Blizzard is only doing one thing I care about - the Classic server. Its nice they are doing that one thing for the people that used to be core Blizzard fans before they stuck their dumbed down, streamlined, tripe for children shit right up our asses with nuWoW starting with cataclysm.
Once D3 came out with chardev even retarded five year olds thought was sophomoric and overly simplistic I knew their core audience would never again be thinking adults that liked games for thinking adults.
And Hearthstone should be losing ground to "Magic: The Gathering - Arena" ... because Arena is a much better game.
As close as you can get to MtG tabletop without buying the table.
EDIT- though the card highlighting annoys me. You can see your opponent highlight a card in their hand during, say, the combat phase, the game pauses everything to give them time to decide if they want to play it or not. It has the effect, for red and blue decks especially, of tipping the opponent off that you likely have a counter/DD card you can cast at any time.
or he does so to make you think that, or he jsut let his mouse in the middle and it highlight it jsut because its there, youa re thinking too much on it
I think at higher levels that will be true. At the Bronze level I'm playing at currently? I can almost play based off how long it takes my opponent to resolve their option to play an instant during my combat phase.
It's not something that doesn't also happen at the table. Just seems exacerbated because if your opponent doesn't have an instant to play, it instantly moves to the next part of the combat phase.
Yes, however you can disable the automatic phase progression with CTRL and SHIFT+CTRL. Then you can make your opponent think that the Island you're holding in your hand my actually be "Sinister Sabotage" or a "Cancel". Not that I would ever do something so deceptive mind you, but I've heard some people do that sort of thing.
Good point. I imagine it likely will be enabled at every stage by default for the competitive players.
I am just enjoying the odd match of MtG. I know no one personally who plays, so being able to load it up and play a round is awesome. And the match rewards provide a lot of cards (as well as the ingenious "wildcard" system), which keeps you from feeling like you have to spend an uber amount to be competitive.
As such, I tossed them the $5 for the starter pack after the tutorial to show support for such a well made MtG video game. Let's hope they keep the focus on the fun of MtG, and not the card hunt with a heavy slant towards milking every last cent.
EDIT- Also, filled out my black deck first, and I have to agree, watching an opponent attach like 3 pieces of equipment on their Flying angel, only to have me tap 3 mana and play "Murder" is an addictive feeling.
We had to BEAT THEM OVER THE HEAD to get them to make a classic WoW. I now feel that will go bad as well.
Why is that? Based on any specific event or information? The only news I looked at from them during the Blizz thing was the classic server - and it seemed to go really well with the news it was coming out this summer or Q2 or something like that. Anything I miss?
I am in agreement on all points. They need to issue some kind of mea culpa for this year to the core fans. Blizzard though is just a name of a company now. Most of the old guard is gone and in its place is Activision. The name of Blizzard is a marketing tool now. I do not think they are going anywhere as even though numbers are down, they are still massive so they are not hurting.
But at least for me and some of my friends this Blizzard ranks right there with Bioware. Names I will fondly remember providing me with some great times and entertainment through the years but now just names on a billboard.
Oh they are hurting trust me... 2 months before Blizzcon, Activision Blizzard stocks were around $86-$88, 1 month before Blizzcon when they kinda said that people shouldn't expect anything worthwhile related to Diablo the stocks started going down and at Blizzcon they were $68... At the moment the stocks are $47 and going down... I'm not an expert, but almost 50% drop in stock prices has to bring in loses in the hundreds of millions right? I'm just guessing the numbers, but for a multibillion dollar company such a drop in stocks has to cost them at least in the hundreds of millions.
Anyone who has ever followed Blizzcon KNOWS they apologize for their blunders every Blizzcon.
I'm sorry, the LAST thing anyone wants to hear is an apology. They apologize all the time. They repeat the same blunders ALL THE TIME. Words are just words. PR bullshit. Only the idiots believe the crap Blizzard says anymore.
They CAN'T save BFA. It's a dead horse and they know it. All you can HOPE for is that they finally get their heads out of their asses before they commit to the next expansion. But given their track record... hoping for that is like hoping to win the MEGA MILLIONS lottery only your chances of winning the lottery are better.
Who are you, spin control for blizzard? Why would you even write an article like this?
They announced a mobile game to their hardcore pc fan, closed down hos pulling the rug from their proteams, and then told us all they are pretty much saying bye bye to the western and EU player base in favour of Chinese mobile gaming.
Why even make an article theorizing how they can fix it, they are still doing all this stuff, so any apology, our acceptance of it would be us condoning their poor business decisions. Did you forget they are a business and not your best friend from high school? Blizzard doesn't give a crap about us, that much was apparent with their "don't you guys have cel phones" comment.
So the answer is nothing They can do nothing. You'd be a fool to buy any blizzard product going forward.
Quotations Those Who make peaceful resolutions impossible, make violent resolutions inevitable. John F. Kennedy
Life... is the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come - Lester Freeman
Lie to no one. If there 's somebody close to you, you'll ruin it with a lie. If they're a stranger, who the fuck are they you gotta lie to them? - Willy Nelson
The day Blizzard decided to sell itself it stopped being Blizzard. What you have today is Blizzard in name only. It's not about making great games for gamers by gamers anymore. Now it is the board room saying more money, faster. That is the reality and those that don't realize that are holding onto something that doesn't exist anymore.
This is what happens when any company becomes a huge success to be honest. They end up selling their company to make money and the people themselves move on to other things. That is just the way it works.
I haven't had a Blizzard game installed on my PC for months now. I can't remember the last time I've gone that long without at least one of their games ready to play.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
I'm not really sure what Valve did to get listed here amongst the others. I mean, sure, Artifact didn't interest me... but I wasn't expecting anything at all whatsoever. Crap, the only thing Valve is known for these days is maintaining Steam. They haven't been well-known as a game developer in years. One single new release isn't really going to change their rep. They'll need multiple games in the pipeline, announced and releasing soon. Until then, they are just the guys running the most popular DRM platform out there. And maybe they shouldn't waste their efforts on anything else. Play to their strengths. Save the $$ and maybe give the developers a bit more in the percentages since they aren't wasting cash on developing drivel themselves.
Blizzard does not, under any circumstances, admit fault for anything, ever. If you've followed Hearthstone or Heroes of the Storm for any length of time, you'd know that everything is the players' fault... particularly those darned, mouth-breathing "new-players."
Who are you, spin control for blizzard? Why would you even write an article like this?
They announced a mobile game to their hardcore pc fan, closed down hos pulling the rug from their proteams, and then told us all they are pretty much saying bye bye to the western and EU player base in favour of Chinese mobile gaming.
Why even make an article theorizing how they can fix it, they are still doing all this stuff, so any apology, our acceptance of it would be us condoning their poor business decisions. Did you forget they are a business and not your best friend from high school? Blizzard doesn't give a crap about us, that much was apparent with their "don't you guys have cel phones" comment.
So the answer is nothing They can do nothing. You'd be a fool to buy any blizzard product going forward.
I think this is a very tunnel visioned and an over emotionally desperate comment. The problem is you are focusing way too much on the situation the way it seems within a very small window of time. The cell phone comment was of course ridiculous and I think they knew it the minute it unfortunately slipped out .... but it wasn't a well thought out response and certainly more of a knee jerk reaction.
I am very optimistic because I actually think that developers do care, but games take so long to develop these days and that with the media being constantly make or break judgmental it is impossible to always be kingpin. With such huge time frames, lulls are also going to last for longer, but with such a huge development team and no new 'legitimate' title or game being announced for a couple of years makes me personally lean towards the positive that they have been working on something.
This is my opinion and where I would roll the dice.
I am in agreement on all points. They need to issue some kind of mea culpa for this year to the core fans. Blizzard though is just a name of a company now. Most of the old guard is gone and in its place is Activision. The name of Blizzard is a marketing tool now. I do not think they are going anywhere as even though numbers are down, they are still massive so they are not hurting.
But at least for me and some of my friends this Blizzard ranks right there with Bioware. Names I will fondly remember providing me with some great times and entertainment through the years but now just names on a billboard.
Oh they are hurting trust me... 2 months before Blizzcon, Activision Blizzard stocks were around $86-$88, 1 month before Blizzcon when they kinda said that people shouldn't expect anything worthwhile related to Diablo the stocks started going down and at Blizzcon they were $68... At the moment the stocks are $47 and going down... I'm not an expert, but almost 50% drop in stock prices has to bring in loses in the hundreds of millions right? I'm just guessing the numbers, but for a multibillion dollar company such a drop in stocks has to cost them at least in the hundreds of millions.
Stocks are a funny thing though. Stock market is more of a long game and not a quick fix for financial health. Yes it has lost money in the short term but long term it is still more than it was worth to start the year so they have still make money.
Someone who bought the stock at 88 is currently losing their ass if they still are holding but the company is not out anything currently because of how it works. But the guy who is still holding after buying at 88 is playing the long game. If you buy stock because you like the games a company makes then you are doing it wrong. Me personally would never invest in a game development company as it is to volatile.
For instance I have apple shares but I am in no way hurting even though they are down the last couple of months because I bought the stock right before the first iphone launched. Made money hand over fist even though the company has lost 2 billion in value in the short term or something like that.
playing the long term game with violatile stock is a the wrong strategy. ATVI isn't a bluechip and isn't a FAANG stock and has been hyper inflated the 3 years or so...long term it is and was a recipe to lose money.
companies also live and die quarter to quarter and fiscal year to fiscal year. the almost 2 year low in stock means developing games get cancelled, have less features, and less unproven new ideas. the company also risks losing talented individuals to greener pastures. 2019 is already pretty much set in stone for blizzard due to development cycles...they need a big wins with WC3:R and classic while stemming the hemorrhaging from BFA HS and OW. 2020 is going to be the make or break year....they need new games with mass appeal in worldwide markets that don't alienate existing customers.
they also knew it was coming....if you read into the various dev leaks...when the big wigs start talking about only spending what's necessary and promote massive cost cuts....that means they are projecting future loss and trying to cushion the blow.
I am in agreement on all points. They need to issue some kind of mea culpa for this year to the core fans. Blizzard though is just a name of a company now. Most of the old guard is gone and in its place is Activision. The name of Blizzard is a marketing tool now. I do not think they are going anywhere as even though numbers are down, they are still massive so they are not hurting.
But at least for me and some of my friends this Blizzard ranks right there with Bioware. Names I will fondly remember providing me with some great times and entertainment through the years but now just names on a billboard.
Oh they are hurting trust me... 2 months before Blizzcon, Activision Blizzard stocks were around $86-$88, 1 month before Blizzcon when they kinda said that people shouldn't expect anything worthwhile related to Diablo the stocks started going down and at Blizzcon they were $68... At the moment the stocks are $47 and going down... I'm not an expert, but almost 50% drop in stock prices has to bring in loses in the hundreds of millions right? I'm just guessing the numbers, but for a multibillion dollar company such a drop in stocks has to cost them at least in the hundreds of millions.
Stocks are a funny thing though. Stock market is more of a long game and not a quick fix for financial health. Yes it has lost money in the short term but long term it is still more than it was worth to start the year so they have still make money.
Someone who bought the stock at 88 is currently losing their ass if they still are holding but the company is not out anything currently because of how it works. But the guy who is still holding after buying at 88 is playing the long game. If you buy stock because you like the games a company makes then you are doing it wrong. Me personally would never invest in a game development company as it is to volatile.
For instance I have apple shares but I am in no way hurting even though they are down the last couple of months because I bought the stock right before the first iphone launched. Made money hand over fist even though the company has lost 2 billion in value in the short term or something like that.
Stocks aren't a funny thing! They are serious business.
A 50% drop in stock price is significant! There is no way to sugarcoat it!
If Apple would lose 50% stock price like Activision Blizzard just did, you can bet your arse that they would fire Tim Cook right away and initiate mass lay-offs to recoup the losses.
A Publicly traded company's value is directly linked to their stock! So if the stock drops 50%, it means the company lost 50% of it's value.
If we take Apple as example, they would go from a trillion dollar company down to a 500 billion dollar company! 500 billion loss in value. If you think that is a funny thing....lol.
Death of WoW is inevitable, it is just a matter of time and it is time to move on, Blizzard knows this and has already started to branch out to widen their portfollio.
There will always be some left behind(ie.these boards) and there is no point catering to them, they are not Blizzard's future(or anyone's else).
So yeah, just fck them.
Sorry sparky but some of us here understand that Blizzard can't survive, let alone thrive, by living in the past. I personally feel that the best thing they can do is stop trying to make lightning strike twice with revivals of their old games and instead move on to new territory. However there will always be a large portion of veterans who will riot whatever they try to do. They can't let go of the past so try to destroy any chance at a different future.
You of all people are a perfect example of this toxic and self defeating mind set. You obviously despise these forums and its members but for some bizarre reason can't bring yourself to move the fuck on and not look back.
Well, that everyone is drilling for oil because it has the highest profit margin, doesn't mean there is not a demand for windmills. I think your logic is flawed if you think the ONLY mobile is pushing the future. It is a multi target market and all of it is progressing, pc, mobile, console.. it is just different target audiences with completely different taste in gaming.
But whatever, let Actiblizzard move to the another market and maybe it was time so they wont get stuck, and other developers will take their place in pc (slash console maybe) market. But it has nothing to do with living in the past. Pc gaming is going strong, not as strong as in the 00 but have not declined anywhere as much as analysts predicted 5-10 years ago.
Death of WoW is inevitable, it is just a matter of time and it is time to move on, Blizzard knows this and has already started to branch out to widen their portfollio.
There will always be some left behind(ie.these boards) and there is no point catering to them, they are not Blizzard's future(or anyone's else).
So yeah, just fck them.
If all our time spent here is wasted time (debatable, but I'll assume it for sake of argument) your reason for wasting yours here has got to be the most pathetic.
You literally hang around here because you dislike what people post and wanna mark it with an LOL or condescending remark. Useless.
Heres a tip. Don't chase off people that post here. We need everyone here. I want the site to make as much money as the next person. Unique page views matter. Nothing is useless. Let us leave that judgement to God.
The fact that people think Blizzard is at all done for stuns me.
2017 and 2018 are the only years Blizzard stocks have been higher than what they are now, every year before that they were growing pretty steadily.
If stocks were at 2013 levels (~$12), then sure, I'd say they should be worried, but they're at $48 which is where they were at the beginning of 2017.
They're doing fine lol.
Note: I don't play WoW or any other Blizzard games, before some nincompoop swoops in with fanboy claims.
I agree with you Blizzard are not in any imminent danger but the problem for them is the rate of the drop this year , the fanbase seemingly turning against them over various mistakes the company have made and the lack of games in development that will appeal to those fans .
They do need to turn things around or I am sure the decline in their financial fortunes will continue through 2019 and beyond .
Fortunately they have WoW classic coming out that should help quite a lot but it is also quite damning of what the company has become if the thing that will probably reverse misfortunes is an old version of a game that through their constant streamlining they have messed up in last decade .
Perhaps when/if its a success they will have pause to re-access what made the company successful in the first place and make positive moves in that direction once more .
Death of WoW is inevitable, it is just a matter of time and it is time to move on, Blizzard knows this and has already started to branch out to widen their portfollio.
There will always be some left behind(ie.these boards) and there is no point catering to them, they are not Blizzard's future(or anyone's else).
So yeah, just fck them.
If all our time spent here is wasted time (debatable, but I'll assume it for sake of argument) your reason for wasting yours here has got to be the most pathetic.
You literally hang around here because you dislike what people post and wanna mark it with an LOL or condescending remark. Useless.
Heres a tip. Don't chase off people that post here. We need everyone here. I want the site to make as much money as the next person. Unique page views matter. Nothing is useless. Let us leave that judgement to God.
Folks that post like he does do nothing to sustain discussion or draw more players into the conversation.
He rarely posts, and when he does, it's merely to try and insult another poster. Like I said: useless.
What they need to do is find the courage to break up with their abusive partner, as we would all recommend a close friend to do if we'd watch them get married to someone who successively took control over said friends economy, their job, their social circle and everything else in their lives.
Comments
Gut Out!
What, me worry?
Once D3 came out with chardev even retarded five year olds thought was sophomoric and overly simplistic I knew their core audience would never again be thinking adults that liked games for thinking adults.
I am just enjoying the odd match of MtG. I know no one personally who plays, so being able to load it up and play a round is awesome. And the match rewards provide a lot of cards (as well as the ingenious "wildcard" system), which keeps you from feeling like you have to spend an uber amount to be competitive.
As such, I tossed them the $5 for the starter pack after the tutorial to show support for such a well made MtG video game. Let's hope they keep the focus on the fun of MtG, and not the card hunt with a heavy slant towards milking every last cent.
EDIT- Also, filled out my black deck first, and I have to agree, watching an opponent attach like 3 pieces of equipment on their Flying angel, only to have me tap 3 mana and play "Murder" is an addictive feeling.
Oh they are hurting trust me... 2 months before Blizzcon, Activision Blizzard stocks were around $86-$88, 1 month before Blizzcon when they kinda said that people shouldn't expect anything worthwhile related to Diablo the stocks started going down and at Blizzcon they were $68... At the moment the stocks are $47 and going down... I'm not an expert, but almost 50% drop in stock prices has to bring in loses in the hundreds of millions right? I'm just guessing the numbers, but for a multibillion dollar company such a drop in stocks has to cost them at least in the hundreds of millions.
I'm sorry, the LAST thing anyone wants to hear is an apology. They apologize all the time. They repeat the same blunders ALL THE TIME. Words are just words. PR bullshit. Only the idiots believe the crap Blizzard says anymore.
They CAN'T save BFA. It's a dead horse and they know it. All you can HOPE for is that they finally get their heads out of their asses before they commit to the next expansion. But given their track record... hoping for that is like hoping to win the MEGA MILLIONS lottery only your chances of winning the lottery are better.
They announced a mobile game to their hardcore pc fan, closed down hos pulling the rug from their proteams, and then told us all they are pretty much saying bye bye to the western and EU player base in favour of Chinese mobile gaming.
Why even make an article theorizing how they can fix it, they are still doing all this stuff, so any apology, our acceptance of it would be us condoning their poor business decisions. Did you forget they are a business and not your best friend from high school? Blizzard doesn't give a crap about us, that much was apparent with their "don't you guys have cel phones" comment.
So the answer is nothing They can do nothing. You'd be a fool to buy any blizzard product going forward.
Quotations Those Who make peaceful resolutions impossible, make violent resolutions inevitable. John F. Kennedy
Life... is the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come - Lester Freeman
Lie to no one. If there 's somebody close to you, you'll ruin it with a lie. If they're a stranger, who the fuck are they you gotta lie to them? - Willy Nelson
This is what happens when any company becomes a huge success to be honest. They end up selling their company to make money and the people themselves move on to other things. That is just the way it works.
Recovery
"classification of games into MMOs is not by rational reasoning" - nariusseldon
Love Minecraft. And check out my Youtube channel OhCanadaGamer
Try a MUD today at http://www.mudconnect.com/Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
2017 and 2018 are the only years Blizzard stocks have been higher than what they are now, every year before that they were growing pretty steadily.
If stocks were at 2013 levels (~$12), then sure, I'd say they should be worried, but they're at $48 which is where they were at the beginning of 2017.
They're doing fine lol.
Note: I don't play WoW or any other Blizzard games, before some nincompoop swoops in with fanboy claims.
I think this is a very tunnel visioned and an over emotionally desperate comment. The problem is you are focusing way too much on the situation the way it seems within a very small window of time. The cell phone comment was of course ridiculous and I think they knew it the minute it unfortunately slipped out .... but it wasn't a well thought out response and certainly more of a knee jerk reaction.
I am very optimistic because I actually think that developers do care, but games take so long to develop these days and that with the media being constantly make or break judgmental it is impossible to always be kingpin. With such huge time frames, lulls are also going to last for longer, but with such a huge development team and no new 'legitimate' title or game being announced for a couple of years makes me personally lean towards the positive that they have been working on something.
This is my opinion and where I would roll the dice.
playing the long term game with violatile stock is a the wrong strategy. ATVI isn't a bluechip and isn't a FAANG stock and has been hyper inflated the 3 years or so...long term it is and was a recipe to lose money.
companies also live and die quarter to quarter and fiscal year to fiscal year. the almost 2 year low in stock means developing games get cancelled, have less features, and less unproven new ideas. the company also risks losing talented individuals to greener pastures. 2019 is already pretty much set in stone for blizzard due to development cycles...they need a big wins with WC3:R and classic while stemming the hemorrhaging from BFA HS and OW. 2020 is going to be the make or break year....they need new games with mass appeal in worldwide markets that don't alienate existing customers.
they also knew it was coming....if you read into the various dev leaks...when the big wigs start talking about only spending what's necessary and promote massive cost cuts....that means they are projecting future loss and trying to cushion the blow.
Stocks aren't a funny thing! They are serious business.
A 50% drop in stock price is significant! There is no way to sugarcoat it!
If Apple would lose 50% stock price like Activision Blizzard just did, you can bet your arse that they would fire Tim Cook right away and initiate mass lay-offs to recoup the losses.
A Publicly traded company's value is directly linked to their stock! So if the stock drops 50%, it means the company lost 50% of it's value.
If we take Apple as example, they would go from a trillion dollar company down to a 500 billion dollar company! 500 billion loss in value. If you think that is a funny thing....lol.
But whatever, let Actiblizzard move to the another market and maybe it was time so they wont get stuck, and other developers will take their place in pc (slash console maybe) market. But it has nothing to do with living in the past. Pc gaming is going strong, not as strong as in the 00 but have not declined anywhere as much as analysts predicted 5-10 years ago.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
Heres a tip. Don't chase off people that post here. We need everyone here. I want the site to make as much money as the next person. Unique page views matter. Nothing is useless. Let us leave that judgement to God.
I agree with you Blizzard are not in any imminent danger but the problem for them is the rate of the drop this year , the fanbase seemingly turning against them over various mistakes the company have made and the lack of games in development that will appeal to those fans .
They do need to turn things around or I am sure the decline in their financial fortunes will continue through 2019 and beyond .
Fortunately they have WoW classic coming out that should help quite a lot but it is also quite damning of what the company has become if the thing that will probably reverse misfortunes is an old version of a game that through their constant streamlining they have messed up in last decade .
Perhaps when/if its a success they will have pause to re-access what made the company successful in the first place and make positive moves in that direction once more .
He rarely posts, and when he does, it's merely to try and insult another poster. Like I said: useless.