Tag: Blizzard

Mists of Pandaria Dropping Support For Windows 2000


I apologize for this article being about two months late, but in a post on the World of Warcraft forums, Blizzard has announced that in preparation for the launch of Mists of Pandaria later this year, World of Warcraft will no longer be compatible with the Windows 2000 operating system.

In preparation for the upcoming release of Mists of Pandaria, updates to World of Warcraft will no longer support Microsoft Windows 2000. Microsoft ceased support for this version of their operating system in 2010. Players still using Windows 2000 are encouraged to upgrade prior to the release of Mists of Pandaria.

According to a user on the same thread, World of Warcraft is still playable on Windows 2000 by replacing OS .dll files with other versions. As a developer, Blizzard is widely known for ensuring that their games work on as many computers as possible, going as far as including operating systems long after Microsoft had ceased support. Still, all good things must come to an end, and users will have to upgrade if they want to continue playing.

More on World of Warcraft as it appears.

Blizzard Lays Off 600: But From Where?


Blizzard is a special case. If any other company were to lay off 600 people, I might put on my tinfoil hat and start predicting the incoming Chapter 11 apocalypse. Meanwhile, while the usual people are screaming of the impending death of Blizzard, it is worth noting that 90% of the layoffs are from the non-development side of the company without impact on the World of Warcraft development.

But there is one factor I wanted to talk about with regard to World of Warcraft, and that is how Blizzard has managed to do a complete reversal of expectations on income versus subscription numbers. In the past year or two since Blizzard’s figures peaked at twelve million, subscription numbers have dropped by nearly two million. Against what you might expect, Blizzard continues to post higher revenue from World of Warcraft thanks to the increasing sale of cash shop vanity pets and mounts.

So while a good few are referring to the layoffs as the death slide of Blizzard, I’m going to need more persuasion before I dust off the old tin foil hat.

Blizzcon 2012 Cancelled, Blizzard Too Busy


Since 2005, Blizzcon has been a place of reveals, a chance to check out new Blizzard games early, and an opportunity to see just how scantily clad a Blood Elf can get. However, in a nod to Blizzard’s current heavy work load, Blizzcon has been canned until 2013. Currently, of course, Blizzard is on full production of the next World of Warcraft expansion, the next Starcraft 2 game, Diablo 3, and the mysterious Project Titan, among other projects.

It’s easy to forget just how much work and money goes into a convention, that could be better spent on development and marketing. Still, no doubt players will be disappointed if they had a costume set up to show off this year.

Until next year, friends.

Bobby Kotick Blasts The Old Republic: LucasArts Business Tactics


It isn’t often I get to pull out the young Bobby Kotick picture. There are a whole host of reasons Bobby Kotick would want to pick up The Old Republic and throw it directly into the garbage, so I will step back for a few seconds and allow you to come to your own conclusions. Because World of Warcraft is hemorrhaging subscribers? Because Activision Blizzard recently had its stock downgraded due to World of Warcraft? Because The Old Republic is the largest MMO release of the year? Or because of the bitter rivalry between EA and Activision? Maybe it’s because analysts predict that not only will The Old Republic steal users from World of Warcraft, the number figures somewhere around 3-4 million departing Azeroth for Tatooine. Don’t rush, I’ll wait.

Bobby Kotick threw a few jabs at Electronic Arts, by pointing out the LucasArts will be taking some of the MMO’s income home as royalty payments:

“Lucas is going to be the principal beneficiary of the success of Star Wars,” Kotick said. “We’ve been in business with Lucas for a long time and the economics will always accrue to the benefit of Lucas, so I don’t really understand how the economics work for Electronic Arts.”

Thank you, Bobby Kotick. I think. Considering that Electronic Arts has had dealings with LucasArts in the past, they know what they’re getting into. Also remember that Bioware has dealt with LucasArts in creating the original Knights of the Old Republic (the second handled by Obsidian Entertainment).

Video of the ____: Chuck Norris Allows World of Warcraft To Survive.


There are ten million people in World of Warcraft, because Chuck Norris allows them to live. This new ad went live during the NFL Chargers vs Bears game.

Warcraft’s Cataclysm: World of Warcraft Continues Freefall


It’s been a year of discussing World of Warcraft’s peak and gradual downward shift. In the first quarter, Blizzard revealed that subscriber numbers dropped from Warcraft’s peak of over 12 million down to 11.4 million. By the second quarter, those figures had slipped down to 11.1 million. Despite this, Blizzard noted that revenue from the MMO was higher than ever, thanks to the sales of cash shop pets and mounts. The company pinpointed the loss of subscribers as directly related to the release of expansion packs, vowing that expansions would be released at a greater pace from now on.

According to Venture Beat, Blizzard is now reporting a subscriber number of 10.3 million in the third quarter, a loss of 800k subscribers since its last report. But put your pitchforks and torches away, Blizzard trolls, because despite the loss of over one million accounts this year, profit has reportedly tripled. So again, the people paying for sparkling horses and vanity pets are more than making up for the people quitting.

So what does this mean? I predict that World of Warcraft will settle just like Everquest did. It might not be number one in a few years, but it’ll still be healthy enough for Blizzard to keep the servers rolling, keep churning out regular updates and expansions, and everyone will be all hunky dory.

Until then, Blizzard will enjoy its seat at the head of the table.

Warcraft's Cataclysm: World of Warcraft Continues Freefall


It’s been a year of discussing World of Warcraft’s peak and gradual downward shift. In the first quarter, Blizzard revealed that subscriber numbers dropped from Warcraft’s peak of over 12 million down to 11.4 million. By the second quarter, those figures had slipped down to 11.1 million. Despite this, Blizzard noted that revenue from the MMO was higher than ever, thanks to the sales of cash shop pets and mounts. The company pinpointed the loss of subscribers as directly related to the release of expansion packs, vowing that expansions would be released at a greater pace from now on.

According to Venture Beat, Blizzard is now reporting a subscriber number of 10.3 million in the third quarter, a loss of 800k subscribers since its last report. But put your pitchforks and torches away, Blizzard trolls, because despite the loss of over one million accounts this year, profit has reportedly tripled. So again, the people paying for sparkling horses and vanity pets are more than making up for the people quitting.

So what does this mean? I predict that World of Warcraft will settle just like Everquest did. It might not be number one in a few years, but it’ll still be healthy enough for Blizzard to keep the servers rolling, keep churning out regular updates and expansions, and everyone will be all hunky dory.

Until then, Blizzard will enjoy its seat at the head of the table.

World Of Warcraft Legitimizes Gold Buying, Tradeable Cash Shop Pets


I thought I smelled something burning while on the drive back home today. Games like Eve Online fight gold farming by allowing people to purchase game time and sell it for in-game currency. This serves the purpose of keeping the big players playing (for free) while allowing people who need an influx of cash to do so without dealing with Chinese identity thieves. Games like Hellgate Global allow players to trade items they purchased from the cash shop in-game for currency, offering the same system but with a different virtual currency.

World of Warcraft recently released a new cash shop pet, but with a twist. This pet can be traded in-game for gold, and the function is deliberate:

 While our goal is to offer players alternative ways to add a Pet Store pet to their collection, we’re OK with it if some players choose to use the Guardian Cub as a safe and secure way to try to acquire a little extra in-game gold without turning to third-party gold-selling services.

It’s up to the Warcraft community to decide how to take this move, but for all intent and purpose Blizzard has begun selling gold for real money. There isn’t much of a difference between selling something, and selling a coupon to get something for free at the same price as simply buying it outright.

Check out the rest of the page here.

Rift: We Are World of Warcraft’s Top Competition


Does Rift have one million subscribers? I have no idea, only Trion knows that information and the furthest they will move into specific information is the claim that Rift is number two in the market, and still growing. Either way, Trion is not a stranger to trash talking, and in an interview with Industry Gamers, Lars Butler wants Blizzard to know that Rift and its band of Hulkamaniacs are about to put the smack down at this year’s SummerSlam.

“I think nobody can ever predict that there’s another WoW because WoW basically had, for seven years, no competition. There was nobody launching that created an experience that was even remotely comparable – never as deep, never as polished. Now that has changed, obviously. Rift is out there as the most serious competitor they ever had, and now with Rift updating and evolving in the most dramatic way, that is changing everyday. Essentially, with every new update, the landscape is changing. But our goal is not necessarily to create one giant product that everybody has to play, but to give people choice.”

With Rift launching earlier this year, Trion is looking to expand its presence in the MMO market with the launch of End of Nations early next year, an MMORTS with a free to play model, and Defiance further along the line. Defiance is set as an MMO shooter, coinciding with the Syfy television series.

Still, mincing fighting words with the behemoth known as Blizzard has historically not gone well for the little guy, as Funcom and Mythic could easily tell you. We’ll have to wait and see if Trion has written a check their ass can’t cash.

Rift: We Are World of Warcraft's Top Competition


Does Rift have one million subscribers? I have no idea, only Trion knows that information and the furthest they will move into specific information is the claim that Rift is number two in the market, and still growing. Either way, Trion is not a stranger to trash talking, and in an interview with Industry Gamers, Lars Butler wants Blizzard to know that Rift and its band of Hulkamaniacs are about to put the smack down at this year’s SummerSlam.

“I think nobody can ever predict that there’s another WoW because WoW basically had, for seven years, no competition. There was nobody launching that created an experience that was even remotely comparable – never as deep, never as polished. Now that has changed, obviously. Rift is out there as the most serious competitor they ever had, and now with Rift updating and evolving in the most dramatic way, that is changing everyday. Essentially, with every new update, the landscape is changing. But our goal is not necessarily to create one giant product that everybody has to play, but to give people choice.”

With Rift launching earlier this year, Trion is looking to expand its presence in the MMO market with the launch of End of Nations early next year, an MMORTS with a free to play model, and Defiance further along the line. Defiance is set as an MMO shooter, coinciding with the Syfy television series.

Still, mincing fighting words with the behemoth known as Blizzard has historically not gone well for the little guy, as Funcom and Mythic could easily tell you. We’ll have to wait and see if Trion has written a check their ass can’t cash.