The Gaurdian Cub......

So the critter is cute. I will prolly spend the little bit of real world money to go buy one. BUT I REFUSE TO BUY IT ON THE AH!!!!! The people who actually use digital gold for it....SUCKERZ!!!!! Now wait, you say....Mhorgrim aren't you the real sucker for buying one for real cash? Well no. You see, if I choose to buy something for real cash...under 20 bucks that's pure entertainment value, like 15 bucks a month for WoW, am I sucker for that? Not in my mind. But now see, my TIME is extremely important. If I pay to play this game, I don't want to sink that time into gaining anywhere between 5k to possibly 100k of digital gold into it. That's a crap load of time that is important to me, because it takes away from my enjoyment of 15 bucks a month. I'm by no means rich, but even a kid can save a few extra bucks for this pet. He won't ever get the time back though if he blows his/her 15 bucks a month farming the digital gold to buy a pet that can be bound only to one toon. Who really is the sucker in this? I spend my money my way and burn the time played my way, I am not beholden to anyone and therefor have the freedom to play as I please, not to earn a crazy amount of digital gold for a single pet that really most people wont have out with them 100% of the time (Besides I love my mechanical squirrel the most any damned how). What gold I do earn is for my skills and equipment. Vanity stuff...well that's what the extra $10 is for. Can't afford it? Get a job. Got a job? Skip lunch for a week or eat Ramen noodles for a couple of days for dinner and voila you got your $10. Extreme? No, it's priorities. What is honestly more important to you?  Just a rant lol!!! Enjoy your cubs!!! I know on payday I will enjoy mine too!!!! In the meantime, I'm out to go kill Horde!!!

Micro transactions the the Haters I see

So a few days a go I was pretty proud of my new Spirit Lion mount. I enjoyed the hell out of it. It wasn't a game changer, but damned if I didn't hear a bunch of QQ on the server for it. I couldn't figure out why initially. Then I hopped over to Elfi's World and found this. Ahh so this wasn't the first time this happened. I didn't know as I didn't pay much attention when the Sparkle Pony hit the scene. I didn't really much like the sparkle pony so didn't bother to collect it. I was too busy doing other stuff anyhow to pay much attention. Now when the Lion showed up, I was pretty stoked, and I think a lot of people were too. Vas and Fyreuni over at Daily Quests had some good things to say with the help of Kelly Aaron's  fine artwork from WOW EH?. Though the commentary certainly sparked up a little controversy.

So what's the beef err kittyniption fits with all of this? Because someone wishes to spend a little of their money on a collector's piece it means they have no life? I have to wonder because more often than not I don't have the time to rep grind my life a way for some damned flyin lizard. Personaly I got other stuff to do involving the real life and I don't have the time to grind on boring rep runs. Is it a moral issue or evil corporation plot to steal your money? Doubt it, it isn't a critical item in the world of micro transactions. It is good business though. I am sure that Blizz made a ton of money off of this purely cosmetic mount. But you don't loose any content for not buying it. When Blizz announced the sale of the hippogriff hatchling everyone applauded them because they donated sales funds to the Japan disaster. Oh, so it's ok as long as they aren't making money and it makes the players feel as if they contributed to the real world in a significant way? Really? How come the players didn't just donate to the relief effort out of the kindness of their heart? How come they needed to get something in return and feel like they were being humanitarian? Isn't that a bit hypocritical? Don't get me wrong, the idea was very successful and it did help those poor folks in Japan. I think Blizz did an awesome thing there.

But why can't Blizz just make something that is a cosmetic affectation and get profit from it? They are in fact a business and are there to make money. That isn't a sin by the way. It's there for the collectors or those who want something a little different. To be honest on my Server (Emerald Dream) Horde side I don't see too many roaming around. I still feel a little unique.

Oh, and for those whining about content? Hmm Blizz since Cata has come out with remakes of old dungeons that I got a kick doing and can now look forward to doing again in a different way. They have been working to get The Firelands out with all kinds of cool new stuff to enjoy. They will continue to produce more interesting stuff in the future. But for the jaded ones out there that find all of this too annoying...QUIT. Go away. Don't make threats, just do it. Leave...bye. Stop whining like 10 year olds that are jealous over having to buy something that is purely cosmetic. That shows a total new level of jealoust because your not willing to pay beyond your monthly sub. Can't afford it? Get another job that pays better.

Ok, my rant for the day. You all have a wonderful day out there in Azeroth. I'll do the same.

FInally back and the subject of Micro-Transactions.

This post is mostly an update for real life with a little of WoW. Well, I'm finally back in action. After a few weeks of packing up an entire household and moving from Arizona to Louisiana we finally have a new home. Still a lot to do for unpacking but it's getting there. We picked up our Internet yesterday and it's much better than the old one we had in Arizona.

I decided to make my first micro transaction with Blizzard and bought the flying lion mount. I gotta say it looks terrific and definitely fits for any toon I wish. It was a little pricey at 25$ but I just had to have it. best of all unless I want them, I don't need to buy another mount, just the training upgrades for speed. The look is really a nice touch and Grimnhak, my Orc hunter looks outstanding on it. I'm not normally a huge collector but I really like this particular mount. It has a fierceness about it added in with leonine nobility. Anyways folks, I am back and should post a lot more.

Since it was a micro transaction, I thought I'd speak on the matter. I think the hybrid that WoW is currently using is just right. I would be disappointed if they went to complete F2P with micros. But having the majority of the content available with non edge giving things you can buy is not bad at all. It's mostly cosmetic for the investment but enjoyable. It doesn't denigrate from game play nor does it give anyone a particular huge advantage. If Blizzard keeps with this model, they will continue to keep their revenues up.

I do believe this is a marketing ploy seeing as how they lost significant numbers recently the last fiscal reporting quarter. Does this mean the game is going downhill? Some will say yes, but over all the content hasn't really degraded in my opinion. These sort of perks you can buy keep older games still on the map and for those who are enthusiasts it will keep long time customers. In all the strategy is worth the effort in my opinion.

Is this the sole reason I play the game still? NO! I have a good many friends I still socialize long distance and there is still plenty to do. For some of the faults that Blizz allowed, micro transactions aren't a bad deal. Now, if they would just put the LFG tool to server only instead of world wide I think I would be pretty happy. Yes the wait times would be longer, but then, gear obtained would have real value again like it did pre Wrath. Just my personal thoughts.