News Round Up: World of Warcraft Loses Another 300k Subscribers and More

posted 2011/08/03 at 4:19 PM by Ashelia

Gamasutra reported todayDiablo III Beta Test Approaches!

The beta test approaches! We’ve just updated our System Check program and would like everyone to update their Battle.net Beta Profile information by running the new one. You should do this regardless of whether there have been hardware changes made to your system.

You can run the new System Check by visiting the Beta Profile settings of your Battle.net account:

https://www.battle.net/account/management/beta-profile.html

I don’t have a Beta Profile
If you haven’t yet created a Beta Profile on your Battle.net account you’ll be presented with two download options, PC and Mac, for our System Check program. Running the program will present you with the Beta Test Opt-In Agreement, and once you agree to that it will immediately query basic computer specification information such as your type of video card, processor, and RAM. Clicking the Send button will then upload the shown information to your account.

On your Beta Profile page, you’ll want to ensure you at least have “Diablo Universe” checked for future testing, if not StarCraft and Warcraft as well. That’s it! You’re now eligible for future beta test opportunities.

I have a Beta Profile
If you’ve previously uploaded your system info you should use the links to download the new System Check program for PC or Mac and update your system info. Run the program, read through the Beta Test Opt-In Agreement that appears, and once you agree to that the program will immediately query your basic computer specification information. Click Send and the program will automatically update your profile with your system specifications. You’ll remain opted in for whichever beta tests you’ve previously selected, and you can change these selections on your Beta Profile page at any time.

Having current system specifications and checking the franchise boxes to express interest in beta testing our future products does not guarantee your entry into the beta test. We will grant a very limited number of people entry from the entire pool of those interested, based on their system specifications and other factors. While having an official Battle.net Beta Profile is one way to potentially get in, we’ll have information on other ways to increase your chances as we draw closer to the beta test.

Hatchling Sales SoaredCenarion Hatchling

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of World of Warcraft players around the world who purchased the Cenarion Hatchling pet, we’ve raised a total of more than $1.9 million USD to support the ongoing earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan. In May, we announced that for every Cenarion Hatchling purchased by July 31, 2011, 100% of the $10 USD adoption fee would be going to assist victims of this disaster -- and the community responded by opening up their hearts and wallets wide. Thanks again for your support and for helping to make an impact on the lives of those affected by these events.

To learn more about the Pet Store, please visit the Pet Store FAQ.

Virtual BlizzCon 2011 Tickets Giving Out 2010's PetSmoldering Murloc Egg

We have received a few posts as to whether or not players who purchased the 2011 BlizzCon Virtual Ticket should be receiving the 2010 BlizzCon pet, Deathy.

You all have posed an excellent question to which we are inquiring about now. We will update the thread when we have further information.

Blizz Blues

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Comment by Interest wotlk noobs that nerd rage quit the game cuz the content is no longer "easy", by far the most probable reasonComment by Monday Nope. I don't need to put people down to get some lame fix. That's just how I post.Comment by linkhyrule More of this crap again? 300k subs lost, Blizzard is the devil, blah blah blah. In regards to Blizzard trying to make money on this game, Its business people this is what you do when you have a popular product. Im sure Blizzard cares about the people that play there game but at the end of the day people need to make money. You can call Blizz greedy all you want but I seen enough articles of the donations from them to contradict all that.

Also I notice people clapped for joy when Blizz announced Heroic Deadmines and SFK. But then they did the same for ZA/ZG people did nothing but cry like little f*cking babies. Has anyone bothered to stop and think that ZA/ZG is new to some people? When I 1st started playing 2.4 was 4 weeks away and ZA was going to be obsolete and people were only doing ZG for that stupid tiger mount. So as far as I care ZA/ZG is 100% new to me since I never done them.

I also cant help but noticed how old vets of the game say how Vinalla and BC were the best times, when I remember reading alot of forums clearly saying how much BC was a fail of an expansion back mid 2007 and now today poeple pretty much love BC now. I even remember the WotLK days how people were bashing that expansion back then. Now people were praising it now. And now its Cataclysm turn to be bashed and watch how fast everyone loves Cata once then 4th expan comes out. This whole crap with ppl bashing current expasion and liking it once another comes will never make any since. Comment by deathbeyond More of this crap again? 300k subs lost, Blizzard is the devil, blah blah blah. In regards to Blizzard trying to make money on this game, Its business people this is what you do when you have a popular product. Im sure Blizzard cares about the people that play there game but at the end of the day people need to make money. You can call Blizz greedy all you want but I seen enough articles of the donations from them to contradict all that.

Also I notice people clapped for joy when Blizz announced Heroic Deadmines and SFK. But then they did the same for ZA/ZG people did nothing but cry like little f*cking babies. Has anyone bothered to stop and think that ZA/ZG is new to some people? When I 1st started playing 2.4 was 4 weeks away and ZA was going to be obsolete and people were only doing ZG for that stupid tiger mount. So as far as I care ZA/ZG is 100% new to me since I never done them.

I also cant help but noticed how old vets of the game say how Vinalla and BC were the best times, when I remember reading alot of forums clearly saying how much BC was a fail of an expansion back mid 2007 and now today poeple pretty much love BC now. I even remember the WotLK days how people were bashing that expansion back then. Now people were praising it now. And now its Cataclysm turn to be bashed and watch how fast everyone loves Cata once then 4th expan comes out. This whole crap with ppl bashing current expasion and liking it once another comes will never make any since.Comment by Deathjaw41 SO... 900K total? 11.1 million left on the subscription?... i wonder... if it has to do with the recent pre-order opportunity for Star Wars: The Old Republic. But of course there is the down economy... many factors play in with the loss of subscribers... But 900k?... sheesh... Comment by Saphirerae GC's utter disrespect to customers who pay his wages I'm done for good until he's gone at the very least.lol Comment by Adamsm I laughed at the guy who made that original comment, please fix the quote. Comment by LordBalrog SO... 900K total? 11.1 million left on the subscription?... i wonder... if it has to do with the recent pre-order opportunity for Star Wars: The Old Republic. But of course there is the down economy... many factors play in with the loss of subscribers... But 900k?... sheesh...Comment by Zurizen I laughed at the guy who made that original comment, please fix the quote.Comment by cloudp I laughed at the guy who made that original comment, please fix the quote.Comment by Cambo It's funny how people immediately think the reason for subscription losses is because 'WoW is old' or 'WoW sucks'.
There's far too many possible reasons why a player will stop their subscription. Comment by LordBalrog It's funny how people immediately think the reason for subscription losses is because 'WoW is old' or 'WoW sucks'.
There's far too many possible reasons why a player will stop their subscription.aComment by deathbeyond Also, as I pointed out in an earlier post, there are cyclical factors that should have made this a better quarter for WoW subscriptions, and yet the only way in which it was better was that the subscription loss was smaller.Comment by Sinespe More of this crap again? 300k subs lost, Blizzard is the devil, blah blah blah. In regards to Blizzard trying to make money on this game, Its business people this is what you do when you have a popular product. Im sure Blizzard cares about the people that play there game but at the end of the day people need to make money. You can call Blizz greedy all you want but I seen enough articles of the donations from them to contradict all that. people enjoyless popularComment by deathbeyond Emboldened statement 3: Stop thinking in black and white; stop trying to make things mutually exclusive when they are not. It is possible to give to charity and yet still be considered a money-grabber in the grander scheme of things.Comment by OverZealous To be fair, if you're donating money to charity - it doesn't really matter if you care about the people you're donating to or not. They will still get the money, and they will still benefit from it, no matter what.
Sure, donating large sums of money (2 million USD was it not?) will make your company look good in the process - but I'm unsure about whether that is actually a factor. Comment by tona91 Its a fact that wow is old and that it has nothing more to offer then it did back in the days. Someone said how ppl can say tbc was the best when they qq at the tbc time, i can say that for me to tbc was the best. Back in the days when i was about to log into game i was happy to see all those ppl online, couldnt wait for the evening to raid with them and afterward do some fun or pvp.Now when i need to log the picture in my head is different, oh again those molten dailies and again firelands in the evening and the funny thing is my guild that usualy had 30-40 online ppl over the day back in wotlk was reduced to maybe 4-5 and then all log on, raid is done and ppl start to log off in large numbers, an hour after the raid u are back to those 4-5 ppl and same thing over and over. Same is with the ppl u knew from the old days, for me i could say 80% or more stoped when cata hit. Cata is shown as the best expansion where new players could enjoy and not have so hard time adopting and that is the reason that wow still stands strong, new players. The other mayor factor are botters that over the years become normal an noone gives a crap for them, for sure they make atleast 20% of the players if not even more. In my eyes wow is at the stage where it will continue to lose ppl and in the end it will shut down, ofc it will not be soon but i can say i was not thinking like this in the wotlk but for some reason from the cata smth happend and wow was changed drasticly for me and i know for others to. Comment by RubyEyes When the mentioned the sub drop, I hoped it was 300k worth or gold farms, hackers and spammers...... sigh.

At least I know I help contribute to something good by buying my hatchling :D Comment by OverZealous Its a fact that wow is old and that it has nothing more to offer then it did back in the days. Someone said how ppl can say tbc was the best when they qq at the tbc time, i can say that for me to tbc was the best. Back in the days when i was about to log into game i was happy to see all those ppl online, couldnt wait for the evening to raid with them and afterward do some fun or pvp.Now when i need to log the picture in my head is different, oh again those molten dailies and again firelands in the evening and the funny thing is my guild that usualy had 30-40 online ppl over the day back in wotlk was reduced to maybe 4-5 and then all log on, raid is done and ppl start to log off in large numbers, an hour after the raid u are back to those 4-5 ppl and same thing over and over. Same is with the ppl u knew from the old days, for me i could say 80% or more stoped when cata hit. Cata is shown as the best expansion where new players could enjoy and not have so hard time adopting and that is the reason that wow still stands strong, new players. The other mayor factor are botters that over the years become normal an noone gives a crap for them, for sure they make atleast 20% of the players if not even more. In my eyes wow is at the stage where it will continue to lose ppl and in the end it will shut down, ofc it will not be soon but i can say i was not thinking like this in the wotlk but for some reason from the cata smth happend and wow was changed drasticly for me and i know for others to.2.2 million Comment by PingHansen It is no wonder that WoW is loosing subscribers. Blizzard is continuously removing all those little challenges that made the game so versatile. They keep dumbing the game down, and it will soon get to where you can play it without thinking.

A dungeon that you can finish on the first try, is not very challenging. A dungeon with all the quest givers inside? Plain dumb! Part of the challenge was picking up those quests, and those who "have to" beg, are usually merely too lazy to pick them up by themselves. Being able to do those quests should be a reward for not being lazy - they should have made them un-sharable in stead (evil grin).

I was very fond of the class quests, earning my druid forms, in stead of merely having them served on a platter, crossing continents with my lock to learn how to summon new demons, teaching them new grimoires whenever I had the chance. Rogues had to do a quest to learn poisons, had to level lockpicking. I really miss those things, and I want that back. I would like more class quests. Challenging quests, quests that would force you to learn how to play your class - perhaps with a few suggestions thrown in, like use this or that ability, or it will be hard to complete the quest. Preferably even make the quests one-person by phasing them, so the experience could not be ruined by "helpful" guildies.

And questing in general - When I started WoW, some of the quests were real challenges. Now everything is more or less boring. I really enjoyed the quest in Twilight Highlands to open the gates to Tol Barad - I had to think, I had to experiment, and I had to do it by my self, as the quest is phased. I want more of that, I want to be challenged. Even my kids are beginning to find WoW boring and unchallenging.

Sometimes you don't want to bother with leveling or endgame, but just want to relax. We had fishing, we had cooking for those times, but what's the challenge in doing all your fishing in SW or some other city? It used to be a challenge to locate all the cooking recipes, and we had cooking quests. Now it's just something I couldn't be bothered to mess with.

We used to have all those little games within the game.

I also dislike the emphasis on balancing. It is more or less making every class the same. Some claim that druids have a lot of unfair advantages. Who cares; roll a druid. Some claim that rogues are OP. Well, roll a rogue. And PVP? As a rogue, I love preying on casters. As a hunter, I love ridding the game of rogues, while I hate getting up close with the tincans. As a lock I love putting DOT's on rogues. As a mage ... You get the point. The classes SHOULD be different, not homogenized.

The only challenges left in the game seems to be endgame in the form of endless runs in whatever the current top raid is. Well, I don't do raids, as I dislike running with a bunch of overly serious, high-strung, abusive and whiny egoists almost as much as I dislike the droning repetitiveness of doing the same stuff over and over again. To me, the best part of the game always have been the challenges of leveling, the small games within the game, plus the various level-appropriate five-man dungeons - and if Blizzard dumbs down the game even further, I see no reason to keep playing the game.

Obviously, I'm not alone.

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