Premium World of Warcraft pets now exist, are adorable

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Home World of Warcraft

2:00 AM on 11.05.2009, Jordan Devore

39 comments

Premium World of Warcraft pets now exist, are adorable photo

#Activision #Blizzard #Money #World of Warcraft

Who here hasn't daydreamed about owning a Pandaren Monk before? Really, I'm the only one? Well, screw you guys!

Activision Blizzard, or as the running joke goes, Activision Blizzard is now offering in-game pets for World of Warcraft players who feel the need to adopt a cuddly creature. For $10, a miniature lich called Lil' K.T. or a Pandaren Monk can be tied to your WoW license. No, this isn't fake.

Ordinarily, this is where I would crack a joke at someone's expense (forget the fact that I already did). However, Blizzard gets the pass this time for one reason and one reason only: for every Pandaren Monk sold this year, $5 will be donated to the Make-a-Wish foundation. Awww.

[Via Blue's News]

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39 comments | showing # 1 to 39

danthuman

The more stuff they charge the more strings I see on their arms. Once you follow these fishline strings you see the puppetmaster: activision.

16bitmonster

@danthuman so we should be praising activision instead of blizzard for giving us something we want and giving money to make a wish? ...sometimes i wonder if people just hate corporations because they are corporations. I will defend blizzard till they fuck up.. getting bought up by activision has done nothing to interfere with the library of gold that comes from the blizzard den.

sorry to go on a rant.. i just hate this blind hate towards giant gaming companies.. for what seems to be no reason.

Jon B

Eh, I was all ready to bitch and moan about people paying for this shit, but the fact that they're donating half the sales to Make A Wish nets them a free pass.
This time.

Kwipper

I think Blizzard has it wrong. We do not daydream of owning a Pandarian monk. We daydream of PLAYING a Pandarian monk. I love how Blizzard listens to it's fans.

Gee-Man

@Kwipper

Agreed, I guess making the Pandarens nothing more then pets officially dashes that hope for good. So much for playing as the only race that didn't make everything SERIOUS BUSINESS.

Little Mac

KrazyKraut

omg......wtf is that? monthly fees are not enough now..... if this is a new trend in p2p, some ppl will better play f2p.

Danger! Cash Cows!

Ruben Hanssen

wish.com
Skip the step of feeding blizzavision money.
/fixed

Neonie

Because WoW wasn't incredibly lame enough, it will now be World of Grinding with Neopets thrown in for good measure.

Chronic Logic

What's the joke? I don't get it.

GSO Burzum

The sad thing is people are bound to spend their money on them.

beardenvier

Why not just make a $5 donation to Make a wish directly? Honestly, people just want the pets, this donation validates the purchase of a virtual pet, everything ends up rosy, you have to admit, its marketing genius. Otherwise theres a chance in hell WoW players will donate to Make a Wish?

TheToiletDuck

@beardenvier: Because a lot of people (myself included) aren't instantly charitable and sometimes need to be tricked into donating. If the final result is the same (i.e. the charity gets a donation), it's great.

bloodylip

Why only donate to Make-a-Wish when someone pays for a Pandaren? Is the Lich 100% profit for Activision?

beardenvier

@TheToiletDuck
Yea thats why its genius, and collecting pets is very popular in WoW. $5 for a pet may seem like excess for the more conservative (or unemployed), but say $10 for a pet its also for a good cause, any guilty feelings or even doubt may just evaporate. I'm not generous with my money as well.

Midgetsnowman

@Kwipper: Maybe you do. The only daydream I have regarding pandaren is chopping them into tiny bits with an axe for being Pandaren.

Fiat Mediocrity

Don't worry. Blizzard became cashwhores well before Activision bought them out.

bluemeep

I paid $200 to a man in Spain for an Ethereal Trader pet.

God, I fucking wish I was joking...

Tubatic

@bluemeep

I almost considered a similar purchase. Ethereal Traders are freaking PIMP!

CapnCrunk

At least 5 people in my 25 man raiding guild bought one of these. This is scary, ActBliz can just decide which months it wants its subscribers to pay more.

Kahoona

The whole Make-A-Wish thing is just a way to ease pet / mount selling in for good. It's so people aren't pissed off at them for doing it because "it's for charity"...for now.

Naktu

As long as they're only doing this for cosmetic things, I don't really see a problem with it.

Deny Everything

is it only the monk that contributes to the make-a-wish foundation?

Rammstein

I bought the Pandaren Monk. $5 went to Make-A-Wish so my conscience was clear.

Then I logged in. Saw the Lil' KT. Had to have it. Bought it.

I own both.

The Monk does a little karate routine and whenever someone /bow's to him, he bows back.

Lil' KT frostbolts/freezes Critters(Rabbits, rats, etc.) and whenever you kill another player(PVP) he laughs.

Utter cuteness.

You children who are only allowed $5 a week allowance: STFUAJPG

blindskate

i'm probably going to get pounced on for this but i've missed the joke. how is activision blizzard and different from activision blizzard?

blindskate

and by "and different" i mean "any different"

Rammstein

Also, from the FAQ:

Does this mean you'll be introducing more services like this in the future? Will you be introducing the ability to buy epic weapons/etc. in the future, for example?

As with the pets, mounts, and other items players can obtain through Loot cards from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, Pet Store pets are purely cosmetic and just for fun. Like other paid services we offer, such as Paid Name Changes, Race Changes, and Character Re-Customizations, the Pet Store service is entirely optional and intended to provide players another means to enjoy World of Warcraft in a way that isn't detrimental to the game and that doesn't detract from the gameplay experience for players who choose not to use the service.

(Source)

TL;DR: They won't start selling epics/loot/etc. Just fun shit.

blindskate

@capncrunk, how are blizz making players pay whatever they want? no one is forcing you to buy the pets.

mgmgarcia01

Got the panda, and that mother fucker is adorable. Worth every cent.

runtheplacered

@Kahoona,

Not to mention it's tax deductible for Blizzard

Gamernerd101

People pay real money for this?

Adam

So it's like paying extra for pet from the Collector's Edition without having to wait for a Collector's Edition, right?

Midgetsnowman

@Kahoona: people still are. Plus theres a whole section of people already using the pandaren as proof of their charitableness and denouncing people who only buy Lil' KT as Greedy.

Pangloss

The Pandaren pet gets better: When you /bow to it, it bows back!

Now I just wish that when you use the pet-growth biscuit on Lil' K.T., he turns into Real K.T. and wipes Dalaran.

ToxinBlackheart

I was so close to facepalming until I read the charity bit.

::slow clap for Blizzard?::

CapnCrunk

@blindsnake: Sure no one is forced to, but it works out to the subscriber base paying on average $17 this month instead of $15, if 1 in 5 players bite on one pet.

This charity thing is a ruse. First of all the good pet doesn't give anything to charity, and secondly the donations only happen for two months. The charity thing is just a setup to lessen the bad impression of the new revenue stream.

Superfluous Moniker

$10 pets? You're fucking killing me, Blizzard. Remind me to stop buying your games. Except Starcraft 2. And Diablo 3.

God damn it.

Jon B

Oh, by the way.

These are �9 in the UK. So that's $17?

blindskate

@capncrunk i totally agree with you on that because alot of people will get sucked in and yes, that's pretty lame.

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