Friday, January 15, 2016

Wow Down to 5.6 Subs: A Discussion

Not really a discussion as I know I will end up wandering away as I type. I had created this draft all the way back in AUGUST of 2015 that is how much I potentially don't really care anymore? Anyways.

I was waiting for this number for many months and I had exceeded my expectations as I had initially forecasted subs to be in the 5.2 million range.

Has WoW finally and officially become just a product, a "cash-cow", aka the cash-flow hedge?

I mean, it always has been but hear me out.

In our industry, and I am going to be purposefully vague, our products and services generate a massive amount of revenue but are affected by environmental/political/economic factors and can create unwanted fluctuations. Enter in hedging 101, "hedge your bets" aka make sure you have a comfort blanket, a blanket made out of cash, reliable cash. Mm soft silky lustrous delicious cash. What's the best way to provide yourself with a comfortable low risk yet steady/stable cash flow? Hey, subscriptions!

In the real world, this can be seen by owning multiple properties and renting them out hence securing income without having to do much after all the paperwork is through.

Now I'm pretty sure we could all feel this throughout the expansions but the executive decision side of the game's PASSION has all but worn thin and WoD is the perfect example of what it looks like when content is just created for the sake of content.

Now there are tons of factors involved, most likely mid to mid-senior level management decisions/conflicts but one of the enduring comments of WoD is that "The art and story is great but everything else is just meh".

We can see here that art/story are unaffected by the gameplay/mechanics/delivery aspect of the game, but it is the decisions made in regards to the vision of the game is what I am most concerned about.

Stop blaming the "devs" I truly do think that if they had it their way WoD would still be blowing our minds right now. Wow such blow, so mind ..blown.

They attempted to present WoW in a pseudo-casual/mobile model with garrisons/shipyards and possibly trying to curb gold sellers by eliminating professions and made everything just really....weird.

I think what they think will retain subs might backfire: "People have invested so much time in their toons/mounts they won't leave".

Well, I've labored to collect 250+ mounts(except for the purple flying tiger) and am an obsessive collector of mini pets, I still managed to get four toons to 100 (2 of which I stopped using cause ew) and the rest are at 90 and almost every Klupty and all low level Turny/Turny/Turby you can find in the wowarmory are mine.

Pending how they deliver the next expansion may make or break these ti-

That is where I officially left off in August 2015, and I am now wondering what I was going to say? Make or break these ti-?? Timing? Ties?

Anyhow. Regardless of my personal investment, if its crap people will leave regardless of how great it used to be. WoD right now is in a weird place. This "expansion" is more like a preview of the next when Legion actually invades. This expansion could have been the first few patches of Legion. Hmmmm.

I am already liking the preliminary info on how Demonology warlocks are going to play like: A DEMON specialist (most likely maniacal) who sends swarms of demons into the fray.

All I have to say now is "Let's see". Let's see if the fantasy for Legion will hold strong from beginning to the end and not just end at the cut-scenes of the new zones.

Truny the Skeptical

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