The Glade 4.0

Doesn't the ability to purchase items, either for gold or real money, take away the essence of what made Diablo, well Diablo?

Perhaps I didn't articulate my issue very well, or it's dumb and being addressed directly, but my main problem was just the forced internet connection and lack of mod support (or rather, presence of direct mod opposition) that exists, I think, purely to safeguard the value of the playerbase's accumulated loot. It's more of a principle thing than anything. I feel like it takes away from the game's potential, despite it still being a good game. I actually think that's a big thing most cavey boycotters run into - they think the game's still good, it's just that the developers aren't letting it reach its full potential.

EDIT: I guess player-created content being part of that potential is in the eye of the beholder, but I've always been a fan of that sort of thing. Let people do their own thing. DotA's become its own genre. Killing Floor is no longer a mod for UT but a full game.

With Deathwing’s shadow looming over Azeroth and the mortal realms of Sanctuary steeling for war against the forces of Diablo, the World of Warcraft Annual Pass has arrived to offer WoW subscribers a chance to participate in both apocalyptic conflicts… without breaking the bank.



For a limited time only, players who make a 12-month subscription commitment to World of Warcraft through the WoW Annual Pass will receive the following epic rewards:



Diablo III FREE – Download the digital version via Battle.net for free when the game launches early next year. This is the full game, not a trial edition.
Tyrael’s Charger WoW Flying Mount – Ride for the Archangel of Justice on all current and future characters on a single World of Warcraft account. Tyrael’s Charger will arrive via in-game mail with the upcoming launch of patch 4.3.
Access to the Next WoW Expansion Beta Test – Get a guaranteed spot in the beta test for the next World of Warcraft expansion (at a time to be announced in the future).



You can pay for the WoW Annual Pass on a monthly basis at $14.99 per month or according to the billing plan of your choice. To participate, you must be 18 or older, have a valid credit card, and have registered a full version of World of Warcraft on or before October 18, 2011.



Sign up for the World of Warcraft Annual Pass here, and then keep an eye on the World of Warcraft community site or the Diablo III community site for future announcements regarding the launch dates of these bonuses.



For more information on this offer, including eligibility requirements and details on how the World of Warcraft Annual Pass applies to players who plan to purchase the Diablo III: Collector’s Edition, please read the full FAQ.

While Blizzard has slowed down its World of Warcraft subscription churn, it hasn't stopped the bleeding yet: according to the company, the subscription count dropped slightly to 11.1 million worldwide during the quarter ending June 30.

Speaking to Activision Blizzard investors during a Gamasutra-attended conference call Wednesday, Blizzard president Michael Morhaime said that the decline -- now in its second quarter -- is to be expected after the release of a major expansion like December's Cataclysm, saying that "what we have seen is that subscribership tends to be seasonal and driven by content updates."

"So as we're heading further away from an expansion launch, it's normal to see some declines," he continued.

But that churn, while normal, is increasing with each new expansion as Morhaime explained back in May.

"As our players have become more experienced playing World of Warcraft over many years, they have become much better and much faster at consuming content," he said at the time. "And so I think with Cataclysm they were able to consume the content faster than with previous expansions, but that's why we're working on developing more content."

That new content, Morhaime said today, will include "major new raid and dungeon content."

"We believe that this new in-game content will keep the game fresh for current players, and provide compelling reasons for lapsed players to come back," he said.

Also helping to slow down the bleeding is the game's new trial system: in late June, the company changed its trial system: rather than its traditional timed trial, players can now play for an unlimited amount of time for free, though their characters stop leveling up at 20 (the current cap for players with all available content is 85).

The move, said Morhaime, has resulted in a "significant increase" in new account creations. While Morhaime says it's "still too early to tell" how often these new players become subscribers, the company believes that it is "an important direction for us to continue lowering that barrier to trial and reaching new players around the world."

Morhaime also says that the game's international expansion will help the churn: the company still sees big opportunities in China (where partner NetEase recently launched the latest expansion, Cataclysm), the country that claims the most broadband users of any nation in the world. He also said that the game has seen "great success" in Russia, and that the game's upcoming Portuguese localization should attract new players.

"Their economy has performed very well compared to the rest of the world during the recession," he said, speaking of Brazil. "We already have some Brazilians playing in English, but we think the market can be a lot bigger in Portuguese."

"There are other countries that we're looking at beyond these as well, but I don't have anything that I can talk about."

Despite the churn, overall revenues were up for the quarter ending June 30, at $313 million versus $299 million from a year ago, thanks to Cataclysm sales and its growth in China. Its operating margins were down, however, which Morhaime says is because the company is investing more into the development of new projects "that haven't necessarily been announced."

JFC! What difference does it make? All I'm trying to point out is that WoW isn't hurting for subscribers...

Do you people argue with stop signs?

JFC! What difference does it make? All I'm trying to point out is that WoW isn't hurting for subscribers...

Do you people argue with stop signs?

Do you people argue with stop signs?

But the thing is, that it probably is. Having 11 million 'subscribers' is useless if there's only 2 million people actually paying for and playing the game.

Like I said, I'd like to see active population numbers, but Blizz won't release those for some reason.

Do you think Blizzard really cares? Does it bother them if they get $15/month from 11 million people, or $55/month from 3 million people with multiple accounts. They are still getting the same amount of money, and they obviously are not hurting for money OR subscribers. I wouldn't call having that much money coming in every month "useless." Not by a long shot. You're just being difficult and arguing because of some deep hatred for Blizzard.

They obviously are hurting for subs, or they wouldn't be offering D3 for free to anyone that signs a 1 year contract to play WoW.

I should clarify my statement to read: "Saying you have 11 million 'subscribers' is useless if you only have 2 million active, paying accounts."

How many times do you need it to be spelled out? 11.1 Million IS the number of monthly paying accounts. They used to have 12 million monthly paying accounts.

For **** sake already.

World of Warcraft® subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees’ territories are defined along the same rules.

Yeah...otherwise the number would never go lower, eh?