WOW - Blizzard Dismisses Microtransaction Model : World of Warcraft General Discussions

Gamesindustry.biz published a pretty good read about Blizzard stating they have no plans to implement real money transactions for ingame items. Go check it out...

At a press conference during the BlizzCon convention in Los Angeles yesterday, Blizzard stated firmly that it had no plans to implement real money transactions in World of Warcraft - or any of its other games.

It is an increasingly popular trend in Asia to run free-to-play MMOs where players buy in-game items with real money, and the these games are now starting to appear in the West.

But when it was put to him that Blizzard lost money by not charging for items, company co-founder Frank Pearce, senior vice-president of product develepment, argued that subscribers have a better experience and are more loyal.

"Can you show us a profit and loss statement that shows that we lose money on that?" he challenged.

"I would say that that's arguable, because part of protecting the integrity of the game is ensuring that the subscribership has a reason to continue playing and feels good about the experience that they have.

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http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=27350