Nothing kills interest in a game like having your account stolen and spending the next few days or weeks getting it back. Here at MMO Fallout, I like to do little PSAs when either myself or the company are putting out reminders. There’s no harm in a little protective gaming every now and then.
Battle.net has a lot of account thieves, and this month is likely to be a big one for theft. Cataclysm launches this month upping WoW account thefts. In addition, Blizzard performed a mass ban on Starcraft 2 accounts for cheating, which may result in a surge of account thefts by cheaters looking for free accounts.
As always, keep your password safe. Change it often, use different passwords on related fan sites.
I started playing World of Warcraft again several months ago (and quit again after playing for a month and a half), and unfortunately I had to contact support over the phone to get some assistance. I found that, even at off-peak hours, the support queue was full enough that it required me to call back for almost a half hour just to get into the line to wait to get support for account assistance. Looking on the forums, I saw a similar glut of people looking for assistance with stolen accounts, unauthorized authenticators, etc.
Then one day I stumbled on to my spam folder, and realized something shocking and somewhat confusing: I receive more Battle.Net account spam than I do Viagra (or V!aGrA as they call it) and other medication spam, and frankly I’m no longer surprised that as many people are having their accounts stolen.
Oddly enough, spammers use the same technique that is commonly found in free to play Asian grinders, where the spam message is sent to millions upon millions of people with the knowledge that the small amount of people stupid enough to say “you mean I can get off-brand Tylenol at half the price of my local pharmacy and double the effectiveness?” will more than make up for the fact that 99.9999% will either not see it or immediately delete it. Essentially, if you’re trying to get a quarter into a cup from ten paces, taking a handful of quarters and throwing them at the cup drastically increases your chances of at least one getting in, as opposed to tossing each quarter one by one.
So don’t feel too bad, Warcraft’ers. If ten thousand of you lose your account this year to this type of email, that’s still only .08% of the game’s population, around the same lines as the 99.9% no-response rate that regular spam receives.
Actually, whenever I write an article on World of Warcraft here, spam bots swarm like pathetic little parasites. “Oh hey, Blizzard is letting me know via third party blog that my battle.net account is locked, I’d better click on this link, it’s safe.”
Now don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming! There’s a mod underway, as shown above, to recreate the world of World of Warcraft in Starcraft II, showcasing just how powerful the engine is.
I don’t know whether to be more disturbed or attracted by this.
Private servers being shut down is nothing new, and as much as players like to discuss the legality of them, at the end of the day they are illegal. Now, being illegal and warranting action are two separate things. Lawyers cost a lot of money (generally around $500 an hour), so paying a lawyer to draft up a threat against little Timmy’s private WoW server that peaks at twenty people who don’t pay anything and crashes every couple of hours makes no sense from a business perspective, and odds are neither Timmy nor his friends on the server are going to just go and start paying for WoW afterwards.
It is this idea that directly corresponds to why you see only certain servers shut down, and generally they fit into two categories: Massive amount of users and profit. You may see developers shut down the private servers with the most amount of players, and that is likely because, unlike Timmy’s server, they can presume a number of those players will indeed go back to playing regular WoW, owing to a newfound belief that any large server will be inevitably shut down and their progress gone. Free servers rarely see the ire of the developer, as they can be somewhat seen as free advertising: a lower quality version to incite people into paying for the full product.
Servers that make profit, either through charging subscriptions or introducing cash shops, are the type that are most likely to face litigation, and this is exactly what happened in the case of Scapegaming. In the case of this lawsuit, launched in October 2009, the operator of the server (Allyson Reeves) was operating a microtransaction system on her server, and according to the lawsuit managed to accrue more than $3 million in fees from players.
I will admit that the extra $80 million or so that the judge slapped on for willful infringement is a little exaggerated, and unfortunately it is required by law and will be appealed (and most likely reduced), but it takes a lot of stones to set up a server you know is already legally dubious, and then go ahead and start making a profit off of it.
“We’ve been constantly monitoring the feedback you’ve given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. As a result of those discussions, we’ve decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums.”
–Nethaera, Blizzard Forums
I imagine by “discussion,” Blizzard is referring to the thought of an impending mass exodus of players. Good news, WoW’ers! As you may have guessed from the above quote, Blizzard has retracted their planned update that would place real names in plain view on the Blizzard forums. The other parts of the update, including rating posts and comment threading, are still scheduled to debut on the Starcraft II forums, but you will no longer have to worry about your name being available for all to see.
The real question in all of this is: Who at Blizzard was thick enough to think this would tide over well with players, or that this would somehow stop trolling?
To call the Blizzard forums a veritable hell-spawn of trolls where intelligence and reason go to die would be an insult to the resting grounds where intelligence and reason truly go to die, and hopefully that will change when the troll’s names start appearing on the forums. In an upcoming update, Blizzard will incorporate the Realid system into their forums, meaning that instead of:
[username]
[character]
You will see:
[Real Name]
[Username]
[Character]
But why, you ask? I’ll let Blizzard’s own Nethaera explain:
“The official forums have always been a great place to discuss the latest info on our games, offer ideas and suggestions, and share experiences with other players — however, the forums have also earned a reputation as a place where flame wars, trolling, and other unpleasantness run wild. Removing the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue will contribute to a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations, and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven’t been connected before. With this change, you’ll see blue posters (i.e. Blizzard employees) posting by their real first and last names on our forums as well.”
Thanks Blizzard. Now instead of having my thread flamed by some nameless 4chan loser, I can have my thread flamed by some named 4chan loser who then proceeds to spam my facebook account, order me some delicious pizzas, harass my friends, and leave threatening phone calls on my voicemail, or to have the sociopath I beat in a duel stalk me home from work because he wants to show me his real life dagger skill level.
I hope all of you who play World of Warcraft, or any of Blizzard’s other games will be posting under an assumed name. I think we’re going to find that World of Warcraft is played by a lot of Ben Dovers.
Earlier this year I started Checking In With The Better Business Bureau, a segment talking about the consumer protection group with no authority. Back in February I checked up on a few MMO developers to see their scores, and this time I want to go more in depth on each company and their score.
For those of you who have forgotten or do not live in the United States, the Better Business Bureau is an independent organization that fields complaints and offers the company a chance to respond. The idea is to create a web of trusted businesses where people can check what is being complained about and how the company reacts to those complaints. When it comes to your score, a business can maintain a good score if they respond in a way that pleases the BBB.
Blizzard: B
Blizzard’s score has plummeted from February’s A+ rating. The BBB’s explanation is as follows:
“Recent complainants allege the company closed accounts on 130,000 users without providing notice, and accused them of using “hack” techniques to cheat on gaming. Most of these complainants deny any illegal usage, and in some cases, they challenge the company to provide them some proof of the alleged violation. The company responds in some cases concerning faulty servers by advising that new servers installed should remedy the problem. The company addressed a few complaints regarding account terminations by issuing the same letter in each instance of complaint, accusing the complainant of cheating, lying or using hack programs.”
Cryptic Studios: C+
Cryptic’s rating has remained steady since April, and the BBB has some kinder words for them than Blizzard.
“Our complaint history for this company shows that the company responded to and gave proper consideration to most complaints. However, more than one complaint is unresolved meaning the company failed to properly address the complaint allegations or their response was inadequate.”
EA/Mythic/Bioware: A
Technically lumped into EA, the BBB scores Electronic Arts with an A.
“When considering complaint information, please take into account the company’s size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm’s responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.”
Funcom: A+
Funcom is maintaining their A+, with surprisingly few complaints in the past year. The BBB had this to say:
“BBB had previously identified a pattern of complaints concerningcustomer service issues. The company discussed with BBB in October 2008 ways to correct the cause of the customer complaints. Complaints have decreased in volume since the meeting.”
Gala-Net: F
For those of you unaware, Gala-Net is gPotato, publisher for such games as Allods Online and Aika Online.
“Our complaint history for this company shows that the company responded to and gave proper consideration to most complaints. However, more than one complaint is unresolved meaning the company failed to properly address the complaint allegations or their response was inadequate.”
Jagex: C-
This is based off of one complaint.
NCsoft: B-
NCsoft is up, from a C- to a B-. According to the BBB, this is due to a few unanswered complaints:
Based on BBB files, NCsoft Corporation has a BBB Rating of B- on ascale from A+ to F.
Reasons for this rating include:
Failure to respond to 5 complaints filed against business.
Sony Online Entertainment: A
Most of the complaints, according to the BBB, are from people who forget to cancel their trial accounts.
“Consumer complaints received by the BBB allege difficulty in using this company’s online gaming service and being over billed or billed after they cancel the trial offer. In response to these consumer complaints, Sony indicates that some of their games may come with a limited number of days of game-play with purchase of the game software…”
Square Enix: A
Along with Sony, score remains in place.
“Our complaint history for this company shows the company gave proper consideration to complaints presented by the Bureau.”
Turbine Inc. : A+
Technically now part of Warner Brothers.
The BBB had nothing of interest to note.
A few companies on the list slipped in the past couple of months, most notably Blizzard over that mass ban. I guess it depends on how these companies view the non-authority of the BBB that dictates their reactions.
More on the BBB in three months when I follow up this article.
I am Blizzard, and this is my new mount. She weighs one hundred and fifty kilograms, and fires custom tooled cartridges at three hundred thirty three rounds per minute. This gun generates five hundred thousand dollars, to run for one hour.
Out of date references aside, Blizzard’s new mount was the subject of a bit of speculation I was planning for yesterday, wondering how many people (aside from a lot) would be willing to pay for a $25 mount that, aside from looking gorgeous, didn’t have any extra flair. Of course, that article went right out the window when I saw the queue just to purchase the mount: one hundred forty three thousand people.
WoW.com has done some number crunching, and estimated that the flying horse mount has generated approximately half a million dollars per hour in the first hours after its release. So good on you Blizzard. Some companies get blasted for much cheaper items being too expensive, but Blizzard proves once again to be the exception to the social rule.
While doing Kevin Bacon’s usual rounds of Topeka searches for MMO news from my favorite Kansas city of Google, Kevin Bacon checked the calendar and realized: It’s April 1st! The glorious day of the year where, at least in Kevin Bacon’s experiences, news stories fall into one of two categories: Companies either announce something insanely exciting, only to link you to Rick Astley or a well-designed news page, or something horrifying. If you’re a skeptical optimist, like Kevin Bacon, you usually end up looking at everything in the first week of April as if it might spring from the page and stab you in the face. Kevin Bacon is not completely sure that this article itself is real.
With every April Fools that comes and goes, it is important to remember that for every generation of gamers that are used to the April 1st jollies, there are plenty more who fly off the handle when Blizzard announces that World of Warcraft is shutting down due to low subscriber numbers. So, for better or worse, here is the Best of April Fools: 2010 edition.
Earth Eternal is ready to make fun of their status as a “kiddy” game, with weapons and graphics removed (but purchasable in the cash shop).
Runescape is finally ready to announce the grand opening of the Wet & Wildy theme park! I wonder how long before the popcorn is nerfed, those kernels are overpowered.
Blizzard hopes you have fifteen grand to drop on a virtual reality helmet, and let’s be honest: Who doesn’t? This new technology will allow you to experience Battlenet and World of Warcraft in ways you only dreamed possible. A deal, and lasts for months on end before needing a replacement, that’s longer than your average battery!
Bioware wants you to check out the latest class revealed for The Old Republic: The Sarlacc Enforcer. Not content with simply shooting your prey? Experience the joy of planning up to a hundred thousand years, waiting cautiously for your food to get within range. Don’t worry, you’ve got time.
NCsoft is ready to bring the next expansion to City of Heroes. No, it’s not Going Rogue, it’s City of Sidekicks. Be the person always screwing up the mission. In fact, the more you screw up, the better you do!
Atlantica Online shows jokes the door and calls for a real event. Logging in for an hour will grant you the Fool title, as well as a small buff in attack and defense.
Fallen Earth would like to offer you an uber edition. What is so uber about this edition? It comes in a gold sleeve. How many other games offer gold sleeves? Huh? That’s what I thought.
Guild Wars wants to answer your pleas. When you think of mini-pets and their owners, why are the mini-pets small and the owners tall? ArenaNet thought exactly that, and today your characters are small and your pets are tall.
Turbine is also getting into the spirit of the year. Forget Tibia as the most popular mobile MMO, just wait until Lord of the Rings Online makes its way to the Iphone and Blackberry!
I’ll be updating this page throughout the day, as soon as I deal with this incessant mouth-breather. No, you may not blog. I do not care about your blog. Get back in the box. My speech and typing functions appear to be overlapping, I should shut them
Make a wish, kids, because Blizzard just donated one million dollars to make your wish come true. Last year, Blizzard ran a two month long charity drive with a simple premise: Purchase a Pandaren Monk pet for $10 USD, and 50% of that purchase will go towards the Make-a-Wish foundation. Despite the usual complaints on the forums, over two hundred thousand of Blizzard’s subscribers pulled their wallets out and made a purchase during that time period.
Although 50% isn’t nearly as much of a percentage as I’d like to see companies (especially Blizzard) give from a non-tangible item that costs barely a couple hours to code into the game, given that the Pandaren wasn’t made for the charity, I think I can give it a pass. The sheer girth of the donation, combined with Blizzard being up front about how much they were donating, makes it an alright move in my books.
Meanwhile the PLEX for Haiti event ended last week on Eve Online, with more than forty thousand dollars being donated. In Eve Online, if players donated PLEX, it was converted directly into cash and sent to charity.
MMO Fallout 
