WoW game director Tom Clinton say’s that the Blizzard's MMO could one day become a micro-transaction based title.
He clarified: "I certainly think it's possible that we could do some kind of micro transaction stuff. Whether or not World of Warcraft ever goes the direction of going free-to-play with micro-transactions, whether we ever shift to a free-to-play model is really too hard to say at this point"
He Followed: "Anything I say now could easily five years from now end up seeming like, oh my gosh, that was an incredibly dumb thing to say."
There you have it, in the future we may be able to play WoW for a lot less or even for Free, only time will tell.
If you’re not to sure what “Micro Payment” or “Micro Transactions” Click Here
Reversing a previous decision to make only 3v3 and 5v5 arena ratings in World of Warcraft count toward gear, Blizzard announced today a partial reversal of their decision.
After further consideration, and after hearing from many players, we are going to change how we approach the 2 vs. 2 arena bracket in Arena Season 7. We still think the 3 vs. 3 and 5 vs. 5 brackets will ultimately offer the best play experience, especially for very competitive gamers for whom game class balance issues are most noticeable. However, we recognize that many players just prefer to play in the 2 vs. 2 bracket and will miss the chance to earn the current season's gear. Therefore, we are going to still allow the 2 vs. 2 bracket to grant access to the current season of gear with three important exceptions: the current season's weapons will not be available for purchase, the current season’s shoulder armor will not be available for purchase, and players will not qualify for the Gladiator title/rewards unless you earn the appropriate rating in the 3 vs. 3 or 5 vs. 5 bracket. We look forward to the changes in the next major content patch and hope to have a great next Arena Season.
In short, 2v2 arenas can still be used as a stepping stone for gear into the higher arena brackets - but weapons, shoulders, and the race for Gladiator will only be available to 3s and 5s. original site
Here’s what happened. A teenage boy’s mother cancels his World of Warcraft account. The teen’s brother thinks it’s hysterical, so he leaves a video camera in the teen’s room to record him getting upset.
I really dont think his little brother had idea what he was recording the demonic possession of his brother because, let me just say, the teen’s breakdown includes flopping on the bed, writhing on the floor, stripping his clothes off, banging his head with a shoe, and an attempt to sodomize himself with a remote control.
HE NEEDS SOME SERIOUS HELP! There's a lesson to be learned do go all WoW Junkie cause there's no coming back :\ original site
X-fire, Comrade? Who needs that? When you can use your Twitter account with your Favorite Game.
TweetCraft is an add-on for World of Warcraft that will let you use Twitter from within the game. When you install it, it will be on stand-by alongside your game and then uses a script to read and write tweets to the outside world. As per Blizzard's rules, y'see, add-ons aren't allowed to interact with the Internet.
The app will auto-tweet when you do all kinds of stuff like changing zones or getting achievements. So make sure you check the config file If you don't want it to do that.
Blizzard is notorious for its secrecy, so it could be anything. Many have speculated that it could be the name of a new intellectual property, or the company’s upcoming massively multiplayer online game. Perhaps it will never be used (see Starcraft: Ghost).
But most likely, “Cataclysm” could be a name of an expansion for one of its existing franchises, particularly Warcraft.
In you follow Warcraft lore, Cataclysm refers to an historical occurrence called the Great Sundering, which basically split up the game world of Azeroth into several continents. In other words, Cataclysm is a really huge event in Warcraft history and might make for a cool game.
It’s also possible that Cataclysm is referring to another event of that nature, which could be the start of another chapter in Warcraft lore — like Warcraft IV or World of Warcraft II.
When asked by VideoGamer.com to explain the changes Patch 3.2 will bring to the Death Knight, game director Tom Chilton said: "More than anything else we’re just trying to make sure we balance Death Knights relative to everybody else. Of course we want Death Knights to feel like an awesome powerful class, just like any other class.
"People mention the fact that they’re a hero class, but to us what that means is, well, they have their own special starting experience – they start at level 55, which is very heroic compared to other characters. But that doesn’t mean that at the end game they’re supposed to be more powerful. We’ve found there were areas of the game we felt like they were just too strong, so we’re trying to balance them just like we would any other character class." . Original Post gamesradar.com.
Peter C. Beller and Evan Hessel report that a crop of videogames that let people play online together are getting ready to launch.
LOS ANGELES -- In the 1950s, people bowled together. Now, we play videogames together. As people spend more time online on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, gaming giants and fledgling developers are rushing to shift their focus from single players to crowds. So far, the genre's undisputed champion is "World of Warcraft," devised by Activision Blizzard ( ATVI - news - people ). It boasts 11.5 million subscribers worldwide.
But hold tight, gamers--many more games that will let you do everything from wield a light saber to ran a car are on the way. Joining the biggest games publishers are a host of new companies hoping to break into the MMO space with fresh ideas. Some of these games, like the cheeky battle game "League of Legends," will require a more casual level of involvement than the several hours a week that Warcraft members average. "Battlefield Heroes" from reigning giant Electronic Arts ( ERTS - news - people ), will be free to play but offer virtual materiel and upgraded equipment for real-world money. Disney ( DIS - news - people ) is targeting younger gamers by turning its most popular movies into safe online environments that are full of whimsical things for kids to do.
Of course, hardcore gamers still worship awesome graphics, epic storylines and the satisfaction of cutting your opponent down with a glowing lightsaber. Among the blockbusters coming out soon is a heavily anticipated Star Wars game, titles based on superheroes from DC and Marvel comics, and a secret project from private-equity-backed Zenimax. Competition is heating up, though. Investors poured $700 million into this genre in the last two years. Electronic Arts, Sony Online Entertainment and Disney are all releasing online worlds in the next two years.
Recently it's been announced that China has banned the selling of virtual goods for real money, putting hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity at risk, Thomas Claburn from InformationWeek's wrote that According to China's Ministries of Culture and Commerce, "The virtual currency, which is converted into real money at a certain exchange rate, will only be allowed to trade in virtual goods and services provided by its issuer, not real goods and services." The Chinese government estimates that trade in virtual currency exceeded several billion yuan last year. One billion yuan is currently about $146 million.
The ruling could have a massive affect on the virtual currency trading industry, which in the context of online role-playing games like World of Warcraft is often called gold farming. The government justified the ban on virtual currency trading as a way to combat gambling and other illegal online activities.
However, it's not certain exactly how the new rule will apply to online role playing games. For example, a report in China Daily claims that in-game gear is not considered virtual currency, so selling items that have actual value inside games may be allowed to continue.
According to a 2008 survey conducted by Richard Heeks at the University of Manchester, the trading of virtual currency for real cash employs hundreds of thousands of people worldwide and generates between $200 million and $1 billion annually. Heeks estimates that between 80% and 85% of gold farmers are based in China. Read the whole story at InformationWeek.
You've most likely spotted some WoW bottles of Mountain Dew at a local stores checkout lane, but believe you me its nothing like in this video. This is a part of Mountain Dews "Level Up or Die" ad, and it was a collaberation between Tarsem Singh (a legendary director) and Zoic Creative Director/VFX Supervisor Les Ekker.
