Of Blizzards and Micropayments
So Blizzard introduced premium vanity pets for World of Warcraft yesterday; a miniature Kel’Thuzad and a Pandaren Monk. They do fun little things like freezing nearby critters and returning /bows from players. They cost $10 each, and in the case of the Panda, 50% of that goes to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
I’m cool with it, but it turns out a lot of people aren’t.
Ctrl+Alt+Del: Vanity Pets
They’re tweeting and blogging and shouting from the roof tops about how this is an evil move, and that the Make-a-Wish donation is nothing more than a “trick.” I’m shocked that so many people are angry over such a stupid thing as vanity pets when they’re happy to drop a considerably larger chunk of cash to recustomize or rename their characters, or change races or factions. Seriously, the consumers decide whether these sorts of “microtransactions” (I use that term loosely, as $10 does not seem terribly micro to me) will be successful or not, and I can tell you; I saw way more tiny little kung-fu pandas running around Orgimmar last night than I care to remember.
Until these sorts of transactions begin giving players a tangible upper hand of some kind, I don’t see the harm in it. If you’re willing to forgo a couple lattes to get a virtual pet, by all means go for it. On the other hand, if you think Blizzard is being evil by donating only 50% of the cash, donate to Make-a-Wish directly, deduct it from your taxes, and move on with your life.