it to mean I am stepping into a pay to win, free for all gougefest. At least with subscriptions, its all even.
 

Something Amyss

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Dec 3, 2008
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Mr.K. said:
Why would they go F2P while this money fountain still squirts out somuch delicious cashy goodness.
Yeah, they're the one ones that consistently make the current model work....