Blizzard don't have to lie about their sub numbers or falsify their records. In order to cover up any loss in subscribers in the Western markets, all they had to do is stop releasing data showing subscriber numbers breakdown by regions and boost the…
http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/09/world-of-warcraft-subscriptions-decline-slightly-to-11-4-million-worldwide-new-premium-mount-soon/
About half of the total subscribers are in the Chinese market; recently they released WOTLK so it can be assumed …