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Should the Lich King Expansion be free?
Battleskar
Member Posts: 341
I was just reading the MSN front page and watching the Stock Market crash again. I think Blizzard should offer the new expansion as free content and here is why.1st and foremost I think Blizzard should reward its fathful playerbase with something huge like this as a way to say thank you for making their game tthe huge success it is.Second,with the financial markets in turmoil alot of players may be hesitant on purchasing this expansion,and possibly some of the vets who do not want to invest in what most feel will be more of the same rehashed.Finally,I think since Blizzard has been so slow at adding expansions the playerbase deserves something awesome like having an expansion such as this to be offered free,Its not like Blizzard cannot afford to reward their customers in this way. I would like to open this topic up for discussion as to why or why not offer this expansion free of charge discuss:)
Comments
They should charge it double.
No, ... triple even.
What about all the free content that is consistently added via patches instead of as a paid expansion?
Perhaps you should add a poll to your OP though so people could vote. It might provide an easy way to gauge opinion of the audience here.
-mklinic
"Do something right, no one remembers.
Do something wrong, no one forgets"
-from No One Remembers by In Strict Confidence
So Blizzard should give away stuff because the stock market is crashing?
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
No, the expansion should not be free, however I could see making the original free and BC like $15 or something. That way buying all 3 at once wouldn't really be any more than buying a brand new game.
I doubt it because they invested money and time producing this game for quite some time. With that, they have to cover the expensives with the revenues (which is depended on us to buy the expac). Yea, you can say that have a lot of net profit but they probably have to keep up with their financial statements to make sure that things are balanced.
Another problem is if you set a product free then the demand will exceed over it and people will do anything to buy it before it gets too frustrating to the point where they lose their customer base if they have to wait a while to get one.
With the economic crisis, it's affecting everyone so I know they are paying more for their resources and whatnot to keep the company stable. In conclusion, I doubt Blizzard will do it because they need the profits to keep the company stable and improve their game with the huge investments recieved by us and other companies.
MMO Reporter
No.
Blizzard are a business not a charity. As such, in the current financial climate they would be worse off making the expansion free. As for the prolonged development cycle on their expansions, this is simply because they want to release a finished product and not a half-baked game to appease the masses.
Nice titles, I lolled
MMO Reporter
I think mmo's should offer way more for free than they already offer since how they are already charging way to much per month as it is,but hey as long as gamers keep payin out the bucks they will keep charging more and more.I am sure most of us can afford the price of an expansion,the point of this post is game companies should reward their players way more than they do.
its $40....
you make it out as if it costs hundreds of dollars.
March on! - Lets Invade Pekopon
So they do not make enough from their monthly charges to fund such a project?
Learn to read the post topic its about should blizz offer this expansion free or not and reason why they should or not. The post was not about how much they are asking for the expansion. Stay on topic please.
So they do not make enough from their monthly charges to fund such a project?
Greedy company, they'll pull your last golden tooth out if they can. Not even contemplating 1 free character transfer for 4 year old customers, and not willing to enforce any rule on their servers (aren't we paying for that too???), eternal gold spamming and brats talking rubbish for months on trade channel, sex stuff, insults, without never ever a GM intervening. Yeah fanbois keep wasting your money on this dumb shit, at least i won't see you in my other games.
I can see what your saying precious. I do wish there was a long-term benefit for being a WoW-subscriber. They should do some prizes or discounts that will appeal to the veterans of the game. I would love to see more free transfers for those that have more than 1 account. After all, it won't hurt them at all if they benefit both sides of the field. :P
MMO Reporter
Another perspective a Marketing friend presented for me some years ago, just for thought:
Having a new product for sale in game stores is an important way for a developer / publisher to retain presence in and good relations with retailers. As a major retail chain you'd be more happy to promote and support a product (and its developer / publisher) which has the potential (or proven track record) for a good number of expansions that you can sell too (more sales, more profit, better investment), rather than one where future expansions will be given away for free.
Retailer relations can be the make or break for a game, as it secures a higher amount of shelf space for a longer period of time, allowing the title to pick up momentum. For Blizzard this is probably not much of a problem, but you never know when their titles may have a little harder of hitting that critical mass. Keep the retailers happy now, and they'll cut you some slack and give you better deals later.
It sounds like your question is more about whether MMO companies in general charge too much for too little return. I suppose that is up to each gamer and the value they perceive they are getting for their dollar (or euro, or -insert denomination here-).
In the opening post, you made reference to the stock market. As such, I would think that there is some realization that it is not the gamers that demand Blizzard make money. Investors want more returns. It's great that Blizz has a bunch of subscribers, but that is a static income. So, how do those investors make more money? The answer is a product, such as TBC or a trading card game, that will motivate a significant number of customers to drop more cash. Now, if you dislike that aspect of business, you answer with your wallet and don't purchase the expansion.
Thoughts about investors aside, I would look at this as a subscriber. TBC was released and added new (to WoW) mechanics to the game. These included socketing and flying mounts as a couple good examples. Since TBC was released, we have seen new instances, new raids, and new areas added to the game as part of our normal monthly fee. Blizzard is now poised to add new mechanics to the game once again. I am not in beta and my information is limited, but seige equipment is one thing that keep popping up in conversation so I will use that as an example. In addition to new mechanics, they are also adding new zones (As they did with TBC).
Looking at what Blizzard releases for free, and what they charge for, it seems reasonable, in my opinion, to expect a charge for new game mechanics as these would require a significantly larger investment of resources on Blizzards part to ensure these new mechanics do not break anything currently in game or cause significant new bugs. This to keep the gamers happy and charging to keep the profit margins healthy for future development.
In the end, Blizzard makes a game in order to make money. I play a game in order to be entertained. As long as we are both satisified, I don't see a problem. That's just my rambling opinion though so your milage may vary.
-mklinic
"Do something right, no one remembers.
Do something wrong, no one forgets"
-from No One Remembers by In Strict Confidence
No.
£17.99 in the uk i am happy to pay that for a expansion to something i get hours of enjoyment out of.
edit: some sort of vet reward scheme isnt a bad idea but free expansions (tbc & wolk) no as long as some free content is patched each year (which they do)
Ultimately Blizzard will make the money from this expansion because they can, if it isn’t worth buying people wont. Yes Blizzard is rolling in it, and congratulations to them, they have made a product that sells well and has a huge following. We can’t ask Lego to give away free toys because people have bought loads of them, the product makes the company a success, and the same is true of a virtual game, time, money, effort and critical decisions have made Blizzard and WoW what it is. Remember it’s a game, you choose to pay to play for fun.
How are they charging too much per month to entertain you?
How much does it cost to go see a movie, grab something to eat afterwards and maybe a couple of drinks? $40? $60? and all for one night out!
How much do you pay for a broadband connection per month? How much do you pay for cable/satellite for a month? Why should an MMO be any different in comparison and as such i don't see how $15/£8.99 a month is a huge bill for a months entertainment.
On your original point, should the supermarket that i have shopped at every week for the last 15 years now offer me my groceries for free in these hard times? Should my landlord cut my rent in half or my insurance company offer me free premiums? No of course they won't and shouldn't as they are businesses that have overheads and employ people who need to make a living too.
Blizzard are no different from any other profit making business and the fact that they are so successful is not their 'fault' but a testament to their good work on producing a high quality product that lots of people wish to use.
If you wish to put this sort of thinking to good use, it may be worth pointing towards energy and oil companies instead, but that is a conversation for another day and another forum.
It must be Thursday, i never could get the hang of Thursdays.
So they do not make enough from their monthly charges to fund such a project?
That isn't their business model. You know, the plan on how they get things done. There are free to play games out there for poor people.
Expansions give old MMOs shelf space and mind share. Which are very important to any video game.
First WotLK expansion. Then WoW Battlechest with WotLK. Then the reissue with the new packaging touting 15 million subscribers.
Stores constantly restock copies of WoW, which means new customers see the boxes and buy it.
The WoW juggernaut rolls on.
Don't count on it. Right now I'm playing Warhammer too.
Oh and back on point, Blizzard is actually giving a few things that the expansion brings for free. Not gonna list them here as I can't remember what they are, there's another thread somewhere that talks about it.
Edit: Here's the link
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/205675
Blizzard is a company...and a company wants to make profit. If milions of people are willing to pay...Why not charge them a extra buck ?
Blizzard is running a business, not a charity. If they feel that they can make money with WOTLK, then they'll sell it. Nobody is forcing anybody to buy the game. If people feel that the financial turmoil is getting heavy on the pocket, then I don't believe that not buying the expansion is gonna kill them anyway.
I think mmo's should offer way more for free than they already offer since how they are already charging way to much per month as it is,but hey as long as gamers keep payin out the bucks they will keep charging more and more.I am sure most of us can afford the price of an expansion,the point of this post is game companies should reward their players way more than they do.
One then a couple of reasons why YOU - you deadbeat MMO player should pay for the Linch King.
First is that WoW Does not do expansion very often like this. iIt's only their second one in 5 years - comparing that to the Gotcha expansion factory at SOE ( over 20 times for the Everquest Franchise).
Second is that I would like to have hard copies of an expansion incase of a HD failure for a much quicker restore.
So save your pennies there , you cheapskate and stop whining about the second expansion to a 5 year old game with over 1O million players.
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