Blizzard to make Battle.Net cost $$$ ?

Diablo III's director Jay Wilson recently told an audience at BlizzCon that Blizzard and Activision are looking to make some money with the Battle.Net service. How Blizzard will be seeking to "monetize" is unknown, but Wilson said it was necessary to keep the financially crippled Blizzard alive and kicking.

From the panel discussion: [QUOTE="Jay Wilson"]We are looking to monetize Battle.Net so that we get to keep making these games and updating features. We kind of have to.Destructoid

Now i play on XBOX LIVE and i pay the 50 bones per year. but that 50 lets me play online with hundreds of 360 games. this seems foul to play online for 1 or 2 games for a fee. what do yall think?

this almost looks like a joke topic to me. blizzard being financially crippled?mtradr43

I hope this isn't true, aren't they making enough cash off of WoW?

Wilson didn't elaborate, but I think we all know how much Blizzard has been suffering the past few years. After the colossal failure that was once a promising game, World of Warcraft, Blizzard has had to revaluate its existence and make some tough spending decisions. It's a shame that World of Warcraft never took off, but we have the massive success (over 15 million subscribers) of Star Wars: Galaxies to thank for that.Awinagainov

I love when Destructiod writes news their sarcasm is so potent

Anyways, first the trilogy thing now this Blizzard seems to be changing a bit

[QUOTE="Awinagainov"]Wilson didn't elaborate, but I think we all know how much Blizzard has been suffering the past few years. After the colossal failure that was once a promising game, World of Warcraft, Blizzard has had to revaluate its existence and make some tough spending decisions. It's a shame that World of Warcraft never took off, but we have the massive success (over 15 million subscribers) of Star Wars: Galaxies to thank for that.anshul89

Pretty sure thats sarcasm ;)

http://www.warcry.com/articles/view/conferences/blizzcon_08/5358-Blizzcon-08-WoW-D3-Press-Conference

Gamers and press alike had been concerned over the surprise revelation that Blizzard had been discussing ways to monetize their multiplayer Battle.net service. When asked to clarify, Wilson admitted that they weren't even sure themselves what form the monetization would take, but he was adamant that D3 would not be a subscription-based game: players will not have to pay to play the game. What they will have to pay for is still up in the air.

Everything that you pay for is optional, not to mention they are going to constantly update teh D3 world like World of Warcraft. Sounds good to me :D

I wonder if Activision is making them do this. 3 campaigns? Pay for online? Seriously? When does Blizzard have people tell them what to do?gasmaskman

Nobody tells blizzard what to do. That was one of the first things they said after they merged with activision.

Blizzard, IMO, would be foolish to make people pay to play online in any game other than MMO's. If certain aspects are charged for, fine, but I won't pay just to have the ability to play online.

I can't see blizzard doing this. They know what kind of affect this would have on the community.

At certain times, there are currently over 70k people still playing SC (that's at one time). Do you really think if there was a subscription fee to play SC that there'd be that many? Not a chance. Surely blizzard knows this.

First, we have to buy 3 versions of Starcraft II, and now they want to make us pay for online ? :|Gamer4Iife

Greed :(

Its already been confirmed at Blizzcon that Battle.net will not have a subscription fee, I dont know where this BS came from.cobrax75

READ THIS POST AND STOP LISTENING TO STUPID RUMORS!!!!

Nothing in that quote states outright that Battle.net will be a charged p2p service. What they are implying is that there will have to be some form of extra profit necessary to keep providing updates and new content to the games online. This can be done in a multitude of ways apparently and they are still deciding on it.

In comparison to Xbox Live and PSN, this can be done in a similiar fashion such as advertising or selling DLC/extras.

In my opinion, Blizzard's merchandise market is somewhat fruitful and they will probably be expanding on that.

How many subscriptions does wow have right now? I think I heard 5 million right, now, with a fee of what , 15 $ a month? Lets say there's only 2 million subscriptions. 2,000,000 x 15 = 30,000,000. Blizzard makes 30,000,000 (or more) a month just off WoW. Any claims that they "need" to charge for battle.net are insane.YankeeDan345

they have 11 million current subscirbers....and they are not having a subscription fee for Battle.net...its already been confirmed, this article is just complete BS.

How many subscriptions does wow have right now? I think I heard 5 million right, now, with a fee of what , 15 $ a month? Lets say there's only 2 million subscriptions. 2,000,000 x 15 = 30,000,000. Blizzard makes 30,000,000 (or more) a month just off WoW. Any claims that they "need" to charge for battle.net are insane.YankeeDan345

Actually, its about 11 million users, but you can't simply just do the math as such since many users are European and Chinese and pay different rates, including a Pay Per Hour model in China.

Considering the popularity of WoW, many many more people will be interested in playing Diablo 3 due to WoW's success. It would not be unreasonable to get 2 or 3 million sales within the first month or two. To maintain that amount of concurrent users on a free model with such bandwidth costs is a bit unreasonable. So its perfectly understandble for them to try to make some money out of it.

But the fact of the matter is that they've explicitly said that it will not be a subscription based model. So i have no idea where you guys are coming with this.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/55271

Diablo III director Jay Wilson said today that the company does not have a great desire to charge a subscription fee for the upcoming revision of its multiplayer client Battle.net. However, the developer did note that Blizzard will likely monetize unknown features of the game.Shacknews

Back when D3 was first announced one of the first questions to be asked is will the online have a p2p server. Blizzard said that Bnet will always remain free to use. Now I know things can change over the course of a few months but that was just reconfirmed just recently though.

In anycase I wouldnt be surprised if they did what Anet is starting to do. Free online with a F2P type of cashshop.

Am I the only one who has experienced a significant dip in respect for Blizzard over the past few years?thepwninator

No, you're not. The things Blizz has been doing to WoW over the past year or so havereally challenged the notion I used to hold about them only caring about a quality product and not money. *cough* esport advertising dollars *cough*

[QUOTE="thepwninator"]Am I the only one who has experienced a significant dip in respect for Blizzard over the past few years?ANeuralPathway

No, you're not. The things Blizz has been doing to WoW over the past year or so havereally challenged the notion I used to hold about them only caring about a quality product and not money. *cough* esport advertising dollars *cough*

Yea I mean having the best MMO on the market means they don't care about quality.:roll:

Seriously do you guys think before making statements?

Back when D3 was first announced one of the first questions to be asked is will the online have a p2p server. Blizzard said that Bnet will always remain free to use. Now I know things can change over the course of a few months but that was just reconfirmed just recently though.

In anycase I wouldnt be surprised if they did what Anet is starting to do. Free online with a F2P type of cashshop.

EvilAshTwin

It is still free to use though.

[QUOTE="ANeuralPathway"]

[QUOTE="thepwninator"]Am I the only one who has experienced a significant dip in respect for Blizzard over the past few years?Espada12

No, you're not. The things Blizz has been doing to WoW over the past year or so havereally challenged the notion I used to hold about them only caring about a quality product and not money. *cough* esport advertising dollars *cough*

Yea I mean having the best MMO on the market means they don't care about quality.:roll:

Seriously do you guys think before making statements?

Didnt you get the memo? If a game put out by a PC company doesnt want to make your computer explode and your video card slit your throat in your sleep then they are a company that doesnt care about quality.

[QUOTE="EvilAshTwin"]

Back when D3 was first announced one of the first questions to be asked is will the online have a p2p server. Blizzard said that Bnet will always remain free to use. Now I know things can change over the course of a few months but that was just reconfirmed just recently though.

In anycase I wouldnt be surprised if they did what Anet is starting to do. Free online with a F2P type of cashshop.

Espada12

It is still free to use though.

Thats kinda the point I was making. Its still free, and 3 months ago Blizzard said they have no intentions of charging for Bnet

if they do start charging for battle.net, they will be the MOST EVIL company...even more than EA !!:evil: !!

How the hell do they want to start charging !! cmon !!! ARASRGAHRAJEWLKAJOEWDWO !!!

Since wow, Blizzard has become a corrupt company. FF_Halofan

yup. I truly agree

money does change people and companies...i had alot of respect for BLIZZARD since they first released

Warcraft 1: Orcs & Humans ..until now...

i hope that they dont charge a fee for Bnet

[QUOTE="ANeuralPathway"]

[QUOTE="thepwninator"]Am I the only one who has experienced a significant dip in respect for Blizzard over the past few years?Espada12

No, you're not. The things Blizz has been doing to WoW over the past year or so havereally challenged the notion I used to hold about them only caring about a quality product and not money. *cough* esport advertising dollars *cough*

Yea I mean having the best MMO on the market means they don't care about quality.:roll:

Seriously do you guys think before making statements?

You are the one who is not thinking. Did you even read his post?

But blizzard never does stuff out of greed. They are the gamers best friend.

if they do start charging for battle.net, they will be the MOST EVIL company...even more than EA !!:evil: !!

How the hell do they want to start charging !! cmon !!! ARASRGAHRAJEWLKAJOEWDWO !!!

Ipik_Fenris

ActiBlizz (activision and blizzard) became the most evil company in my eyes, when they decided to stop supporting Double fine's game.

Financially crippled.

LOL.

I'm the owner of five base games from Blizzard and 3 expansion packs.

I play Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3 to this day. I've beaten the campaigns for WC3, D2, and Starcraft and their expansions.

But if they even think about doing this to me, the lucrative bastards, and I will turn on them. I will never say a good word about them ever again and I will campaign against their products. To say the least, they wouldn't get another dime from me. Support their product? God yes. Support them bastardizing the entire industry? Hell no.

The more and more Blizzard starts talking about their future plans, the less and less I begin to like them.foxhound_fox

Don't just dislike, Hate.

They spite you in a second for a dollar. That deserves every bit of anger you can muster.

[QUOTE="foxhound_fox"]The more and more Blizzard starts talking about their future plans, the less and less I begin to like them.BobHipJames

Don't just dislike, Hate.

They spite you in a second for a dollar. That deserves every bit of anger you can muster.

Grow up. Read through the thread before posting this nonsense. Blizzard isn't charging for BNET.

Blizzard is giving you more for your money and you're complaining.

If you ever make it to college (doubtful), be sure and take finance 101.

[QUOTE="BobHipJames"]

[QUOTE="foxhound_fox"]The more and more Blizzard starts talking about their future plans, the less and less I begin to like them.mudman91878

Don't just dislike, Hate.

They spite you in a second for a dollar. That deserves every bit of anger you can muster.

Grow up. Read through the thread before posting this nonsense. Blizzard isn't charging for BNET.

Blizzard is giving you more for your money and you're complaining.

If you ever make it to college (doubtful), be sure and take finance 101.

Grow up - ad hominem

nonsense - strawman

Blizzard isn't charging for BNET - this article suggested otherwise by its title and the direct quote, "We are looking to monetize Battle.Net so that we get to keep making these games and updating features. We kind of have to." suggests, obviously, that they are looking to "monetize" BNet.

Whether that means updates, additional content, or the actual service itself (I've scarcely seen it proven that they won't do any of the above, and the direct quote gives me means to worry), I don't know and you can't tell me.

I'm in college, thanks. Your cute little ad hominem, apparently meant to shame me into not revealing that fact, isn't going to work. I have nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of. You haven't exactly revealed anything that I couldn't pick up on a lucid afternoon.

But I do have something further to pick to pieces: you seem to suggest that Blizzard would be incapable of financing their games if it were not for some sort of monetization of their Bnet product. Same as the quote in the OP from the article from Destructoid says EXPLICITLY.

This is asinine. I don't pay for Bnet on Starcraft, Warcraft 3, Diablo 1 or Diablo 2. Yet, oddly enough, all those IPs exist. I wonder how they financed themselves? Oh, right. It probably has something to do with the fact that I bought each of them, as I would eagerly do if they cut the crap.

Oh....and 10 million active subscribers times 15 dollars equals 150 million dollars a month.

150 MILLION DOLLARS A MONTH. A MONTH. A MONTH. A MONTH A MONTH A MONTH A MONTH A MONTH.

Pf. Finance. Most businesses would kill for 10 million dollars a month in revenue.

this almost looks like a joke topic to me. blizzard being financially crippled?mtradr43

Whether that means updates, additional content, or the actual service itself (I've scarcely seen it proven that they won't do any of the above, and the direct quote gives me means to worry), I don't know and you can't tell me.BobHipJames

Actually we can tell you:

"Diablo III director Jay Wilson said today that the company does not have a great desire to charge a subscription fee for the upcoming revision of its multiplayer client Battle.net. However, the developer did note that Blizzard will likely monetize unknown features of the game."

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/55271

No need for anyone to start screaming the sky is falling. You're jumping to conclusions without any basis.